“No,” Lady Emily replied with a smile. “I don’t think it would. You would need a strong opinionated woman who could hold her own ground in order to deal with such a man.”
Edward chuckled.
“Well, I don’t know anyone like that,” he replied. “Would you like to come back to the house or should I take you home?”
Lady Emily sighed and wrapped her shawl around her tightly.
“I think you should just take me home,” she said. “My father will wonder why I slammed the door so hard it rattled the house.”
Edward raised an eyebrow.
“Will he, though?” he asked. “Or will he know exactly why?”
Lady Emily laughed.
“I suppose he’ll know exactly why,” she replied. “Thank you, Edward. You always have a way of making me laugh.”
“I try,” he replied. “In any case, I need to go over to your place.”
“You do?” she asked. “Why?”
“Because I need to bring Catherine the flowers I picked for her,” he indicated the bouquet that lay at his feet and Lady Emily felt her heart thud a little. It wasn’t that she wanted Edward to get flowers for her...she shuddered at the thought of that. But she did like the idea of Edward getting flowers for her friend. She also wondered about how she would feel if Myles brought her flowers.
By the time they got into Edward’s carriage to get back to hers, Lady Emily was feeling a lot calmer. She didn’t think she was going to snap at anyone, even her father. In fact, she was eager to see if there was any news. Sir Preston had a way of sending out notes and getting replies back within an hour. Somehow, people made replying to him their first priority She did admire that about her father, and she felt bad about the harsh words they had exchanged earlier.
“Lady Emily,” Myles appeared out of nowhere to help her out of the carriage. Edward looked grateful, because it meant that he could head off to find Catherine right away. It left Lady Emily and Myles standing outside on the pathway to the house. “I wanted to thank you for your help, earlier,” he said. “I am sure your father will make more progress than I will. I don’t know where my head was, thinking I could find things out in a foreign country on my own.”
Lady Emily smiled.
“It’s no trouble at all,” she assured him. “I am happy to help you in any way that I can.”
“It’s not just for me,” he said, and she bowed her head.
“Oh?” she asked.
“If there is money involved,” Myles said. “Then I want to return to America at once.”
“Oh?” That confused her even more. “Why? Is there someone in need?”
“Just my community,” he said. “They supported me through many things, and now I wish to support them. The community I grew up in, in America...has not always had the strongest times, financially. The amount of money that I think is involved...would be very helpful.”
Lady Emily tried to pick her words careful. She did not want to hear that he might leave, because she wanted him to stay.
In order to think about why she wanted him to stay, she realized that she had to think about her feelings towards him. She didn’t just want him to stay; she wanted him to stay with her. She wanted him to stay and fall in love with her, as she realized she was falling in love with him.
She realized that was a terrible, selfish thought running through her head. She knew he needed to go and she believed there was a community in need. It made everything so much worse, and she didn’t really know what to think about the situation.
She wished there was an easy solution. But short of marrying Myles and moving to America, there didn’t seem to be one.
Lady Emily looked up into Myles’s eyes. He seemed to be gazing down upon her with a smile, and she stopped walking. This was a smile that stopped the world; that made her feel like no one else existed but the two of them.
He had smiled at her like that at the ball, and it had sunk into her soul and warmed her all night.
“That is admirable of you,” she finally said, at last. “I’m sure your community would be happy to have you back.”
“Yes,” he said. “Yes, they would. But...I would miss England very much.”
“Oh?” she asked. “Would you?”
“Yes,” he breathed, looking right into her eyes.
Lady Emily wanted to ask him so many questions. Instead, she simply asked him the one that was forefront in her mind.
“What would you miss?” she asked. He smiled.
“Well,” he said. “I think I would miss the way everything here has a story; everything is old. You feel less like the world revolves around you when you think about how people had walked this earth for hundreds of years before you.”
“To tell the truth,” Lady Emily replied. “That is a unique perspective that I have not heard before.”
“Oh,” Myles said, with a smile. “Well, I would also miss the beautiful ocean. I know that the ocean did me wrong...but the sea breeze is something that I cannot ignore.”
