Chapter 1 #2
Rachel read the paper, handed the note off to her husband, and embraced her. “I am so pleased. What wonderful news.”
“I’m at a loss for words,” Luke declared, his eyes scanning the note. “Why would you submit an article to the newspaper?”
Emma stepped out of Rachel’s arms. “I sent in an article detailing the unscrupulous eviction of thousands of tenants in the Highlands at the hand of Lady Sutherland. Those poor families were forced into communities, where they were expected to learn a new way of life, and I wrote about the injustice of it all.”
“It’s the Countess of Sutherland’s land, Emma,” Luke countered. “It’s more profitable to let the land to sheep farmers than the current renters. It was a simple business move.”
Emma lifted her brow. “Because of the countess’s desire to replace Highlanders with sheep, riots have become commonplace, and an elderly woman was even murdered when they came to evict her family.”
“In Scotland, it is a normal practice to destroy the roof timbers of a cleared house by fire to prevent the reoccupation by the evicted party.”
Accepting the missive back from Luke, Emma countered, “Just because something is common practice, doesn’t make it right. The people need to understand the struggles the Highlanders are facing.”
Luke turned towards Rachel, his disapproval evident on his features. “Will you kindly explain to Emma that it is wholly inappropriate for her to write articles for the newspapers? Not only is she a lady, but she is my ward. It would cause a scandal if anyone ever found out.”
Rachel grinned. “I’m confident that Emma just heard you.”
“No one will find out,” Emma rushed to assure him. “I am writing under a pseudonym and using my mother’s maiden name.”
Luke frowned. “Do you require more pin money?”
Shaking her head, she replied, “I do not require any additional funds. You have been more than generous.”
“Then explain to me why you submitted an article to The Morning Post?” Luke asked.
Emma met his gaze as she attempted to find the right words. “I want to be more than what Society expects me to be.”
Luke grunted as he turned towards Rachel. “This is your fault. You let Emma read your book, and now she wants to be a writer like you.”
“I see nothing wrong with that,” Rachel declared. “As long as she is writing under a false name, there is no harm in her writing articles. Is there?”
“Thank you,” Emma mouthed.
Turning his gaze towards the ceiling, Luke said, “I see that I am outnumbered… again. I cannot wait until Matthew is old enough to start siding with me.”
“Considering he is only four months old, that might take a while,” Rachel joked as she wrapped her arms around her husband.
Luke brought his adoring gaze down to his wife and smiled.
Emma sighed at the love so evident between Luke and Rachel and knew it was time to grant them privacy.
“I will go to my room and practice my needlework,” she said, walking over to the door and closing it behind her.
As she walked along the tiled floor of the expansive entrance hall, Emma admired the ivory walls, the gold accents, and the tapestries that hung along the wall.
It had been a little over two years since she had been plucked out of her modest home, but still she regularly pinched herself to confirm she wasn’t daydreaming.
This was her life, and what a grand life it was.
Emma tilted her face towards the warmth of the sun as her grey gelding strolled leisurely through Hyde Park.
It’s such a beautiful day, she thought. Due to an earlier rain shower, the path was muddy, and the trees alongside the road glistened.
A few gentlemen riders rode past them, tipping their hats in acknowledgement, and offering pleasantries.
She found her ride to be most enjoyable, so much so that she hardly gave Lord Brisbane any attention.
He kept babbling incessantly about the most tedious subjects, and she wished he would stop speaking.
Perhaps she should kick her horse into a run and leave him far behind.
She sighed. No, that wouldn’t be socially acceptable, and she really didn’t want another lecture from Luke about ladylike decorum.
He was exceptionally astute in the ways of women, after all.
With a glance over her shoulder, Emma confirmed that the three liveried footmen Luke had assigned to watch her were trailing her. They were far enough back to grant privacy, but close enough to ensure propriety. She was confident that they would be able to match her horse’s stride.
Lord Brisbane broke through her musings. “Are you in agreement, then?” he asked in an eager voice.
Drat! Now she would have to admit that she wasn’t listening to him. Or she could make up a ludicrous excuse and see how he would respond.
“I am afraid my bonnet strings were too tight, and I missed your question,” she said, reaching up and untying the straw bonnet’s strings from under her chin.
