Tempting the Earl

by Wendy May Andrews

  Up until this point Emily had avoided looking at Philip, afraid to see if he was angry with her. Now she had no choice and turned to him for direction in the matter. She raised questioning eyes to his face, and her knees nearly buckled from relief to see that he merely looked confused rather than repulsed by her claims. He seemed genuinely surprised by the maid's assertions that this was the Lady Emmaline for whom he'd been searching so diligently.

  "Mary," Philip interrupted questioningly, "are you saying you know this young lady? Is this truly the Lady Emmaline His Majesty has been searching for?" He was slightly incredulous at the thought that the object of his search had been under his nose all along. And there had been clues along the way that he had foolishly ignored, he realized.

  "Yes, milord, this is my lady-Lady Emily is how we call her at home. I've been trying to tell you that milord Edwin had milady locked up somewhere" Realizing she was no longer in danger from Lord Edwin, the old nurse had adopted a somewhat belligerent tone of voice.

  "Mary, mind your manners," cautioned Emily in a warning tone. "How do you come to be here?" she questioned in warmer accents.

  Mary took a deep, calming breath before launching into her tale. She was less distraught but kept a firm hold on Emily's hand; her fond heart could not bear to lose sight of her wee one again. "The new viscount sent me away after he got rid of you, my lady. I had nowhere to turn and didn't know how to help you" She began to weep again.

  "Don't worry, Mary, there was nothing you could have done"

  "So I went to stay with me sister up north, until his lordship, the earl, came to ask me about you. I told him all I knew, but when that was of no use, I realized I had to come and tell his majesty meself."

  Philip turned to Emily, starting to become slightly agitated that he had had the missing heiress under his roof all along and she had kept herself hidden from him. "Emily, I mean Lady Emmaline," he began.

  "Emily is fine, if you would not mind. It was what my parents called me, unless I was in trouble," she contributed impishly, unable to repress her ready sense of humor despite the gravity of the current situation.

  "Lady Emily," Philip recommenced, "why have you kept your true identity a secret?" Before she could answer, Philip turned to the king. Your Majesty, this is the young lady I was telling you about earlier, the woman who has been companion to my mother. As it turns out, she has an interesting tale for us, it would seem"

  The king was beginning to look amused by the goingson before him, realizing that a slip of a girl had led the much too serious Lord Philip on a merry chase. As the king sat back to enjoy the byplay that was to unfold before him, he gestured discreetly to one of his guards to keep a restraining hand on Lord Edwin, who was trying in vain to slink away. He then turned to Emily.

  "Let us say for the moment that you are the Lady Emmaline that we have been searching for. Where have you been? This maidservant was just trying to accuse your guardian here, Lord Edwin, of having you locked up somewhere. Is this true? And is there a reasonable explanation for Lord Edwin's actions?" the king demanded.

  Emily hesitated to answer, afraid Philip would be repulsed that she had been confined in the asylum. But she could not avoid the truth and faced up to her monarch. "Yes, Your Highness, Mary is correct. My dear father had trusted that his distant cousin, Lord Edwin, would be happy with the inheritance he received and would fulfill my father's wishes as my guardian. Unfortunately, Lord Edwin was disappointed by the size of his estate and the income it generated. He coveted all that was to become mine upon my marriage or my twenty-first birthday. He had made an arrangement with a friend of his-I only ever knew him as Lord Max-that I marry Max, and then he and Max would divide my wealth between them. I refused, knowing my parents would never have consented to such a match. I would have gladly given Edwin all my money if he would have just left me alone. Unfortunately, a lot of my inheritance is entailed and cannot be broken up, it must be inherited, not given away. I did everything I could to reason with him, but instead of accepting my offers and arguments he had me committed to the insane asylum, Bethlem Royal Hospital."

  The king turned incredulous eyes upon Edwin, who was now cowering under the heavy hand of the guard. "You had this young creature thrown into Bedlam?" he demanded disbelievingly.

  Edwin saw he might have a chance of dissuading the king from severely punishing him. "The girl is mistaken. It wasn't me. She was very confused" He stumbled to a stop at the fierce expression on the king's face.

  "Actually, Your Highness, he is right," Emily said. "It was not he who actually took me to the asylum. My cousin Edwin drugged me and then had his friend Max take me there. I guess they decided that if they could not force me into marriage, they would gain control over my parents' wealth by getting rid of me. None of us realized that anyone would even notice. I apologize for putting you to the trouble of searching for me, Your Majesty and your lordship"

  "None of this is your fault, my dear child," answered King George kindly.

  Philip turned to Emily, and he could see the strain she was suffering having to relive the experience through the recounting. He questioned her gently. "How long were you in this place, and how did you escape?"

