Page 19 of The Hellion and the Captain
“My former maid lives nearby. You can go to her house.”
“I am not risking?—”
“She works elsewhere now. There is no threat, and she was always discreet – with the right bribes.”
“Lily, this is ridiculous.”
“Make your excuses and go,” she said. “Besides, if you stay like this long enough, sitting across from Colin, hewillfigure it out. Which would make my life easier, but the choice is yours.”
“Very well,” Emmaline said with a sigh. “You leave first as I’m sure Colin is lying in wait. Oh, can you imagine if he suspects an affair between the two of us?”
They started laughing and had to clamp their hands over their mouths to keep the sound from carrying.
“I’ll see you soon – as Emmaline,” Lily whispered, motioning Emmaline out of the way before joining Colin beyond the door.
“Thank you for waiting, darling,” she said in a loud voice, and Emmaline waited a moment before leaving herself.
This was quite the predicament she had found herself in.
And it was only just beginning.
Chapter Seven
Rhys was annoyed.
He thought he had made the importance of spending time with the team clear to Williams. The man had done as he had asked – he had showed up – but after an hour of mostly sitting among them and commenting now and then without revealing anything about himself, he had disappeared for ten minutes, reappearing only to say farewell, telling them that he had a family matter he had to see to and that he looked forward to next practice.
Rhys didn’t even know the man had a family. He looked far too young to have children, but perhaps he just had one of those faces.
Rhys also couldn’t help the bit of jealousy that twinged deep within his stomach when he thought of Williams returning to a wife and children. While he was aware that no one would likely have ever guessed it, it was a life that he had always envisioned for himself, but as of yet, it had not come to fruition.
It wasn’t for lack of trying. But so far, every young woman he had allowed close had turned out to either be with himbecause he had made something of himself and she was trying to escape her own dire situation, or she became so agreeable to anything he said that he became bored to the point that he couldn’t stand anymore time in her company.
They all thought him to be a cad when he ended things, but he considered that he was doing them a kindness for snipping it off sooner rather than later.
He liked when he was challenged, when he was pushed a little bit.
It was why he loved football so much. He could never relax, never become complacent.
His head followed the sound of the tavern door opening, but he wasn’t paying much attention – at least, not until he realized just who had walked in.
Emmaline Whitmore.
She never dressed in excess of the fashion of the day – at least not that he had ever seen. Her bustles were typically modest, her gowns subdued yet still made of a high-quality fabric.
Tonight was an exception. She wore an ill-fitting, faded blue gown, the dull fabric clearly patched and mended in a few places, the seams straining across the bodice and her hips.
She was still the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
It was an admission that he refused to share with anyone, for it was a foolish sentiment. Despite having witnessed his friend recently marry the daughter of a viscount, he was well aware that he had nothing to offer a woman like Miss Whitmore.
Besides, she drove him crazy. She would be fun to spend time with, but he could hardly imagine putting up with her spunk on a daily basis.
“Emmaline!” Lily exclaimed from beside him, and she rose as her friend joined them. Miss Whitmore smiled widely, but it appeared forced to Rhys. Was that nervousness he saw in herexpression? He had no idea what she would have to fear from any of them.
Unless…
“Did you arrive here alone?” he asked suddenly, and she looked over to him, quirking an eyebrow that seemed darker than he remembered.
