Chapter 14
Hart stood before her in the doorway, so shockingly attractive that she felt breathless.
“I was expecting Dora to open the door,” he said with a roguish smile. “What have you done with her?”
“Dora is busy, so I came myself,” Emeline said, gathering her wits. “My brother, Charles, is visiting, as well as Lord Melford.”
Once inside, Hart raised a brow as he glanced toward the voices in the dining room. “Ah. Most ill-mannered of me to arrive unannounced and uninvited. Perhaps I should go away again and do it properly?”
“Do not be nonsensical! Come with me.” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him set his hat and a long, rolled-up paper on the side table.
They entered the former dining room to find Tobias regarding an ammonite, while Louise described its discovery during her very first visit to Lyme Regis. “It has always meant more to me than any other fossil because it opened a new world.”
“Fascinating,” said the viscount, looking impressed.
Charles offered, “Louise has always been very studious. Really, how many young ladies do you know who would give up pretty gowns and balls for a lot of ancient fossils?”
Noticing Hart, their conversation stopped.
Tobias seemed to stiffen, but then he chuckled and extended his hand. “Well, Hart, I daresay I’ve seen more of you this past week than during the entire decade since we left Oxford!”
They shook hands before Hart turned to greet Louise and Charles.
“I was just passing by,” Hart explained, adding with a wry smile, “I must check in on my research staff from time to time, you know.”
Charles came closer. “So, you are the mysterious employer I’ve heard about. By Jove, I am eager to learn more, my lord. Do you have an excavation underway at a secret location?”
“Not at all,” he said flatly, turning his attention to the case of tools Tobias had brought, spread open on the long table. “Ah, what’s this?” He looked at Emeline. “Perhaps you plan to expand your research, Miss St. Briac?”
Before Emeline could explain, Tobias said, “As it happens, I brought the tools to Emeline, as a gift. I hope that she may use them at Amity Park in the future.” Then, smiling at Louise, he added, “I have, of course, invited both Misses St. Briac to participate.”
As the viscount spoke, Emeline saw Hart’s eyes flash when Tobias used her Christian name. Suddenly the room felt very small. Before Hart could respond, she moved to stand between the two men.
“Lord Melford, it was very generous of you to bring these tools,” she said, “and we look forward to putting them to use in the near future.”
“It was my pleasure.” He paused to consult his pocket watch. “And now, I must take my leave. My grandmother is expecting me for tea.” To Emeline he said, “Will you see me out?”
Her cheeks felt hot as Tobias bid the others goodbye. They went into the entry hall and, when he had gathered up his hat, gloves, and walking stick, Emeline opened the front door.
“Come out with me for a moment, please?” he murmured.
She could almost feel Hart’s keen eyes, following their progress through the walls. “Yes, of course.”
Outside on the footpath, amidst the clatter of passing carriages, Tobias turned to face her.
“I came today to ask if you will accompany me to Kew Gardens on Thursday. It’s been transformed these past two years, and it would be a pleasure to see it with you before autumn passes into winter.
” He drew a deep breath before adding, “Would you like that, Emeline?”
When she hesitated, a shadow crossed his face, and her heart went out to him. “Yes, of course I will go with you. It sounds lovely.”
He took her hand for a moment, smiling into her eyes. “Excellent. I’ll call for you at eleven o’clock on Thursday morning.”
Waiting for Emeline to return inside, Hart wished he had resisted the temptation to come here today. His chest felt tight with something that might be jealousy, an emotion he knew little of, and he realized this was just the sort of slippery slope he had managed to deftly avoid his entire life.
Why can’t you simply stay the bloody hell away from her?
His thoughts were interrupted by Sir Charles Brandreth, musing, “Hmm. One must wonder what Melford is on about. I mean, could he seriously be wooing my sister?”
“Why should he not?” Louise replied serenely. She wrote something on a paper and, leaning a bit closer, Hart saw that it was Emeline’s Bridegroom List. As he watched, incredulous, Louise carefully printed “The Viscount Tobias Melford” at the top, above a half dozen other names.
Charles continued, “Well, Emeline might be a beauty, but we all know that otherwise she’s hardly in the conventional line. I mean—”
Just then, the door opened, and Emeline appeared, her cheeks pink. Hart immediately thought of the way she blushed when she was close to him. Had Melford touched her? Was she attracted to him? A mysterious fiery knot twisted inside his chest.