His face softened, drawing attention to his black, slick-backed hair. “I understand, my dear. Bonnets can be tricky.”
Emma wanted him to elaborate on how bonnets could be tricky, but she decided not to ask the question. For she was fearful that he would actually have an answer, and she just wanted this outing to be over with.
“Back to my original sentiments,” Lord Brisbane began, “I would be remiss if I didn’t reveal my intentions towards you.”
“Your intentions?” she repeated back in surprise. When had the conversation turned to his intentions? She really should have been paying attention.
He reined in his horse, and she reluctantly followed suit.
“It is time that I marry, and I believe you are a suitable choice.”
“Suitable?” She attempted to keep her face expressionless. He found her ‘suitable’? While she was debating whether she should be insulted or relieved by that comment, he continued.
“Aye,” he replied, oblivious to her annoyance. “You are beautiful, engaging, and the ward of the Marquess of Downshire. Furthermore, you are young and vigorous enough to supply me with heirs.”
Emma’s lips parted in disbelief. She didn’t know where to start with this insulting proposal.
Mistaking her silence for acceptance, Lord Brisbane pressed, “With your generous dowry, I will be able to fix up my country estate in Liverpool and…”
“No,” came her sharp reply.
Brushing off her answer with a wave of his hand, he said, “I haven’t spoken to Lord Downshire, but I am confident he will agree that I am a good match for you.”
Her horse pawed at the ground as if sensing her irritation. The moment he stopped speaking, she declared, “I will not now, not ever, marry you, Lord Brisbane.”
It was his turn to looked surprised. “I beg your pardon?”
“We hardly know each other, but I can tell that we would not suit.”
“Then may I ask why you agreed to this outing? I would hope that you understand the implications of being seen together in Hyde Park.”
Emma pursed her lips. No good deed goes unpunished, she thought. “Frankly, I was attempting to be polite.” She paused, then added, “And I always enjoy riding through Hyde Park.”
He frowned, or did he smile? She really couldn’t tell with his moustache. “Well, I never,” he declared in a haughty voice. “I daresay you will not do better than marrying an earl, despite being the ward of Lord Downshire.”
Adjusting the reins in her gloved hands, she gave him a tight smile. “I do not aspire for a title, Lord Brisbane. My only aspiration is to marry a man that will love me above all else.”
“You are a foolish girl. Love is for the weak-minded, not for the aristocracy. Surely you’ve been told that.”
“I have, but I do not accept it.”
Shifting his gaze over her shoulder, his next comment caught her off-guard. “Then you are destined to be a spinster and will become a strain on your guardian’s household.”
How dare he speak to me like that, she thought. She had many choice words that she would like to say to that arrogant man, but she bit those back, instead saying, “You, sir, are an ignoramus.”
Not waiting for his haughty response, she kicked her horse into a run.
However, rather than her gelding racing away as she had intended, it reared up, and upended her.
She landed in a heap on the muddied road and looked up in time to see the horse stepping backwards…
right towards her. Reacting quickly, she rolled to the side, and landed in a deep hole, filled with mucky, muddy water.
Emma closed her eyes in mortification, hoping that no one had just witnessed her misfortune.
However, when she opened them, she saw several women with their mouths agape and a few gentlemen rushing over to assist her.
She rose swiftly and wiped her muddied gloves onto her mud-coated, dark-blue riding habit.
That was counterproductive, she thought to herself, as she removed the ruined gloves.
She heard a man clear his voice from behind her. “This couldn’t get any worse,” she muttered under her breath as she reluctantly turned around and saw Lord Brisbane extending a white handkerchief towards her.
He looked appalled as his eyes roamed over her person.
“Thank you,” she said, accepting it.
Before she finished wiping the mud off her face, a footman from Caddington Manor approached her, holding her horse’s lead. “Miss Pearson, please allow me to help you mount your horse.”
“I would greatly appreciate that,” she murmured as she came to stand next to her gelding.
The footman assisted her onto her saddle.
“It might be best if we walk back to Caddington Manor, Miss Pearson. I have never known this gelding to upend someone before. It makes me wonder if there is a burr somewhere under his saddle.” He glanced back at his horse and lowered his voice.
