by Hannah West
“Follow me,” she said before setting her space and heading down the other hall away from where Lady Emmaline and that man was.
She lead him down the dark passageway careful to watch out for servant and when they got to the heavy double wood doors she turned to him.
“They are in here,” she whispered, pointing at the doors.
He pushed her out of the way and wasted to time in bursting in. She walked in behind him as he searched the space and closed the doors behind her.
~
Emma looked around her as he attacked her for something that she could use to fight him. When her eyes landed on a small bust just to her left she knew what she had to do.
She was not going to do anything this pig wanted. She was going to clock him a good one and get out of here. So as he tried to force his tongue in her mouth so bit him until she tasted blood. AS he shoved away from her cussing she grab the bust and swung with all her might for the side of his head.
He turned last minute and it struck him straight in the face knocking him out and to the ground, most likely with a broken nose.
She looked at the bust covered in blood and dropped it, a bit shocked at what she had done.
Voices came from down the hall and she looked around for a door so she could hide. She did not want to be caught with this man. So she hurried down the hall trying every door she came to until one finally opened and she snuck inside.
She froze when she heard voices behind her.
~
Derek checked every inch of the large library but Emma was not here neither was a another man. He turned a dark glare to Lady Caroline.
“Where is she? Was she even here?” he demanded sharply.
She jumped but raised her chin bravely. “She is with another man right now, but not here. I needed you here.”
“What are you playing at, this is serious.”
“I am serious,” she cried, stomping a foot. “I have given two years of my life trying to make you see me and when I finally get a chance you chose some common tramp to fancy. You were meant to marry me.”
Derek did not know what to make of her cry, but he knew one thing. He would never have married her and she wasted her time trying to get his attention.
“I have given up proposals for you, to be your wife,” I have done everything needed to be noticed by you and your mother.”
A thought sent him cold, had his mother put her up to this?
“Did my mother put you up to this,” he growled.
She took a step back, shaking her head. “No, she doesn’t know what I’m doing.”
“What is it you are doing?”
She looked up at him fear in her eyes, but she wasn’t giving up. “You are ruining me. Soon they will come find us.”
“Like hell,” he spat.
The sound of a door opening made him freeze.
“It’s already too late,” she whispered.
~
The last voice Emma heard was female and she slowly turned around and peeked around the corner of a bookcase. It would seem she had found herself in the library. As she looked around the case she first saw Derek and relief flooded her. She ran for him.
“Oh Derek,” she cried as she launched herself at him. He caught her up in his arms and crushed her close. “I’m so glad you are here.” Suddenly a sob worked up in her throat, “I-I was attacked.”
Tears pooled in her eyes and she hid her face in the crook of his neck. He ran soothing hands down her back.
Emma hadn’t even noticed Caroline until the lady started swearing up and down.
“What are you doing here,” Emma asked confused. She looked between the two even as she hung off of Derek’s neck.
“She was bringing me to you,” Derek said glaring at Caroline, then his look softened as he looked down at her. “But we couldn’t find you. I was coming for you, Emma.”
He looked back to Caroline one more time with a look she didn’t understand. “You may go back to the ball now, Lady Caroline. Thank you for your help.”
Silently fuming she fled the library leaving Emma and Derek alone.
Chapter Thirty-Four
How to Become a Lady ~ Rule Thirty-Four: A lady should always say yes.
Derek hold her tightly in his arms, still scarred about what almost happened. At how close he was to loosing Emma do to the scheming of Lady Caroline.
At what she had said he knew someone would be coming soon, but he didn’t care. It would make sure Emma couldn’t leave him. And with not knowing how soon someone was coming he was going to make sure it was worth his time.
So he tilted her face back and kissed her tear stained face before finally taking her lips. She didn’t have an ounce of protesting in fact she leaned up for him, tilting her head to give him better access.
His hands set to roaming over her curves as she clung to him and he slowly moved them toward a lounging davenport and sat them down.
He was shocked, pleasantly so, when Emma tried to crawl up onto his lap. The sweet taste of her combined with the soft feel of her, Derek was ridge with excitement. His desire went from a spark to a burning flame.
He laid her back gently and started kissing his way up her neck. “You are so beautiful, Em,” he said huskily.
She laughed soft yet sultry, “Well thank you, my lord, but it is you who is doing beautiful things to me.”
He groaned and place his forehead to her. “Do you trust me?”
Kiss.
“Yes,” she whispered.
Kiss.
Then he looked into her eyes and something fell into place within him. It was as if he was complete. Her eyes dilated as she stared up at him that soft, sweet smile on her lips. He had truly never seen such beauty.
The warmth in his stomach boiled up into his chest and came out in the form of words.
He softly brushed away a strand of hair from her face. “I love you,” he said softly.
The moment was perfect in its stillness for only a few seconds before the door to the library opened and the shocked faces of the hosts and a footman stared back at them.
