Turning, she handed the roses to Samir. “Place these in vases, please.”
The man bowed. “It will be done, piyaa.” When he straightened, his dark eyes held Lucian’s for a moment, then he turned and walked back down the hall.
Was that relief in the man’s eyes?
Emma removed her gloves. “What do you want, Lord Hartford?”
Lord Hartford, was it? Minx. Lucian’s lips twitched, but he refrained from smiling. “I am here to see you.”
She gave him a blank stare. “Whatever for?”
He very well could not discuss this in front of her brother and that rat, Sorrington. “A word, if you please. In private.”
“Like hell.” Sean stepped between them and turned to his sister. “Tell him to leave, Emma.”
Lucian held his breath, wondering what she would say. Her blue-green gaze skidded over and his pulse leaped. If she told him to leave…well, he wouldn’t, but he still didn’t want to hear it from her lips.
“Come, we can speak in here.”
Relief made him light-headed. Lucian could breathe again.
Sean reached for her as she turned. “No, Emma, I won’t allow it. You cannot be alone with him.”
Emma spun around and shook a finger at her brother. “I am three-and-twenty, Sean, old enough to make my own decisions.” She poked him in the chest. “And, on countless hunts, you never once cared who I was alone with.”
Sorrington, sensing Sean relent, started to sputter.
Emma shook a finger at him. “You have no say whatever.” Spinning around, she walked into a room to the right.
Unable to hide his grin, Lucian hurried after her. He closed the door behind him.
Arms crossed, eyes shooting daggers, Emma’s chin rose. “Make this quick, my lord, I have much to do.”
Lucian wanted to storm to her and pull her to his chest. He wanted to hold her to his broken heart and tell her he was sorry. He wanted to tell her he loved her. Straightening from the door, he stalked forward. She wasn’t ready. Not yet. He came toward her and she didn’t shy away, but held her ground. Of course, she would. He stopped closer than he should have, but couldn’t help it. He needed to be near to her. The smell of roses perfumed the air and he drew in a slow breath.
Her brows shot up. “Well? You have come all this way, my lord. What do you wish to say?”
“Are you recovered?” Something sprang into her eyes, but was gone before he could identify it.
Emma’s chin came up. “I am.”
Lucian drew closer and placed his hands on her upper arms, worried. Something was amiss. “You are not still injured?” His gaze roved her face. She was not pale. Her skin did not burn with fever. She did not walk with so much as a limp.
She pulled away. “As you can plainly see, I am fit. So, if that is all, my lord, you may leave.”
He threw back his shoulders, not about to leave. “Why did you not go to Hartford?”
Her shoulders stiffened. “I will not accept your charity.”
As Lucian started to speak, Sean came into the room without so much as a knock. With a scowl, Lucian crossed his arms. “I am not done speaking with your sister.”
“Go hang, Hartford,” Sean said and took a folded paper to Emma. “I just received this from the Principal Librarian of the British Museum,” he said, his voice low but tinged with excitement.
Boiling in anger over the interruption, Lucian watched Emma take the note. “Mr. Planta?” Her eyes widened and she gasped when she read the note. “Can this be true?”
Sean nodded, then he drew his brows. “You still have the map and coordinates?”
Emma glanced toward the door and lowered her voice. “Does Sorrington know?”
Sean shook his head. “I thought it best not to tell him.”
“Good.” Emma licked her lips, glancing back down at the paper.
Lucian stalked forward. “Will someone tell me what is going on?”
“Go away, Hartford. None of this is your concern.”
Ignoring Sean, Lucian swung his gaze to Emma. She closed her eyes a moment. “I cannot believe this is happening.”
With a sharp sigh, Lucian plucked the note from her fingers and read the letter. As his jumbled mind made sense of the words, he lifted his gaze. “There’s more gold?”
Chapter 21
Emma had been expecting Lucian to show up. At some point, she knew he would learn she had not gone to Hartford. Each day, she steeled herself for his arrival. Could think of little else. But nothing could have prepared her for being near him again. The invisible current that existed between the two of them was still strong.
