by Ella Edon
As he rounded the corner, it drifted up out of the sunset mist like a dream. He stared up at the walls, and felt emotions like fireworks inside him. Hope, joy, gratitude. Fear was there, too, curdling his tummy like vinegar. What if she was angry with him?
“I’ll have to just risk it.”
He strode up the stairs.
The bronze knocker was cold in his hand. He tapped it twice and shifted from foot to foot, ignoring the roiling sensation in his belly. He was shy. He was worried. He was…
“Yes, sir?”
A maid looked out at him suddenly as the door opened, giving him a fright. Luke recognized her as Emilia’s personal attendant.
“Is Lady Emilia present?” he asked.
The woman’s brow went up and her face took on a mistrustful look. “Not to you, no sir.”
“What?” Luke stammered, and then he remembered the woman’s name. “What…June, please. Is Lady Emilia currently here? I need to speak to her.”
June shook her head. “I’m sorry, sir. She doesn’t want to hear anything of you. She told me to turn you away. She’s very distressed,” she added. Her face was stiff with accusation.
“June…please. I have to see her.” Luke felt his heart thud. She was distressed? What had happened? His first thought was that it was news about her father. He had been taken ill again. Perhaps he was dying! He ached to be able to hold Emilia, to give her the comfort she must be needing now.
“No, sir. Please, sir…Good day.” She started to shut the door, as Luke put his foot in it.
He stared at her, almost as much surprised by himself as she was by his action. Her eyes widened. “Sir, I’ll call the coachman. He’ll have you thrown out,” she warned.
Luke shook his head. “I’m sorry,” he said. He withdrew his foot. Walked down two steps, towards the end of the small flight of stairs. “I will ask you to tell her I called, please. And that I’ll call again tomorrow.”
He walked down the street, feeling utterly dejected.
The rain had started again, a slow drizzle that soaked his hair. He looked down at his top-hat, which he held in one hand. He’d really hoped to see her today. He stopped dead.
“Damn it,” he said to himself. “I’m going to see her. Ranvier is right – I never take risks or do anything scandalous. It’s time that changed.”
He strode back and knocked on the door again. This time, the butler stood there.
“Sir?”
“I’m Lord Westmore,” Luke said tightly. “I’m here to see Lady Emilia.”
“No, sir,” the butler said, and started to shut the door again. This time, Luke leaned on the door and pushed against it with all his might. The butler stared at him in alarm, stepping back when Luke barged in.
“Is she upstairs?” he demanded.
“Sir…this is most irregular…” the butler said. “I shall be required to call the Watch!”
“Call them, then,” Luke growled. “I’d like to see what they make of this.”
He went up the stairs to the second floor. Then he chose a direction at random, going right. His feet were muffled by the soft carpet in the hallway, and he strode past paintings, from which Emilia’s ancestors watched him distantly. Then, he heard her voice.
“…June, I told you…Papa asked me if we could sell off some of the candlesticks in the downstairs…Oh!”
Emilia was sitting on the chaise-lounge in the drawing-room. She shot to her feet and stared at Luke. “You!”
“Emilia!” he smiled radiantly. “I’m here.”
To his utter astonishment, she pushed past him out of the room.
Chapter Thirty-One
Words are Exchanged
As she walked swiftly down the hall, Emilia heard Luke’s footsteps on the carpet, rushing behind her to keep up. She didn’t stop to turn around.
If she saw him, she’d break down. If she broke down, she’d tell him all the words that were trapped, now, in her heart. If she did that, he might hate her even worse than he must do now. Why had he come back here, anyway?
“Emilia, please!” he called as he rushed after her. “Wait! I need to talk to you.”
She strode down the hallway and crossed to the stairwell, running up the shallow steps that led to where the family bedchambers were. She opened the door of her room and strode in, then twisted in shock as Luke pushed against the door as she tried to close it.
“Go away,” she whispered.
Even she was surprised by the sheer level of angry venom in those words. He blinked and his brow shot up in surprise.
“Emilia, please! What’s happening? Why are you angry with me?”
Emilia felt the sorrow in her heart shift and change, becoming pure rage. She let go of the door. How could he not know? How feckless and thoughtless could a person be, if he hadn’t thought about the danger and the scandal he’d exposed her to? She could have starved on the street if her father passed away and she was outcast from society!
“Why am I angry?” she asked.
Her voice was very quiet. All the same, she saw Luke step back, as if responding to the menace in her tone.
“Yes,” he stammered. “Emilia…what is it? Please…”
“You want to know why I’m angry?” she demanded. She heard her voice get louder, and knew she couldn’t stop it. She was glad her father was upstairs in the study, where most noise didn’t carry. Her rage was building in her, growing and heating. “You, with your selfish lies! You have changed the course of my life! You exposed me to shame, to danger…ultimately to death! What did you think would happen to me when you walked away?” She was furious. “Did you think another man would take me?”
