Enticing An Earl (Completed)

Part 4

The next day, William woke up with a killer headache. He had trouble making up his mind. Was he over indulged in celebration or was he drinking to forget the rather delicious Lady he had the honor of seeing almost naked.

Little George indeed. There was nothing little about that woman. She was thin and tall but she still had ample curves. Enough to make a man think of all the hours he could spend exploring them. Max always said that little George would be a great friend for shy Emma and now William understood why. The chit had managed to look regal and confident in her undergarments and his sister could learn a thing or two from the woman.

William groaned as he remembered her as she was, with her cleavage wiggling and her skin flushed. Max had to be a saint to not notice how perfectly formed her figure was, it was absolutely sinful. He felt like taking himself in hand and relieving himself just by picturing her in his bed. He realized with disgust that he was acting like a randy youth.

Shaking his head to clear out the images, William started his day. After a quick bath and a strong cup of tea in his chamber, he made his way down to the dining room. He was surprised to hear his mother and sister's laughter, his mother usually had her breakfast in her room. He spotted his friend in his chair as he entered the room and saw his very correct butler trying to get Lord Maximilian Crawford, the Duke of Lancaster, to move down the table.

"Please tell your butler that I deserve your place at the table as you managed to steal my very rare and very delicate plants last night. Traumatized man are usually indulged." Max's smile suggested that he was entertained rather than traumatized. William wanted to encourage his butler to further harass his friend but he was still hungover. Waving his butler away, he took the seat next to his sister after filling his plate.

"I knew you would celebrate after last night but you surprise me. You went the extra mile and got drunk. It's flattering how hard you would celebrate after a single victory over me. It's almost as if you are in awe of me." William winced as the pain in his headache increased and poured himself another cup of tea.

"What are you doing here so early? Didn't the ball end late last night?" Relaxing he stared at his friend over the rim of his cup.

"No, the ball ended earlier today and I decided to check on my priceless exotic plants. When my gardener informed me that my greenhouse was empty, I came as quickly as I could. You can't look after plants dear friend, even the plants in all the paintings around your house look wilted." Max's exaggeration pulled a laugh out of William's mother and sister. Usually the smiles on their faces would make his friend bearable but it was too much noise for his poor abused self.

"They are in the carriage that I bought them in, take them and leave. I'll talk to you later." William knew he was being rude but they had been friends for a long time and their friendship was strong enough to survive a few rude encounters.

"I feel like I should point out that if William was a married man, his lady wife would have stopped him before he could drink to such excess. Usually womenfolk are an annoying breed but they do have their uses. Your headache today could have been avoided." Max finished with flourish.

"Dear Crawford, you do know that you just insulted me and Emma, after all, we are women." Lady Hamilton's smile showed that she was not as offended as she would like to be.

"But you and dear Emma are not ordinary woman my lady, you are paragons." William groaned as his mother and sister smiled at Max's incorrigible flirting.

"You can cheer up my friend because tonight you will dance with every fresh out of school chit in a pastel dress. They would hang on your every word because they would love to have a big, strong and rich husband like you." Max quoted the exact thing William's mother had said a month ago, just to annoy him farther.