Lord Bentley covered the wide eyes of his wife who gasped, “What is going on her!” only to echo the same statement.
Derek sat up in front of Emma to block their view of her. He watched as Lord Bentley sent his wife off and had the footman summon Lord Wenbrooke, telling him to keep quite. The man came into the library and closed the door behind him crossing his arms and glared at Derek.
Chapter Thirty-Five
How to Become a Lady ~ Rule Thirty-Five: A lady should never let herself be ruined.
Emma sat with her burning face in her hands as Cassie paced back and forth stopping to look at her every few times trying to form words before she huffed and started pacing again.
She was so embarrassed at having been caught with Derek by their hosts she had not been able to meet even his eyes then let alone Lord Bentley’s. This was something she had not planned on. Now she was ruined, her sister was having a break down and Derek had been forced to leave by her brother-in-law’s. She sat here waiting for something more to happen.
Lord Bentley had been kind enough to let them stay in the library until the party, but Emma was wishing she could have gone back to her sister’s town house and locked herself away in her rooms.
Finally Cassie stopped in front of her and asked in a deadpanned voice, “How could you?”
It was as if she had never considered Emma doing anything like this. It’s not like she had planned it or even had the intent to do so. It had been a mistake, but by this time tomorrow all of the ton would know that she had been caught with the duke and he would walk away from her no matter what he had said.
Emma knew he could not be apart of any scandal and he was a duke, no one would ever mention what part he had in it, just that she was common harlot.
At the thought she actually sobbed. Her one chance at being happy had just left the moment he walked out of that door. Now she would have t
o go far away from her sister and her new home.
“Oh, Emma,” she sister said, voice tinged with pity as she sat next to her and wrapped her arms around Emma’s shaking shoulders. “I am so sorry.”
“I thought it would all work out somehow,” Emma breathed out on a shaky breath before another sob shook her. As if that had made any sense.
Her sister squeezed her tightly. “What happened, Emma, I don’t understand how this happened. Just a short time ago you and his grace were perfect together.”
She was almost beyond words at this point as her tears fell and her body shook with sobs. Only one word came out that made her sister let go of her, looking stricken.
“Avery,” she whispered harshly.
“What did you say,” her sister asked on a shaky breath edged with panic.
Emma tried calming down her nerves. She had her sister to think about. She needed to protect Cassie and the baby now.
Taking a deep breath she shuddered again before trying to explain. The look on her sister’s face made her heart drop. Cassie’s face was pale and almost lifeless looking, her eye haunted.
“Avery,” she said with shaky breath, “he was here. To get him to leave you and John alone I said he could take me.”
Cassie covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh Emma, you didn’t.”
She nodded. “I d-did, but after he forced a kiss on me I clocked him with a bust. I did not stay to see how he faired. That is how I ended up in here with Lord Montrose.”
She closed her eyes and put her face back in her hands. “And then the world tilted and shattered.”
He had said those wonderful words to her and she had not been given the chance to tell him of her feelings. Why had someone felt the need to bring Lord and Lady Bentley to this part of the house?
Just then the door opened to admit John and Emma sank farther into the settee with a silent groan. She could feel the disappointment waving in the room.
“There is an unconscious man who was found in the next passage way in the next wing who woke long enough to say your name, Emmaline. It looks as if he were beaten,” John said in an incredulous tone as he closed the door behind him.
“Avery,” Emma supplied not looking up.
“What did you say, Emmaline,” John asked her again.
She looked up then, expression bleak as she took Cassie’s hand. “You know of him I think. His name is Avery and he deserved far worse than he got, the bugger.”
As the name registered with him his expression grew dark. John looked to his wife and she nodded once, weakly. He went to the door to talk to someone before closing in and coming over to Cassie, who he knelt before, taking her hands.
“I will see he is taken care of,” he promised her.
Cassie shook her head. “What he did to me is long since passed but he assaulted Emma, John. She was the one who hit him, the disgraceful scum.”
John looked to Emma in surprise and she raised her chin a notch.
He shook his head with a weird smile and then raised to his feet. “Let us get you two home. We will talk about this tomorrow with a fresh start.”
Emma heaved a sigh of relief as she got up but the feeling didn’t last long.
“We shall talk about this, Emmaline, something will have to be done. This will not stay secret for long. I shall summon the Duke of Montrose tomorrow. He was the cause of all this chaos.”
John gave her a very pointed look and her stomach sank to her toes.
“Yes, I understand,” she murmured before helping her sister up. Then she asked the question she knew both of them wanted to know. “What is to happen to Lord Avery?”
John smiled grimly. “The constable has been alerted, for tonight he will rot in a cell before I got before the Lords to have him charged.”
Emma nodded with satisfaction. She was already ruined, so what more could the man do to her?
Chapter Thirty-Six
How to Become a Lady ~ Rule Thirty-Six: A lady should say yes, when faced with no other choice.
