by Jun, Kristi
Even before he finished his sentence, she feared for the outcome, quite selfishly. “Will you be joining him?” When he nodded, all her hopes and dreams were dashed with it.
“If he calls on me to join forces, then yes, I will do my duty.”
“Of course,” she said, nodding. It was his duty. A man like Michael lived by his duty to his countrymen, it was in his blood, and so she would not dare to insult him by asking him to stay. “I want to see Tomkin.”
“I don’t think that’s possible.”
“Why ever not?” she asked. “Surely, they’ll allow me one visit.
“He is in a secure prison and is not allowed visitors.”
“Michael, please I have to speak with him.” A lump grew in her throat. “I know I should let it go, but there are things I must get off my chest if I am to move on with my life. I don’t think that is possible until I speak with him.”
He sighed, raking his hands through his tousled hair. “I can try to see if I can get you in, but I can’t promise anything, Emma.”
She nodded. “I understand.”
* * *
It took a full twenty-four hours and several favors for Michael to finally get approval from the Regent, but to her it had felt like an eternity. Emma heard the clanking of the keys and she stiffened. Ten feet below the Foreign Office building were the small cells where England’s traitors were kept until they were moved to an undisclosed location. Or hanged. If it wasn’t for the torch Michael held for her, she would be blind.
She stood by the thick iron door anxiously waiting for the Foreign Office agent to open the door for them.
Michael was standing by. “You can change your mind anytime.”
It took a moment for her to find her voice. “I want to do this. I have to.”
The agent put the large key into the key hole and turned it, then pulled the handle to open the iron door. It revealed a dimly lit cell.
Michael eased into the tiny space first, with more light slowly spilling into the confinement. Emma followed and saw the former Home Secretary, her superior and mentor, sitting in a wooden chair, manacles imprisoning his hands and feet.
They must have tortured him for information. There was blood on his lower lip, and a swollen left eye and cheek. The once impeccable suit he wore the night he captured her was more like rags now.
He looked at her through the one good eye that wasn’t puffy. “Ironic, isn’t it? Tomkin said, licking his dry, chapped lips and winced. “These underground cells were my idea.” He looked around the cell and started to chuckle out loud.
“May I have a moment of privacy?” Emma asked Michael and the agent. She saw Michael look at her wearily.
The agent said, “I can give you five minutes with the prisoner, that’s all I can do. I will be outside.”
“Michael,” Emma faced him. “I will be fine.”
“No,” he said. “I am not leaving you alone in here.”
“Please…,” she said. “I just need a moment. I assure you it will be all right.” She watched Michael and knew she had to give him a better reason than that. “Please, the man is tied down and chained. I will keep my distance and you can keep the door open. I just need a few minutes.”
It took several seconds, but Michael’s stern expression slowly eased. “I will be right by the door.”
“Thank you,” she said.
He gave Tomkin another stern look before he handed her the torch and stepped out. She felt her heart pumping so hard and fast, she thought it would burst from her chest.
“My dear girl,” he said, “I see the tears in your eyes. I have failed you, haven’t I? I tried so hard to protect you from him.”
His once soothing voice now felt like a thousand knives stabbing at her heart. She took a deep breath. “My father would have given his life for you. I would have done no less.” Emotions swelled inside her as memories came flooding back. She held her emotions at bay long enough to say what she needed to. “Perhaps that is the reason why you were so successful in fooling everyone who cared about you, using us for your own selfish and vindictive revenge.”
“It wasn’t about revenge, my dear girl,” he said, shaking his head. “This is about my legacy and my honor. My duty to my people.”
If she didn’t know any better, she would have thought he was the victim in all this. “I won’t lie to you and there isn’t a point in doing so. It pains me deeply to see you in here, yet the knowledge that you’ve cause unspeakable pain to so many innocent people makes all this no less than you deserve.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk…so conflicted. You have been since you were a child.” He shifted in his chair, chains clanking. “Haven’t I already told you, my dear girl? There is no such thing as innocence.”
