by Fanny Finch
Chapter 6
Emma felt like the two days that passed before the Duke of Lox and the Duke of Rabney were to arrive at Corning Manor might as well have been two weeks. The time passed like molasses dripping from a tree. She was terrified through the whole two days that Lord Carne would pay her a visit but she was thankfully left alone by him.
She spent the two days perusing the library, where there were many books she had yet to read. She was interested in them all. Her father had new books arriving for the shelves regularly. She would never have time to read them all.
Odd coincidences seemed to bring Lord Carne into the topic of conversation more often than she would have liked. She would hear her mother in the parlor with one of the family’s solicitors and hear his name mentioned.
She did not want to eavesdrop but sometimes it couldn’t be helped. Voices echoed at times in the great halls of Corning Manor.
As she prepared for the arrival of the dukes, she thought about what Katherine had said. She wished she had permission to invite Camilla tonight but when she brought it up to her step-mother, the duchess had nearly lost her temper. She shook her head vigorously.
“This is not for you, Emma, this is for my daughter’s benefit. This is a chance for Katherine to become better acquainted with the Duke of Rabney. You may use this time to redeem yourself from your bad behavior at the ball.”
Emma retreated from that conversation quickly. Her step-mother was more brutal than ever. Emma sensed the duchess was highly agitated about something, something different than finances and the health of the duke.
The duchess had been dealing with those stressful issues for the last year or more. She was more irritated than before. Emma wondered what was causing it.
She sat in the window seat, leaning on the side, her eyes gazing out at the front of the house. She could see the road leading up to the house from where she was and she was watching intently for the men to arrive.
Katherine had been quiet the last two days. Emma knew why. She was uncomfortable knowing her mother wanted her to give the Duke of Rabney all her attention at the dinner party.
As for Emma, she had been instructed several times to “redeem” herself because of her “bad behavior” at the ball. The more Emma thought about redeeming herself, the more resentful she became. Who was the Duke of Lox to speak ill of her and create this problem between herself and her step-mother?
Now, Emma sat in the window seat stewing, thinking of all the things she would not say to the Duke of Lox.
She caught herself grinning. She wouldn’t be rude to him. Not at all. But she would not allow herself to be caught up in his web of deceit either.
Having met the Duke of Lox and danced with him only one time, she did not know very much about him. She wished she could learn more about him. She had already decided to be extremely observant of him. If he was keeping something from everyone, she wanted to know what it was. He was diplomatic in many circles, so was the talk of the town.
Her mother had discussed the Duke of Lox and the Duke of Rabney with one of the ladies who frequently came to visit her. Emma did not know whether the ladies that came to visit could be considered “friends” to her step-mother. They rarely laughed and were always extremely proper, as if they were conducting business even in their social time.
Emma could think of a lot of subjects she and the Duke of Lox could talk about. He had traveled to many places and she had read of many places. Her heart skipped a beat when she thought about the things he must have seen, with his own two eyes.
Her excitement was short-lived as she thought about his callous discussion of her outside of her presence. She would not believe his friendliness was genuine.
But she longed to think of him differently. She did not want him to be rude. She wanted him to be honest and open, so that she could delve into his brain and see the things he’d seen.
Frustrated by her indecisive nature, she pushed herself up from the window seat. At that moment, she saw the swirling of dust as horses drew a fancy carriage toward the house. It was a topless carriage, driven by a well-dressed driver. The two dukes were in the carriage, one on each side.
She kept her eyes on the men for only a moment but did not want to take the chance that the man facing her would look up and see her staring from the window. That would be extremely disconcerting for both of them.
She would simply have to make the best of the night. She tried to keep it in mind that she did not know the man well and would need to give him the benefit of the doubt. After all, he was a duke of some note and was wealthy by all accounts.
She looked in the mirror before she went down to make sure she looked appropriate. She practiced looking demure and sweet. Before turning away from the mirror, she stuck her tongue out at herself and then smiled.
She went down the stairs, her heart thumping against her chest. She wanted to be in the parlor before they arrived. The duchess and their housekeeper, Gertrude, were standing at the bottom, talking in hushed tones.
The duchess looked up at her. The look on her face concerned Emma.
“What is it, Mother? Is something wrong?”
The duchess frowned. “Your father is not feeling well enough to meet the Dukes of Lox and Rabney. He is sleeping and we do not want to wake him from his rest. Dr. Smithson has instructed us not to bother him with any action that might weaken him further.”
“Oh dear.” Emma was distressed. “I will go see him.”
The duchess reached out and took her arm gently. “No, Emma. He is sleeping. Do not bother him.”
