Page 38 of Her Wolf of a Duke

“It would appear that I am quite unwise, as things go,” she laughed nervously. “Are you… are you alright?”

“I do not know how to be. I know I have only known your sister for a short while, and I shan’t claim to love her or any such flights of fancy as that, but I could have loved her. I would have been a good husband to her, even if my rank is not as high as the Viscount’s. I do not know what I did to change her mind.”

“You did nothing wrong. You must know that. Sarah is only– well, our father has expectations, and he has insisted that she follow them.”

“But it was one afternoon! With a man almost thrice her age, I will add. Something has to be wrong with all of this, and I intend to learn what, but she will not speak to me. She is not even here at present.”

“She is in her bedchambers, unwell. That should tell you enough.”

She hoped that he was intelligent enough to know that, while she could not tell him outright, she could lead him to the truth.

“You are not happy about this either, are you?” he asked. “I can see it in your face. You do not want this, and given you want only her happiness, I will assume that she does not either.”

Emma gave him a small and quick nod, as that was all that she could do. At least, she thought, he understood the truth of the matter, even if there was nothing that he could do about it.

“I will fight for her, Miss Kendall,” he promised. “If it makes her happy, I will do what I must. I want only her happiness, and if that does not lie with the Viscount then I will do anything to change that.”

She nodded, thanking him before returning to her friends. There wasn’t much that Lord Rosendale could do, but it was more than Emma could. He was, after all, a man.

“Is he all right?” Dorothy asked gingerly. “We have heard whispers.”

“Of an arranged marriage?” she laughed emptily. “Yes, I am not surprised.”

The three ladies looked at her in shock. Cecilia was the closest to anger of the three of them, but none of them had any emotion stronger than their surprise.

“That poor girl,” Cecilia muttered. “Let us hope that he is at least a good man, because he does not have many other things in his favor.”

“It is my fault,” Emma whispered. “I pushed our father too far by being a spinster, I know I did. I simply thought he would give me more time, but he was given an offer and now… I shall never forgive myself.”

“None of this is because of you!” Dorothy exclaimed. “It is your father that made the deal, and so the blame lies completely with him. He has made his choice, and it is as Cecilia says. Perhaps he is not a bad man, and he will be a good husband to her in the end?”

“Or,” Beatrice said slyly, “Sarah will find her own way out of all of this.”

“What do you mean?”

“When an animal is cornered, and it has nowhere to go, you mustn’t be surprised if it bites. I am not saying that Sarah is ananimal, but I am saying that if she feels she has no way out of this, she may take matters into her own hands.”

Emma trembled, dreading the thought of what her sister might do to escape her fate. Beatrice was smiling, optimistic as always about what Sarah would do.

Emma, on the other hand, was terrified.

CHAPTER 13

Emma wondered if Sarah would hide away until the time came to return home, but the following morning she was at breakfast again.

She wanted to shield her from the knowledge that there was gossip surrounding her apparent engagement, but she already knew that such attempts would be futile. It would reach her eventually, and it was better for her to hear of it sooner rather than later.

“Would you mind chaperoning a walk?” she asked Emma quietly as they dressed for the day. “Father has requested that I walk with the Viscount, and we both know that his request is truly a command.”

“Certainly. If you wish, I can remain beside you and we can talk so that the Viscount does not manage to say a single thing.”

Sarah laughed sadly at that.

“I believe I am in enough trouble as it is. Besides, if I am to be his wife, I would at least like to know about him. Perhaps he has a large family, too?”

Emma bit her lip. At his age, it was unlikely.

“Did you like that Lord Rosendale was one of seven?”

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