“You’ve made me realize what is truly important in my life. You say you loved my mother, but you don’t know what love is. You used, lied, and manipulated those who trusted you the most for your own agenda. I suspect my parents saw it, too. They may not be with me today but they will forever live in my heart, and you can never take that away from me.”
“That is your flaw,” he said. “There’s no divine power that is going to save the day. You are gravely mistaken if you think this is over.”
She straightened her back. “After today, I will never think of you again.” With that, she took one last look at him, a sense of renewed purpose washing over her. When she walked out of the cell, Michael closed the cell door, and the agent locked it with the key.
“Are you all right?” he said to her. When she nodded, he guided her out of the dark corridor and toward the main building.
It took a moment to find her voice. “I will be all right, thanks to you.”
“You were very brave,” Michael said smiling. “You are very brave.”
Emma looked up at Michael, the man she loved smiling back at her, those piercing blue eyes that had been so very angry with her in the past now softened. But she knew it was a matter of time before she needed to say her goodbye to this man, too.
Only this time they’d part as friends.
CHAPTER 32
Stepping out of the Foreign Office where Tomkin was kept prisoner, she looked up at the sky and smiled. Yes, a new beginning.
Michael helped her into the carriage with the Chatham insignia on the door. Michael took his seat next to her. There was so much she wanted to tell him. He owed her nothing and yet she owed him everything for saving her life, and for capturing the man who murdered her parents.
The carriage hitched forward and the sound of the horses’ hooves clip-clopped toward Mayfair. She turned to face Michael and took a deep breath. “Listen,” she started. “Please don’t stop me. I need to tell you something…something I have wanted to tell you for a long time.” She watched his quizzical expression, patiently waiting for her to continue. “You once asked me about the cottage…about my absence.”
His expression tightened as he watched her for a moment, searching her eyes for something. “Go on….”
“I foolishly justified not showing up that night as a way to keep you safe, but in many ways, I was ignoring what was in my heart. I wanted to come see you.” She reached out and cupped his hand and squeezed it. “I’ve lived my life with only one sole purpose, to find justice for my parents. That purpose gave me strength, but in many ways I was very alone. Then you came along and made me smile again. You made me hope, to dream the possibility of a future for myself. I thank you for that.”
He reached out, touched her chin, and kissed her softly. Emma’s heart was pounding so hard, she thought it would surely shatter in her chest. “I don’t blame you for not trusting me. You had every right to suspect me as his accomplice, I see that now. I am not afraid to admit this to you now. My feelings for you have never changed. I care for you deeply…more than you know.”
He lifted her hand and kissed it gently, his eyes never leaving her. She saw the warmth in his eyes, but he said nothing to confirm or deny the feelings she just professed t
o him. Why should he? He owed her nothing. Their relationship was complicated, to say the least. He deserved someone who’d make him happy and fill his days with laughter.
“You are far too hard on yourself, Emma. The truth is, you saw the good in others and in me. It’s an admirable trait, one that I lost a long time ago. I thank you for that.”
“Let’s part as friends, shall we?” she said. “That is my only wish.”
“Friends?” he repeated. He watched her most carefully, his expression stern. “I am afraid friendship is impossible.”
“I see,” she said frowning. She pulled her hand from his and looked away.
He cupped her chin and forced her to face him. “It’s impossible for me because I seek to be more than just your friend.”
“You do?” Tears formed in her eyes, this time of joy. She leaped forward and wrapped her arms around him and he fell back onto the seat. Kissing him, she smiled and cried in unison.
“I love you.” He braced her in his arms and looked into her eyes. “I have been for some time now. When I thought I had lost you, I knew my life would never be the same. And from this day forward, you, my sweet, will never be alone.”
Michael felt a certain sense of calm and hope steadying him, one that he hadn’t felt in a long time. When they both arrived at his townhouse in Mayfair, he helped her out of the carriage, escorted her into his house, and directly to the parlor.
