Chapter 22 #2
She should have stepped around him then. She knew it. The door was only a few paces behind her. The drawing room was waiting, and music would begin soon.
Yet, for some reason, she refused to move.
Adam’s hand lifted, stopped, then settled on her waist. His palm was warm through the silk of her dress, and her breath hitched at once.
“Is this why you are still here?” he asked.
“Adam…”
“Why you do not want to go to the drawing room?”
The question was plain. She hated that she had no plain answer.
“You want to know what I think, Adam?” she responded, finally finding the words. “I think you do not want me to go. Not really.”
His grip tightened by the smallest degree. “That is a dangerous accusation.”
“Is it false?”
He lowered his head without responding, and that was all the proof she needed.
The room shrank to just the two of them, and Emily felt him against her as he drew nearer, the hard line of his body close enough to erase the last useful thought in her head.
His other hand came up, touching the side of her face with such reverent care that she nearly lost her composure from that alone.
“Say you want me to stop,” he murmured.
She swallowed. “Do you?”
His breath left him in a rough sound. “That was not the question.”
“Well, Duke, it is mine.”
He closed his eyes for one hard second. “Emily…”
“Do. You?”
Instead of responding, his thumb brushed the corner of her mouth. The touch was light, but the effect it had on her body was far beyond her. She leaned in before pride could stop her, and his hand tightened on her waist again.
For one brief second, she thought he would do it. She thought he would kiss her right there in the little room, with his cravat on the chair and the door ajar, while the whole house waited only a passageway away.
She waited for him to.
But then, a knock sounded at the door, and she jerked back.
Adam’s hand dropped so quickly that she felt the loss of it like cold air.
“Yes?” he called.
A maid’s voice drifted through, cautious and apologetic. “Forgive me, Your Grace. Lady Lake asks whether Her Grace is coming to the drawing room. The music will start soon.”
Emily pressed one hand to her temple as if that could steady anything, while Adam crossed to the door and opened it only enough to be seen. His body blocked the maid’s view of the room.
“Her Grace will come at once,” he replied.
“Yes, Your Grace.” The maid’s footsteps retreated.
Adam remained at the door for a moment, his hand on the edge, his back to Emily. When he turned, his face had changed. The Duke was returning piece by piece, badly assembled and far from convincing.
“Go,” he said quietly.
She lifted her chin. “You are coming too.”
“In a moment.”
“That is not an answer. I have heard a lot of gentlemen say that when they wish to avoid talking.”
“Then I shall disappoint your experience.”
“You do that often.”
His gaze sharpened. “Well, clearly not as often as I should.”
The words touched too near.
Emily reached for composure and found only scraps of it.
“Very well,” she huffed, and turned before she could make the mistake of refusing him. At the door, she paused. “You cannot hide from me all night.”
He swallowed loudly. “I know.”
She left before that could become another almost-kiss.
The hallway felt too cold after. Emily walked back toward the drawing room with careful steps, each one gathering another layer of composure around her. By the time she reached the brighter rooms, her face obeyed her again while her breathing still struggled to catch up.
“There you are.” Marina’s voice broke through her reverie. “I began to fear you had been stolen by the wallpaper.”
“An ugly fate.”
“So what happened?”
Emily accepted the fan Leonora held out to her and opened it with more attention than the task required. “Fetching myself.”
Marina’s eyes narrowed. “That is a suspiciously elegant answer.”
“It is the only one you are getting.”
Leonora looked between them, then smiled faintly. “The music is starting.”
“Good,” Emily said. “Then no one needs to ask me anything.”
Marina leaned closer. “That has never stopped me.”
Emily scoffed. “Not today.”
Leonora sat at the piano after some gentle coaxing, blushing as several guests encouraged her. Marina surrendered the bench, and Emily laughed at the theatrics. Soon enough, Leonora began to play.
The drawing room softened around the first notes and turned the room into serenity itself. The music was calm and moving almost at the same time, and Emily stood near the piano and told herself she was composed.
Until Adam entered a few moments later.
His coat was back in place, and his cravat had been tied again, though not with the earlier precision. A single dark strand of hair had fallen near his temple, and his face had resumed its usual hardness.
Emily watched him for only a second too long.
Then his eyes lifted and found hers across the room.