“Do you not have a view of the ocean in America?” she asked, and he shook his head.
“No,” he said, as he looked at her. He seemed to be thinking of something other than the ocean in his gaze. “Nothing like this.”
Lady Emily did not know how long they stood there for. It might have been an hour or two, although in reality, it must have been only a few minutes.
“Is there anyone in particular in America, that you want to help?” she asked him.
“No,” he said. “No one in particular. Just the community at large. I do believe that I can do a great deal of good with the money that may be waiting for me.”
“Do you not think you might consider just...staying here?” she asked. “And perhaps investing in the community here? I do not mean to influence you. It’s just, if there is good you are looking to do, perhaps the community of your British family may be in need as well.”
Myles smiled.
“Even if that were the case,” he said. “I don’t think that I could do as much good here as I could there. England is so...well established.”
“Well established?” Lady Emily answered, confused. “How do you mean?”
“It just seems that there are so many systems set up to help others here,” he said. “And everyone seems to know everyone.”
“Is that not the case, in America?” she asked him, and he shook his head.
“No,” he said. “In America, it seems everyone is trying to work for themselves. Of course, we are starting to establish things to help the needy but...here, you do such a wonderful job of it, from what I have seen.”
Lady Emily didn’t want to admit that she didn’t know any of the organizations he might have been talking about. The truth was, she had never been involved in charity work, as the other ladies had. She had other interests, and up until this point, she had never even considered charity work as an option. Now, however, it was something she realized she did want to be involved with.
“Well, it could take quite a while,” she said. “To get the paperwork set up for such an inheritance Perhaps I could assist you in working with charities until then, if that is something you are interested in?”
“Uh...perhaps,” Myles answered. “I’ll admit, it’s not quite what I had in mind, but it would pass the time until your father finds the solicitor in question and we can get everything sorted out.”
“Exactly,” she said. “Let me make enquires into what some of my friends are working on. There’re always causes that need our time.”
“You have such a lovely heart, Lady Emily,” he said, and she smiled.
“Thank you,” she said. “To tell you the truth, I haven’t been too involved with charities, so this is something that I would like to work harder on.”
“Well, that’s lovely,” he replied. “I am happy that I have given you a reason. Although if you are really interested in helping a cause, this is one I have in mind.”
“Oh?” she asked, with
a raised eyebrow.
“Yes,” he said, and pulled the letter he was still carrying around out of his jacket. “The widow of the young lieutenant that I met, remember?”
“Oh yes,” she replied. “You are still looking for her, to give her the letter?”
“I am,” he said. “Do you think you could help with that cause?”
“I would be delighted,” she replied. “Absolutely delighted.”
“I am so glad I met you,” Myles said. “It’s fate that has brought us together.”
“Absolutely,” she said with a smile. “Fate.”
She decided not to focus on the future, or the fact that Lord Reginald was inside the house. She decided to only concern herself with today, here and now. Today, she and Myles had found something to work on together, and maybe, just maybe, he would fall in love with England enough to stay.
Or maybe, she thought to herself, he would fall in love with her enough to stay. She knew that she shouldn’t be so selfish, but she hoped if Myles made that decision, it was because he wanted to, not because he was influenced by her.
What a wonderful story that would be, she thought to herself as they headed back into the house. She imagined herself talking to her future children around a fire place. I met your father when he was shipwrecked…
She knew that she shouldn’t get too ahead of herself. Looking at Myles, though, it was hard not to be completely taken with him. He was everything she wished for, except for his American accent. That, she thought, was an added attraction that she thanked her lucky stars for. Or rather, she realized, she should thank the sea. The sea had taken away her last husband, but perhaps it had brought her a new one.
Chapter 10
Catherine had gone home for a little while, and for a few days Lady Emily was afraid that she had offended her friend in some small way, but she had started to realize that perhaps Catherine just wanted some time at her own home.
When she wrote to Lady Emily to say that she wanted to return, Lady Emily was happy with that. She was sure she had spent far too much time obsessing over Myles and was convinced that Catherine would provide a distraction. She wrote back to Catherine and told her to come whenever she wanted, and she would be glad of it.