The next morning came much to Emma’s chagrin but she did what was expected of her. She dressed, descended the stairs gracefully and entered the dining room where she expected her sister and John to be seated waiting for her to join them. However the room was empty which gave her pause until she heard someone come up behind her.
She turned to see her sister. Cassie gave her a smile and Emma tried to give one back but ended up giving her more of a grimace.
“You are up getting rather late for you. I expected you up much sooner. I could not sleep myself and was up early,” Cassie said offering her a hand.
Emma took her hand and let her sister lead her. “I had figured if I stayed in long enough it would go away,” Emma swallowed passed the lump in her throat, “but it did not.”
“Well no better time to get it over with. Lord Montrose arrived a short while ago,” Cassie said looking ahead, but she was jerked to a stop.
Emma had frozen in place at the moment of him and gasped, “Why is he here?!”
Cassie frowned at her as if Emma did not understand something so simple. “He is here due to what happened last night. He has come to do right by you, Emma. He is offering to marry you.”
Turmoil roiled within Emma at that. She knew he had wanted to marry her, he had said so more than once, but now to be forced to do it because they were backed into a corner sat ill with her. She wanted him, but did she want him like this?
Cassie saw the conflict within her and started to pull her along again.
“Just listen to what he has to say and then decide what is right for you. I am just glad it is the duke in there and not that slimy worm Avery. He is happily sitting in jail awaiting charges for last night.” Cassie paused in chattering before deciding to tell Emma all. “Emma if you decide not to marry him then when the charges against Avery go public, no one can help you. You would have no one to protect you. Lord Montrose wants to protect you and you should let him. Few would make the proper offer after what happened and he is giving you a choice.”
Emma took in her sister’s words but that did not soothe any of the feelings boiling within her. Her palms turned damp with sweat as she followed close by.
He had left her last night without another word, so what could he say now that his leaving hadn’t already.
Cassie led them into one of the larger drawing rooms that had the door ajar and Emma froze, foot hovering over the threshold when she spotted Derek. He looked as if he had not slept with his wildly tossed hair and day’s stubble. He did not see her right away, but before he did Cassie slipped out behind her and closed the door.
The click of the door closing drew his attention and he looked over to her with bloodshot eyes.
She was shocked to see him so unkempt and so very unlike himself.
Derek raced over to her and enfolded her into his arms without asking. After a brief, but strong hug he sat her back from him looking embarrassed as red tinted his cheeks.
“I must apologize for doing that and for leaving you last night. I had to do that to protect you from gossip. The longer you are hidden from it the easier it would be.” He looked her over, “Are you all right?”
Emma scoffed, “No, I most certainly am not. You left me alone after that and no you show up to do what?”
He ran a hand through his already messy hair, disheveling it more. “I am making a bog out of this.” He suddenly dropped to a knee, removing a small grey box from his inner pocket and opened it looking up at her, bearing his soul in his eyes. “Emma, I love you and I would have done this even if last night had not happened. Would you still wed me?”
Caught off guard she stumbled sideways a bit and he caught her. She had wanted this had she not? Well she now had to face this and make sure she knew what she wanted.
But hearing those words from him again made her heart squeeze.
She looked to the ring, a lovely dark blue sapphire set in a silver band that was flanked by small diamonds, and then back to
his face. While looking into his dark eyes there was nothing she could say against it so she agreed.
“Of course,” she said giving him a softer smile than before. “How could I say no, when there was no one for me after you, you rotten man.” Tears stung her eyes, “You had better make up for leaving me with this mess.”
He rose with a sigh of relief, swinging her up in his arms. “I will for the rest of my days and as long as I hold breath.”
~
The news that the Duke of Montrose had become engaged spread like wild fire through the ton. Marriage minded mamas cried with frustration over losing the catch of the Season and their daughters burned with jealousy. And everyone wanted to know who the lucky bride-to-be was.
Emma had begged if Derek to keep it private for just a while longer so that they could have some more time together, but most already suspected it was her. Emma had been surprised when her sister burst into her room carrying a paper and waving it about. “I can’t believe that she did this!”
Emma looked at her sister confused. “Who did what, Cassie?”
“That snake of a girl, Lady Caroline announced to the gossip pages she is going to be married soon. She did it to make it seem like she is the mystery bride. Augh,” Cassie groaned as she dropped to sit on the bed's edge with an angry sigh.
Emma felt herself grow angry with the girl. She had tried such a thing before, but not to this extent. It would seem the time that Emma had wanted to spend with Derek could not happen. To ensure Derek did not fall prey to her schemes Emma would have to make sure he fell prey to hers.
“She has been trying for years to snare the man,” Cassie added, “everyone but her, knew she could never have him. But without Derek telling who he chose for all Society knows it could be her. Emma you will have to announce it is you.”
Emma shook her head as a plan formed in her mind. She had been planning to skip out on the ball tonight to have a settled night in, but no it looked as if plans were changing. She would be going and something big had to happen tonight. But first she needed to talk to Derek.