Page 86 of A Bride for the Devilish Duke
Emma was reminded of Elsie when they had first met. When Elsie had been a competent nurse, taking charge of Emma while she recovered. Elsie as a lady’s maid was different but now that first Elsie had come to the fore once again. Emma did not mind. She hurried to obey.
As Elsie had further tested the man's pulse, she had moved his long graying hair aside. It had revealed a face that was a mirror to Damien. A mirror which reflected an older man, much marked by the world. His face was lined and haggard but undoubtedly the face of Damien's close kin.
A brother? It could not be his father, even under all that gray hair and the lines on his face, he does not look old enough.
And besides, Damien's father was dead.
But he had never spoken of a living brother, and if that is what this man was, then he was older than Damien. And an older brother would be the rightful heir...
What has Damien done?
Swallowing her burgeoning fears, she focused on her instructions. Blankets were found in a chest against one wall. She handed them to Elsie who wrapped them around the man. Emma found a box of firewood and added several logs to the fitful fire until it was roaring. The man stirred, raising a hand, and moaning as though in protest, but Elsie soothed him.
“We must make him more comfortable. There is no bed here. Is there another room?” Elsie asked.
Emma tried the room's only door. Beyond was a tiny bedchamber with another door on the other side. This led to a long and dusty stone corridor with windows that looked down on trees that brushed the sides of the house.
Returning to the first room, she tried to help Elsie lift the man. But despite his gaunt frame, he was too heavy for them, being of the same long-legged and broad-shouldered frame as Damien.
“I… I will get Damien. We will not be able to move him without help,” Emma muttered with conviction.
Her maid’s eyes immediately widened. “But what if His Grace has something to do with his condition?”
Emma inhaled a shaky breath. “I am not afraid of my husband. There must be a reasonable explanation for this.”
She stood for a moment, breath trembling in her throat, before she turned and left the chamber.
She did not run—but it was close.
She found Damien on the south lawn where makeshift targets had been set up in the form of pieces of firewood atop a wall. Charles was pacing away from the wall before turning and taking careful aim.
A blast split the air. A splinter of stone leaped from the wall, but the wood atop it remained untouched.
“Try again,” Damien said flatly. “Do not rush it. Turn and take careful aim—breathe out. The man who simply tries to be first to fire will miss. So make your shot count, because your opponent surely will.”
Charles nodded grimly, reloading the pistol. Emma had never seen her brother looking so solemn or so resolute before. If his life were not at stake, she might have been glad of it. Damien became aware of her and turned.
“Husband, I must speak to you.Urgently.”
He studied her for a beat. Then handed off the pistol to Charles with a clipped nod.
“Carry on, Charles. I will return momentarily.”
Emma began leading him some distance from the makeshift shooting range. Her mouth was dry and she felt breathless, heart pounding.
More secrets. And this time it is a man living in the house in which I live. A man who has never been mentioned and is certainly a member of Damien’s family. And yet I can only feel my husband withholds even more secrets from me…
“One of the maids heard some strange sounds from a floor above our quarters that I did not even know existed,” she began tentatively. “I went to explore and found a secret door in the stairwell, and... themanupstairs.”
Damien stopped walking.
She tried to keep fear from her voice, to keep her tone from being accusatory. Emma wanted the truth and knew that hesitancy would be met with anger. Demands would be met with a brick wall. She waited for signs of fury from Damien—or worse, the signs of a guilty man caught. She did not want to believe her husband was capable of holding another person prisoner in such conditions.
He is a good man, and there is an explanation for this. There must be!
For a moment, there was nothing. No words. Not even a breath.
Then Damien moved past her. Not hurried. But fast enough that she had to pivot sharply to follow him.