“Emilia…I didn’t…”
“You don’t even have the courage to admit to it,” she interrupted. Her voice was flat now, devoid of feelings.
He took a breath, a desperate look in his eyes. “Emilia. I admit. I am a coward. But…”
“So much a coward that the merest whiff of scandal made you grease your heels for Yorkshire!” she said scornfully. “Oh, yes! We all know of the impeccable earl, who is above the dealings of a debt-ridden earl in the Leedgate Club!”
“What club? I’m part of the Millway! For perdition’s sake, Emilia! What is this?”
Emilia leaned on the wall. She felt tired. All his evasive arguing was getting the better of her energy.
“Luke, I trusted you. I honestly believed you were an honorable man. Maybe you were. Maybe you just think you’re too good to be associated with a Leedgate gambler’s daughter like me.”
She saw his jaw drop. She looked into those beautiful blue eyes and thought she saw utter shock there. She wished she could believe his shock was real.
“Emilia! Why do you think that?”
She just looked at him. Even now, he wasn’t trying to deny it, or even to make amends. He was even more cowardly than she thought.
“Luke, just go,” she said wearily. “I don’t want to continue this discussion.”
“Emilia, please,” he whispered. “I didn’t want to leave you. I never wanted to.”
That made her brow go up. She looked at him, studying his face. His handsome features were twisted into a look of utter desperation. His eyes were wide and shocked. He looked like a man who’s just seen something of priceless worth drop from the mantel and shatter into a thousand shining shards.
“Luke…mayhap one day I can forgive you,” she said gently. “Right now, the hurt is intense.”
He blinked, and she, blinking back her own tears, was surprised to see that he, too, had wet eyes. He held out a hand, as if to take hers, then let it fall mutely to his side.
“Emilia. I never wanted to leave. I was called away by duty. Hang duty!” he swore. “I will never make that mistake again.”
She felt her heart start to thump, something new and intense growing there where she thought her feelings forever frozen. She recognized it as the beginnings of hope.
“Luke, if your family insisted that y
ou leave me, I understand,” she said gently. “It means enough that it was not your plan.”
“But I didn’t leave you!” Luke said, voice aching. “Emilia. I was called away to attend my uncle. He was very sick. We thought he’d die.”
“Your uncle?” She frowned, feeling very cautious. She’d been fooled by people twice now – the Duke of Elsmoor first, and then by Luke. She was not feeling trusting right now.
“Yes! Uncle Ranvier!” he explained, his voice quick and urgent. “He lives in Yorkshire, on a country estate. You remember him…I had dealings with my solicitor on his behalf, when I was here?”
Emilia let out her breath in a long sigh. “I recall that,” she said slowly. “And yes, I believe you were attending to your uncle’s needs, from duty. But, then, why did you come back? Why not stay with him, until he was recovered? Tell me that?”
Luke stared at her. His face lit up with a gentle smile. “Emilia…I came back to see you. How can you not know? There was never a moment save that I thought of you.”
Emilia swallowed hard and blinked back the tears that clouded her vision. She felt like spring had thawed the ice that held her heart. She blinked hard, wanting to focus on him, desperate to believe.
“Oh, Luke,” she whispered. “Is that true? I wish I could believe.”
“Emilia!” He was laughing, now, a gentle, desperate laugh, though tears ran down his cheeks. “How can you doubt that, even for a second? I love you, Emilia. I love you. I think I did from the first moment I saw you, and I have ever since, with every fiber of me, with every beat of my heart.”
Emilia stared at him. Slowly, she took a step forward. Something strange was happening inside her chest, a powerful, searing feeling cascading through her, making her heart throb and her mind fuzzy with disbelief.
“Luke?” she whispered. “Did you just say…you loved me?”
“Yes!” He was still laughing. He held out a hand as she stepped forward, and she took it, looking into those beautiful blue eyes. “Oh, Emilia! How can you doubt it? I loved you from the moment I laid eyes on you! Ever since.”
“Well, I’m not sure what that says about your sanity,” she replied, then grinned. “But…oh, Luke! I can’t believe it. I can’t believe you came back! That you love me.” She started crying again, tears of joy.
He took her other hand and they stood, an arm’s length apart, looking at each other. He smiled and she stepped forward and looked into his eyes.
“Luke,” she whispered. “I love you. I always have. It might have taken a while for me to recognize it, I won’t lie, but I know it now. And, knowing this, I’ll never let you go.”
Their eyes met, and they held each other’s gaze. He leaned forward as she did, and their lips brushed against each other, then their foreheads resting against one another and she stared into his eyes.
