“So?” Emily prompted.
Edward looked at her curiously. Emily gestured to the tea. Edward chuckled and took a sip. He nodded his head at the smooth taste and had to agree that it was the best cup of tea he had had since he left home. “It is perfect.”
“Good,” Emily said with a proud smile. As she fixed her own cup of tea, she talked. “I thought that perhaps we could go to see Augustus as I had mentioned to you. However, I do not know how we can accomplish that without raising suspicion.”
Edward pursed his lips and suggested, “You could simply give me the address.”
“Augustus is terribly frightened, and if he did not recognise you, then he could injure himself trying to escape you,” Emily said with a softness that tugged at Edward’s heart. “He is not well, Edward.”
The use of his name made his eyes snap up to Emily’s brown eyes. They held a lot of things that Edward did not want to see there. Then again, perhaps the emotions in Emily’s eyes were merely the reflection of the things he was feeling. He broke eye contact her and looked away. “Go out for lunch then,” Edward said as he fought to keep his voice sensible, reasonable.
“And then you would just meet me along the route?” Emily ventured. Edward nodded and took a sip of his tea. Emily whispered, “Perhaps …”
Her voice trailed off, and Edward looked at her. She was staring intently down at her teacup as if contemplating the ceramic cup’s very existence. Edward pressed, “Perhaps?”
“Well, if James’ torment is your aim, then perhaps we being seen together would not be so unhelpful,” Emily said as if she hated herself for even uttering the words.
Edward stared at her for a moment before he laughed. The laughter was a desperate plea to Edward’s own sanity. “Are you suggesting that we have an affair to torture your husband?”
“When stated like that, it is a bit harsh,” Emily said softly. “But it would give us a reason to be out together.”
Edward shook his head. “Do not forget, Your Grace, that when all is said and done, you will suffer the fate of your husband.”
Emily looked down at her tea again. Edward wondered what she was thinking. Emily said, “I cannot speak for the future, but I know that if there is a way to prove you are innocent, then I will help if I can.”
“I do not think an affair would help prove anything, other than your husband’s madness at this point,” Edward assured her. “If he happens upon the idea, then I would welcome the look on his face, but I have no interest in seeking it out.”
Emily’s expression was as if Edward had slapped her across the face. His instinct was to soothe the sting, but he made no move to do so. Doing so would merely give the woman hope that there was some compassion left in his heart for her. There was none, Edward reminded himself as Emily nodded slowly.
“So, Augustus,” Edward prompted. “When shall we meet to go talk to him?”
Emily sipped her tea. Edward could see the slight tremor of her hand, but he did not comment on it. “We should do so soon,” Emily said. She straightened her back and added, “At least before you drain the last of my husband’s land from him.”
Edward thought he heard some bitterness, but he brushed the regret away. It would do no good to get caught up in such things. “Yes, that would be preferable,” Edward agreed.
There was a loud thud that echoed even to them in the sitting room. James’ voice was muffled by walls, but Edward could hear the anger even if the words were inarticulate to him. “James,” Emily whispered. “He is back earlier than expected.”
“You may get your wish,” Edward said as he set down his teacup.
Emily eyed Edward. “My wish?”
“It is unusual is it not for a gentleman to call upon a lady in her home unattended?” Edward asked in amusement.
Emily nodded. “I told my husband of our appointment, but he was not listening. It is entirely possible he thought I was meeting with Lady Strauss,” she said as she frowned. There were steps that grew nearer, and both Emily and Edward’s eyes went to the door.
The door burst inward as if it had been opened with great force, and James strode with fire and brimstone in his eyes. Emily’s face grew pale at the sight of the man, but Edward noted the lift of her chin in defiance of the man’s gaze. James’ eyes did not stay upon his wife for the man had come not seeking Emily but rather Edward.
When James’ eyes landed on Edward, he snarled, “What are you doing meeting with my wife?”
“I was invited to tea,” Edward said as he raised the teacup he still held in his hand for the man to see.
James’ eyes flicked over to Emily and back to Edward. “Mr Duarte, I know that you are not familiar with our customs, but even in Spain it must be somewhat unusual to call upon a married woman while her husband is out?”
“Indeed,” Edward agreed with a nod of his head. “I apologise for how this must look, Your Grace, but I thought you would be in attendance until I arrived and found you absent. The Duchess was just telling me that you had an appointment and would be back shortly.”
James looked like he was fighting to remain composed, and Edward allowed himself a slight smile. He set the teacup down and reached for his cane. “Perhaps I should go,” Edward ventured. “I would never wish to cause strife between a man and his bride.” Edward rose, and Emily stood up too as if she would protest.