“I will not wake him, Mother,” Emma responded, unhappy that she was being kept from her father. When the duchess replied, it was with a gentle tone, one that Emma was not used to.
“No, Emma. Wait a bit before you go. Let him rest for now.”
Emma felt herself give in to her step-mother’s request. She relaxed some and nodded. “All right, Mother. I will wait until after dinner.”
The duchess nodded just as there was a knock on the door.
The women turned to look and then moved in different directions, as Emma went to the parlor and the duchess and the housekeeper went to the door to greet the visitors.
Emma passed through the doorway and stopped on the other side, breathing slowly. She placed one hand on her chest just below her neck and closed her eyes. She would need to calm down and keep herself together.
She crossed the room to the fireplace and stood in front of it, anticipating the men coming through the door with her step-mother at any moment.
When the door opened and Katherine came in, Emma was briefly startled. The dukes and her step-mother came in right behind her. Emma realized Katherine must have been coming down the stairs behind her and she did not realize it. She had waited with her mother as the dukes came into the house.
Emma suddenly felt a little out of place. Katherine was giving her frightened looks as if she was being set up in a trap. Emma wanted to hug her sister and tell her everything would be all right.
For their part, the dukes were on their best behavior. The Duke of Rabney did not hover near Katherine, as an interested party might. He stood back and let the Duke of Lox be at the forefront of the conversation with the Duchess of Corning.
“I do hope we have not come at a bad time,” the Duke of Lox said, scanning the older woman’s face. “You look distraught.”
The Duchess of Corning waved one hand in front of her face, shaking her head. “Please do not worry yourself about me, your grace. The duke has not felt well today and will not be joining us. It is a shame and a disappointment but we do what is necessary to help him through this.”
The Duke of Lox looked at Emma, sympathy on his face. “That is a disappointment. I was hoping to meet him today. I am sorry he is feeling ill. I hope he recovers soon.”
“Unfortunately, recovery does not seem to be an option at this point.”
“We will be praying for him, my lady.” The Duke of Lox used a gentle vo
ice.
“Please do come and sit.” The duchess held out one hand toward the middle of the parlor, where there were chairs of different sizes. Emma had moved to the one closest to the fireplace where she’d been standing.
The Duke of Lox thanked the duchess and walked to the chair opposite Emma so that when he sat, he was facing her at a slight angle. He sat on the edge of the seat with his back stiff. Before he found a seat, the Duke of Rabney stopped in front of the duchess and asked a medical question about the duke’s health.
Emma automatically tuned out. She did not want to hear specifics about her father’s condition. She would not understand most of it and many of the words were foreign and scary-sounding. She did not want to know anything other than when he would get better. And, as her mother had said, there was little chance of that now.
Emma noticed the Duke of Lox frequently glanced at her. Each time he did, she wondered what he saw. The third time he glanced at her, he smiled. Instinctively, she smiled back. He was already handsome but when he smiled, his face lit up like a beacon. It was a contagious, humor-filled grin, playful and boyish.
Emma liked that.
“I enjoyed our dance, Lady Wentworth,” the Duke of Lox leaned forward to speak to her. She nodded.
“As did I.”
“I do hope we will have the opportunity to dance again at the next function.”
Emma detested the confusion she felt inside. She was stuck on the word “obedient” but yet he seemed so amiable. With Lord Carne as an alternative, she quickly decided she needed to give the Duke of Lox another chance.
She leaned forward. “My lord, I would like to show you my father’s library, if you are interested.”
The Duke of Lox grinned wide. “I am interested.”
Emma stood up, looking at Katherine. “Katherine, would you like to accompany us to the library? I would like to have the Duke of Lox’s opinion on our vast selection.” She glanced at the Duke of Rabney. “Would you like to see it, your grace?”
The Duke of Rabney gave her a smile that resembled his friend’s in spirit, if not in looks. “Yes, that would be grand,” he said in a light-hearted way.
Chapter 7
Emma went ahead of the Duke of Lox, unaware that he had his eyes set on her. He stood by the door as she passed, followed by her sister and the duchess. He looked up at the Duke of Rabney, who nodded at him. They walked behind the three women.
The Duke of Rabney leaned to his friend and whispered, “What are we doing here, Baldwin? Who is the duchess intending to match? I thought it was you, but from her behavior, it appears she is placing me with Miss Katherine.”
The Duke of Lox just shook his head, not willing to say anything and be overheard. He was once again confused but pleasantly surprised by Emma’s sudden change of mood. He kept his eyes on her back, admiring the curls of her long hair and the way her hips swayed when she walked. She was a fine-looking young woman.
