2. Chapter 2
The next morning, Emma awoke to the gleeful voices of the hellions. Her brothers jumped up and down on her bed. “Emma! Emma, wake up!”
She groaned and pulled the covers up over her head in an attempt to muffle the sound of their cheerfulness, to no avail.
“Emma, today is Tuesday. Tuesday is market day, hooray!” She still did not move. The twins loved market day because Lucy always took them to the park while Emma shopped with Mrs. Fenway.
“What time is it?” Emma mumbled from beneath the covers.
“We don’t know.” They continued to bounce on her bed.
“It’s seven o’clock,” said a sleepy voice from the door.
Emma popped her head from under the covers to see her sister leaning against the doorjamb in her nightgown, eyes still heavy with sleep.
Lucy was closest to her in age at twenty.
Even first thing in the morning, Lucy’s hair managed to look artfully tousled.
Her long blonde locks fell in perfect waves around an oval face with big cornflower blue eyes and delicate features.
Emma sighed and sat up, pushing her plain brown hair away from her face.
“Why can’t you two bounce around your own beds? Why must you wake us all with your cacophony?” Lucy said.
“It’s marketing day!” they shouted, as if that explained everything.
Emma looked at Fergus, who had taken refuge at the top of the bed. “Some guard dog you are.” Fergus gave her a bland look and drooled on her pillow.
“All right, you two, go downstairs and bother Mrs. Fenway for some breakfast. Leave me be to get dressed, or we will never get to the market.” The twins jumped down in unison and scurried out of the room at top speed for the kitchen.
She lay back down against her pillow with a sigh. Lucy came over and sat down on the section of the bed the twins had just vacated. Leaning back against the bedpost, she said, “Late night. Did you get what you were looking for?”
“No, I did not. I ran into some trouble.” Seeing her sister’s worried face, she said, “Nothing I couldn’t get out of, but I wasn’t able to get the necklace.”
“Emma, perhaps this is a sign you should stop. You have been lucky so far not to have been caught. The season is starting, and I will find a husband, someone who will take care of us all. There is no reason for you to keep risking yourself in this manner.”
Emma admired her sister’s confident attitude, but Lucy had no idea the amount of debts Emma had been painstakingly paying off for the past few years.
Nor did she understand the money it took to feed them all, to keep just the skeleton staff, not to mention the expenses of the social season.
Modiste bills, the draper, the hatmaker…
Lucy understood money was tight, but not to what extent. Emma preferred to shield her from the harsh reality of the financial hardship their father had left them. She was the oldest. The responsibility lay with her to keep the family together and to take care of them.
“I’m sure you will land a fine titled gentleman.
You will be the most sought-after debutante of the season.
” She leaned over and gave her sister a hug.
“Don’t worry about me. You know how much I love the thrill of the hunt.
I will just have to find another bauble to lift from its unsuspecting owner.
” She grinned at her sister, hoping Lucy wouldn’t ask her any more details about last night.
“Have you made your list for market day? You know I would forget half the things we need without your list.”
“Yes, I worked on it last night with Mrs. Fenway. I will go wake Margie and Abby,” she said. “Get dressed, and we will meet you downstairs for breakfast.” Lucy scooted off the bed and sailed out of the room.
Instead of getting up to get dressed for the day, Emma snuggled back into the covers. She turned away from Fergus’s doggie breath. Five more minutes. She yelped when something hit her shoulder.
“Get up, lazy bones, and get dressed!” Lucy called from the doorway.
Emma rolled over and grabbed the slipper that had hit her. She hurled it back at her sister. “Fine!” Grumbling, she climbed out of bed and grudgingly started her day.
When Emma entered the breakfast room, she found all five of her siblings seated and eating.
She paused in surprise at the scene. Normally in the morning, Margie and Abby sat together behind the morning paper or latest scandal rag, their plates of food untouched.
At fourteen and twelve, they were captivated by the goings-on of society.
The twins, Max and Will, were a rambunctious six years old.
Their normal routine included running around the table with their toast in hand, in an endless game of tag.
She could rarely get them to sit down long enough to eat, let alone to teach them any proper table manners.