He drew her into an embrace.
They kissed once more, then Emilia looked around the hallway, feeling dazed. Luke stood beside her. He looked tired, she realized – his eyes were ringed with blue bruising from sleeplessness. His hair was tousled and he was pale.
“Luke…have you eaten anything?” she asked gently.
He shook his head. “We traveled all day. And through the night. I wanted to reach you as soon as possible.”
“Oh, Luke.” She squeezed his hand. “You silly man. Do you think you could bear to stay for dinner? My father will probably take his in his chamber, if you don’t feel up to meeting him until you’re properly-awake.”
Luke grinned. “I do look bad, don’t I?” he ran a hand over his messy hair. “ I’ll meet your father now. I don’t want to put it off any longer. Is he about?” He sucked in a nervous breath, eyes wide.
She smiled, but she shook her head. “He’s in his study, but he’s also tired. I recommend that we leave matters until tomorrow.”
Luke looked relieved. “We’ll do that, then.”
Emilia felt herself drifting down the hallway. “June?” she called. “Summon Mrs. Highgate and have dinner set out in the dining-room? Be sure to set an extra place. We have a guest today.”
In the dining room, he pulled out a chair for her. “Milady.”
She grinned. “Luke Preston. I’ll have you know you’ve traduced my honor more than enough to merit being on first-name terms together.”
He roared with mirth. “Accepted, milady. Speaking of traducing of your honor…”
“Yes?” Emilia’s mouth was dry. Suddenly, her body was aching for him, the merest thought of what had been between them making her long for him.
“Where am I going to sleep tonight?”
She flushed. “If, sir, you intend to stick to the vows you made, I reckon some arrangement could be found.”
His brow shot up and she felt heat flow through her at his grin. Then he closed his eyes, as if in pain.
“Emilia, my vows were real. They were made in all sincerity. From the bottom of my heart, and always so.”
Emilia felt her throat close. “Oh, Luke,” she said. “Mine were, too.”
He raised a brow. “I don’t deserve that,” he admitted.
“No,” she said archly. “But I suspect that, given time, you may earn it.”
They both laughed.
Together, they settled down for dinner.
Chapter Thirty-Two
A Surprise
Luke looked across the table at Emilia. In the glow of the chandelier, she looked so beautiful, and he could barely draw a breath. With her soft, oval face framed by pale curls and her sleepy expression, she was utterly irresistible.
He reached for his glass and sipped, feeling tired. He had traveled far in a short time. At the same time, the thought of what she’d said about the sleeping-arrangements thrummed through his body, making his heart pound and his loins stir.
“Milady?” he said. “You look tired.”
“It’s late.” She nodded gently. “I am tired, yes.”
“Me, too. Are you finished dessert?”
“Yes.” A mousse reposed in a glass, a long spoon resting beside it. Luke had finished his already – it tasted of cocoa. She licked the spoon in a way that made Luke’s loins hurt. Then she pushed back the chair.
“I think I’ll go abed.”
“Me, too.”
They looked at each other.
Luke felt the pounding in his heart start to fill up his entire body, thrumming and insistent. She smiled.
“What?” she asked.
He chuckled. “Nothing.”
They both looked at each other again, and he saw her cheeks flush. She pushed back her chair and he stood in an instant. In two paces, he was beside her. He put his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. This close to her, he couldn’t ignore the ache inside him any longer.
“Shall we go to bed?”
She raised a brow. “You aren’t a man who likes taking risks, I believe?”
He grinned. “Is this a risk?”
“You’re presupposing that I believe what you said.”
He looked into her eyes. She was smiling, her blue gaze lit with something teasing, so irresistible he had to bite his lip to ignore the stab of his groin.
He nodded. “Yes, I am. But, then again, I know that my vows were meant, every last one of them. And that, as soon as I am able, I’ll have a coach sent to the abbey to collect the documents and legitimize them. You are my wife.”
Emilia looked at the floor. When she looked up, her eyes were misted. “Oh, Luke,” she whispered. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
They kissed. He wrapped her in his arms and pressed his mouth to hers, feeling her gentle lips part beneath his insisting tongue. She made a small noise of assent and melted against him in a way that stopped his heart. He drew her to him, his body aching with longing.
“Should we go to your room?” he whispered. He could smell the scent of her hair – a wild scent, untamed, offset with the lavender-leaf rinse she must use to wash it. It was an in
toxicating smell.
She looked up at him and the expression in her eyes melted him. A mix of trust and wickedness, it set his blood afire.
“You are a temptation,” she whispered. She rested a hand on his shoulder. He stiffened, looking into those blue eyes, and struggled to keep himself from pressing her to the wall and plying her mouth with kisses.