He lifted his eyes when he passed through the door of the library and raised his eyebrows. It was a grand room, with shelves of books from knee-high to the ceiling along three entire sides of the room. A large stained-glass window depicting the flood of Noah’s day stretched along the outside wall, showing a distorted, colored view of the landscape on the other side.
Emma was suddenly at his side, looking up at him. His heart did a flip and his chest tightened.
“You startled me, my lady,” he said in a gentle, amused voice. “I did not see you there.”
“I apologize.” She smiled. “I enjoy spending a good deal of my time in this room.”
The Duke of Lox nodded, looking around. “I can understand why. It is a magnificent room. Have you read all these books?”
Emma giggled, scrunching her nose at him. “Oh, my lord, no. It would take most of my life to read half of these books.”
“But I am sure you are on your way, are you not?”
Emma’s giggle turned to a soft laugh. “Yes, I do love to read. There are many great tales and adventures to be had. I enjoy bringing both darkness and light into my life and have the adventure come to an end. Even the stories in the Bible have their ending.”
“Yes, all but the last one.” The Duke of Lox took a step toward one of the walls of books, hoping she would come along with him. When she kept in step with him, he continued until he was close enough to read the titles of the books. He walked slowly, scanning the books, his hands clasped behind his back.
“This is quite a selection.” He glanced behind him at her. “How many have you read?”
Emma looked at the books surrounding her. The room was tidy but the maid and housekeeper had been instructed to leave any open books where they were and not to touch them. Emma frequently read until she was too tired to stay awake any longer and left the room, her book open to where she stopped reading.
There were only two of them open on the tables by the window where she usually sat.
“I have not kept count,” she responded. “I like adventurous tales.”
The Duke of Lox looked over her shoulder. “Does the duchess restrict your reading?”
“What would give you that impression?” Emma tilted her head to the side curiously.
He shook his head. “She seems a very strict woman. I would hazard a guess that she is very strict with you. Many rules.”
“She does have her ways,” Emma nodded.
“Do you know why she asked us here this evening?”
Emma was surprised by the conspiratorial tone of his voice. She scanned his face, feeling a warm sensation slide through her. She liked that feeling. She wanted to feel it more often. “I was not told a specific reason,” she responded. “It is the season for dinner parties and balls. Could there be any other reason?”
“I think she is trying to match us up.” He did not sound opposed to the idea.
“I believe she is trying to match the Duke of Rabney with my sister, Katherine.”
The Duke of Lox averted his eyes, looking over at his friend, who was standing by the window with Katherine and the duchess. He turned his eyes back to Emma. “Oh? I do not think that will be successful.”
“Why is that?”
“My friend already has his eyes set on another woman.” The Duke of Lox grinned and Emma had a feeling she knew why.
“Is he interested in calling on Camilla?”
The Duke of Lox grinned wider. “That is correct. He spoke of her loveliness and the graceful way she danced with him for most of the night when we arrived home and I nearly had to slap him to make him stop.”
“Oh, I do hope you did not need to slap him.” Emma giggled at the thought of the Duke of Lox slapping the Duke of Rabney.
The man shook his head. “No. I did not. But I thought about it. Several times.”
He joined her in soft laughter.
“Truth be told, he would have been justified to do the same to me, as I was behaving in the same manner.”
Emma raised her eyebrows at him. She was enjoying the teasing banter between them. Could it be that she had become agitated with him too soon? She really should be more patient with him. “Oh? You were speaking too frequently about Camilla?”
He gave an abrupt chuckle and shook his head. “No, not Lady Fielding. I mentioned another woman several times. Someone I would like to get to know much better if the opportunity arises.”
“Oh? Do I know this woman?”
He nodded. “You know her very well. Better than anyone else, I am quite sure.”
Emma giggled. “I shall pass a message on to her if you like.”
“That would be grand. You may tell her that I believe she has the most pleasant smile and warm laughter that I have heard in some time. And I would like to call on her at her convenience.” He leaned slightly closer to her, his hands still clasped firmly behind his back. “It is you, Lady Wentworth. I am talking about you.”
A pleasant chill swept through Emma as she gazed into his eyes. “I would like that, my lord.”
Chapter 8
Cooksey Castle was quite a sight to see. Generations before she was even a twinkle in her father’s eye, Lady Camilla Cooksey’s ancestors had dug into the side of a huge mountain and built rooms, creating one of the most unique home atmospheres in all the world. Cooksey Castle took up just a quarter of the space in the mountain it was built in.
Emma could not help leaning toward the window of the covered coach and gazing out at it. She could hear the rumble of lightning in the distance and glanced up at the impending dark clouds. Where the clouds did not cover, the sky was as blue as could be, as if the sun was battling for dominance but slowly being taken over by the drifting insistence of the water-filled clouds.