Emma had given up on taming them last year after she had to let their nurse go due to a need to tighten the household budget.
They were sweet-natured boys, albeit a little wild.
Lucy was the only one she could have a decent conversation with across the breakfast table.
Emma went to the sideboard to serve herself some eggs and toast. She could hear giggling behind her, but it abruptly stopped as she turned around. Giving the table a stern look, she sat down and reached for her tea.
Lucy broke the silence. “Emma, I think you should take the boys to the park today, and I will go to the market with Mrs. Fenway. I have several things I need in addition to the household list.”
“We’ll join you, Lucy,” Margie said with far too much enthusiasm. Abby nodded her head along with her sister.
“What do you need? Remember, the budget is tight as we get ready for your first season.”
Lucy’s gaze dropped to her plate, and she bit her lower lip as she tried to come up with what it was she needed. She was a terrible liar. Unfortunately, the younger girls were excellent fibbers. They jumped in to save her.
“She needs new writing paper and new hair clips to match that lovely blue gown we ordered. These are things a lady must pick out for herself, you know,” Abby said.
“And you two, why are you so excited to go marketing?” Emma eyed them. “Are you planning on being a help or a hindrance?”
“We’ll be a help. We promise.” Abby and Margie gave her their best angelic expressions. Not that Emma was fooled, and she was just about to say so when Lucy cut in.
“Emma, just let it be. Your birthday is in three days. Take the boys to the park and leave us to our shopping.”
Emma frowned. She had hoped everyone would forget her birthday.
There was nothing celebratory about her turning twenty-five.
She was unmarried and living a scandalous double life whilst mothering her five younger siblings.
Not exactly how she had pictured her life turning out.
She glanced around the table at the smiling faces of her brothers and sisters and sighed in defeat.
“All right, boys, gather your dogs, and let’s get ready for the park.” Max and Will jumped up and raced to the kitchen. No doubt they would whip the dogs into a frenzy before they even had them all leashed. She finished her eggs quickly and, along with Fergus, headed toward the kitchen.
Last Christmas, their uncle had decided that what all the children needed was each their own dog.
He had shown up Christmas morning with much fanfare and five big boxes.
Fergus had not been enthusiastic about having five new dogs in the house, and neither had Emma.
It was just like Uncle Charles to show up with some grand gesture and then leave her to figure out all the details.
“All right, boys, each of you leash your pups, and I will take Lord Pettigrew.” She attached the lead to Abigail’s little beagle.
Turning to Fergus, she said, “Don’t give me that sad face.
You know you have to wear the leash in the park.
” Fergus would never wander from Emma’s side, but he made the other patrons in the park nervous with his large size and grizzled face.
She kept him on the lead for appearance’s sake.
They left via the back entrance, walking through the small garden and out to the alley, which led to the mews.
As they gained the park, Emma let the boys run ahead with their dogs to burn off some energy.
She kept an eye out, walking at a more leisurely pace behind them, letting Fergus and Lord Pettigrew sniff around at their leisure.
After she lost sight of the boys around a corner, a loud frenzy of barking broke out.
Uh-oh. She hurried forward and saw four little boys and four dogs all in a tangle of arms, legs, and furry tails.
A tall gentleman with dark hair strode up from the opposite direction.
He let out an ear-piercing whistle, and all four dogs paused, looking toward him.
“Sit!” he said. Dogs and boys all sat down in the middle of the path at his command.
She winced, instantly recognizing the Duke of Gilchrest. He was the last person she wanted to happen upon in the park.
This morning, his broad shoulders were covered in a superfine coat of dark blue.
His long legs, encased in perfectly fitted breeches, led down into a pair of polished Hessians.
His dark hair framed a face dominated by a long nose and strong jaw.
A face which currently held a rather thunderous expression. Oh dear.
“I am so sorry, Your Grace! Max, Will, please stand up and calmly untangle your dogs.”
What a damn mess! Andrew looked at the young woman whose commanding tone galvanized her two sons to untangle themselves and their corgis from his two sons. He raised his eyebrows at her expression of barely contained mirth.