"Very
well, then." She glanced briefly at the conservatory door, then back to
him. "Tell me, can a fox and a sheep befriend the wolf?"
His
hands fell from his sides, his eyes pinning her with a cool, disbelieving
stare. "What are you saying?"
Emily
thought he would be relieved to know she was not meeting anyone, but he seemed
to be incensed that she knew his secret. "I cannot see that your question
matters, my lord."
"Jared.
My name is Jared."
"Is
it?" she asked, irked by his indignant manner.
"You
have no idea what you are saying, madam."
They
stared at each other in the hushed tones of their breathing, but she would not
let him make her feel guilty. "I am who I am, Jared, and if you do not
like it, you may leave your precarious employment anytime you please."
His eyes
widened in shock as if he finally understood the implications of her little
speech. "The devil you are!"
She
lifted a challenging brow. "No, the devil I am not."
He took
hold of her shoulders and shook her. "You little fool. How could you have
put yourself in such danger?"
Fury
drowned any resolve to stay calm. "I saved your life, and this is how you
repay me?" The bold words spewed from her mouth before she could stop
them.
His
hands dropped like a dead-weight from her shoulders. Even in the dim light, his
face appeared to drain of color. His body stiffened as he turned his back to
her, his hands fisted at his sides. "Confound it, Emily. You could have
died."
Emily
touched his shoulder. "But I survived."
He spun
back around. "You must have suffered terribly." He brushed a stiff
hand across his face. "To think that I was the cause of your pain . .
."
"Agatha
took care of me."
"Emily,
Emily." His eyes swept over her face, and he pulled her to him. The simple
touch of his hand against her cheek sent a warm shiver through her. "I
lost you once"—he drew her to him and kissed her long and hard—"I
could not bear to lose you again." He pulled away, tracing her lips with
his thumb.
"Oh,
Jared."
"I
have always wanted you, sweetheart. I wanted to marry you three years ago.
Believe me, I did everything in my power to convince your father to give me
your hand. But he had his reasons and denied me."
"He
refused you?" Emily glanced up in shock. "But I never knew. My father
said nothing. You never wrote."
"I
did write, but you obviously did not receive my letters. When your father first
rejected my suit, I had no wish for you to know about it, not until I had
decided on another course of action." He paused for a few seconds, and his
hands clenched.
Emily
watched his amber eyes close, as if he were debating whether to say something
else, then decided against it. "Jared?"
He
avoided her gaze and turned to stare at the darkened room. "Before I could
devise a plan to see you again, I was found in a compromising position with Felicia
Fairlow at Lady Rosalind's ball. I had thought you were to be in the garden,
but I found myself holding a swooning woman in my hands instead, and soon I was
wed. Felicia's reputation would have been tarnished, sweetheart. My honor was
at stake along with her reputation. You have to understand why I married
her."
Though
it hurt her deeply and there were still questions left unanswered, Emily was
finally able to begin to understand what had happened to their love three years
ago. Her father must have misunderstood or misjudged Jared's intentions. Tears
welled in her eyes. Jared had wanted to marry her all along.
He
turned and touched her cheek. "Marry me, Em." He buried his face in
her hair. "Please, sweetheart. We've waited too long."
Emily
lifted her gaze to his. "Yes, I'll marry you."
Laughing,
he swept her into his arms, locking his lips to hers in a crushing kiss. His
hands moved gently down her spine, and a deep feeling of peace filled her.
"How
very cozy."
The
cool, clipped voice was like an icy finger against Emily's neck. She slipped
from Jared's arms and spun around. "Roderick?"
Chapter
Eleven
"R
oderick," Emily said again, but
this time it was not a question, it was a hideous fact.
"Not
quite," the duke drawled. "I was wondering ..." He shot Jared a
chilling glare, then moved his icy gaze back to his sister. "Tell me, Em,
can a fox and a sheep befriend the wolf?"
Emily
paled. Roderick was Black Wolfs partner. The very notion was like a kick to her
stomach.
The duke
stepped closer, jerking her to him. "If I had known what you were about
the past three years, little sister, I would have imprisoned you at
Elbourne."
"Leave
her be," Jared snapped.
Without warning
the duke pulled Emily into a slash of moonlight, grabbed hold of her gown, and
spun her around. Before she could protest, he gazed down the back of her dress
and cursed at the scar he saw. "The devil, Em! What the blazes were you
thinking! What kind of fool are you?"
Fool?
Tears sprang to her eyes. "I did my duty, Roderick. Is that so hard to
understand?"
His
strong hand guided her toward the door. "We will speak of this later. Go
back to the ballroom."
"I
will not be dictated to."
"You
will obey me, Emily Anne."
Humiliation
filled her. Pressing her lips together, she avoided Jared's face and strode
from the room, knocking down a tall rhododendron in her wake and slamming the
door.