It was, however, James that objected. “Please stay,” James said in strained hospitality. “I overreacted. I fear that my love for my wife gets the better of me and makes me a fool of a man.”
Edward watched James and knew that love was not the emotion that had got the better of the man. Edward inclined his head and sat back down. “If you are certain, then I shall finish my tea. It is a delicious drink. Will you not have some?”
“Yes,” James said as if he were exhausted. “I think I shall.” James sat down on a chair near Emily. She looked most uncomfortable with the situation, and Edward cast a smile at the Duke and Duchess.
Edward said, “England is such a strange place to me. You are all so strict and proper. It is hard for a man such as me from humble beginnings to understand all of this.”
“I suppose we must seem terribly droll,” James said as he waited for Emily to prepare his tea. Her hands trembled slightly, and she went slowly to prevent spills.
Edward lifted one of his shoulders in a haphazard and light-hearted shrug. “I find it endearing,” Edward said with an amused smile. “The Duchess was telling me of your friend, Augustus.”
James’ eyes flicked to Emily, and the woman’s movements stalled for a moment as her eyes shot up to Edward’s face. James asked, “Was she now?”
“Yes,” Edward confirmed before he took a sip of his tea. “Is something wrong with that?”
James shook his head with a laugh. “No. It is just an odd thing to talk about, is it not?”
Emily held out the teacup to James who took it while she avoided looking at him. Edward said, “Perhaps so. It was probably my fault. I am very interested in the war in France, and Oscar has indulged me with a few stories. I asked the Duchess about it, and she simply was humouring me. It is unfortunate that the war has affected the man so. War is a dreadful thing, only there to make men do things that they can no more forget than they can forget to breathe. Would you not agree?”
James stared at Edward for a moment before he nodded. “Yes, I suppose I would,” James said as if he would rather talk about anything else. “I can understand your interest in the war. It seems everyone wants to hear war stories, when mostly the men returning would rather forget the war ever happened.”
“It is hard,” Edward said with as much sympathy as he could put into his voice. “To lose friends as you and the magistrate have is not something easily forgotten.”
James shook his head. “It is not,” he agreed. “I think of it most days.” The last few words seemed uncharacteristically earnest, and Edward eyed the man who seemed lost in thought before the arrogant smile ca
me across his face again. “Still, you must have some stories of your own with scars such as yours,” James said as if he very much wanted the attention back on Edward.
Edward remembered their last conversation about his scar and smiled. “Yes, but I do not think such tales are appropriate for the fairer amongst us,” Edward said as he inclined his head towards Emily.
Her eyes were wide, and Edward realised that she must be quite afraid. He gave her a smile, but he could not say if it were to comfort or vex her at the moment. She looked down at her hands and did not look back up.
James said, “Indeed, although the Duchess can be quite formidable in her own right. Perhaps we should retire to my study? My wife looks as if she could use a lie-down.”
Emily’s head came up, and her cheeks were pink with some emotion that Edward could not place. Perhaps it was anger, perhaps it was embarrassment. Whatever the cause of the colour in her cheeks, Emily rose and was swiftly out of the room without a word to either of them.
James chuckled. “Forgive my wife; she can be very high-strung,” James said in explanation of his wife’s abrupt departure.
“No need to explain, Your Grace,” Edward assured the man. “I have known enough women to understand.”
James stood up and asked, “So, you are not a wandering monk who likes to indulge in playing cards then?”
“No,” Edward said with a shake of his head as he too rose.
James snapped his fingers in an impish gesture that reminded Edward very much of the boy he had once known. “Alas, Oscar shall win that bet,” James said with a grin. “I had thought for sure that you were here to teach us all a lesson about our sins while fleecing us of our coins.”
The description was oddly fitting, Edward thought. “Like a saint of wayward souls,” Edward said.
James’ eyes cut around to Edward. Edward laughed and James laughed along as they left the sitting room. As they walked, James said, “You reminded me that we used to call our friend Edward a saint. It is odd the things that remind you of people, is it not?”
“It is,” Edward agreed. The clicking of his cane as they walked echoed ever so gently through the halls. “This is fascinating wallpaper. Is it original to the home?” Edward asked knowing full well that the wallpaper had not graced his home while he still lived there.
James chuckled. “No,” James admitted. “I have been changing things a bit to suit my tastes. Do you fancy it?”
“It is very much a reflection of you,” Edward said, which in no way was an affirmation or dismissal of the wallpaper. James gave him an odd look but seemed to accept the answer as they walked on.