She thought she could assure him she was well and he would be on his way. Not so simple. And the longer she was near Lucian, the more she yearned to throw herself into his arms. Her resolve to keep him at arms-length weakened with each tick of the clock.
Now, as she stared at Mr. Planta’s letter, another complication existed. She needed the map and coordinates. And Lucian had them.
Emma brought her head up to Lucian’s glittering, dark eyes. He shook his head. “No.”
Her back snapped up straight on its own. Bristled, for she never liked hearing that word, she opened her mouth to blast a hole through the man, then thought better of it and rocked back on her heels. She looped the curl behind her ear, trying to remember every detail of the map and coordinates. Blowing out a breath, she couldn’t recall. Not everything.
Lucian drew near, and she closed her eyes. “You have recently been injured, Emma.”
She raised her head. “I saw Lady Amersleigh two days ago. She said I was fit enough to resume my normal activities.” Emma felt her lips quirk. “Hunting for treasure is one of them.”
Sean stepped to her side. “And with Renfield, Whitehall and their men in Newgate, this will not be difficult.”
Emma cleared her throat. “Yes, true.” She gave Lucian a sweet smile. “Now, my lord, before Sean and I leave, we will retrieve the map and coordinates.”
The stubborn mule crossed his arms and shook his head. “Out of the question.”
Heaving a sharp sigh, Emma wanted to kick him. “Fine. Sean, we will have to spare the time to obtain the original. I can draft new coordinates.”
“I think not.”
Emma swung her gaze to Lucian, looking much too smug. “Why not?”
He smiled, and it took her breath away. The man was much too handsome for his own good. “The original is at Hartford.” He leaned forward. “Still in my possession.”
Wanting to pull her hair out, she slid a glance to her scowling brother. Sean cleared his throat. “How much?”
Lucian, keeping his gaze on Emma, answered. “I do not want any money.”
Emma had a bad feeling. She licked her lips and watched Lucian’s gaze drop, following her tongue, then rise again and fill with heat. “What is it you want?” she asked, having to squeeze the words out of a constricted airway.
He pulled a rolled document from his coat. “For you to sign this.” His right brow rose. “And I come with you. For those two things, I will hand over the map and coordinates.”
Emma’s hand shook as she reached for the document. She unrolled it and almost swooned. Her legs turned weak for a brief moment, and she had to clutch the back of a chair.
Sean moved forward. “Emma?”
Shaking her head, she snapped herself upright. “I am fine.” Her gaze lifted to Lucian, but she spoke to her brother. “Sean, I must speak to Lucian alone.”
Lucian’s face lit when she spoke his given name.
Sean, however, grew furious. “I do not think it wise,” he clipped. His gaze narrowed on the document she still held. “What is that?”
She nodded to the door. “I won’t be long. I promise,” she added when her brother would argue further.
His shoulders slumped. “I will be just outside.” His acrid gaze slid to Lucian. “Should you need me.”
As soon as the door closed behind Sean, Emma tu
rned to the window. Her gaze found the rose arbor she visited each day, to the bench she sat and recalled every detail of the dream she had of having Lucian’s children. The dream still haunting her. The dream that could never be.
He came up to her back. She could feel the spark of his energy and closed her eyes. “I cannot marry you.”
The feel of his warm hands on her gave her a start. Emma sucked in a breath. He turned her around and looped a finger beneath her chin. She would have been able to hold her shattered heart together for a little longer had she not felt him tremble. Tears pooled in her eyes, and she did her best to blink them back. “I cannot marry you,” she repeated.
He gave her a hard look. “Yes, you can.”
A tear leaped out and skidded a hot path down her cheek. “No.”
Lucian’s hands cupped her face, his thumb swiping away the wetness. “I will not leave here without you becoming my wife.”
She was choking on her grief. “I cannot.”
“You will.” His smoldering gaze lingered on her a moment, then he drew his head down.
