by Lauren Smith
Chapter 13
“Look, look at this one!” Katherine pulled Emma toward the dressmaker’s dummy at the shop, sighing happily as she touched the beadwork on the bodice of the wedding dress. “Oh, isn’t it heavenly?”
“I don’t know why you’re so set on looking at these dresses, you haven’t even got a suitor yet.” It was a beautiful dress but Emma couldn’t help being a little cynical. Much as she wanted to indulge her little sister’s dreams, this felt a little silly.
“Not that you know about,” Katherine said slyly.
“Oh? And who might it be?”
“Well, maybe he’s not a suitor yet but he might be by the end of the Season.” Katherine moved to another dress, this one with bunches of silk flowers on it.
“Would this be the young man you were dancing with before at the Everly Ball?” Emma raised her eyebrow at her little sister, who blushed brightly. “The one you were telling me everything about but his name?”
“His name is Michael! We actually danced together at the Opening Ball too but you were too busy with your own dancing to notice. Not that I begrudge you! It was quite fun, and I was glad to see him again at the Everly Ball.” Her smile turned shy, which was unusual for Katherine. “I’m not sure if he was invited to the Peltiers’ party but I hope so.”
“You’ve become very enamored of him so quickly, do you think he would wait for you since Mother is set on waiting until some imaginary man marries me?” This made Katherine laugh and Emma shook her head. “I know everyone is certain that Thomas and I are going to dance away into the sunset but I don’t know that I’m ready to jump in with both feet.”
“I think he would wait but I’m not sure yet either. Perhaps we shall get to know one another through the Season and introduce him to Mother and Father sometime in the summer.” She sighed. “As much as I like him, I don’t know that I’m ready either.”
“Sounds like I’m having a good influence on you.”
“Excuse me, ladies, I’m going to be closing up soon.” The shopkeeper sounded apologetic but Emma shook her head.
“Forgive us for staying so long.” She took her sister’s arm and the shopkeeper shook his head.
“No, no, I appreciate your patronage. My wife and I are simply attending a dinner tonight and she’ll have my head if I’m late.” His words were familiar to Emma, and she imagined her mother’s reaction if she and Katherine were late to a dinner.
“Then we shall take our leave. Thank you for your kindness.” Emma and her sister walked out of the shop and into the evening. She looked into the sky. “It’s not too dark yet. Would you be so sweet as to accompany me to the library?”
“The library? Ugh, you know how much I hate that dusty old place. Besides, Father will have a fit if he finds out we went all the way out there in the dark after what happened to you last time.” Katherine’s voice was low, as if she was afraid someone would hear them talking and take the words back to their parents.
“Then we won’t tell him,” Emma said. “I’m not going to spend time reading, I just wish to return the book I borrowed. It was from the reference collection so I shouldn’t have taken it in the first place. Mr. Drake probably thinks I stole it by now.”
“Very well, we can go. Only if you promise that we’ll be going home soon.” They walked out to the carriage together, shivering in the night. “I don’t want to get in trouble.”
“If we do, you can blame me. I’m your older sister, I should know better.” The driver opened the door for them and Katherine got into the cab first. “We’ll be going to the library, if you please.” She expected the look on his face and smiled. “Don’t worry, we’ll be finished with my errand and back home before there’s any trouble.”
“Begging your pardon, Miss Sellars, but I shall be hiding my money just the same.” He closed the door after her and she sighed and shook her head.
“Both being ridiculous,” Emma sighed. She was certain that they would be fine. There was no way the highwayman – for she knew the man in the paper was the same one who had robbed her before – would strike them twice.
“I’m not being ridiculous,” Katherine said indignantly. “You’re being reckless coming out here after what happened.” She folded her arms over her chest. “Perhaps you’re just looking for another kiss.” As soon as she said it, she gasped. “I’m so sorry, sister! I don’t know what came over me.”
“No need to apologize, I know you’re just worried. Thank you for accompanying me anyway,” Emma said to her sister. “I know it wasn’t a very exciting errand for you but I’ve had that book far too long.” She smiled. “I don’t want to deprive anyone else of their study because I was selfish.”
“You never did tell me what Lord Belmont said about your studying medicine,” Katherine said. “I can’t imagine you didn’t speak about it.” A devilish look came over her face. “If you did much speaking at all, that is.”
“Now, really! It was one kiss.” Emma blushed deeply and Katherine held up two fingers.
“Two kisses. You said there were two kisses.” She was maddeningly smug, and Emma resisted the urge to tickle her as she had when they were girls and she wanted to quiet her sister. “Either way, it was so unlike you! Lord Belmont is a good influence on you, I suppose.”
“Enough of this Lord Belmont nonsense. His name is Thomas, and he’s very informal.” She rubbed at her cheeks. “Part of the reason I enjoy his company, I suppose.”
“I couldn’t use his first name! It’s not as if he’s Henry.” Katherine nudged her older sister. “At least not yet.” She grabbed Emma’s hands. “Oh, sister, if you were to marry him you would be a lady! Wouldn’t that be wonderful?”