Once they were at the study, James led the way in, and Edward followed. Edward looked around his father’s study. It was the one room that James had not done much to in the way of changing, not as of yet anyway. Edward smiled at the old hardwood desk.
“Do you like the desk?” James asked as he noticed Edward’s appreciation of the large ornate desk.
Edward nodded. “It reminds me of a desk my father had when I was a child,” Edward said. “As you said, it is odd the things that remind you of the past and the people you knew then.”
“Well, let us drink to remember and then to forget it all again,” James said with so much enthusiasm that Edward wondered what he was drinking to forget.
Edward smiled. “Indeed, let us drink,” he said as he laid his hands on top of his cane. Soon this study would belong to him again, and he would see James punished. “To the past,” Edward said as James handed him a glass of brandy.
James raised his glass and echoed, “To the past.”
Chapter 14
Emily’s heart raced long after she escaped from the house telling James that she was going to luncheon with Lady Strauss. The man, being busy with his own preparations to meet the boys at the tavern, had merely waved off her explanation. Emily sat in the carriage with her hands folded in her lap. She held a handkerchief as her palms were sweating so much that she had to remove her gloves.
When the carriage pulled to a halt outside a local eatery, Emily opened the carriage door without waiting for the driver to come to open it for her. She stepped down gingerly and looked around the street. She just needed to be seen entering the establishment. She went inside as she gestured for the driver to wait.
Once it was established that she had gone into the eatery, Emily left again and got into the carriage. Now she could tell James that she had gone to meet Lady Strauss but upon finding the woman was not in attendance, left to go home and take a nap which she was sure the maids would happily corroborate for her. Emily did not like making anyone lie for her, but she felt that Augustus needed to see Edward, perhaps as much as Edward needed to speak with the man.
The coach driver had already been told to stop at the tailoring shop that just happened to be near Edward’s rented home. Edward would be waiting for them, or at least Emily hoped he would be. He might not care for her as he once did, but she had done all she could to make him see that she still was loyal to him despite her marriage.
Emily dabbed a tear as the carriage bumped along the cobblestone street. Had she known that Edward lived, she never would have accepted James as her husband. How could she have known?
The carriage jerked to a halt a few minutes later, and Emily peered out as best she could and still remain hidden inside the carriage. The door opened, and Edward stepped up into the carriage causing the seat to rock a bit with his movements. Emily braced herself, but she had leaned close enough to catch the spicy scent of the man, and she felt her heart speed up for a reason that had nothing to do with James or their deception of the man.
Once he was seated, Edward bumped the roof of the carriage with his cane to let the driver know that he could continue. As the carriage once again moved forward, Edward looked over at Emily. “Everything go according to plan, Your Grace?”
Edward’s continued use of her formal address bothered Emily far more than she would admit. She nodded and gave the man a small smile. “Yes,” Emily said as she tucked her handkerchief away. If Edward had noticed it, then he did not let on.
The ride to Augustus’ family home was a quiet one. Emily had no idea what to say to Edward, and he seemed to have no intention of saying anything at all. She could cry out that it was not her fault. She could beg his forgiveness, but Emily was too weary, and she still had a bit of pride left in her.
As soon as the carriage came to a halt, Edward was pushing the door open as if he were escaping from some torment that had been visited upon him by Emily’s very company. She frowned and followed him. Edward, almost as if by an afterthought, turned and helped her down out of the carriage.
As soon as Emily was on the ground safely, he relinquished his grasp and was swiftly away from her. Emily tried not to allow the hurt to override what they were doing here. This was about clearing Edward’s name and helping poor Augustus, not about her wounded pride.
While the carriage driver waited at the carriage, Edward and Emily made their way through the broken gate and up the path to the dilapidated house. Edward’s eyes lingered on the porch railing, and Emily wondered if the man was imagining the evening spent sipping cider there when they were children. The house was silent, just as it had been every other time Emily had come here. Inside, Emily knew that Augustus was hiding and waiting to see who approached.
Edward stepped up onto the porch and knocked on the door loudly. Emily grimaced at the sound his knuckles made on the wood. It echoed in the quiet countryside. Not even the farmer was out in his field today, Emily noticed.
Edward looked around at her, his eyes questioning. Emily nodded. She whispered, “I told you that he is not well.” Emily cleared her throat and called out to the house, “Augustus! It is Emily!” She waited and there was a faint rustling sound from inside the house. Emily tried again, “I have brought someone to help you. He knew Edward.”
The Revenge of the Betrayed Duke: A Historical Regency Romance Book Page 21