The brief moment in his room came back in one breath, and all she could think of was his loosened cravat and the feel of his hand on her waist. She looked away first, though every inch of her felt the effort.
Adam had come back.
The evening, which should have been safer now, had only become more dangerous.
As Leonora’s music floated through the mild crowd, Emily felt herself relax for the first time since leaving Adam’s room.
A few guests drifted nearer, and Lord Redwick was among them. It felt almost like she couldn’t turn anywhere without seeing him. That smug smile on his face and the almost unrecognizable crookedness in the corner of his nose.
He stood beside the piano with his smile polished and his manners arranged for admiration. Emily watched him with immediate dislike.
Leonora reached the end of the short tune, and several guests murmured their approval.
“May I say that is quite a lovely piece, Miss Leonora?” Lord Redwick offered, his voice cutting through the background chatter.
“Thank you, My Lord,” Leonora responded, her voice sharp.
“Yes. You were wise to choose so modestly,” Lord Redwick said. “It spares the room of disappointment if courage fails.”
Leonora’s hands went still over the keys, and Marina’s smile vanished. “I beg your pardon?”
Lord Redwick lifted one hand. “Pray, it is only a jest. I noticed Miss Leonora seemed a little overcome while playing.”
Emily turned to him before Marina could sharpen herself further. “Lord Redwick.”
His smile returned. “Your Grace?”
“Do you often mistake gentleness for fear?”
The question landed with perfect precision, for Lord Redwick’s eyes flickered. “Not at all. I merely meant Miss Leonora appeared nervous.”
“Well, you see, the thing with skill is that it requires some level of nerves. Especially when you intend to display the said skill in a room full of people.”
“Of course.”
“So you need not worry. Miss Leonora’s courage is in excellent health.”
Marina smiled brightly. “Unlike your nose, Lord Redwick.”
“Marina!” Leonora hissed.
Emily resisted the urge to laugh as a look of discomfort flickered across the man’s face.“My friend will play now. I am sure you will listen attentively.”
There was no answer he could give without worsening his own position. He bowed, stiffly this time, and stepped back.
Emily turned to Leonora. “The piece you like best, Nora.”
Leonora swallowed, then nodded. “Yes, I think I shall.”
Her fingers returned to the keys, and Emily looked toward Adam before she could stop herself.
He had not moved. Anger stood plainly in him, controlled but visible. Beneath it was something that reached her more sharply—recognition, heat, a fierce attention that made her skin warm beneath her gown.
Dominic said something to him, but he did not answer. His eyes remained on her while Leonora continued to play. By the time the final note faded, the crowd applauded with real pleasure. Leonora’s blush returned, but this time she smiled.
“Now,” Marina announced, “we require some dancing.”
Leonora looked alarmed. “We require some rest . Personally, I believe we have all done enough for one day already.”
A murmur of agreement swept through the crowd, but that wasn’t enough to stop Marina.
“You may rest. I require entertainment.”
Emily narrowed her eyes. “Entertainment for whom?”
“For every innocent soul in this room.”
“Marina.”
“We would not deny these people some joy now, would we?”
A few guests laughed, and chairs began to move before anyone had decided who first suggested it. The host approved of a light country dance, nothing formal, only enough movement to rescue the room from post-dinner drowsiness.
Emily should have retreated the minute she noticed the wicked smile on Marina’s face.
“A duke must dance at least once,” someone said.
“And with his wife,” another guest added.
“ Particularly with his wife,” Marina emphasized sweetly. “I am sure the Duke and Duchess of Huxley would not hesitate to entertain us tonight. They are newlyweds, after all.”
Oh, dear Lord.
Emily shot her a harsh look, but all her friend did was shrug. “I defend marriage.”
“Is that what you do?” Emily scoffed.
Adam crossed the room before anyone could say anything else. Then he stopped before her and offered his hand. “Duchess.”
Emily placed her fingers in his. “You came back.”
“I said I would.”
“I suppose now I have to trust your word.”
His thumb brushed over her glove. “Now you have to.”
Amidst a wave of loud applause, the music began, and they both took their spots in the center of the room. His hand settled on her waist, and she remembered that same hand in his chambers earlier.
Thankfully, Leonora started playing again, and the soft sound of the piano keys drowned out everyone else.
In that moment, all Emily could see and feel was Adam, and she knew he felt the same way. They were so close that their conversation didn’t escape the tight circle around them.