  Emily looked him in the eye and replied truthfully, "I'm not actually sure how long I was there, my lord. I was very frightened at first, but we were kept drugged a good bit of the time, which took the edge off the fear. It was only when one of my doses was missed that I came to a realization of what was going on around me. After that I was able to avoid swallowing most of the drugs they forced upon us. Once I had recovered some of my strength, I waited for an opportunity to escape. One night, one of the other so-called patients tried to escape and was caught. While everyone was celebrating her capture, I was able to run. The guards thought we were all drugged and that no one would be brave enough to try after what had happened to Collette. That was the night I hid in the boot of your carriage, mylord, and you know the rest from there"

  Emily had managed to keep her composure throughout the tale. Mary wasn't so successful and was weeping openly and loudly over the terrible ordeal her young mistress had been put through. Emily tried to comfort her, bringing a soft smile to Philip's stern face that she would be able to comfort others when she herself so obviously needed consolation. He knew there were, no doubt, many details Emily had chosen to leave out of the recounting, and he didn't press her. In time he hoped she would feel able to unburden herself to him. He still wondered why she hadn't told him when she knew he was searching for the missing heiress, and he asked her as much.

  "But my lord, I didn't know. At Rosemount, when you told the others, I was too busy with all the guests to pay much heed. And when I overheard you telling the countess that you were going to see the viscount, I suspected that you were in league with Edwin. I'm so sorry, Lord Philip, and you too, Your Majesty, for all the trouble I've put you through" By the end of this speech Emily was holding on to her control by her fingernails, and Philip could see she was near her limit; he didn't press her for more. The king seemed to sense this as well. He turned to Edwin.

  "You have disgraced yourself and the house of Ridley. You are not fit to fill this position. You shall be sent to the Colonies to repent of your sins; you are not welcome on English soil. All the property and entails attached to the viscountcy shall pass to Lord Philip, Earl of Yorkleigh, for his fine service in this matter."

  Edwin sputtered a vehemently angry protest in defiance of the guards holding him on each side. He let fly with every obscene word and thought he could muster as he released his vitriol on his cousin, the earl, the king, and the old nurse. As he was being hauled from the room, he concluded his diatribe with a final utterance against Mary.

  "I should have let Max kill you when we had a chance, you stupid old cow!" he bellowed as he was dragged away from the royal presence chamber.

  Philip, for radically different reasons, also made protest at the transfer of Ridley to himself, not wanting to profit from the ordeal hi
s poor Emily had been put through. But the king paid him as little heed as he had Edwin and proceeded with his pronouncements.

  "Lord Maximillian Woolfe is to be found and brought before me to be dealt with as he deserves. He may join Edwin in the Colonies, since they seem so fond of each other."

  After making this announcement in a harsh voice, the king softened his approach and turned to Emily and Philip.

  "As for you, Lady Emmaline, your father was a dear friend of ours and loyal to his country. He would be proud of the courage you have displayed, and we shall see that his wishes are carried out over the dispensation of his property and titles. We are now your guardian until such time as you wed, and you shall receive all that your father had to pass down to you and your offspring"

  The king now turned teasing. "On the matter of your marriage, Lord Philip was telling us that he had made you a proposal but had not as yet received an answer. We would be pleased with that outcome, as, we're sure, would be your parents"

  Now Philip really did object. "Your Majesty, I can make my own proposals, thank you"

  Emily had nothing to say and flushed scarlet.

  The king took mercy on them and excused them, matters here more or less satisfactorily concluded.

  There was a commotion at the door as Ladies Eastwick and Merrivale bustled in, full of their news. Before they could approach the throne, they saw that Emily and Philip were already there. They were highly disappointed to realize they were late with their discovery as they overheard the buzz in the room solving the mystery of the missing marchioness. The news would be all over town within hours, and no one would realize how very clever they had been to figure it out.

  Emily and Philip bowed themselves out of the audience chamber while other supplicants took their place before the monarch.

  Philip guided Emily to a private library within the palace. There was a table with a decanter and glasses. He sat her in a comfortable chair and pressed a glass into her hand. She seemed to be almost in shock over the sudden turn of events, and Philip worried for her health. "Are you feeling quite the thing, Emily? Should I fetch a doctor?" he questioned gently.

  Emily looked at him with tears threatening to spill over. "I can't believe I can be me again. It has been so awful to keep so many secrets from you and the countess. You have been so good to me, and I didn't trust you. I'm so sorry, Lord Philip." She stumbled to a stop as the tears tumbled down her pale cheeks.

  "Ah, Em, not tears. You know I hate tears" And he gathered her into his arms for a comforting embrace. The embrace soon intensified, and Philip, realizing where things were headed, pulled back slightly, still holding Emily in his arms.

  "So, my lady. I had thought I would be elevating you to a nice position in society, and here it turns out you will be marrying down the social scale. You will marry me, won't you?" he questioned her with some concern; she still hadn't actually accepted his proposal.

  She whooped with laughter, throwing her arms around his neck. Then she shyly gave him her answer. "If you will still have me, my lord" They sealed the bargain with another kiss.

