Chapter 4
CHAPTER 4
E mma found her friends, and they left for Dorothy’s room. It was very spacious indeed, and immaculately decorated. Emma realized then that she would be in a room of her own for the first time since Sarah was born. It was an unusual arrangement, especially given that they had plenty of rooms to spare, but their father had insisted upon it. He needed more space for his things, he claimed, as Emma and Sarah took up enough room in his life as it was.
It would be a quiet night, she imagined, and though there were times when she wished she had a room of her own, she suddenly longed not to.
“So,” Cecilia began, handing Emma segments of orange, “might you wish to tell us why the Duke himself asked to speak with you?”
Emma bit into a segment, the juice fizzing on her tongue. It was far tastier than any orange she had ever eaten, a sunny sweetness that lifted her dour mood for a moment.
“My word,” she said through a bite. “These are wonderful!”
“Emma!” Cecilia nudged.
“Oh, must I tell you?”
“Yes. You must.”
“Very well,” she sighed, “I heard him out in the gardens with another young lady, unchaperoned. He wanted to ensure that I wasn’t going to tell a soul what happened.”
It wasn’t quite the truth, but it was a version that they would accept and wouldn’t question her too much about, which was ideal for her purposes. She had very little interest in discussing it all any further.
“Did you see who the lady was?” Beatrice gasped. “Surely she saw you too. She must be terrified.”
“She… certainly did not react as I had expected. Then again, she could well have been in shock. It is an awful thing to happen, after all.”
“You are too forgiving,” Cecilia said bluntly. “It is about time that you told people precisely what you think.”
“Believe me, I did. That Duke shan’t forget what I told him for a long time.”
And yet, she was quite convinced that he already had, that he hadn’t even listened to her in the first place. Whether she liked it or not, he was a man with a powerful position in society, and no matter what she said or did, she wouldn’t change that. He could go on to do exactly as he pleased, as she assumed he had always done, and nobody would stop him.
As she laid in her bed, struggling to sleep, she wished Sarah was with her. They often had long discussions into the night, and she longed to tell her about the horrid Duke and then in turn hear about the Baron she had seemingly fallen for. Instead, she would have to wait for a chance moment to pull her aside, as their father seemed quite set on their separation.
Eventually, she fell asleep, but she awoke early the following morning with a terrible headache. She tried to ignore it, dressing for breakfast and going downstairs. She took her seat and realized, too late, that the Duke had been telling her the truth the previous night. She jumped when she saw him.
“Fear not,” he said in a mockingly brave tone, “I am not a phantom. I am but a man, plain and simple.”
A man indeed, and one she couldn’t stand at that.
Emma did not know what to say to the Duke the following morning, and so she said nothing at all.
She ate her breakfast in silence, though he made a few attempts to speak with her. Instead, she listened to his conversation with Gretchen, as the young lady was more than happy to speak with him.
“Your Grace, you look lovely this morning.”
“Thank you, Miss Winston,” he replied, “though I must admit that I have a terrible headache.”
Emma thought he might be mocking her, but then had to accept that he couldn’t possibly have known that she had such an ailment that morning. He was a villain enough without her adding to it.
“That is terrible!” Gretchen said kindly. “Perhaps you over-indulged last night?”
“Perhaps.”
“Which may suggest that you do not remember what happened at last night’s event. That is quite a shame.”
“Yes, in all honesty, I have no recollection at all.”
The Duke smiled kindly at Gretchen, and Emma noticed a glimmer of something other than gratitude in her eye.
“Well,” she continued, looking directly at Emma, “I suppose you remember everything completely?”
“No, I do not believe so. I was with my friends all evening as far as I can remember, and should anything out of the ordinary have happened I am quite certain that I would not have forgotten it.”
Gretchen’s sour look, the one Emma noticed she always had when addressing her, was evident. Thankfully, the meal came to an end and she no longer had to partake in it. She did not care what happened after the fact, only that she had prevented a terrible outcome. She went to the parlor room, where her friends were waiting, and then they all left to explore the estate. Dorothy gave her a tour of the grounds, giving little pieces of information as if it were her own estate. Emma wondered just how she had acquired all of this information, but then it was hardly out of the ordinary for her friend to research such things in advance.
