Page 28 of Tempting the Earl
She had heard the other guests, and even Philip, speaking about the missing heiress throughout the house party but it had never occurred to her that Philip might somehow be involved in the matter. How could she have found herself in his household? Had he known who she was all along? No, Emily dismissed that possibility. He wouldn’t speak of it in such a way if he knew she was right there. She ought to have paid closer attention when everyone was talking about it, but Emily had been too busy with the mundane matters of being hostess and had dismissed it as idle gossip. Instead, Philip was tied up in it somehow and she couldn’t begin to comprehend her foolishness in finding herself in this situation. Emily felt the shards of her broken heart piercing the inside of her chest. She cried herself to sleep that night; unsure if she cared whether or not tomorrow ever came.
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Emily glared at the sunshine streaming in through her window the next morning. It was shocking to her that the world did not reflect the tragedy she felt. But it helped her realize that this was a personal tragedy. No one would really care, and in fact, no one could even know. She realized she had been right not to trust or confide in anyone and no one could find out how devastated she was because that would give away too much. So she donned her “happy” clothes, the yellow frock she loved so much, and tried to make herself look as decent as possible considering how puffy her eyes were. Laying a cool cloth on them for a moment had helped a bit and looking in the mirror, Emily suspected no one would be able to tell that her heart had been broken the night before.
She went downstairs carrying a sense of gloom, hoping his lordship had already left so she wouldn’t have to face the ordeal of bidding him farewell. Most of the guests were still abed and Emily was happy to find the breakfast room empty; she did not want any witnesses as she forced herself to swallow a few mouthfuls.
Philip walked into the breakfast room and appeared surprised to find another occupant. “Good morning, Emily. You’re up awfully early after such a late night. I’m glad you are. I thought I’d have to leave without saying goodbye.”
Emily felt the colour drain from her face at the sound of his voice and struggled to maintain her composure. She took a deep breath and turned to him. “I am never very successful at sleeping late. Old habits, you know?” She laughed self-consciously before turning back to her plate. She prayed he would not endeavour to engage in conversation but would instead bury his nose in his paper or else hurry through his repast. Her prayer was not answered.
“So are you fully recovered from this ordeal?” Philip asked conversationally.
She almost spilled her coffee before she realized he was talking about the week of entertaining a houseful of company. She smiled wanly at him, popped a bite of toast in her mouth, and just shook her head. She hoped he would dismiss her quietness as the result of too many late nights keeping the guests entertained.
“You needn’t make such an effort to impress my mother, Emily, Miss Spencer, I should say. She is terribly fond of you and thinks you are a godsend. You should relax for the next few days.” Philip’s tone was pure kind solicitousness, not that of a conspirator, leaving Emily further confused.
She was unaccountably touched at his thoughtfulness and felt the shards of her broken heart pierce her chest once again. Emily marvelled that he could seem so kind and concerned when she knew he was a friend of the evil Edwin.
“And I love your mother,” she said a bit chokingly. “I have not run myself ragged, my lord, if that is what you are implying; it is a great pleasure to be able to serve the countess. Next to my own mother, she is the best, kindest woman I have ever met.”
Emily could feel his eyes upon her but forced herself to ignore him. She couldn’t possibly meet his gaze with any sort of politeness. It was a wonder she didn’t throw a pitcher at his head or have a fit of the vapours. She quickly choked down the last of her toast and stood up. “I wish you safe travels, my lord. Perhaps we will meet again.” She made to leave but was stopped by Philip’s soft but meaningful reply.
“You can be sure we shall, Emily.”
Her startled eyes flew to his face before she spun around and ran from the room. She did not stop running until she locked herself in the remotest corner of the attics where she had discovered a litter of kittens the week prior while the house had been a whirl of cleaning activity.
She wept bitterly for many moments, crying out her grief, mourning for her lost love, and wishing her parents were there to guide and comfort her. But one cannot remain depressed in the company of young animals, and she was soon able to dry her tears and eventually the dear little creatures were able to coax a smile to her face once more. She still stayed in the small space until she was able to see, by way of the little window, Philip ride away with Mr. Dale in tow.
She then made her way quietly down to her chamber to wash the tearstains from her face and turn a smile upon the world once more. She was able to go through the motions of helping the guests pack and waving them off with Lady Clara. It had been a tearful parting with the Waddell ladies and Miss Fitzgerald. They had all vowed to keep in touch. Emily was so happy to have made some friends despite the perceived difference in their stations.