“We’ve been through this before. His nobility has no bearing on my consideration of whether or not to marry him one way or another. Besides, I should rather be a doctor than a lady.” She smiled. “And Thomas is fully aware of my desire to study and has encouraged me to do so. He says he likes me because I’m bold enough to do as I please.”
“Don’t let Mother hear him say that. She’s still hoping you’ll settle down if he talks you into marrying him.” Katherine looked out the window. “It’s so dark already. I hate the winter.”
“Don’t worry, Kitten. Your big sister will take care of you. You needn’t fear the dark when we’re together.” Emma wasn’t surprised to see her sister give her an irritated look but she pretended to be innocent. “Is something the matter?”
“You know I hate when you call me that!” Frowning, Katherine turned back to the window. “I’m not afraid of the dark, I’m afraid of what might be in it.”
“It comes to the same thing.” With a yawn, Emma sat back and thumbed through her book absently. It was far too dark to read but she wanted something to do with her hands while she was thinking.
Thomas had no sooner left her house the day before than she raced up the stairs to tell her sisters all about their meeting, but all Frances had wanted to hear about was whether or not they had kissed because she’d overheard their mother telling their father that she suspected there were indiscretions going on downstairs. For her part, Katherine wanted to gush about how romantic the whole thing was and how happy she was that her big sister had finally found herself a man.
She’d escaped her sisters by pacifying them with a few details, only to be ambushed by her mother and peppered with questions about Thomas and his intentions. More than that, however, she seemed interested in his title. Emma couldn’t help being a little annoyed about it. There was much more to him than such superficial things and it was that which made her want to be around him.
Emma didn’t know when she would see Thomas again; they hadn’t talked about it before he left. She knew he was going to be at the Peltiers’ party but that was more than a week away and she hoped she would see him before then.
“You’re thinking about him, aren’t you?” It seemed teasing her sister was the only thing that could take Katherine’s mind off her worries, and she w
as grinning. Emma had often thought to herself that her sister looked a bit like a pixie when she was mischievous but she’d never mentioned it. The thought made her smile and Katherine gave her a suspicious look. “What are you thinking about?”
“You of course, my dear little sister. I’m only thinking about how much I love you.” She threw her arms around Katherine, who laughed and put her arms around her sister as well. “Perhaps I shall see him again soon. At least I hope I shall.”
“It’s a shame that you don’t know where he’s staying for the Season. Though it wouldn’t be proper for you to visit him at his home without someone to accompany you.”
“He’s staying with his mother, so we wouldn’t be alone,” Emma said. “In any case I don’t know where he is, so I shall have to wait for him to come to call on me again.”
“Oh, I hope he doesn’t wait for the party. I want you to have a wonderful, romantic time so that I may have a wonderful, romantic time next Season.” She giggled. “Perhaps with Michael.”
“You don’t have to wait,” Emma said, shaking her head. “It’s such a silly thing.”
“I know, but---”
Before Katherine could finish her sentence, the carriage skidded to a halt and threatened to tip sideways. The horse shouted and from the way the whole thing shook Emma knew that it was rearing up. The carriage jerked and she saw Katherine slide onto the floorboard the same way Emma had before, squeaking in surprise as her bottom hit the thin carpet. Her skirts ballooned up around her waist and she looked up at her sister with tears in her eyes. Emma had planted her feet when she felt the carriage skid so she was still in her seat when she heard hoofbeats coming toward them.
“Don’t move and don’t say a word,” Emma said. “I’ll protect you.”
“Your money or your life!” She heard the same husky voice as before shout at the driver, and Emma cursed. Tears spilled over onto Katherine’s cheeks and Emma dug out a handkerchief, handing it to her sister.
“There, darling. Just stay calm and quiet.”
“Let’s see what we have back here.” The man’s voice came closer and Emma tightened her fingers around her book, wondering if she could hit him in the head with it. When his face appeared in the window, his eyes widened in what she could only assume was surprise at seeing her again. Regardless, he put his pistol through the window and pointed it at her. “I would have thought you’d have learned your lesson about traveling in the dark so late at night.”
“It would seem you thought wrong.”
“At least you brought me another wallet,” he said. “Come on, loves, give me everything you have and I’ll let you live.” In response, Katherine reached for her purse but Emma put her hand on it and shook her head.
“No,” she said firmly. “We’re not giving you a single penny.” In the floorboards her little sister began to cry loudly, and the highwayman leveled his pistol at Emma.
“You’re making your sister cry,” he said, shaking his head. “Why don’t you just stop being difficult and hand me your wallets and jewelry so I can leave you alone.”
“Why don’t you take off that mask and let me see your face?” Emma leaned toward him, pushing the barrel of the gun away. Her blue eyes were hard as ice as all the anger she’d felt over the last few years at being called a weak, unpleasant bluestocking with ideas above her station came out at once and she couldn’t stop it. “A real man doesn’t hide behind a bit of cloth!”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” the highwayman spat. “Just give me your money or I’ll leave you both by the road for the next travelers to find!”
“How about I do this instead?” Emma reached up and snatched the mask off the highwayman’s face. “That’s more---” She stopped short when she saw a very familiar face by the light of the full moon. “You? What in the hell is going on?”
