by Fanny Finch
“I am so sorry, my lord,” she said through her tears. “I do not wish to act inappropriately in your presence.”
“My lady, you are safe now. You must not fear anymore.”
“It is not my safety that has made me cry, though I do thank you for what you have done, my lord. I must… I must return home at once. My sister Katherine must be devastated at this loss.”
The Duke of Lox frowned. “My dear lady, of what do you speak?”
Emma stared at him. Realization and hope dawned on her. She blinked at him. “Is my father… Has he…”
The Duke of Lox raised his eyebrows swiftly. “My lady, your father lives and is comfortable in his bed in Corning Manor. That is, however, how I left him as recently as two hours ago. You must not quake. He is waiting to see you.”
Emma’s relief once again flooded her face. “Oh, my lord, thank you for telling me. Thank you for coming to get me. However on earth did you know where to find me?”
“I did not know. This was an idea God gave to me and I was led down his path to you.”
“I thank my Lord above then, and also you for your intelligence and perseverance, my lord.”
The Duke of Lox smiled at her. “Please, my lady, get to your feet. We will leave this place.”
He stood up and held his hand out to her. She placed her fingers only in his palm and lifted herself to her feet. He pulled a handkerchief from his upper breast pocket and handed it to her. She took it, released his hand and dabbed at her wet cheeks.
“You are quite damp, my lady.” The Duke of Lox was grinning at her. She smiled back at him prettily. His heart melted at the look she was giving him.
“My father is truly still alive?” she asked breathlessly. He could hear the relief in her voice.
“Yes, my lady, as of two hours ago. He is waiting for you.”
“What will we do with Lord Carne?” Emma looked around him at the man, still lying unconscious on the floor of the landing.
The Duke of Lox turned and looked at him. “The constable is on his way. We shall wait for him.”
“How will we get him down the stairs? What if he wakes up?”
The Duke of Lox grinned at her. “My lady, I am larger than Lord Carne. He does not scare me but I do feel he is intimidated by me. He will do as I ask.”
She blinked up at him. “All right, my lord. I do wish to be home as soon as I can be. My father must be very worried. Have you seen the Duchess of Corning? She is the one who brought me here. She insists I marry Lord Carne but I… I cannot marry him. How wretched it would be if I was to wed a man I did not cherish?”
“I do hope you will accept my proposal, my lady,” the Duke of Lox replied softly. “As your father has given his blessing for us to wed.”
Emma sucked in a deep breath, a pleasant chill traveling over her body. “Did he tell you this last night?”
The Duke of Lox nodded. “Yes. I was anxious to tell you but you had already retired when the Duke of Rabney and I left. It was not until your sister’s visit to Brisbourne early this morning that I became aware of the situation.”
Emma’s eyes widened. “Katherine?”
“Yes. She came to my house this morning to tell me that you had gone missing.”
Emma blinked rapidly, trying to fathom how Katherine could have figured it out so quickly.
“She is a very observant girl, Lady Wentworth. She noticed that your bedsheets were such a way that you had not left the bed willingly. She also observed that you and your step-mother rarely, if ever, did anything alone together. She also overheard a conversation between the duchess and Lord Carne that she dismissed until today.”
“I do not understand why the duchess has done this. She…” Emma stopped, wondering if she should tell the Duke of Lox what Lord Carne had said. She was not upset about it and had already convinced herself it was a lie. But she was hesitant to tell him of the rumor, as it may hurt him.
He tilted his head to the side. “What is it, my lady?”
Emma pressed her lips together before speaking. “She told Lord Carne that you have a reputation as quite a rake in other parts of London and in the country surrounding us. She told him that I would be just another woman in your harem.”
“Women in my harem…” The Duke of Lox looked up in the air, a wondering look on his face. “I have perhaps always wondered what having a harem would be like.”
Emma’s eyes grew wide and he laughed.
“I kid you, my lady. Once I give my heart to a woman, she has it as her own.” He pulled in a deep breath. “I have never given it away, Lady Wentworth. Until now.”
She smiled lovingly at him. “I have never loved before either, my lord. I am glad you decided to attend the ball this season.”
He nodded. “As am I.”
They both turned and walked to the landing. The duke bent down to pick up Lord Carne and sling him over his shoulder.
“If he wakes up, you may fall down the stairs in your struggle with him,” Emma said.
“I see no other way to get him down.”
Emma said nothing more, leading the way down the stairs. The Duke of Lox kept his eye on her as they went to make sure she did not slip. She was not wearing any shoes, only the light fabric stockings she had worn to bed. She stepped carefully and they made their way to the bottom floor.
Lord Carne did not wake up until the Duke of Lox lowered him to a long stone bench inside the hallway. He stirred as soon as he hit the cold, hard seat. His arms flailed for a moment as if he was having a delayed reaction to being hit on the head. His eyes darted from side to side before settling on the two people in front of him.