Emma knew a moment of panic. She could not let him kiss her. But it was too late. His lips met hers and every feeling she had for him exploded at once. She could not pull away if her life depended on it.
He groaned low and slid his tongue against her bottom lip. Emma trembled and opened for him. He slid inside her mouth, and she followed his lead. Their tongues set a seductive rhythm, gliding and retreating, then moved faster. Her head spun. She could have lifted from the earth and soared to the heavens.
Lucian slowed, then ended the kiss, drawing in deep gulps of air. “Sign the document, Emma. Become my wife.”
She stiffened in his arms. “How can you ask that of me, knowing I cannot provide you with an heir?”
His brows drew together. “Is that what this is about?” His hands tightened on her. “I do not care about that.”
She moved her head from side to side. “Jonah said you were the last to inherit. You deserve a wife who can give you an heir.”
“Listen to me.”
The vehemence in his voice made her gaze jerk up to his.
His hands moved up and down on her arms. “Should I never have children, Jack or his son will be my heir. Jonah must have spoken to you before Jack’s return. Before he cleared his name.”
Emma hesitated, remembering it had been several years ago, then nodded. Still, she could not allow Lucian to give up the opportunity to have children with another. She opened her mouth to say so, but he settled a finger against her lips.
“Hush, minx, you have argued with me enough for one day. Sign the document.”
She could feel herself wavering. “Why me?” she mumbled against his finger.
His lips twitched. “I am a glutton for punishment.” Then he drew serious. “Because, my feisty little minx, I cannot see myself wed to anyone else.” He leaned close. “I lo—”
The door flew open. “Get your hands off my sister.”
Emma gave a start, but Lucian did not move away. His eyes remained on her. What had he been about to say? She wanted to hear the words. Blast Sean for interrupting them too soon. Couldn’t he have waited another three seconds? Her brows rose, urging Lucian to finish speaking, Sean bedamned.
Lucian understood. His eyes flared and he leaned forward. Before his lips touched hers, he whispered, “I love you.”
She closed her eyes and allowed herself two heartbeats to wallow in happiness before stepping away.
Lucian gave her an intense look, then turned to Sean who had stormed in his direction. He blocked the punch in time.
Emma gasped. “Sean, no.”
“What has this bastard done to you, Emma?”
Before Sean could beat Lucian to a bloody pulp, she pulled on his arm. The man was anchored like an oak, and she could not move him away. “Don’t you dare hurt him, Sean.”
Her brother cracked his knuckles. “Oh, I intend to do more than hurt him.”
Emma glanced around, looking for some way to diffuse the situation. Her mind drew a blank. Samir hovered in the doorway, uncertain what to do. She waved him inside the room. “Do something,” she said.
Lucian and Sean were crouched, circling each other like lions. At any moment, they would attack and tear each other apart.
Sorrington flew into the room. “What is going on?”
The lions continued to circle, paying him no mind.
Emma’s gaze found the escritoire between two windows, to the ink pot and pen on top. “Lord Sorrington, come here,” she said over her shoulder.
Scooping up the rolled document that had fallen to the floor as she kissed Lucian, she went to the escritoire and lifted the pen.
Sorrington came to her side as she scribbled her signature on the appropriate line. “What is going on?” he asked.
She handed him the pen. “Here, you must witness my signature.” She tapped the line beneath hers. “Sign here, if you please.”
“What am I—”
“Just sign the document.”
He took the pen, leaned down, and scribbled his name across the witness line. Lucian had already signed with Jeremy his witness. There was no going back now. Emma’s hand shook as she sprinkled sand across the wet signatures. She was now the Countess of Hartford.
Having no time to further contemplate her newfound status, Emma rolled the document and moved to the two men now throwing and blocking punches.
Her brother growled when Lucian’s fist met his cheek, then ducked and charged, knocking them both to the floor, upsetting a table. Emma gasped. “Lord Sorrington, Samir, please stop them.”