“I can explain,” Thomas said, his affected voice gone. In the floorboard, Katherine was crying into Emma’s handkerchief and Emma leaned out the window and swung the book, hitting Thomas in the side of the head.
“Go, go!” She shouted up to the driver, who snapped the reins hard enough for the horses to recover and they took off faster than before, leaving the erstwhile highwayman and his horse by the side of the road.
“Emma, what’s happening?” Katherine looked up from her handkerchief, her face red and blotchy. “What’s going on?”
“We’re going home,” Emma said, reaching down and pulling Katherine onto the seat beside her, enfolding her in her arms while she cried. “Don’t worry, everything’s going to be all right.” It was a lie, of course, but while a very tiny part of her wanted to join her sister in crying there was another emotion that was overwhelming it.
Emma was furious.
Chapter 14
Thomas rode hard through the night, ripping his mask off and throwing his black hat by the wayside as he disappeared into the dark. He’d long since torn out the hatband so there would be nothing leading back to him in it, but too many people had seen it on the infamous highwayman on the outskirts of London. He kept a hold on his pistol just in case he ran into the police, though what he would do if they confronted him he didn’t know.
He made it back to the town proper without incident, taking a moment to slow his horse so he could calm his breathing before he went to the stable and gave his horse to the stablemaster. The horse’s sides were heaving and he hoped that no one would question the man dressed entirely in black on a horse that had clearly just been running. Thomas patted the horse gently, trying to soothe it as they walked. It seemed as if it was waiting for something, and Thomas wondered if it was responding to his own tension.
By the time they got to the apartment house where his mother was sleeping, blissfully unaware of her son’s nighttime activities, he was outwardly as calm as one could be but inside he was ready for almost anything. The stableman came out of his house with a yawn and Thomas looked at him with a smile.
“Good evening, my good man. I hope I didn’t wake you.”
“Not at all, my lord. I’m ready for anything at this time of year.” He stepped forward and took the reins of the horse so Thomas could dismount. “Will you be needing anything else?”
“My mother and I may be leaving London in the morning. Can you locate our driver and see that he has our carriage readied?” He debated giving them an exact time but rejected it in favor of going up the steps to the apartment house as calmly as possible. Thomas wasn’t sure what time his mother might wake up and he didn’t want to alarm her if he didn’t have to.
As soon as he was out of sight of the stablemaster, he ran up the back stairs to their floor and unlocked the door with shaking hands. He went inside and closed it behind him a little too loudly, locking it and putting his head against the wood. Finally feeling somewhat safe, he let out a long and shaky breath.
“Thomas? What in Heaven’s name is the matter?” His mother’s voice startled him, and he turned to see her coming through the door from the hallway in her dressing gown.
“Mother, we have to leave London in the morning,” he said, trying to keep his voice calm. She frowned and shook her head.
“I don’t understand? Why would we leave so early when you’ve just met your lovely Emma? I thought I would get bored with the Season much sooner than you would.” Elizabeth came into the living room and touched his arm. “My goodness, you’re shaking!”
“I was with my friends when the highwayman from the newspaper stopped us,” he lied, making up his story on the spot. “We refused him and he shot at my friend John, but didn’t hit him. I was angry and fought with the thief, putting him off his horse and knocking away his pistol before riding hard for home with my friends. We only just parted and agreed we would all leave London in case the man decides to find us and retaliate.” It sounded like a thrilling story and as much as he hated lying to her, he hoped his mother would believe it.
“Oh my God! How frightening! I’m so glad you’re safe.” She hugged
him, then held him away by his arms. “You really shouldn’t have fought with him.”
“I thought only of John and not myself, I’m afraid,” Thomas said. “Now I see how foolish it was, and I don’t wish for anything to happen to you.”
“That’s comforting to know, but there’s no need for us to leave London. This man doesn’t know where you live, nor your name. Not to mention the fact that it was dark. I have my doubts that he would be able to find you.” Elizabeth smiled. “You’ll be safe, dearest.”
“I really think---”
“Besides, it wouldn’t be polite to leave without talking to Emma a bit more. Didn’t you promise you would see her at the Peltiers’ party? It would be rude not to go if you’ve already given your response.” She went back toward the hall, yawning in a much more ladylike way than the man who had taken his horse. “If you’re determined to return to Kent, we can go after the party but I refuse to leave any sooner. Your father wouldn’t approve of any sort of rudeness.”
“You might be surprised,” Thomas muttered, then realized what he’d said. He was so tired and his mind was so filled with worries that it had escaped before he had been able to stop it. Elizabeth looked at him for a long moment, then sighed.
“In all likelihood I probably wouldn’t.”
“What do you mean?” It was the first time he’d ever heard anything like this from his mother. She’d always talked about his father like the man was someone he should look up to, and for most of his life he had. Then he had died and it had all fallen down. “Mother, what was your marriage like?”
“Sit down with me. I’m quite tired.” Thomas nodded and did as she asked, sitting beside her on the couch. “Your father and I never had a particularly good marriage. That may be surprising to you as you’ve been so busy since you were a boy. It was always beneath the surface though.”