Chapter 2
Southwell, England
Charles Wellington, the Earl of Southwell, had endeavoured in all his years to live a good life. He had been an obedient son to his parents, had sought to make them proud in all his ways, and he had. They had died, their hearts gladdened in him and the man he had made of himself. He had done right by his late wife, Marylyn. The moment he had laid his eyes upon her, he had asked to court her and she had swiftly accepted. For three months, they had courted and in those three months, Charles had fallen deeply in love with her beauty, her grace and her charm. Certain that no other woman would own his heart the way Marylyn had, he had presented her a ring at the end of their three-month courtship, and had asked her to be his wife.
That day had been one of the ha
