When an Earl Meets a Girl (Chase Family, #1)

by Lauren Royal

Colin glared at her. “As I was about to say, I know you dislike Priscilla, but I am marrying her. And dangling a penniless commoner in my face, no matter how attractive, isn’t going to change that fact.” “But why? I’ve seen you with Priscilla—you don’t love her, I can tell.” “I don’t want to love her; I’ve told you that. She’s wealthy, she’s pretty, she’s—” “Cold.” Colin ignored that. “—she’s titled—” “As though we care about such things. We’re titled, and what did it get us? Nothing! We were paupers on the Continent, dragged from Paris, to Cologne, to Brussels, Bruges, Antwerp—wherever King Charles wandered. We had no home, no one who really cared about us. People are what matters. Titles are worthless.” “Ah, but that’s where you’re wrong. That title kept us fed, allowed us to tag along with the court, obligated them to take us in. It was all we had, the only thing of value our parents gave us. My children will have no less—and a lot more.” “You’re an earl, for God’s sake. Without the war, the Restoration, I’d understand your mindset. As a second son, if you failed to marry wealth you’d have to live off Jason’s largesse, or take a commission in the military, or a religious vocation.”