Page 7 of It's In The Duke's Kiss
Emma wasn’t at all certain if it would help to nod or not. She caught Mary’s eye, and Mary gave her a barely perceptible shake of her head before putting her arm around Mother, who was now sniffling.
“Come, Mother. You need to lie down.”
Mother nodded as Mary led her out the door. “Yes, but just for a bit. We must pack to leave for the country. We must take ourselves away from here so perhaps people will not think so much onthe incidentif we’re gone.”
Mother’s voice faded as Mary led her away from the bedchamber. Emma flopped back onto the bed and glared up at the ceiling. It hardly seemed fair that one should be ruined for simply falling through ice. If she was going to be ruined, she should have at least been kissed by Nathaniel—or rather Nathan, as he’d told her to call him. If she was going be ruined—she jerked up to a sitting position—and sent away to America, she should at the very least go see Nathan before she was sent away and thank him for saving her. She was more certain than ever that they would suit, and who knew what might happen if she went to see him. Maybe he was certain they would suit, as well.
Her heart raced and her pulse hammered as his beautiful face flashed in her mind. She could still see the concern in his light-brown eyes when she’d opened hers after being pulled out of the Serpentine. He’d risked himself to save her. She could clearly feel him scooping her into his arms and carrying her off the ice. Her heart fluttered thinking upon it as she stood, marched to her wardrobe, and rummaged around for her most suitable walking slippers.
“I don’t think this is a good idea, Lady Emmaline,” her lady’s maid, Beatrice, said. “If your mother finds out—”
Emma stopped her rushed pace and turned to Beatrice, who had been walking behind her. Beatrice’s brown curls had come out of her white cap and her cheeks were red from Emma’s rushing them to the Duke of Blackbourne’s townhome, where she was certain Nathan would be. Emma would slow down, only she wasn’t sure how long Mary could keep Mother in her room. And waiting to see Nathan was out of the question. Mary had calmed Mother, so the worry of being sent to America to live with Mother’s cousin was gone, but they were leaving for the country in the morning. Who knew when Emma would see Nathan again? Mother may not let her out of the house for the rest of her life.
Emma cleared her throat as Beatrice stared at her. “Please don’t tell me you feel obliged to confess our outing to my mother?”
“Heavens no!” Beatrice exclaimed. “I’m just worried, my lady. Your mother does frighten me. I’d hate for her to dismiss me if she were to find out.”
“You need not worry about that. All her anger is directed at me right now. Besides, if she did find out, I’d simply tell her that I lied to you and told you I had permission. She’d not let you go if she thought that were the case,” Emma replied and then spun on her heel and continued toward the Duke of Blackbourne’s home.
She stopped in front of the imposing gray structure, the largest house in Mayfair as far as the eye could see, and glanced up at the front door. “Wait here,” she instructed Beatrice, who had come to stand beside her, and then Emma made her way up the few stairs to the front door.
Taking a deep breath, she lifted her hand to knock, but the door swung open and out came the Duke of Blackbourne himself. She was so surprised by his sudden appearance that it didn’t register in her mind that he didn’t see her until he ran directly into her. She started to stumble backward, but he dropped the letter he’d been reading, reached out, and yanked her close to steady her.
She staggered forward at his powerful tug and instinctively threw her palms up, which landed against the duke’s surprisingly hard chest. She blinked as she stared straight ahead at his fine kerseymere coat, and when she tilted her head up to apologize, she found him gazing at her with narrowed, speculative gray eyes that matched the color of his coat. His gaze flicked past her to where Emma knew Beatrice was standing and then returned to Emma. He took a step back and released her.
“Your Grace!” a silver-haired man in full livery exclaimed as he rushed out the door. “I’m terribly sorry! I didn’t know we had a visitor. Should I—”
The Duke of Blackbourne held up his hand. “You should go inside. Lady Emmaline is here to see me.”
Emma took a breath to explain who she was really here to call upon, but he gave her a quelling look that only a dull-witted fool wouldn’t recognize as a command for silence. Very well, she’d keep quiet for a moment.
The butler nodded as he disappeared inside the house and shut the door.
“I’m glad to see you fully recovered,” the duke said, “but I find it very unwise that you would sneak away from your home and come here.”
Emma’s jaw dropped open. “What makes you think—”
“Notthink, Lady Emmaline,know,” he interrupted. “I’m sure your mother, having successfully navigated within thetonfor so many years, is astute enough to realize it’s not wise for you to be anywhere near my brother right now. Your presence here, if noted by any of the gossipmongers, will fan their flaming tongues and they’ll scorch you with cruel words and destroy your future. Do you want your future destroyed?”
“It depends on what that future holds,” she retorted, annoyed by his chiding tone. Yet the minute she thought upon her retort, her stomach clenched in horror. Blast! She could not fathom what had possessed her to say such a thing to the Duke of Blackbourne, one of the most influential men in theton. Given the way his mouth parted and he tugged a hand through his thick, black hair, she suspected he couldn’t imagine what had come over her, either.
An errant giggle escaped her lips. Wonderful! Her nervous problem was starting. She quirked her mouth, but it was no use. As the duke stared at her and slowly raised his eyebrows, her giggles grew until she felt her nostrils flare in a desperate attempt to control herself. She took a deep breath and managed to choke out, “I simply came to thank Nathan—”
His Grace’s eyebrows shot high.
Emma’s cheeks burned at her blunder. “Er, your brother, Lord Nathaniel, for rescuing me.”
“Rescuing you?” The duke sounded incredulous. That was odd.
She cleared her throat. “Yes, that’s generally what one calls it, I do believe, when one is pulled out of icy water by another. If it weren’t for your brother, I’d be dead.”
The duke’s face grew dark, cloudy, and rather angry looking. Honestly, he was handsome with his powerful build, strong jaw, and full lips, but even with his title, money, and beauty, she could not fathom why any lady with sense would try to catch him for a husband. He was so stern and cold. But, apparently, since he was so sought after, most ladies were senseless. His dark eyebrows drew together. “If it weren’t for my brother, you never would have nearly drowned.”
That was true. Nathan had talked her into skating onto the thinner ice, yet she could have said no, so she couldn’t very well blame him. She didn’t think the duke would appreciate her viewpoint, however. “May I see him please?”
“No.” The word was not cold, but it was not warm, either. It was breezy, as if he was struggling to contain his anger.
She tilted her head. “No?”