“I would have offered the use of my horse, but it would have required me to change saddles, and I assumed you wouldn’t want to wait for that. ”
Keeping her head held up, her eyes darted over his shoulders at the growing crowd. The mud smeared on her person and clothing was starting to dry and stiffen, giving her an almost uncontrollable desire to race her horse back home. But the footman made valid points.
“You presumed correctly,” she agreed.
As she urged her horse forward, Emma realized that Lord Brisbane had already mounted his horse and was trotting away from her.
Good riddance! She attempted to ignore the gawking gazes of the riders that passed her along the road.
She also managed not to act on the impulse of huffing in exasperation. She was not a public spectacle!
When she finally reined in her horse in front of Caddington Manor, she dismounted and walked up the stairs towards the main door. The butler opened the door and stepped aside as she entered.
Munro cast her a concerned look. “Are you all right, miss?”
“I was thrown off my horse and landed in the mud,” she admitted weakly.
Closing the main door, he responded, “I can see that, but are you injured? Should I call for a doctor?”
“Only my pride,” she remarked with a shake of her head.
“Pride is easier to mend than a broken bone,” the butler said, attempting to reassure her. “I will order a bath for you.”
She gave him a grateful smile. “Thank you. Do you know where Lady Downshire is?”
“In the nursery, miss,” he hesitated, before revealing, “along with Lord Downshire.”
With a tense smile, she replied, “It is better to get this over with.”
“Over with?”
“Lord Downshire’s lecture about…” she ran her hand over her mud coated riding habit, “this.”
Munro gave her an understanding smile. “I wish you luck.”
Feeling dread wash over her, she walked up the two flights of stairs and slowed her steps when she heard Luke and Rachel speaking to Matthew in loving tones. What a disappointment I’ve turned out to be, she thought. She had ruined her Season before it had even started.
Stepping into the doorway, Emma expected Luke to start shouting, and he did, but not the way she had anticipated.
“Emma, are you all right?” he asked, striding towards her. He placed his hands on her shoulders and crouched lower to look at her. “Are you all right? Are you injured?”
Tears started forming in her eyes at the depth of compassion she saw staring back at her, but Luke gave her a stern look.
“No crying,” he demanded. “Tell me exactly what happened.”
Blinking back her tears, she admitted, “My horse upended me, and I landed in a mud puddle.”
Luke’s eyes narrowed as he stepped back. “I will fire all of the groomsmen. It’s no less than they deserve. After all, it was wholly irresponsible of them to provide you with a horse you were unable to handle.”
“It’s not their fault,” she objected, shaking her head. “I’ve ridden that gelding before, and he’s a gentle horse. He reacted poorly when I kicked him into a run.”
Coming to stand next to Luke, Rachel was holding baby Matthew in her arms. “Are you injured?” she asked with sympathy in her voice.
“No.” Again, she shook her head. “But, unfortunately, this occurred in Hyde Park and quite a few people witnessed it. My Season is ruined! I’m ready to return to Scotland. We can try again next year.”
Emma saw something pass between Luke and Rachel, but she couldn’t decipher it. After a moment, Luke declared, “We aren’t going anywhere. You are my ward, and I vowed that you will be adored by the ton. It shall be done.”
“How is that possible?” she asked. “My reputation is my greatest possession, and I just ruined it by rolling in the mud.”
Handing Matthew off to Luke, Rachel wrapped her up in a loving embrace, despite her being coated in mud. “You’re wrong. Your greatest possession is your family, and we protect each other… including reputations.”
“But…”
Luke spoke over her. “No buts. We’ll sort this out. You’re under my protection, Emma, and that means a great deal.”
Rachel smiled kindly at her. “Go take a bath and rest. We shall talk later. Besides, tonight is your ball, and everything will be made right after that.”
“Thank you,” she replied with a full heart.
With a final parting glance at Luke and Rachel, Emma headed towards her bedchamber. She had expected Luke to rail on her, but instead, he had shown her kindness. Perhaps he was right. Maybe her Season wasn’t ruined after all?
If that was true, why did she have the feeling that this Season was going to be anything but ordinary?