Page 37 of Choosing Her Earl at Last
Mr. Hardy stepped forward to intervene, but was stopped short by Colin stepping between him and the arguing couple.
“They need to work this out themselves,” he informed the butler, not allowing for argument in his tone. “She needs to understand.”
Further inflamed by hearing this, Emmeline lashed out with her free hand and slapped Michael hard across the face. “You smug bastard!” she seethed, tears streaming down her cheeks as she pulled back to strike again. “I will not allow any man to control me ever again!”
Michael caught her hand mid strike, holding it fast. “Did it not ever occur to you that I am trying to protect you because I care about you!” The passionate force of his own words surprised even him. “I do not wish to control you. I have never wished to control you, only to keep you safe.”
An awkward silence fell upon the group as they stood there staring into each other’s eyes. The murderous fire that had been blazing in Emmeline’s eyes faded to a tiny ember. “You care for me?”
“I would have thought that it was obvious,” Michael murmured, dropping her hands and taking a step back. His heart felt as if it had been used for a punching bag. “If you care nothing for my own concern, at least have compassion for your mother and what it would do to her should she lose another daughter.”
“The loss would kill her,” Emmeline admitted, stumbling back a step from the sudden release.
“Would you be responsible for such a demise?”
Emmeline shook her head. “I would not.”
“Then please do as I ask and remain here. I swear to you that I will do all in my power to find her and that I will report everything that we find back to you. I will not ignore a single detail. Of this, you have my word.”
“I will stay,” Emmeline whispered, the look in her eyes one of defeat. As Michael turned to leave, she reached out and stopped him with a hand to his arm. Turning back to face her, he found her hand slipping into his. “Please take care of yourself. Be safe. Do not place your lives in danger. There are people who would be broken should anything happen to you.”
“I promise to proceed with caution. I will not take any unnecessary risks.” He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.
Nodding, Emmeline returned the squeeze then withdrew her hand. “Wait one moment,” she requested, as she left the drawing room. Michael and Colin exchanged a questioning look as they awaited her return. Upon reentering the drawing room, Emmeline crossed over to stand in front of Michael.
Taking his hand in hers once more, she turned it so that the palm was facing up. He felt a small tremble in her hands, and he searched her face questioningly. Taking a deep breath, she laid a small wooden box in his hand.
Opening it, Michael found a traveler’s compass.
“It was my father’s,” she explained, tears in her eyes. “Rebecca and I gave it to him so that he would always be able to find his way home. He used to say that it was his lucky talisman that protected him with his daughters’ love.”
“Emmeline, I cannot take this,” Michael argued. “It is far too precious.” The compass was not expensive in its intrinsic value, but he recognized its invaluable sentimental worth.
“Just as it brought Father home to us so many times, may it also bring you, Colin, and Rebecca back home.” Tears slipping down her cheeks, she withdrew a handkerchief from her sleeve. Her hands were trembling with so much emotion that she dropped the cloth on the floor at Michael’s feet. They both bent down at the same time, their hands touching as they grasped the clean white fabric.
To his surprise, Michael saw that it was his handkerchief that she had been carrying. He looked up, their eyes meeting and holding. Time stood still as emotions washed over them.Michael’s body responded to her, desire awakening and flooding his being.
In that moment, he wanted more than anything to draw her into his arms and kiss her. His heart raced, thundering in his ears, drowning out everything else around them until Colin’s voice called out from the hallway beyond.
“Michael, we need to go. We will need every moment of daylight to get through this list.” His voice held irritation, his desire to find Rebecca as quickly as possible causing him to speak with impatience.
“Coming,” Michael called back as he stood, handing her back the handkerchief. Inclining his head in a respectful, heartfelt farewell, he turned and left the drawing room.
As Colin and Michael descended the stairs to the street and their waiting carriage, Colin gave Michael a questioning frown. “What did I just witness between you and Emmeline?”
Michael shook his head. “Nothing,” he lied, not for the sake of deception, but for self-preservation.
“Michael,” Colin’s tone told him that he did not believe him for a moment.
Michael shook his head again. “Leave it,” he commanded. “We have more important things to contend with at this moment.”
Colin nodded. “When you are ready to talk, I am here to listen.”
Michael gave a quick nod in acknowledgement of his cousin’s loving gesture, then stepped inside the carriage, instructing the coachman to take them to one of the seediest streets in London.
He turned his gaze to the wooden box in his hand. Opening it, he watched as the needle moved with every turn of the carriage, taking him further and further from the woman that, in spite of his best efforts to feel otherwise, he still loved.
No,his heart breathed in agony.I cannot bear such pain again. I will never allow myself to love anyone that way ever again.