When she told Myles, he smiled. “You two are like sisters,” he said, and Lady Emily raised an eyebrow in surprise
“You think so?” she said. “I think we are as different as different can be.”
“Oh, you are different,” he said. “But I admire your friendship. You always seem to know what the other is thinking, and you always seem to know when the other needs a kind word or two. Even when you are disagreeing.”
“I had no idea you were watching us so closely,” she teased him, and he managed to shrug without looking too guilty.
“Well, I am watching one of you,” he answered, with a half-smile. Lady Emily felt a shiver go up her spine when he said that. It wasn’t so much the words as the fact that he said it in such a manner that made her want to swoon in his arms. Perhaps it was his American accent, or perhaps it was the way his eyes sparkled when he spoke. She couldn’t tear her gaze away from him, even if he didn’t mean to say anything particularly improper.
“I suppose we won’t be able to spend as much time together,” she said. “When Catherine is back.”
“That is up to you,” he answered. “And whether you’d be interested in spending more time with me once she is here. After all, the two of you should catch up.”
“Of course,” she replied. “But do not assume that I am not willing to take a walk or two in the garden with you when she is here.”
“Oh, I won’t,” he said and then suddenly looked out of the window. “Would you like to take a walk with me now, before she gets here?”
“Of course,” she said. “Where are we going? To the garden?”
“No,” he replied. “I actually, um...I found Mrs. Konrad. Or rather, her name isn’t Mrs. Konrad. Her name is Miss Kent, and I know where she lives.”
“You found her?” Lady Emily blurted out in shock. “How?”
“I made some enquires,” he replied. “And I found the school where she used to teach, and then where she lives now.”
“The poor woman,” Lady Emily said. “What a scandalous case. She can’t even tell anyone that she is grieving.”
“That is why I must bring her the letter,” Myles said. “And why I wanted to do it as soon as possible. Do you want to come with me?”
“Yes,” she replied. “Yes, please. Is it very far?”
“It is not,” he said. “I would have to borrow a carriage, of course, but it should only be about a 45-minute ride.”
“I’m so proud of you,” she said. “How did you manage to...I mean, my father must have made you feel horrible, saying things weren’t done that way.”
He shrugged.
“I knew that finding a solicitor may not the something I could do on my own,” he replied. “But surely I could find a hidden woman in a city where no one looks twice at me.”
“You think no one looks twice at you?” she asked him.
“Oh,” he replied. “Did you have a different opinion?”
“I did,” she replied. “But I’m sure you know it.”
He smiled.
“So, you will come with me?”
‘Yes,” she replied. “I don’t have anything planned, and I would love to make this journey with you.”
She would rather go with Myles than do anything else, and she was happy when he said it would take 45 minutes. The carriage ride together, even though the curtains were drawn and they were passing through towns, made her feel as if they were alone together at last.
“Have you given any more thought to what you might do when you get the money?” she asked. “Will you go home right away?”
“I don’t think it will be right away,” he answered. “I know there will be some hurdles to overcome. Unless things work differently in Britain and I will simply be handed a sack of cash.”
She laughed.
“I really don’t think so,” she said. “But you never know what the solicitor will have ready. That is, if we ever find him. Please do not blame my father for lack of trying.”
“Oh, I’m not,” Myles replied. “I have seen him write the letters. I am flattered that he is helping me. I thought he did not like me.”
“Of course he likes you!” Lady Emily lied, even though she thought it may not be true. “He just...doesn’t always show his affection. Even as a child, I struggled with getting him to pay attention to me. He prefers to bury himself in his work and show his affection through gifts or favours, rather than words or emotions.”
“Ah, yes,” Myles replied. “My father was the same.”
“He was?” Lady Emily asked in surprise. She thought that her father was the only person on the planet like that.
“He was,” Myles said. “He would always make sure to tell you exactly what he thought, and spare none of your feelings. But if you ever needed him, he came through in such a spectacular way.”
“Is that how you ended up on the navy ship?” she asked. “Because of your father?”
A Lady's Taste For Temptation (Historical Regency Romance) Page 19