  London, St. Paul's Cathedral

  Three weeks later

  Despite all her misgivings and protestations, Emily found herself descending from a royal carriage a few weeks later in front of the breathtaking facade of St. Paul's Cathedral. Her entire life had changed dramatically once her identity had become known. She had started hearing rumors of the king's declining mental powers, and she could understand why some questioned his sanity. It had become like a game for him to plan out her life.

  Emily and Philip had wanted to go home to Yorkleigh and have a quiet ceremony in the family chapel there. Unfortunately, King George would hear none of that. As her guardian he insisted she tie the knot in grand style. All of London was to witness the marriage of the mysterious marchioness for whom they had been searching for months. It would mark the climax of the Season. To Emily it seemed it was going to be a circus, with her as the main attraction. But, she reasoned, he was her sovereign, and he had tried to save her from Edwin. It wasn't his fault that she had managed to save herself.

  She reflected on all the changes that had come about so suddenly. Edwin had been dispatched to the Colonies immediately after that first audience with the king, and Maximillian Woolfe had followed shortly after. The viscountcy of Ridley had been assigned to Philip, and all of the holdings and titles that had belonged to Emily's parents had come into her possession upon her birthday a few days before the wedding. A team of solicitors had been engaged to review all that Edwin had done and ensure everything was in order as Emily took over the responsibilities as marchioness. Emily and Philip realized they would be constantly on the move, needing to oversee all their vast properties. But they both looked forward to making Yorkleigh their home. Eventually the other properties would be assigned to their children, should they be so blessed.

  Lady Emmaline, as most were now calling her, shook her head, realizing she was woolgathering outside the magnificent cathedral. While she was anxiously looking forward to becoming Philip's countess, she was dreading stepping through the massive doors into the cavernous, vaultlike edifice where the ceremony would take place. Emily had been the center of everyone's attention ever since she announced her identity that day at St. James' Palace. All those who had previously considered the Countess of Yorkleigh's paid companion to be beneath their notice were eager to make her acquaintance as the Marchioness of Edenvale, and Emily deplored the toadying to which she was subjected. While she had enjoyed much of the Season as the unknown Miss Spencer, she now longed for the quiet of the country and doubted if she would want to return to London any time soon.

  That suited Philip quite well, for he had barely had a moment alone with his bride-to-be after she had accepted his proposal. He now stood in front of the gathered throng, waiting with the bishop for his bride to walk down the aisle. He was so proud of her. He felt as though he had aged a decade as the full story of her past had been revealed in pieces over the past few weeks. She had endured seemingly insurmountable obstacles put up by her cousin trying to steal her wealth. Then she had truly saved herself. While the part of him that wanted to be a knight in shining armor for his lady was slightly disappointed, he loved her all the more for the strength she kept hidden in the folds of her sweet, sensitive personality. He could barely contain himself, waiting to take her as his own.

  Knowing how much Emily was dreading the attention of this lavish wedding, Philip was not completely convinced that she would actually show up. She was skilled at disappearance, as he knew quite well. Philip was determined that he would search to the ends of the earth for as long as it took if she did not show up that day. But then he remembered that, even more than she hated the attention, she would hate to be a coward. He knew in his heart of hearts that his brave bride would show up there that day.

  Suddenly there was a hush, and the wedding march was struck. There was a collective gasp as the congregated throng took in the magnificence of the marchioness' wedding attire. Her jewel-encrusted gown sparkled in the candlelight with each step she took.

  Emily needed a steadying breath to maintain her composure as she felt myriad eyes upon her. But then her gaze roved over the masses, and she was able to distinguish specific faces.

  The Fitzgeralds were sitting together with Lady Merrivale, who was smiling cherubically at Emily as though it were her own powers of deduction that had saved her from Edwin's coils. Emily smiled warmly at both ladies, knowing in her heart that they really did wish the best for her. Her gaze then moved on to see the Waddells sitting with Lords Vale and Sutherland. All three women were weeping copiously, which made Emily want to giggle. The Thorpes had managed to make it as well, even though Lady Thorpe was beginning to show that she was again in an interesting condition. Emily was so glad to see how happy they looked. The biggest surprise was Lady Maude sitting with the elegant gentleman from the ball a few weeks back, looking quite pleased for the earl and marchioness without
a sour look anywhere upon her face. Emily reminded herself distractedly to look into that curious situation as soon as they returned from their wedding trip. She then saw her dear friend Lady Clara near the front of the crowd, looking at her with loving affection as she valiantly fought the tears threatening to stream down her own cheeks.

  Seeing how many dear ones really were happy for her joy fortified her spirits to face the long walk up the aisle. Then she gazed past the assembled crowds into Philip's loving eyes, and everything else melted away. Emily raised her chin proudly and floated gracefully toward her groom, warmed by the heated promise she saw as he gazed upon her with all his pent-up love shining in his eyes. She was going home to Philip, and that was all that mattered to her now.