“Emma,” Beatrice said quietly after a while, “How are you feeling this morning?”
“Perfectly well, thank you. Why do you ask?”
“Well,” she explained, writhing her hands together and averting her gaze. “It is just that we saw how your father treated you last night. I didn’t like it.”
She cast an eye to her father, who was nearby but not paying her any attention.
“Oh, that…” Emma replied, setting her jaw. “It is nothing to worry about at all. My father is simply excited to see that my sister has a suitor, and that she has found one so quickly. I suppose he doesn’t want me to ruin it, even if he hopes that I might find her a man of higher rank.”
“What rank does this suitor have?”
“He is a baron.”
“Ah. I can see why he might be concerned about it, then.”
“I do not,” Emma laughed gently. “I have never been concerned about the rank of whichever gentleman wins the hand of my sister. I only care that she likes him in return.”
“And when that happens,” Cecilia sighed, turning to them, “will you at last find a match for yourself?”
“I have no such interests,” Emma explained. “I am like you, remember? We have no need for suitors, not when we have one another as friends.”
“You shall have us, too,” Dorothy replied, puzzled. “Even when we are married, if we should be so fortunate. You can be both our friend and a wife, you know.”
“I have already told you all my plans. I shall see that Sarah is happy, and then I shall go to live with my aunt in Somerset. That hasn’t changed.”
“Even now that you have met the Duke of Lupton?” Beatrice asked.
All three ladies turned to her and stared.
“Why would the Duke of Lupton change my plans?”
Beatrice shifted from one foot to the other for a moment, unable to look her in the eye.
“You have never mentioned any gentlemen before, that is all. It is a surprise to me that you have had your attention captured by such a man. I do not mean anything by that, of course, but– well, given that you are never one to speak with a gentleman, there has to be a reason why it is different this time.”
“Yes, the reason being that he is insufferable enough to warrant my admonishment.”
They all fell silent for a moment, and then Emma cleared her throat.
“What exactly do you know about him, anyway?” she asked, and her friends giggled.
“I knew it!” Cecilia beamed, “You cannot keep things from us, Emma. We see them even before you do.”
“Then if I were to have an attraction to the Duke, which I do not, would it not be your duty to tell me precisely who he is?”
“Emma Kendall in love with a rake,” Beatrice said dreamily. “Stranger things have happened, perhaps, but I have never heard of one.”
“I am most certainly not in love with him! I do not even know him.”
“But if you did know him–”
“No! Now, please, tell me about him before I walk into that pond there and do not return.”
Eventually, the laughter faded and Cecilia nodded.
“The Duke of Lupton is quite elusive. The truth about him is, at least. His father died years ago, that much is known, but it was never said what he died of. Some say it was his own son, though that is hardly believed. One thing is for certain, though. The late Duke of Lupton was a horrible man. It was as though he always had this dark cloud over him, as well as anyone that dared stand too close to him, and so they kept their distance. That never seemed to affect his son, though.”
Emma thought back to her accusation that the Duke had always been given what he wanted, and she questioned it immediately.
“I asked my mama about him,” Dorothy added. “When he came to speak with you, Emma, I thought it might be best that we know as much as possible. She did not know very much, but she could tell me that his late father was completely miserable. All rules and formalities, even for his own family. He liked the power, I suppose. But Mama tells me that the new Duke is nothing like him at all. That has to be good, does it not?”
“Well, if they have nothing in common,” Emma considered, “that would suggest that His Grace has no sense of duty and doesn’t believe in rules. I cannot say those are very good traits to have, either. What is said of him must be true: he is a rake and a ruiner and we are all better off leaving him alone.”
Her friends groaned at her, and even Emma herself questioned why she was being so unkind about him. Yes, she had seen him alone with a young lady, but she was being very quick to pass judgment on him, and that was not something she ever did.
“Perhaps I have him sized up too quickly,” she confessed. “Though I am firm in my saying that I have no interest in the man. I will, however, be civil with him, especially if his father was as you claim.”
