To Enchant an Icy Earl: Cavendish Brothers, #2

By Catherine Gayle

As the Earl of Fordingham, Tristan Cavendish has lived by the code his father beat into him for so long he’s driven everyone in his life away, including his brother. Now he is alone. Loneliness dictates he must change, so he sets out to make amends with his only sibling. Alas, his brother seems none too inclined to hear him out, and a woman who must be a vision from Fordingham’s dreams walks into his path. Now, more than ever before, he knows he must change his ways or risk driving her away as well…but how?

Calista Bartlett is on the hunt for a husband—but one who is nothing at all like the betrayer who was her former beau. When she sees the Earl of Fordingham across the room at a soiree, she knows she’s found the very man who is everything her one-time beau was not. Fordingham presents an icy façade to the world, but Calista discovers a passionate man who kisses her feverishly and warms her through to the bones. Can she ever convince him to let down his guard permanently?

***This novella of approximately 19,000 words was previously published in the anthology A Season to Remember and the collection Charming and Just a Bit Disarming.***

• Language: English
• Publisher: Night Shift Publishing
• Release date: Jul 22, 2013
• ISBN: 9780989674416

Catherine Gayle

Catherine Gayle is a USA Today bestselling author of more than thirty contemporary hockey romance and Regency-set historical romance novels and novellas, with more than half a million books sold. She’s a transplanted Texan living in North Carolina with two extremely spoiled felines. In her spare time, she watches way too much hockey and reality TV, plans fun things to do for the Nephew Monster’s next visit, and performs experiments in the kitchen which are rarely toxic. Sign up for her newsletter to receive a free Portland Storm short story called ICE BREAKER, available only to newsletter subscribers. http://eepurl.com/GXcwr

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The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

To Enchant an Icy Earl

Copyright © 2012 by Catherine Gayle

Originally published in the anthology A SEASON TO REMEMBER

Also published in the collection CHARMING AND JUST A BIT DISARMING

Cover Design by Adrienne Thorne

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without written permission.

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As the Earl of Fordingham, Tristan Cavendish has lived by the code his father beat into him for so long he’s driven everyone in his life away, including his brother. Now he is alone. Loneliness dictates he must change, so he sets out to make amends with his only sibling. Alas, his brother seems none too inclined to hear him out, and a woman who must be a vision from Fordingham’s dreams walks into his path. Now, more than ever before, he knows he must change his ways or risk driving her away as well…but how?

Calista Bartlett is on the hunt for a husband—but one who is nothing at all like the betrayer who was her former beau. When she sees the Earl of Fordingham across the room at a soiree, she knows she’s found the very man who is everything her one-time beau was not. Fordingham presents an icy façade to the world, but Calista discovers a passionate man who kisses her feverishly and warms her through to the bones. Can she ever convince him to let down his guard permanently?

***This novella of approximately 19,000 words is published in the collection Charming and Just a Bit Disarming.***

TO ENCHANT AN ICY EARL is the second and final novella in the Cavendish Brothers series. The first is AN UNINTENDED JOURNEY. The Cavendish Brothers novellas are also linked to the Bexley-Smythe Quintet.

Fordingham, you look like you could use a drink. Viscount Dering made to clap a hand over Fordingham’s shoulder, but stopped himself just before he made contact—most likely due to the frosty glare aimed squarely in his direction. "Come, we’ll play a hand of Vingt-et-un. Get foxed together. Put a little life in your eyes."

But little did Dering know that Tristan Cavendish, the fourth Earl of Fordingham, had no desire to get foxed or play cards, or do anything else whatsoever with the viscount tonight…or ever at all, for that matter. Whether it was possible to put a little life in his eyes or not was a matter Fordingham held in sincere doubt. He briefly passed his gaze over the entirely-too-jovial man, lifting a single eyebrow in practiced and perfected disdain, and then stoically returned his attention to the entryway to Godfrey House. Not tonight.

Running off to the card room would be counter-productive. He was here tonight for one reason and one reason only: to compel his wayward brother Wesley to meet with him, by force if necessary. Doing so would require Fordingham to be present amongst the other revelers here at the soiree upon Wesley’s arrival. It would be entirely too easy otherwise for the younger brother to learn of the elder’s presence and subsequently make his escape, with Fordingham being none the wiser until it was too late.

As that very thing had already happened in some manner or another twice since the Little Season began, Fordingham had no intention of allowing another opportunity to slip through his fingers.

Dering, however, did not scamper off as he ought to have done after Fordingham’s dismissal of him. Instead, he let out something which sounded distinctly like a chuckle. You can’t think to stand there scowling all night. You’ll scare off all the ladies.

Fordingham turned the full weight of his aforementioned scowl upon the cloyingly affable gentleman who refused to leave him be but did not deign to respond.

The glare finally obtained the much-sought-after success. Dering gave a twitchy inclination of his head and then left with no further interruption to Fordingham’s solitary objective.

With one hand, Fordingham reached up and adjusted his cravat—not that such an adjustment was necessary. His cravat was perfectly knotted, as always. He would never have left the confines of his London home otherwise. Straightening the neck cloth simply gave him something to do other than stand stock-still and stare with his oh-so-dreadful scowl at the other inhabitants of the room. Perhaps he would draw less attention if he weren’t so thoroughly imperturbable—if he did something with himself. At least that was the reasoning he used within his own mind for his actions.

Alas, adjusting the cravat took a mere moment to complete, and then he was yet again standing with his back to the wall with his hands clasped behind him and an impassive expression fixed upon his countenance.

A few others drew close to him including Godfrey, the host for the night’s soiree. Fordingham paid none of them any mind, and soon enough they all left. Just as everyone and everything in his life had always done.

Finally he saw Wesley, with his wife at his side, coming through the entryway. In atypical fashion, Fordingham actually noticed the chit first. Her dull brown hair and shy demeanor made her easy to recognize as the Pritchards’ housemaid who’d been only too happy to aid Wesley’s rapid descent into madness.

Admittedly, that wasn’t a fair assessment of her character. She was no longer