Page 89 of Never a Bride
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Only after Edmund had handed over a substantial amount of money were they allowed to retire once more to their private dining chamber. Emmeline stared down at her food, but didn’t feel hungry anymore.
“What are you doing here?” Alex asked, handing Edmund a tankard of cider. “I’ve wondered where you were—you’ve been gone almost a month.”
“Did you even send a missive tracking me down?” Edmund asked darkly.
“Well…I’ve been distracted.”
Both men turned to look at her, and she glared at them.
Edmund drained half his tankard, then rubbed his forehead. He looked tired for such a short fight.
“I did successfully journey to Cumberland,” he began slowly. “In fact, I just paid the innkeeper with your money.”
“So I assumed,” Alex said as he accepted a heavy pouch from his friend. “My thanks for this.”
He reached into the pouch, then laid a few coins on the table before Emmeline.
She stared from the coins to him in outrage. “What is this for?”
“You paid for the meal,” he answered, giving her a befuddled look before he turned back to his friend. “Edmund, what have you been doing all this time?”
Emmeline hugged herself and stared at the two men without caring what they said. Alex kept glancing at her, his face impassive, but she knew him well enough now to see the worry.
Edmund looked down. “I took my time, I’ll admit. And then when I returned to London, Elizabeth would no longer see me.”
Elizabeth?Emmeline thought.
“Those men were the Langston brothers,” Edmund continued. “I recently started following them, though I did not connect them to you. Did they admit that they’re the ones who’ve been hounding you?”
“Yes.”
“Did they tell you why?”
“They said I’d seduced their sister Elizabeth, and that they were going to make me marry her.” He hesitated. “I knew immediately that they meantyourElizabeth, but I didn’t admit it. I would never implicate you.”
Emmeline gaped at him, realizing how easily he’d lied to the Langstons.
“Don’t you see, Alex, this wager has gone too far!” Edmund said.
There was a horrible silence as she fought to understand their words.Wager?
“Edmund—” Alex began.
“They mistook you for me,” Edmund said heavily. He gave Emmeline an apologetic glance. “Forgive me for saying such crude things in front of you, Lady Emmeline, but you deserve to know what kind of man I am.” He glanced back at Alex. “I let it go too far. What was supposed to be a kiss ended in…seduction. What I don’t understand is why they think you’re me. If Elizabeth told them this much, why didn’t she explain it all?”
Emmeline sank down heavily in a chair, trying to work through her confusion. Shouldn’t she be relieved that the culprit wasn’t Alex? But how could she feel better, when he practically admitted it could have been him? And what was this wager that played with women’s lives?
“I’ll insist that Elizabeth talk to me,” Edmund was saying. “She shouldn’t bear any dishonor for my actions.”
“Are you ready to marry her?” Alex asked.
“If that is what she wants.”
Alex nodded, then turned to look at Emmeline intently. She returned his stare with a coolness that surprised her.
“Edmund, would you mind waiting out in the taproom? Em and I need to talk.”