Michael stopped her at the parlor door. “I have long waited to ask you something….”
“Yes, what is it?”
“Emma, do me the honor of marrying me?”
Erupting with utter joy, she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a kiss. “Here? Now?”
“Yes, I’ve acquired a special license from the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Office in London.”
“How did you manage all this?”
“With several favors,” he said. “Is that a yes?”
Emma teared up. “Oh, yes and yes, a million times over.”
With that Michael opened the door to reveal the surprise inside.
She gasped. Peonies everywhere. The room was filled with dozens of them in all shades and colors. “How did you know?”
“You spoke of them when you were asleep and suffering from fever. I have a friend who grows them in hot houses in winter. I hope you like them.”
Tearing up, she said, “I love them.”
By the fireplace in the center was the vicar, just as he had arranged it. Kyra, her husband, and the Dowager Countess stood together on the left of the vicar. Michael’s brother to the right of the officiator. Lord Blackthorn and Mr. Roberts stood next to Lord Chatham. Lord Hansford was sitting on a chair, his leg wrapped in a bandage.
Before he took her inside, he said softly. “You have brought me and my family together again. I’m eternally thankful for that.”
“Oh, Michael.” Tears formed in her eyes, choking with emotion. “I…I don’t know what to say. How did you manage all this?”
“With help from our family.” He looked deep into her eyes. “I know you lost your parents, but you don’t have to be alone now. You have me and my family to call your own.”
“Come, brother,” William said approaching. “Shall we get on with it before she changes her mind?”
Surrounded by her new family, Emma and Michael recited their vows in the parlor of Michael’s townhouse. Once the quick ceremony was over, they greeted their guests.
“So,” Roberts said to Blackthorn. “What about you? After all, you just inherited a title and will need to carry on the earldom now and do your duty.”
“Me?” Blackthorn blurted out. “Sorry to disappoint you, my friend, but I have important matters I have to attend to before I can even consider marriage. That reminds me, I have an appointment tonight I cannot miss.” With that Lord Blackthorn bid his farewell to his friends and left the premises.
“Where is Lord Blackthorn off to in such a hurry?” Emma asked.
“I believe he needs to settle some matters regarding his brother,” Michael replied.
“I see,” she said. “Is he in London?”
“No. His brother passed away not too long ago,” Michael said taking her arm through the crook of his arm and guiding her out of the parlor. “Now, my bride, I have a carriage outside waiting for us.”
“Where are we going?”
“Home, my sweet,” he said, kissing her. She looked up at him and beamed.
“Home?” she asked. “I don’t understand. Isn’t this your townhouse?”
He wanted to give her everything. The world if she commanded it. She showed him what was truly important, but most of all, he wanted to give her a home and a family to call her own.
“Yes, but I spent most of the year at my country cottage. I intend to have you by my side from now on, Mrs. Whitfield.”
“All right, Michael. Let’s go home.”
I hope you enjoyed Enemy’s Kiss.
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Sinful Pleasures will be the first book in my new series called Sinful Ladies of London Novels. It will be released in the Fall of 2015.
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Acknowledgement
Without the following people in my life, my dream would not have been possible.
To my husband and my beautiful boy: Thank you for your patience and your support. Without you, I would not be who I am today. I love you very much.
To my sister and brother-in-law: You guys were my cheerleaders when I was down. You encouraged me to continue on when I felt like quitting. Thank you for your love and support.
To my critique partners Linda, Anna, Jocelyn, Suzie and Georgie: Thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to read this book and helping me shape this book into what it is today.
To my beta readers Vi, Kim, and Wendy: Thank you for your honesty and not being afraid to tell me what I needed to hear. You guys are the best.
To my readers: Thank you for giving this book a chance. It is with you in mind that I write. Without you my dream would not be possible.
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
From the Author
Acknowledgement