“Goodness, what a busy day,” she said lightly. Her gaze fell on the case of archaeology implements. “Wasn’t it kind of Tobias to bring these for us?”
“Are you planning to use those tools in the dig at Amity Park?” Hart couldn’t keep the edge from his own voice.
“Perhaps! He has invited me to do so.” Emeline looked toward her cousin and added, “And, as you may have heard, Tobias has kindly invited Louise as well. How exciting it would be to move beyond our research and participate in a genuine excavation!”
Unable to stop himself, Hart flared, “Perhaps you have forgotten that I am employing you to spend your days at the Reading Room, doing research on my project.”
He was gratified to hear Emeline gasp. On the other side of the long table, Charles coughed nervously, and Louise looked up from that cursed Bridegroom List.
“Kindly step into the parlor, my lord,” Emeline said, her frigid tone belied by an undercurrent of fury. “I would have private speech with you.”
Emeline led the way, her back straight, crossing all the way to the parlor’s bow window before she turned to face Hart.
“See here,” he began, his tone less combative than before.
“No, you see here, my lord!” she flashed. “You may employ us, but that does not give you the right to dictate all our comings and goings. If there is one thing I will not tolerate, it is a man attempting to manage my life.”
He towered over her, a muscle moving in his jaw. “I see. Clearly, Melford is a paragon who never puts a foot wrong!”
“Since you have mentioned it, yes!” Some devil made her fling out, “In fact, Tobias has been kind enough to invite me to drive with him to Kew Gardens on Thursday.”
“Drive with him! Alone?”
His ice-blue eyes caught fire, and for one thrilling instant she thought he was going to catch her up in his arms and kiss her. Passionately. Ruthlessly. This vision brought with it a rush of arousal.
“Indeed, alone,” she taunted. “I am persuaded you cannot find this shocking, since you took me up alone in your own carriage just a few days ago.” Their eyes met, sparks flashing, and she knew he was thinking of how that interlude had ended, with them sinking down into the grass, kissing.
“That was different, and well you know it, my girl,” Hart shot back, stepping closer.
“I assume so, for Tobias is a gentleman,” came her sweet reply. “I do not imagine that he will attempt to ravish me, as you did, my lord.”
“I see.” His jaw hardened and he ground out, “I believe our business is concluded. I will bid you good day.”
The abrupt end to their heated exchange left Emeline feeling off-balance. She followed him into the entry hall and watched as he reached for his things. Surely there was something she could say to best him at this crucial juncture!
“Oh, by the way,” Hart said brusquely. He held out the rolled-up paper and fairly pushed it into her hands.
“I didn’t come here to endure a lot of set-downs from a headstrong chit.
In fact, in response to your request, I brought this larger, more detailed drawing of the sword that was discovered on the grounds of my estate.
You may keep it, for now. Perhaps it will help—that is if you and your cousin can find time to fulfill the terms of our agreement. ”
Outraged, Emeline opened her mouth to reply, but Hart had already wrenched open the door and was disappearing down the footpath.
On Thursday morning, having taken extra pains with her attire, Emeline joined Louise in their study and waited for Tobias to arrive. Her cousin had four different books open at her end of the long table, next to the new sketch of Hart’s sword, and she appeared to be immersed in her work.
“I so wish we could see this sword, rather than a sketch, no matter how detailed. It’s a shame that it wasn’t discovered in one piece,” mused Louise. “I know we were told it might be Viking, yet I have the feeling there is more to this discovery than his lordship has divulged to us.”
“Indeed!” Emeline agreed hotly. “A libertine like Hart doubtless has secrets. Our entire employment may be some sort of sham.”
Under her cousin’s probing gaze, Emeline could not sit still. Rising, she paced across the room and smoothed the skirts of her rose and cream promenade dress.
“The weather will be very fine for your outing,” Louise offered, clearly hoping to smooth the waters. “I rather envy you, visiting the gardens now that the property has passed from the Crown to the government, and the public are able to go there freely.”
“Yes,” she replied absently. “It should be very pleasant.”
Louise drew a breath. “Are you still thinking about your quarrel with Lord Hartcliffe?”
After a moment, Emeline managed to reply, “I’ll own I didn’t expect him to respond so harshly to Tobias’s presence and his…gift.”
“Didn’t you?” Louise sent her a knowing smile. “I thought that might be your intention when you continued to use Lord Melford’s Christian name, implying that you and he are on quite intimate terms.”