Roderick
turned a hardened gaze back toward Jared. "Blast Headquarters for allowing
this!"
"She
saved my life, Roderick."
"Then
you of all people should be horrified."
Jared
glared at the duke. "Horrified? You astound me. I am privileged that
anyone, let alone a woman, would put her life on the line so that I may live.
You, Your Egotistical Grace, are the one that should be horrified with your
atrocious behavior. That sister of yours has been hiding that dreadful secret
all these years, and you were too blind to see it. You, one of the most prominent
agents in England, known to steal secrets from the most cunning enemies in the
profession, had under your very roof the one invaluable person who had been helping
us cross the French lines."
Jared
recalled the pain in Emily's voice, and his anger intensified. "How dare
you treat her like ... like a piece of chattel."
"Wait
just a minute," Roderick growled. "How would you feel if that was
your sister and you saw the scar from a ball marring her body?"
Amber
eyes struck back. "I, for one, would hope I would feel proud. Proud that
my sibling had the gallantry to serve her country in the most precious way she
could . . . with her life."
"She
almost died in that attack!"
Jared
let out a deep-seated sigh. "Don't you think I know that?" She could
have died saving his thick, stubborn hide. The hideous thought ate at his soul.
The moon
glowed brighter as Roderick began to pace in frustration, his heels clacking
loudly against the floor. "Confound her. She best not think of doing any
more jobs."
"I
agree."
"You
do?"
"Indeed,
I will not have my future wife gallivanting about England and who knows where
as a secret agent. Headquarters will understand now that we know each other.
And we won't have to worry about St. Helena either. Moments ago I was delivered
a coded missive via one of my aides. We are not needed at St. Helena after
all."
Roderick's
head jerked. He ignored the comment about St. Helena and went straight for the
jugular. "What do you mean, your future wife?"
Jared
realized this was not the time or the place to discuss his wedding plans. After
a long pause, he spun on his heels to leave. "You must have heard us,
Roderick."
Roderick
grabbed his shoulder. "I forbid you to marry her!"
Jared
turned, meeting Roderick's icy gaze with one of his own. Not again. Never
again.
"Forbid
away, Your Grace. But if I were you, I would add a tidy sum to those betting
books at White's. A man like you could make a good profit with your inside
information."
Roderick
raised his right eyebrow in fury. "Take your belongings from our home. You
are no longer a guest, Stonebridge."
"No,
I won't be a guest much longer, will I? Mayhap you will have room for me in a
month or two when I become your new brother?"
Emily
had never been so humiliated in her life. She ran down the hall into the
darkness of the green room, sinking into the first chair she saw. Wrapping her
arms tightly around her stomach, she fought back the sobs that sprang to her
throat. How long she sat there she did not know. But the horrid incident that
had caused the scar on her back was nothing compared to the disgusted look in
Roderick's eyes.
"Jared,
dear. Where on earth have you been?"
Emily
stiffened at the sound of a lady's sultry voice directly outside the door.
"Jared,
I missed you. Where have you been off to, you naughty boy."
Emily
carefully wiped the tears from her face and listened intently as two shadows
fell into eerie shapes against the opposite wall.
"I
needed some fresh air." At the sound of Jared's voice, Emily felt as if
she would lose her dinner.
"Out
here?" the woman laughed, and Emily saw the two shadows come together.
"No,
I took a walk in the conservatory."
"I
know a better place than that, darling. Through the ballroom and past the
French doors. Now, there is a perfect place for us."
Emily
pressed a shaking hand to her throat. An intense sense of betrayal coursed
through her. Again. The tears she desperately tried to stop earlier began to
flow silently down her cheeks. How could she ever have thought that Jared loved
her? He pitied her. She had almost died for him, and now honor and duty made
him propose.
"Do
you never stop, Susan?"
"Not
with you, darling."
Miss
Susan Wimble. Emily heard nothing but the rustle of clothing. Her face grew hot
with humiliation, her cheeks burning with the memory of lips that kissed hers
only minutes ago were now kissing another woman's.
"Why
should we wait, my lord? Why not announce our engagement tonight?"
"Not
tonight."
"Why
not?" the lady whined, and Emily sank deeper into the chair.
"I
have business to attend to in the next few weeks," Jared replied
matter-of-factly.
"Very
well, but you promised me a dance tonight."
"Had
I known you were coming, I would have prepared for your overbearing
welcome."
The
woman giggled.
A raw
and biting grief overwhelmed Emily.
"I
had believed you in the country aiding your ailing cousin?" Jared uttered.
"Oh,
did I not tell you? Bess is much better."
"Is
she now?"
"Darling,
do not look at me like that," the lady snapped. "I cannot bear to
have you angry at me."
The
words drifted beyond Emily's ears. A deep and aching pain lodged in her chest.
Could she ever face the man again?
She
glanced at the window, where outside it had begun to rain. The drops pattered
against the pane like rocks to her soul. She clasped a fist to her breast. Oh,
Jared, how could you do it to me again?
