Page 45 of A Bride for the Devilish Duke
“Eastwick, I have the services of Madame Rousseau one day longer and have arranged that she works on nothing but Emma’s dresses so that at least her wedding gown is ready come the following week. She is very much in demand and already tells me there will only be time to make it for the nuptials if she begins today. I don't need to tell you how important these preparations are.”
“I had no idea, Your Grace. I was busy with business matters relating to extricating my family from our old house,Sedgewick,as I suppose I must call it now.”
Damien paced the room.
“This marriage is for the sole purpose of restoring my reputation, Eastwick. I have been very candid with you and with your daughter on that score. It becomes an exercise in futility if your family is as chaotic as it seems to be, however,” he seethed.
“I shall have you know, Your Grace, that my family are not given to chaos,” Duncan replied testily. “Emma, furthermore, is a most responsible girl who has always put the needs of her family before her own. It is not like her to flit about like this.”
Damien glared out of the tall windows of the library, to which Elsie had been summoned for any information on where her mistress might have gone.
“I am sure that she will return in an hour or so. Perhaps we should discuss the matters we had planned to engage in while we wait?” Duncan suggested.
“Not right now,” Damien waved dismissively—a ball of tense nerves. “If I do not get Emma to Madame Rousseau today, there shall not be another opportunity. The date of the wedding has been announced and the Regent will expect to see both Emma and myself at our best to give his blessing. Time is short.”
Why would she do this? To sabotage the wedding?
“Where has she gone, Elsie?” Duncan pressed once more, “Did she give any hints?”
Elsie glanced up and Damien saw her determination, barely hidden behind a facade of meekness. When it came to her mistress, she would stand up to a King if need be. Very laudable, but damnably inconvenient at the moment.
“It is important. For her as well as myself,” Damien coaxed, forcing gentleness into his voice, “she deserves this moment of beauty despite her modesty.”
Elsie’s face finally untwisted from a glare to a frown. She eventually sighed. “If I had to guess, I’d believe she will be exploring Hyde Park, Your Grace. She had said how pretty it looks, and how impressive. On a day like this, I think that is where she will be. She always did prefer nature to the bustle of towns.”
Damien inclined his head to her. “Thank you,” he said gratefully. Then he looked to Duncan. “Eastwick, I think we have more chance of finding her if we are many. Myself, yourself, and Rosie and Josie should be able to scout Hyde Park for her rather swiftly. I have told Madame Rousseau that I will bring Emma to her studio for the measurements. Provided we can get them done today, there will still be a wedding to look forward to a week from now.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Emma lifted her skirts and hurried into the cover of a copse of old oak trees. She ducked behind one gnarled and knotted trunk, looking back towards Hyde Park Corner and its grand entrance.
It was there, as she had walked along the Royal Road having completed a circuit of Hyde Park, that she had glimpsed her father. The crowds made it difficult to see but she had recognized his gait and had been close enough to see the determined set of his face. Emma had decided that discretion was the better part of valor and to keep herself out of her father's eye for the moment. She had retreated to the copse before he'd had an opportunity to pick her out of the crowd.
The question is, are you here looking for me or just for a stroll about the park?she thought inwardly as she watched him stride past the very spot in which she had stood when she saw him.
Her answer came soon enough. Duncan was looking from side to side, clearly searching. Emma retreated further into the shadowscast by the trees. She bit her lip as she watched him heading towards Kensington Gardens at the far western end of Hyde Park, resolving to take herself in the opposite direction. Perhaps, explore Knightsbridge or the village of Kensington itself.
There are certainly no shortage of places within this bustling metropolis for me to explore. I wish I could be left alone to discover them!
As she neared the Serpentine, Emma cast a glance around, scanning the passersby and picnickers, her eyes skimming each bonnet and cravat for a familiar face. Damien, perhaps. Or Rosie and Josie.
Her father wouldn’t hesitate to enlist their help—especially if the Duke had given orders. And those two would be only too delighted to parade through Hyde Park, cloaked in the noble duty of finding their wayward sister.
But the paths and lawns held no sign of them.
She lingered at the edge of the trees, then cautiously stepped out toward the river.
Across the still waters, she saw the Ring, where horses were paraded as much as raced, and beyond that, the Guard House and the old Cake Shop—shabbier than she expected. That part of the park was thick with people. Just the place to disappear into a crowd… and perhaps keep walking. Right through to the far side and beyond the city’s reach…
She had only just rounded the curve of the river when a voice stopped her cold.
“Emma? What in God’s name are you doing here?”
She turned sharply. Charles stood just ahead, looking as though he’d seen a ghost.
Her head jerked back at the sight. “I might ask the same of you, brother! Where haveyoubeen?”
He looked... drawn. Pale, with shadows beneath his eyes that hadn't been there the last time she'd seen him.
