Page 69 of Emma & Edmund

"No."

His baffled look was almost as delicious as the low growl she could only just barely hear. The only thing more satisfying than throwing herself into his embrace, all sense of decency swept away, would be to turn on her heel and whisk herself away. And that's exactly what she did.

Her heart soared when the rapid, heavy footsteps of him hot on her heels thundered through the room.

And so it went, as the evening dragged on, so too did Edmund pursue Emma through his estate, her giddy grin hardly hidden.

Briefly, early in the evening, Jonathan had emerged from the smokey rooms with the billiards tables, practically dragging Edmund inside. It was the last Emma saw her brother cognizant that evening, laughing about how, if Edmund continued his behavior, the Thompsons would have a marriage contract before the night was through.

Emma drowned the thought with a glass of port.

As lubricated as the partygoers were, the excitement bled into every corner.

When Emma finally settled in a drawing room chair, feet pounding and knees unstable, the seats around her immediately filled, girls clustering around her with fervent eyes.

"All right," Grace Campbell slid up next to her on the sofa, "what wasthat?"

"What do you mean?" Emma asked innocently, lost in the game.

"That dance!" Victoria Tate practically screeched, enough so that Tobin Crosgrove beside her seemed frightened for his life. "Come now, we're not blind dear, even if we're being exceedingly kind."

"Oh, stop it," Grace waved her off, "none of us would have behaved any differently, and the older ones aren't making any fuss. Lucky you, Emma. Already one step ahead of us with the very handsome Edmund Lockhart."

"Handsome?" Emma couldn't stop herself, curiosity seizing her. "What does he look like?"

A burst of laughter engulfed the assembly around the couches.

"Coy girl," Grace swatted at her wrist, "pretending as if you weren't nose to nose with the man."

"But hedoeslook like a man to you all?" Emma asked, desperate to confirm the illusion cast over Edmund. Was he simply, momentarily, accepted as he was? Or did he appear as every other man there did - with pale skin, whites in his eyes, and teeth that fit within the confines of his mouth?

The thought was boring once it was born. Could they even see the breadth of his arms, the width of his shoulders? His overwhelming height?

"Of course!" Victoria exclaimed, leaning over the back of the sofa to look at Emma properly. "How dare such a man hide himself away until now?"

"I doubt anybody has ever gained those features by sickness," Grace added.

“Do you doubt his illness, Miss Campbell?" Tobin Crosgrove asked, speaking for the first time since the forum commenced.

"I don't mean to accuse, but he looks like he's been just waiting for the moment to make his grand entrance. Not that I could blame him, of course."

"Perhaps he was just dying for it." A new voice joined them, two hands bracing themselves on either side of Emma's shoulders. Warmth rolled through Emma as his smell wrapped around her, earthy and soapy all at once. A fresh hint of minty aftershave was a nice touch.

"Ah! Lord Lockhart, finally!" Tobin shot out of the small sofa so quickly that Victoria nearly fell off from the sudden shift, a fresh relief shining from his smile.

"Mr. Crosgrove, a pleasure. I've heard quite a bit about you and your brother."

"Oh, have you? Perhaps we can solidify this new-found friendship over a game of cards?"

"Perhaps later. For now, I have come to retrieve Miss Thompson for the next number."

"Anotherdance?" Grace Campbell's eyebrows shot into her hairline. "Lord Lockhart, you do know there are quite a few women here who would like a moment with you?"

"Hm," Edmund hummed, rounding the seating area to offer a hand to Emma, who gladly accepted, "I wouldn't think those women would sequester themselves in a corner, should that be the case."

"They could just be waiting for you to take notice and fetch them."

"It seems I have accomplished just that, then." While the pleasant grin he tossed to the group was meant to placate them, Emma didn't miss the way the mood soured.

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