“You are holding me too tightly,” she whispered.
His grip eased just by a fraction. “Better?”
“Maybe.”
His gaze dipped to her mouth. “Can we just do this and get it over with?”
“And what if I say I am greatly enjoying the despair in your eyes?”
Before Adam could open his mouth to respond, Emily missed the next step. He steadied her at once, holding her in place.
“Careful,” he warned.
“Oh well,” Emily quipped, her first instinct to make light of the situation. “I was careful before I married you.”
He cocked his head. “That is not how I remember it.”
She shrugged. “I do not know what to say. Perhaps your memory is not what it used to be.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“My memory. That is what you are going for?”
Emily shrugged again. “It is perfectly understandable for a man your…”
He raised an eyebrow. “Age?”
“I was going to say experience.”
“Right,” he drawled, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
His hand remained exactly where it should have been and somehow felt improper by the force of his restraint. They turned with the music and swayed like a well-oiled machine.
“You should not have followed me earlier,” he said.
“You should not have left dinner.”
“Two things can be right at the same time.”
“I am afraid I am not familiar with being wrong.”
His mouth tightened. “Really? Not even once?”
The answer struck her low. “Not even once.”
Silence pressed on between them, and their eyes remained glued to each other. Emily tried to count the times his eyes strayed from hers, either to her lips or her chest, until she lost it.
Then, at some point, a laugh sounded too near, and Jasper’s voice broke through the tension.
“For heaven’s sake, stop before you tear each other to pieces.”
A wave of laughter followed, and the room came back all at once.
Heat swept up Emily’s face, and Adam’s grip loosened immediately, though he did not release her before the dance required it. His expression shuttered, and that hurt more than the laughter.
When the music ended, Adam bowed over her hand with perfect formality. His mouth barely touched her glove, and his eyes did not leave hers before he stepped back.
Marina appeared beside her with the expression of a woman failing innocence. “I may have overplayed that.”
Emily opened her fan. “You think?”
“Only a little.”
“You are fortunate I love you.”
“Yes,” Marina said, glancing toward Adam. “I am beginning to think your husband may not.”
Emily opened her mouth to give a snarky response, but Lady Lake had other plans. She clapped her hands once, lightly enough to remain polite and firmly enough to be obeyed.
“My friends, I must be tyrannical for your own good. Tomorrow, we honor the Dowager Duchess of Salbury properly, and I refuse to have half my guests yawning through the ball. You must all get some rest.”
A few protests rose at once.
“Rest?” Marina said. “At a house party? How severe.”
Lady Lake smiled. “You may rebel after breakfast, Miss Marina.”
“I shall put it in my diary,” Marina said. “Rebellion, after toast.”
A wave of laughter moved through the room as guests began to gather fans, gloves, abandoned cards, and unfinished conversations. Leonora rose from the piano, and Frances accepted congratulations again with a pleased flush that made Emily’s heart swell for one brief, tender moment.
At that moment, Adam appeared beside her. For some reason, she had not seen him cross the room.
“Duchess,” he murmured.
She turned to look at him. His face was perfectly calm, but those eyes… the way they darkened…
“Duke.”
“I shall escort you upstairs.”
Marina, wicked creature that she was, looked between them and hid a smile behind her fan. “How attentive.”
Adam did not look away from Emily. “I am learning.”
Emily felt the words settle low in her belly. She placed her fingers on his proffered arm. “Then I suppose I should encourage improvement.”
His hand came over hers, warm and firm for one brief second.
“Careful,” he said quietly.
They moved toward the door with the rest of the guests, proper in every visible way. Emily smiled when someone wished her good night, and Adam bowed when required.
They passed through candlelight and murmured farewells, and soon, the drawing room was released of company. In the hallway, the crowd thinned, and Adam’s pace quickened.
Emily looked up at him. “Are you in such haste to retire?”
His jaw tightened. “No.”
The answer was too honest for the hall, and for some reason, it made her breath catch in her throat.
Adam led her toward the stairs, his hand still covering hers on his arm, his restraint drawn so tight she could feel it in the space between them.
She knew that look.
She had seen glimpses of it several times throughout today, and she saw even more of it back in his room. The look that almost undid the last shred of restraint she had.
Now that they were both going up to the blue suite, all she could think of was what he had planned.