Suddenly, her father called her. He was a short distance away, and so she gave a quick nod to her friends before leaving to see him.
“Father,” she said carefully, “please do not shout for me as if I were household staff. You are more than welcome to come to me when I am with friends.”
“I am very much aware of that. I simply do not like to spend much time around those girls. They are not good influences on you.”
“Dorothy and Beatrice are,” she argued.
It was true that, as far as a parent might be concerned, Cecilia might have been improper and unladylike, but there was nothing terrible that could be said about the other two. They were perfect ladies, prim and proper (when in society, at least) and the very picture of what Emma’s father had expected of her.
“Then I shall single out that dreadful Miss Penton, although you never like it when I do.”
“She is kind to me. I– My apologies, Father. I understand. What can I do for you?”
“Your sister wishes to take a walk on the grounds with Lord Rosendale and requires a chaperone.”
“I see. Can you not accompany her?”
“Is it not your responsibility as her sister?” he reminded her.
“Yes, but I thought you did not want me spoiling the match.”
“I do not, and you will not. However, you know as well as I do that I cannot bear doing all of this chaperoning and watching and keeping guard. That is why you do it.”
“Very well. Where are they?”
Her father pointed in a vague direction and after a truly appalling amount of searching Emma found them. Sarah was smiling, very brightly at that, and Emma’s heart leaped. The Baron was not perfect, but if he made Sarah happy then that was all that truly mattered. That was all that she had ever wanted for her. She waved to her friends, then left for the couple. Sarah was ecstatic to see her, and seemed about to introduce Emma and the Baron to one another before remembering that they had already met.
“I hardly saw you last night, Emma,” she smiled. “You were not with your friends either. Were you alright?”
“Perfectly so, yes. I was simply meeting the other guests. Now, I shall be chaperoning the two of you, so we may leave when you wish.”
The couple shared a smile before Sarah took the Baron’s arm and walked slightly ahead. Emma followed behind, shamelessly listening in on their conversation. She learned that Lord Rosendale was four-and-twenty years of age, the eldest of seven children, and passionate about science. Emma found it quite boring when he began telling Sarah about what he had been reading, but Sarah was enthralled, asking him all sorts of questions. It made all of the listening and attempting to understand worth it at least, Emma thought.
A second set of footsteps fell into rhythm alongside her. She wondered if one of her friends had come to join her, but as she turned to her left she saw none other than the Duke of Lupton, already smiling down at her.
“What do you want?” she asked.
“How nice to see you, too,” he replied. “You see, Miss Kendall, I thought it might be best if I came on this walk with you, so that you could watch me more easily.”
“I do not want to watch you.”
“Yes, you do. You said so yourself.”
Emma remembered what she had said the night before and groaned.
“You do not find it easy to express gratitude, I see,” he nodded.
“I do when it is warranted. I am not at all thankful that you have ambushed me like this.”
“An ambush? I thought this was a pleasant walk in the gardens.”
“It was, until a moment ago.”
“Then allow me to make it pleasant once again.”
“By leaving?”
“Miss Kendall, I have already told you. I cannot leave. If I do that, then you cannot watch my every move and ensure that I do not ruin every young lady within the radius of three hundred paces.”
She smiled at that, but it was only a small one. She didn’t like that she had done so, especially knowing that the Duke had heard, but she couldn’t help herself. She felt quite ridiculous about it all.
“Your Grace, I can see you are enthusiastic about being in my vicinity, but I am chaperoning my sister. I must give her my full attention.”
“Then you can give her yours. I shall give you mine.”
“Are you flirting with me?”
“If that is what you want me to do, certainly.”
Emma groaned. She most certainly did not want him to, but it was clear that he was not leaving and so she had to accept her fate and allow him to follow. There were worse people, she thought, to be stuck beside.
“Your sister seems pleased with him,” the Duke noted after a while.
“Please refrain from thinking about my sister.”
“Well, since you asked me so politely. I shall think about hers instead.”
