The Earl's Honorable Intentions by Deborah Hale Page A

better than she’d dared to hope. Hannah made no effort to conceal her happiness. She did have one reservation, however. “I can bring Alice again if you wish, sir. But what about little Arthur? You have not met your younger son yet, and I am certain you would not wish to favor one of your children over the others.”
    “No, indeed.” His lordship’s brow furrowed and his features settled into a pensive frown. “I would never want that.”
    The matter was clearly of great significance to him. Hannah could not help wondering why.
    “I never expected to have a family, you know,” the earl mused as if in answer to her unspoken question. “I never intended to have one. I was devoted to my military career, and I did not feel it would be compatible with family life.”
    “What changed your mind?” Was it impertinent to ask such a personal question of her employer? Hannah feared it might be. Yet she could not resist the inclination to know his lordship better. Perhaps if she learned more about his past and came to understand his motives, it might help her persuade him to do the right thing for his children.
    If the earl resented her question, he gave no sign of it. “My elder brother fell ill and died. Did Clarissa never tell you?”
    “No, sir.” Why should she?
    Her face must have betrayed her puzzlement, for his lordship offered an explanation. “As the new heir, I was expected to perform the duty for which I had been bred—step in to ensure the succession of the family title. My father insisted upon it. Clarissa had been engaged to my brother. After a suitable period of mourning, she seemed agreeable to accept me in his place.”
    So he had wed his late wife out of duty, not love. That explained a great deal about their marriage. Hannah wished she had known sooner. While there were some who might not approve of the earl’s actions, she had always set a high value on duty. If his lordship did too, it seemed all the more likely she might help him recognize the duty he owed to his children.
    But what about their mother? Why did the earl suppose she had married him? To secure the title of countess, perhaps, or a fine home and fortune?
    “Why are you telling me this?” She was not comfortable with any knowledge that cast his marriage in a different light from the one she had seen.
    “I’m not certain, to be honest.” The earl sounded almost as puzzled by this unexpected confidence as she. “Perhaps I do not want you to think I care nothing for my children. I want to be a proper father to them, but I have no idea where to begin or whether I have it in me.”
    Would he rather not try at all than try and fail? Hannah found that attitude difficult to fathom. Her instinct in the face of possible failure had always been to try harder, do better, give more. “You have already made a good beginning with Alice, sir. You clearly demonstrated that you have it in you to be a fine father, if you are willing to try.”
    “Of course I will try. But if I am to have any hope of succeeding, I shall need...help.” The earl sounded almost ashamed to admit it. “ Your help, Miss Fletcher. You have done a fine job helping me to endure my recovery. That schedule of yours has made the time pass more quickly. I can see now why her ladyship placed such great reliance upon you.”
    “Thank you, sir.” Hannah’s face blazed. Past experience had made her much more accustomed to accepting slights and criticism than praise. For some reason, she found herself particularly uncomfortable receiving a compliment from Lord Hawkehurst.
    She told herself not to be so foolish. The more his lordship came to depend on her, the better chance she would have of dissuading him from returning to his regiment once he recovered. “I shall be happy to do everything in my power to assist you.”
    “Good.” The earl sounded relieved, as if he had expected her to refuse. “I hope that means when you fetch my son to visit you will not simply dump him