His eyes narrowed. He struggled to get to his feet but fell back after managing to go only halfway up. He lifted one hand and placed it on the back of his head.
“You have given me a knot, sir. How dare you come to my home and assault me? I will have the constabulary arrest you.”
The Duke of Lox smiled. “You will have that opportunity in a short time, my lord,” he said. “As the very man you speak of is on his way.”
Lord Carne scowled deeper. “How did you know where to look? I was assured you knew nothing about this place.”
“I may not know but there are others who do. Others who understand that what you are doing is wrong.”
“The Duchess of Corning told me about you, your grace. I do not wish to see Lady Wentworth used as a pawn in your games. You have many women waiting for you in other parts of the world, do you not? You are a scoundrel, sir, and I do not wish to see Lady Wentworth tainted by your misdeeds.” Lord Carne did not say the words with any respect, inflecting his voice when he said “your grace.”
The Duke of Lox frowned at him. “The Duchess of Corning was mistaken. I have no such reputation anywhere in London or beyond. She is possibly thinking of someone else.”
Lord Carne shook his head. “I do not believe that to be true. I have done what I have done only to protect Lady Wentworth from being married to such a man who cannot be faithful to her, cannot show her the life she deserves.”
Emma stepped toward them, drawing their attention. “Begging your pardon, my lord, but whomever I marry is not your choice to make. It is not my step-mother’s to make. I must be assured that I marry a man with great compatibility.”
“We are compatible,” Lord Carne protested. Emma shook her head.
“I do not feel that compatibility with you, Lord Carne.” She looked up at the Duke of Lox. “I do feel it with the Duke of Lox. And my father has already given permission for us to marry.”
Lord Carne frowned, his hand still pressed gently against the back of his skull where he had been hit. “I was told your father passed on this morning.”
“By whom?” Emma asked, even though she knew who had told Lord Carne the wretched lie.
Lord Carne hesitated. He moved his eyes to look up at them both. “I… I…”
“Spare yourself the indignity of lying, my lord,” Emma said. “We know you
have plotted this with the Duchess of Corning. You have already given yourself away mentioning her once before.”
Lord Carne’s mouth moved but no words came out. They could tell by the blank look on his face that her logic had rendered him speechless. “I… I…”
“It is preferable that you do not speak until the constable gets here, Lord Carne.” The Duke of Lox used a stern voice. “You will not want to anger me.”
Lord Carne scowled and Emma covered her mouth with her hand. She swallowed hard, her eyes moving to the Duke of Lox, a solemn look on her face.
“Lady Wentworth, would you care to take a seat? Shall I get you a coat from the room down the hallway?” His eyes moved to Lord Carne. “This man will not bother you in the least, will you, Lord Carne?”
If there was any way a person’s face could collapse into the deepest scowl ever, it was Lord Carne’s at that moment. He shook his head. “I will not bother her.”
“Thank you, your grace,” Emma said softly. “I am fine until the constable gets here. Perhaps then I will ask you for some assistance in that.”
The Duke of Lox nodded. “Yes, my lady.”
Epilogue
Emma sat with her father, holding a huge bouquet of roses, giving the Duke of Lox a warm smile.
“How kind of you, my lord,” she said, bringing the flowers up to her nose and breathing in the sweet scent. “I do so love these flowers.” She gestured to a nearby maid. “Please put them in a vase.”
The young maid smiled, bending at the waist to take the flowers from her. “Yes, my lady.”
“Your grace,” the Duke of Corning smiled up at the young man. “Please do sit with us.”
“Thank you, my lord.” The Duke of Lox sat in a large cushioned chair near Emma. “I trust you are excited about this evening, my lady?” he asked her.
Emma’s heart raced when she thought about what the night would bring. She and Camilla were being recognized by their future husbands. The Duke of Lox was throwing a celebration ball in their honor.
“I have been waiting with great apprehension, my lord,” Emma giggled her response. She glanced over at her father, who was watching the two of them with warm eyes and a soft smile on his face. “I am so glad you are here to celebrate this with us, Father,” she said to him.
The Duke of Corning nodded. “I am, as well. I would not want to miss this.”
Emma looked out at the guests as they arrived and were announced. The Duke of Lox was unable to sit with her for long, as the host of the event.
He had just enough time to shower Emma with compliments on her dress and hair, saying she looked like an angel and comparing her to his favorite flowers. When he mentioned the dark green color of her gown was very suitable for her, she made a mental note to begin buying more gowns of that color.
Camilla approached not long after the Duke of Lox went back toward the entrance to the ballroom of Brisbourne, taking a seat on the large couch next to Emma. She reached over and placed her gloved hand in Emma’s.
