Chapter 3
CHAPTER 3
G ranted, Emma had not expected immense gratitude for what she had done—perhaps mortification instead, but she hadn’t expected outright fury.
“Gretchen, you do not understand,” she explained. “Gentlemen like that–”
“What you do not understand, Emma, is that there are some things that you need not meddle in.”
“I am not meddling. I am trying to help you.”
“Well, you are not helping at all. I know you spinsters have nothing else to do, but that does not give you the right to ruin things for others. Perhaps, instead of being yet another bitter spinster, it might be better for you to find a nice old man in there and marry him before you age beyond all hope.”
Without waiting for a response, Gretchen stormed back inside. Emma remained still for a moment, steadying herself. It was just as well that Gretchen did not stay with her, for Emma was quite certain that the reminder that there were but five years between them might have been too much for the young lady to bear.
She rolled her eyes at the absurdity of the situation, though she had to admit that it hurt a little. Once again, she had tried to help only for it to not have been the right thing to do. She shook her head. It had been the right thing to do; she had saved the young lady from ruin, and regardless of what Gretchen thought about it she did not regret her actions at all. She had done what she had to do.
Steeling herself, she returned to the drawing room. She could see Gretchen in the corner, her face like thunder, but she did not go to her and press the matter. She was likely embarrassed, and Emma did not wish to make it any worse. Instead, she returned to her friends, as she would not be allowed to see Sarah for the rest of the night.
“There you are!” Beatrice smiled. “Are you feeling better?”
“Very much so, yes. Now, perhaps you might all tell me what you did today?”
“Oh, Emma, the greenhouse was spectacular! Would you believe it, the Duke has an orangery I have never seen one in person. It was full of oranges, and even more citrus! Oh, I could spend hours in there.”
“Was it… orange?”
“There were oranges inside of it,” Dorothy explained, “And other citrus fruits.”
Emma nodded, feeling quite ridiculous for not knowing what an orangery was. Then again, Beatrice always liked when she could explain things she knew a lot about, so she tried not to be too hard on herself.
“And,” she whispered, leaning close, “you mustn’t tell anyone, but we shared one of each fruit between us!”
“Without me? The nerve of you all!” she joked in response.
“We saved you some, of course. It is in my room. We can go and get it now, if you like.”
Frankly, Emma knew that after all of the events of the day, if she were to go anywhere near a bed she would crawl beneath its covers and sleep. However, she did wish to try the fruits, especially if they had pleased Beatrice.
Before they could leave, though, Emma felt a tap on her shoulder. She thought it might be her father, and her heart pounded in her chest as she wondered just what he would have to say to her. When she turned, however, she saw that it was none other than the Duke of Lupton.
“Again?” she asked without thinking.
Her friends stared at her.
“Might you accompany me on a turn around the room?” he asked.
She could hear the whispers of her friends behind her, but she refused to dignify them. She wanted to try her orange, but she also could tell from how the gentleman was looking at her that he would not rest until he had gotten his way. It would be easier, she considered, to give him what he wanted and then leave it there.
“One turn,” she nodded, taking his arm before turning to the ladies. “I will join you shortly.”
“You do not know where my room is!”
“Then please wait here for me, if it is not too much trouble. I shall only be a moment.”
They agreed, and Emma left with the Duke. They only took a few steps, however, before she was faced once again by Gretchen’s sour expression.
“Might we go to a different drawing room?” she asked, and he followed her line of vision to Gretchen and whisked her away without question.
She was thankful for that, at least.
“I thank you for not refusing me,” he began as they walked.
“I very nearly did, if you must know.”
“I do, which is why I thank you for not doing so. We have some things to discuss.”
“Do we? I wouldn’t know what about. It certainly wouldn’t be to do with the poor young lady you were being improper with, for only a fool would tempt such scandal. And you are no fool, are you?”
“Certainly not. I would never– well…”
“So will you marry her, Your Grace? You were certainly acting as though you wouldn’t mind it as a consequence.”
“Is this about dinner? Miss Kendall, I assure you that I was only trying to be kind. She seemed ill at ease, and I wanted to make her comfortable.”
“That and then some, yes? I am not the naive thing you might think I am, you know. I understand what it is a gentleman is after when he does such things to a woman.”
“Ah, yes?” he asked. “And what might that be?”
She turned scarlet once more. In truth, she did not have the faintest idea, only that it led to ruin and she did not want that for anyone.
“It is something that one does not discuss in polite company. Might we leave it there?”