Lucian and Sean hopped to their feet in unison, circling each other. She had to do something. Drawing in a sharp breath, she marched between them. “Enough!” Glancing from Lucian, who had a trickle of blood leaking from the corner of his mouth, to Sean, who had a puffy blue bruise swelling on his cheek, she shook her head. “There will be no more fighting.”
Sean lifted fingers to his wound. “He had no right to touch you.” He moved his jaw from side to side. “And if he does again, I’ll kill him.”
Emma rolled her eyes. “No, you won’t.” She handed the document to Lucian. “Because while the two of you were rolling on the floor like children, I just signed the special license.”
Lucian’s head snapped up, joy sparkling in his eyes, then he unrolled the document, his bloody lips widening as he verified her signature.
“What?” Sean asked.
Lord Sorrington drew his dark brows, a storm gathering in his pale gray eyes. “We have a contract,” he gritted between clenched teeth.
Lucian spoke before she had the chance. “Now that Emma and I are married, I am afraid any contract she had with you is now void.” He turned to Samir. “Gather Lady Hartford’s belongings. We leave in ten minutes.”
Was that a smile sliding across Samir’s lips as he turned to do Lucian’s bidding? Emma shook her head, then stopped as a thought occurred. “I cannot leave Samir behind.” She slid her gaze to her furious brother. “Nor Sean.”
Lucian wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “At this moment, minx, you may have anything you wish.” He kissed her temple, sending shooting sparks down her back.
Sean folded his arms. “I am going nowhere with him.” He glared. “And neither should you.”
She gave him a tight smile. “Remember Mr. Planta’s letter? We must see about that business.”
His eyes narrowed, then he swung around. “Fine. I will help Samir.”
Sorrington stepped forward. “What business?”
Lucian shook his head. “Not your concern, Sorrington.” He took Emma’s hand and led her from the room.
“If you have found another treasure, we are under contract that I get half,” the man called as they made their way across the foyer.
Lucian slid her a glance, and she shrugged.
The butler opened the door as Samir and Sean hurried down the steps with valises.
“We have a contract,” Sorrington called as she walked outside. “You cannot just leave.”
Emma stopped when she saw Lucian’s horse. “That hardly has room for us all.”
He tapped her on the nose, then pointed to the drive. “My coach is slower than my horse.”
She arched a brow. “You were so certain I’d say yes?”
His gaze delved into hers. “I wasn’t going to leave until you did.”
Emma’s heart bucked hard. “Oh, Lucian, are you certain? Do you really want me as your wife?”
His smile turned jaunty. “Too late now, even if I did change my mi…ouch,” he said when she hit him hard on the arm. Then he drew her close and pressed his lips to hers. “I will have no one else, Emma. You are mine and I will never let you go,” he whispered against her mouth as the coach rattled to a halt before them.
“Oh, God, please do not let them be like this the whole way to London,” Sean said as he stormed by.
She grinned at Lucian. “I think he is starting to accept the situation.”
Lucian grinned back. “I think you’re right.”
Sean popped his head out through the open coach door. “Will you two please hurry?”
Samir handed the bags to a footman and turned as they approached. He gave Lucian a slow bow, then turned to her. “I know you will be well with this man, piyaa. I am very pleased for you.”
She reached up and kissed his cheek. “Thank you, Samir. That means a lot to me.”
As Samir offered to ride Lucian’s horse, her husband nodded then turned and helped her inside the coach. Sean kept his face turned to the window as they rolled down the drive, and she swallowed back a sigh.
Lucian clasped her hand, and she laced her fingers with his. He brought her hand up to his mouth and pressed kisses to her knuckles.
“Will you two stop doing that?”
Emma’s lips twitched. “We are newlyweds.” She couldn’t help but nettle her brother a bit.
His lips twisted. “Do not make me ill.”
With a sigh, Emma decided to change the subject. “So, Mr. Planta thinks each of the sailors had a box of gold, that three exist instead of one?”
Lord Hunter (Secrets & Scandals Book 6) Page 19