Chapter Sixteen #2
The men worked steadily all morning and by lunch time the lower canopy of the tree had been removed and the large branches lopped off.
Staring at the twisted remains of the bared trunk, Smiggens said, “The main problem is going to be avoiding it falling forward onto the mound, my lord.”
Deo nodded, frowning. “We don’t want that. How do you propose we avoid it?”
“We’ll notch the trunk on the far side, of course. But we should also use ropes, my lord, on the topmost portion of the trunk. A tug at the right time should nudge it in the right direction, but it will be dangerous. Timing will be crucial.”
“Well, that will be this afternoon’s problem. We should all break for lunch and reconvene at one o’clock.”
Over luncheon, Deo addressed the company. “The next step will be the actual felling of the tree itself. Because of the angle, it will be difficult to persuade it to fall in the direction we want. Smiggens has suggested we use ropes to guide it, but that timing will be crucial.”
“Well, you’re certainly giving us some good exercise, Deo,” said Emrys with a grin.
“I think it might be advisable for the ladies to remain at the house this afternoon, don’t you, Deo?” said the duke.
“Oh, no!” protested Emily, echoed by the viscountess and the duchess.
“You are not leaving us out of the fun, Robert,” said the duchess firmly. “We won’t get in the way, will we, ladies?”
Emily and Annis agreed that they would not.
“Indeed, Deo, you cannot make me stay behind,” said Emily boldly. “I won’t be left out of this—it’s my excavation, too. You said so!”
“It is your excavation. The duke has a point about safety, though. I cannot stress enough how dangerous this is. Ladies, you must promise to remain well clear of the possible trajectory of the tree.”
“We will,” said Emily with a smile for the other women.
After luncheon was concluded, Deo went ahead with the duke and the viscount to meet Smiggens, who had taken his lunch in the field with the lads.
The ladies redonned their hats, and set out at a more leisurely pace.
They were joined shortly by Lords Kenrick and Bidenden.
Bidenden contrived to slide into place beside Emily and said quietly, “It is a great pity that I did not know of your passion for antiquities during our courtship. I could have engaged you in conversation on the topic.”
Emily goggled at him. “You have an interest in antiquities, my lord?”
“My father is a renowned collector of ancient artifacts. He dragged the whole family to Egypt in my youth. We explored temples and tombs the like of which you cannot begin to imagine.”
“Egypt?” said Emily faintly, her picture of Lord Bidenden undergoing a revision.
She had read of the wonders of Egypt and indeed devoured the volumes of the Description de l’Egypt she had seen in Hatchards bookshop.
She couldn’t afford to buy them, of course, but she had reverently paged through the volumes, appreciating the pictures and dipping into parts of the text.
It had fired her imagination and longing to visit such an ancient and exotic locale. “How—how wonderful.”
“Had you accepted my suit, we could even now have been on a trip to visit it. If you had so desired, of course.”
The way he said desired with a meaningful look in his dark eyes made her shiver and reminded her forcefully why she had rejected his suit.
His overt desire for her made her uncomfortable in a way that Deo’s did not.
She was beginning to realize that Lord Bidenden did seem to desire her now, although she was still convinced he wouldn’t have looked twice at her if it weren’t for her fortune.
“It’s a moot point, my lord; I did not accept your suit.”
“You still could, if—”
“My lord, this is nonsense! I am a married woman!” hissed Emily, flushing. “A happily married woman!” she added for emphasis.
“But your ‘husband’ would seem to be less sanguine about the marriage than you,” he said.
Emily’s color deepened as a wash of shame flooded her body.
Has Deo said or done something to make Bidenden think that he doesn’t wish to be married to me?
Or is it just that disastrous conversation that Bidenden overheard?
Recalling Bidenden’s insinuation that Deo preferred men to women, she lifted her head and said quietly, “You are mistaken in your assumptions, my lord. My husband is most content.”
Bidenden changed color. “Do I understand from this that your condition has changed from the other day?”
Emily clenched her hands tightly together and spoke through her teeth.
“Firstly, my lord, I have not given you permission to address me so familiarly. Secondly, this is not a proper topic of conversation between us. And thirdly, it is none of your business!” And she quickened her pace to get away from him.
*
Bryson watched her walk away with a frown, seriously rattled by her words.
He had been keeping the pair under close surveillance, and as far as he had been able to detect, there was no high degree of intimacy visible between them in company.
The earl treated Emily with courtesy, but he was not demonstrative.
Rather a cool customer in Bryson’s opinion.
Of course, they were sharing quarters, which meant that anything could have happened in the intervening days since his arrival.
But he had been confident of his conclusion that the earl preferred men, reinforced, if anything, by his manner toward Emily in public.
For there could be no other explanation as to why he would have refrained from immediately consummating the marriage to Bryson’s way of thinking.
Bryson’s desire for Emily wasn’t altogether feigned.
She was not a classic beauty, and if she weren’t possessed of a large fortune, he probably wouldn’t have taken an interest in her in the first place.
But having done so, he found her initially intriguing, precisely because she held him at arm’s length.
He wasn’t used to that. As a handsome man with a title, he was used to women throwing themselves at him.
And since his arrival here and the opportunity to observe her in a quite different milieu, away from her dominating mother, he was more attracted to her.
But if the earl had done the deed and made her his wife in actuality, there was nothing to be done.
The marriage could not be annulled then and would stand.
He found the notion that the earl had taken Emily’s maidenhead quite disturbing.
The sooner her parents arrived, the better.
That would force things to a head, and he would know where he stood.
And if this damned burial proved to have nothing of value in it, and Emily was out of his reach, he would have to find another way of financing his lifestyle, in both the short and long term. Not for the first time, he cursed his sire under his breath.