There was an awkward moment when the Sedgelys were taking their leave of the countess. It was painfully obvious they were disappointed with the outcome of the visit. They had clearly been hoping Lord Philip would declare his intentions toward Lady Maude during the house party, but it was made abundantly evident that no offer was to be forthcoming. Too secure in their own sense of worth, they were unable to blame their darling daughter for this eventuality and felt that it was somehow the countess’ fault that her son had not come up to scratch. Emily was amazed at their ability to ignore the evidence of their daughter’s mean spirited personality and how they could blame her low count of suitors on everyone but Lady Maude.
The Sedgelys had entered the grand entranceen masseand had stood gazing at Lady Clara somewhat nonplussed, unsure of what to say as they took their leave. Lord Garfield saved the situation with his ever present charm as he stepped forward and bowed before the countess elegantly, kissing her hand with a flourish, and making some amusing comment about the great fun he’d had under her roof.
“You throw a remarkably good party, my lady,” Garfield said with a bow.
Always pleasant, Lady Clara accepted his comments with good grace and the awkwardness was smoothed over as their carriage was waiting and the family was able to exit swiftly and take their leave.
Emily had wisely chosen to remain busy helping the Thorpes and Eastwicks with their packing while Lady Clara bade the Sedgelys goodbye alone. Realizing the incident between herself and Maude while on horseback had probably solidified Philip’s resolve not to offer for the woman made Emily aware it would be a bit too much for the family to deal with trying to be polite to her as they made their exit. With her own highly conflicted emotions involving Philip she could find it in her heart to feel a bit sorry for the cold young woman, and yet she was also highly pleased that Maude would not be the next Countess of Yorkleigh.
It had taken half the day to finally wave off all the guests. Emily had nearly run a path in the stairs as she had once again made herself indispensable to everyone as she fetched and carried helping with all the last minute errands all the guests had. Lady Arabella could not find her favourite bonnet that had ended up being behind the settee in the small salon, while Miss Thorpe had misplaced her parasol in the gazebo in the rose garden. It took quite some time for Emily to find a trace of Lord Brooke’s missing extra pair of Hessians, which had been strangely left in the pantry. Emily felt like she had been running a race without the benefit of a horse by the time they waved off the final guests with a sigh of relief.
After everyone was gone Lady Clara and Emily sat down to a nice cup of tea with their feet on a pillow to discuss the entire event. Emily tried to enter into the conversation with some enthusiasm, but it was a strain. All in all, she had enjoyed the party. It had been a delight to make so many new friends, but once she could sit down to rest, all her sadness over the earl came rushing in to accost her emotions.
The countess could tell that something was wrong with Emily but figured she was just tired and finally put an end to the interlude. The two women parted and found quiet ways to keep themselves occupied for the afternoon. Emily spent her time attacking a weedy patch in the garden and by the time they met together for an early dinner she had her difficult emotions under control once more. The two women returned to the easy camaraderie they had enjoyed all along and spent an enjoyable evening playing backgammon before retiring early to bed.
Chapter Fourteen
Philip and James rode directly from Rosemount towards the estate of Viscount of Ridley. They would have to ride for several hours, but they were determined to get some answers from the shifty lord and had decided that too much time had been wasted already. They arrived at the nearby inn in the early afternoon. Realizing the hospitality at Ridley would be scanty, they decided to stop at the inn for some refreshments before heading over to see the viscount. The landlord, Jimmy as he asked them to call him, was of course delighted to see them again and went out of his way to make them comfortable. Jimmy was a talkative fellow but the two men were not feeling in the best frame of mind to put up with his chatter after their long ride. They felt the need to recuperate a bit so Philip was about to give him a set down when his ears caught what Jimmy was blathering about.
"Guess yer here to see Ridley, ain't yez melord? Lots of goings on out that way, that's fer sure. They's bin turning off some of the servants without so much as a farthing. That ain't right, let me tell ye. An' that Lord Max, he's a right cool one he is, making hisself right at home. He's right angry with Ridley for losing the missy, he is. Yes siree. What bizness are you taking up with those two fer, if I may be so bold to ask ye melord? You seem to be a right downy one, why'd you want to go and get messed up with them?" The inquisitive Jimmy seemed quite puzzled by the matter which prompted him to such forwardness.
"You are quite right, Jimmy. We absolutely would rather not have any business with either of those two men, however we are interested in finding the missing young lady and must therefore put up with the necessary evil. You mentioned Ridley has turned off some of the servants. Would you happen to know what has become of them?"
"Yes siree, I do know. The little missy's old nurse has gone to bide with her sister. She was waiting for them to find the little missy, but now she's gone with a broken heart. None too happy that's fer sure. Sez it's all his lordship's fault that the little missy is gone."
"Really. Why would she say that?" questioned Philip calmly.