And then, in spite of herself, she laughed. It was a ridiculous thing to laugh at, and it was not that funny, but there was something about the way he said it, or even the way he had seemingly come to her with intentions of flirting even though it would not work. Whatever it was, it made Emma laugh, and as she went to breathe in again, she did the worst thing she could have possibly done.
She snorted.
Immediately, the Duke of Lupton followed suit, exploding into laughter at her. Emma froze, her face turning a startling shade of red, but that only made it worse. He laughed harder, gasping between his fits. “Perhaps you are not quite the perfect lady I thought you. I confess, I find it rather a relief.”
She did not know how to respond to that. She understood that she was not perfect, but it was such a foolish thing to mock her for. When he, at last, calmed himself and they continued on their way, she laughed softly.
“I suppose that you have a secret of mine too now,” she said. “That makes us on equal footing, yes?”
“In what sense?”
“That you might leave me be, and I shall leave you in return.”
He was quiet for a moment. She saw a difference in him in an instant. He was pensive, thoughtful, and if he had always been like this, then perhaps she might have been happier to speak with him.
“Is that what you want?” he asked, apparently surprised into sincerity for the first time since they had met. “Do you truly find me so despicable? Hate me, even?”
“I do not hate you,” she replied without thinking. “You are a rake, and not the sort of gentleman that I dare know too well, but that does not mean I hate you.”
“I understand, Miss Kendall. My apologies.”
Without another word, he left. Emma was pleased about this for the first few minutes, continuing on her way and listening to her sister and the Baron again, but soon she thought about the Duke again. She hated that she was thinking about him at all, but she decided that it was because he had been so infuriating and nothing more. He was, after all, the most persistent gentleman that she had ever met, even compared to those that called on her during her first season out in society.
When they returned from the walk, Lord Rosendale took his leave and Emma and Sarah were alone together for the first time since their arrival. Emma took the opportunity to speak with her.
“Might you show me your room?” she asked. “I would so like to see it.”
Sarah nodded with a smile, and they left to find it. It was larger than Emma’s and painted a pale blue. It was a beautiful room to stay in, and Emma felt a small pang of jealousy at that. Her own was nice enough, painted a pale green and on the perfect side of the house to receive a lot of sunlight, but she missed her sister even so.
“I missed you last night,” Sarah said absent-mindedly, sitting on the edge of her bed. “It’s strange, because I have so longed for my own room, but one night without you was enough for me to realize how wrong I was.”
“I feel exactly the same. It is a shame that, given how taken you are with Lord Rosendale, we shan’t be living together for much longer.”
Sarah blushed a bright pink, laughing softly.
“Is it that evident?” she asked.
“Sister, I have never seen you smile like this. Your opinion has certainly changed very quickly, in any case.”
“It has, hasn’t it? I do not even know why. I simply sat with him at dinner, and we talked to one another, and the more he spoke the more I wished to hear.”
“Yes, I noticed during the walk that he quite enjoys talking. He enjoys science, yes?”
“Particularly physics, yes. I cannot pretend to understand all of it, but he is happy to explain it to me, and he doesn’t make me feel like a fool when he does so. It makes a nice change from most gentlemen.”
“Indeed. It is quite fortunate that the two of you met so soon into this event.”
“It is. Do you suppose Father approves of him? I assumed he had higher hopes for us than a mere baron.”
“Sarah, you know as well as I do that he simply wants to see us married so that he can be rid of us. He does not care who we marry.”
“In any case, he likely much prefers the fact that you have ensnared a duke.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“That… that is why you were accompanied by the Duke of Lupton, was it not?”
Emma couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Her sister was an intelligent girl, yet she had been so confused by something Emma thought was very simple.
“No, Sarah. He accompanied me, I believe, because he is a rake, and I am a lady. He would ‘accompany’ anything in a skirt.”
But she could see the way her sister was looking at her, as if there was more to it than that. Emma knew perfectly well that her sister was incorrect, but she couldn’t find the words to explain why. So she simply looked out of the window. After all, her sister was indeed very intelligent.
More so, perhaps, than Emma gave her any real credit for.