“I am so happy for us, Emma,” she whispered excitedly. “Our dreams have come true! And we will be close together for the rest of our lives.”
Emma felt a thrilling chill run through her. Camilla was right. Her dreams had come true. She watched as the Duke of Lox made his way around the room. “I feel as though I should be by his side. I should be introducing the guests to each other.”
“You are not the hostess yet, Emma,” Camilla reasoned. “And you will be soon enough. You should enjoy not having the chore thrust upon you yet.”
“I believe it is something I will enjoy.”
Camilla smiled. “I know you will, Emma. You are well-respected and admired in society. You do know that everyone speaks of your thrilling adventure as if you are now a new saint in the church.”
Emma laughed softly. “Oh, I cannot imagine leading men into battle. And I do not remember it as pleasantly as others do.”
Her cousin nodded. “You do not like to talk about it. I understand. I am sorry about your step-mother.”
Emma shook her head. “There was nothing that could be done for her. When her secrets were uncovered, she was unable to handle the humiliation in society. It is best that Father sent her away.”
She suddenly realized they were talking about the duchess in front of her father, who had loved and trusted the woman so much. She turned her head to see if he was listening but he was standing some feet away from her, turned in the other direction, talking to Katherine across the room.
Camilla’s eyes moved to Katherine and her face turned somber. “How is Katherine doing?”
“She is understandably heartbroken. I suppose finding out you have a brother and not knowing it must have hurt her terribly.”
“And for it to be Lord Carne!” Camilla exclaimed shaking her head. “How long did he know about it?”
“My father said that Lord Carne held his secret until this season because he was not interested in causing any trouble until he saw that I was not marrying. When he realized the situation was primed to be taken advantage of, he approached the duchess and told her he knew of his lineage.”
“I am astounded the duchess was his mother. He was born out of wedlock?”
“Yes, Father said he is an illegitimate product of a scorned union between the duchess and a shamed prince. When the prince was killed, the duchess ran away and started a new life as someone else. That’s when she married Katherine’s father.”
Camilla shook her head. “Such a scandalous past. And to hide it from your father in such a way…”
Emma felt a pain of sorrow for her father pass through her. “He is so much healthier now. I am so happy the Duke of Lox worked so hard to find the proper medicines. He purchased everything, did you know that, Camilla? He has paid for my father’s health care for some time now. I did not even know he was doing it.”
Camilla nodded. “The Duke of Rabney swore me to secrecy about that. I tried to tell you the Duke of Lox is a noble gentleman. It just took you forever to understand it fully.”
Emma chuckled. “Yes, I think we can safely say I am not in that frame of mind any longer.”
“Thank the Lord above. I do feel for Katherine, though. It must be a terrible shock to find out your mother has such a scandalous past.”
“I am sure she is hurting but she is strong and will recover from this. We are her family. We will not abandon her. She is happy for you and me. Father has not stopped treating her as a daughter. He truly loves her as though she were his. And she is my sister, despite everything.”
“That is what she needs.” Camilla turned her eyes back to look at Emma. She smiled wide. “We cannot let anything negative hamper our day today, Emma. We must dance and be happy!”
Emma nodded at her, placing one hand over Camilla’s. “Oh yes, Camilla. We must!”
Camilla left the chair soon after, making her way through the crowd to the Duke of Rabney, who was speaking with their guests. The mood of the celebration was joyous.
Though the rumble of voices was low, Emma detected the happy nature of every person who had attended. She was anxious for dinner when she and Camilla would be announced as the future brides of the Duke of Lox and the Duke of Rabney.
She scanned the crowd for the Duke of Lox and saw him in a corner speaking to Lady Annabella and her mother. Her heart squeezed for only a moment with a trace of jealousy. Then she smiled warmly. The Duke of Lox was going to be her husband. She had no fear that he would be taken from her by any other woman on the ton.
She was surprised and pleased when Lady Annabella looked in her direction and curtsied to her from across the room, a wide smile on her face. She smiled back and nodded.
She caught the duke’s eye and he grinned. He appeared to excuse himself from the ladies and made his way toward her, stopping every now and then to greet a guest. The closer he got to her, the more her heart pounded in her chest. She hoped she would get that feeling for a very long time, for the rest of her life, if pos
sible, whenever he approached her.
She leaned forward instinctively, preparing herself to stand when he was close enough. Before he reached her, she saw a woman approach from the crowd and nearly run into him. It was Lady Christian. She gasped and lowered her head in embarrassment. She had been coming toward Emma at the same time and emerged from behind someone without seeing him.
Emma had seen what happened but could not hear the words coming from her mouth by way of apology. The Duke of Lox leaned forward and said something quietly to Lady Christian that made her look up at him with a grateful smile. She said something else, glanced at Emma, nodded and turned away.