"Have
you seen Emily?" Jane asked her aunt as the strains of a cotillion floated
above the dance floor.
Agatha
tapped her parasol, sending a frowning glance in the direction of the ballroom
entrance. "No, dear, I have not seen her for at least an hour."
Jane
patted her fan against her chin. "Have you seen Cousin Jared then?"
Agatha
looked over the crowd. "Believe he took to the card room. I suspect he
will return momentarily."
Once
again, Agatha's gaze drifted to the entrance to the ballroom. "Ah, there
he is now."
Jane
scowled. "And that Miss Wimble is hanging on to him like a bloodsucking
parasite."
"Shhh.
I told you, we are not to know a thing."
Jane
bent her head and whispered, "How could he do that to Emily? How could he
prance that little tease about the ball tonight when Emily had such high
hopes?"
Agatha
tapped her niece's powder blue slipper with the end of her parasol.
"Listen to me, if you do not stop staring at him as if your eyes are about
to fall out of their sockets, everyone in the ton will suspect something."
Jane
pulled her fan up to cover her face as she spoke. "The lady in question is
most inappropriate for him. Most inappropriate indeed."
"If
I were you, young lady, I would keep that mouth of yours closed for the time
being."
Jane's
brows drew together as Miss Susan Wimble pulled her guardian onto the dance
floor. "Why, I should like to say a few words to that . . . that woman.
Only an hour ago I saw her flirting with Mr. Fennington."
Agatha
let out a low chuckle. "Yes, those two would fit together quite
nicely." There was a slight pause. "Ah, there is your duke,
dear."
With her
fan lifted just below her eyes, Jane tilted her head to her side. The Duke of
Elbourne was leaning against the far wall, talking to the host. "Good
gracious, why would you say he is my duke?"
"Come
now, child, do not think me a simpleton."
Jane's
head snapped around to meet Agatha's amused gaze. "I do not think you a
simpleton. I am merely saying—"
"Jane,
your heart is not as invisible as you think."
Jane
blushed.
"But
it would be in your best interest," Agatha went on, "and the duke's,
mind you, if you kept your little meeting in the garden a secret. It seems His
Grace is not looked upon with much favor from your guardian. And do not forget,
it is your guardian who will have to sanction your future husband."
"No,"
Jane admitted with a frown. "It would be best not to say a word on the
matter. Not a single word."
Agatha
rose. "I will make my way toward the refreshment table, dear, and see to
the duke. Mayhap he has seen Emily."
"Pray,
do not get up, Aunt. I can ask him."
"No."
Agatha's voice was firm. "You will not cause any more excitement tonight
with those two hotheaded men. I am going to speak to His Grace, and you may
search out Emily's brothers to inquire if they have seen her."
Agatha
hastened to meet the duke before he was pulled onto the dance floor by the
hostess. "Your Grace, I have not seen much of you tonight."
Roderick
turned toward Agatha. "Ah, can you see enough of me now?" He gave her
a teasing half smile, stood back, and bowed, showing off his full form, two
swollen eyes and all.
Agatha
glared at him, tapping her parasol on the floor. "You are an impertinent
young man," she hissed for only him to hear.
"Well
now," Roderick said as he glanced at Jared across the way.
"Impertinent? I must be growing in your estimation. Let me see the last
time you addressed me as such, I was an overbearing, contemptuous—"
"Impertinent
young man," Agatha snapped. "Now, escort my old bones to a chair and
fetch me some punch."
The
corner of Roderick's mouth turned upward. "Fetch you some punch? Dear
lady, if I did not know better, I would think that you are asking a duke, a
high peer of the realm, to fetch you some punch."
Agatha
gave him one of her famous smiles. "Oh, no, Your Grace, I am not asking
you, I am telling you."
His
smile twisted. "Telling me, eh?"
Agatha
flipped her hand in the air. "We have matters to discuss. Important
matters."
Roderick's
jaw tensed. "About what?"
"Not
about what, but about whom?"
"I
am not going to speak to you about your nephew, Agatha. He should never have
come to stay at the townhouse this Season. He has caused a great deal of
distress in regards to Emily."
Agatha
pursed her lips. "And what about Jane, then?"
His
mouth softened. "Ah, now Miss Greenwell is another matter entirely."
"You
forget that Jared is her guardian and unless you reconcile with him, you won't
have a chance to marry his ward."
Roderick's
mouth dropped opened in shock. "Marry? When, pray tell, have I ever
mentioned a word about marriage?"
"Do
not play me the fool, young man. Whether you wanted to or not, you
inadvertently proposed marriage when you stepped out onto the terrace with my
Jane."
The
duke's forehead creased into a furrow of tiny lines. "And I suppose you
would be the one to tell your nephew?"
"Serve
me that glass of punch, and we will talk some more."