It seemed to satisfy him, and she was quite pleased about that. Perhaps spinsters were more inclined to know about such things? In any case, she was simply pleased that he wouldn’t press the matter further, as she wouldn’t have known the first thing to say in response.
“I must admit,” he said, “I find you very interesting indeed.”
“Is that because I do not feel an inherent desire to swoon at your feet?”
“Something like that,” he chuckled. “I mean, other ladies in your position might see this walk as an opportunity to at least ask me about myself, but you act as though you could not care less.”
“It is not an act, Your Grace. I have no need to enquire about you.”
“Ah, might that be because you have already asked others?”
“No, it is because I can already tell you everything that I need to know about you. For one, you hold an opinion of yourself that is entirely too high.”
He smiled at that, and Emma wondered why that was. He should have taken offense, and she would have been lying if she said it was not the desired outcome. She wanted him to leave her be, and she hoped that by taking a simple turn about the room she might satisfy his need to speak with her, but it seemed to have the opposite effect.
“Do continue,” he nodded after a while. “I should very much like to know how I am perceived by those who do not truly know me.”
“Then you might wish to know about the way it is clear that you have always been given what you want. You enjoy it, too. Nobody would ever refuse you, for you are so very important.”
“Ah, so you do not think I have ever been told that awful two-letter word?”
“No.”
“Yes, that one.”
He was, she decided, completely infuriating.
“Your Grace, pardon my asking, but why did you ask me to join you?”
“In all honesty, I saw how that young lady was watching you and I thought I would come in for a swift rescue. She seems quite ghastly.”
“Well, you were the one that–”
She couldn’t, for Gretchen’s sake, say what had happened aloud. If someone were to overhear, it wouldn’t end well.
“You see?” the Duke nodded, “I did nothing wrong. Perhaps we might agree to keep it that way?”
“You know precisely what you did!” she hissed. “We ladies are not these little things for you to enjoy yourself with then cast aside. I know what men like you do to ladies like her, and I will not stand for it.”
“Even if I were guilty of what you accuse me of, which I decidedly am not, why do you care? It isn’t as though she is a friend of yours, she has made that very clear.”
“That is as much your concern as that floor tile. I do not need to explain myself to a man that I shall never speak to again.”
“But you will speak to me again. The dining arrangements are fixed. If you wish to pass each meal wordlessly then you may do so, but I do not think it the most pleasant option.”
Emma wished she hadn’t attended at all, and simply left Sarah in their father’s care. It wasn’t as though she had been of any use, and now she was forced to spend the rest of her time in the proximity of a handsome duke with a hideous tongue. It was a dreadful fate, even worse than the one she had lived before. She willed the Duke of Pridefield to enter the room and tell everyone to leave, as the event had to unexpectedly come to an end, but of course he did not.
“For what it is worth,” he said suddenly, “I am sorry. You must know that what happened outside was not my doing.”
“No, I don’t suppose that it is ever the fault of you hapless gentlemen. It is the wanton ladies that ambush you, isn’t it?”
“In this case, yes.”
“Even if that were the case, which I doubt, you did not have to talk to her. I could hear her giggling thoughtlessly at you as if she were some sort of parrot. You should have known better than to tempt it. What if it were not me that found you?”
“You say that as though you have no plans of ruining the girl.”
“Because I do not! I would never do that to someone, even if they do not like me.”
“In which case, I must thank you. You must know that I would have married her if necessary, as that would have been my duty, but to know that I do not need to is quite the relief.”
“We both know what you would have done,” she snapped. “You would have refused, claimed that you wanted nothing to do with her, and destroyed her in an instant. You probably would have had that ridiculous smile on your face as you did so, too.”
“I do not think my smile is ridiculous.”
“And how much time do you spend in the mirror looking at it?”
He laughed, but he did not have a response. She had won, and she tried not to look too triumphant about that.
“I think it might be best that you at least try to enjoy my presence,” he suggested, “or, at least, you do not outwardly loathe it. It would only dampen the others’ experience, which is hardly fair to our host.”
“You may care all you like for the feelings of another duke. I can see where your loyalties lie in that respect. I, on the other hand, shall be far more occupied with the lives of my fellow ladies.”
“A noble cause, indeed.”
“Yes, and so you should know, Your Grace, that as long as I am here, as long as we are under the same roof, you will not ruin another soul. I will not allow it.”
“As you wish, Miss Kendall.”
He winked at her with a smirk, and she turned on her heel and stormed away.