The Seduction of Emily (29 page)

He ran his fingers gently over her face. “Are you all right?”

She nodded, a lone tear escaping and running over her cheek. She pressed a kiss into his palm. “Tell me.”

Will swallowed. She had the right to know. He couldn’t keep it from her any longer. It wasn’t fair and it wasn’t right. He dipped his head and placed a gentle kiss to her lips before cupping her elbow and leading her away from the carriage. Walking to its rear, they stopped beside Carrington. Will looked deep into her eyes, praying she understood what he was about to tell her and didn’t turn away.

“My mother was a prostitute.”

She flinched. “Your mother?”

He nodded. “A prostitute Milne mercilessly beat and left for dead. I came to Bath to find and ruin him, if not kill him.”

“Nicholas beat your mother? My God. No wonder—”

“He beat her so badly when I found her, she had blood in her mouth and bruises on her body. The man is an animal and I cannot let him have you. I’ve felt that way from the moment I laid eyes on you at the Auction Rooms.”

She glanced toward the carriage. “Does he know who you are?” Will drew in a breath through flared nostrils, took her hand in his, and exhaled. “No. I doubt he could even differentiate my mother from the others.”

Tears filled her eyes and he brushed his thumbs under her eyes. “He’s not worth your tears.”

She shook her head. “I’m crying for Katherine and Aimee. With Nicholas in jail, what will they do?”

Loving her deep kind soul more than ever, Will pulled her into his arms. She settled her head beneath his chin. “That is not your concern.”

She pulled from his embrace. “You can’t save me, Will. Nobody can. I will not see my father’s legacy go to Nicholas.”

“We will find a way. Trust me.”

The carriage creaked and they turned. The door opened and Milne wobbled on its threshold. His face was twisted in an ugly grimace, his color red and teeth bared. “I will see you dead, Samson.”

“The hell you will.” Dropping Emily’s hands, Will yanked on the buckle of Carrington’s harness.

Milne tumbled awkwardly from the carriage. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Will continued working the buckle with lightning speed until the horse was free. Barebacked and with only its bridle, he was taking a risk Emily would even say yes to his request, but it was a risk he had to take.

He glanced toward Milne who was being coaxed by his driver to stay back. Intelligent man.

Gripping the horse by its bridle, he stepped close to Emily, his eyes searching hers. She stared back at him in wide-eyed wonder and he took her hand.

“Come with me. We’ll go back to the city and I will return you to your father where you will be safe. I will tell him everything I know and we will work from there. I have to do this. I have to release you, Katherine, and every other woman I have met from Milne’s violent bondage.” He tightened his fingers on hers. “If we do this together, the rewards will be more than retribution. They will give us hope for the future. We can be together. Do you believe the same?”

She glanced over his shoulder where Milne scuffled with his driver. They were seconds away from escaping. Seconds away from Will having to knock Milne out cold again. They were leaving. The question was whether Milne would be conscious when they did.

Emily’s intelligent brown gaze bore into his. “I’ll come with you.”

Will’s relief rushed through his blood and he released her hand. The scuffle behind them grew in volume and Will turned to see Milne shove his driver backward onto the dusty ground. He gripped the horse’s mane. “Once you are safe with your father, I will have to leave for a while. I will be back. Quickly, take my hand.”

She stared at him for a moment before her gaze cooled. “You’re leaving?”

“Yes, but I’ll be back.”

“I see.”

Frowning, Will glanced toward Milne. Her tone had shifted. Before he had time to question her, Milne marched toward them, his arms swinging like pistons, visible steam blowing from his expanded nostrils.

“Quick. We must go.”

With a final glance in Milne’s direction, Emily placed her hand in his and Will hauled her up so she sat sidesaddle in front of him. He grinned and touched his hand to his head and saluted Milne before kicking his heels into the horse’s girth, leaving Milne coughing against a cloud of dust.

Emily shook her head. “I am a fool, Annie. Worse, a fool in love.”

“It’s only been two days. Mr. Samson will be back.”

“He won’t. I need to accept my fate.” Emily pulled back her shoulders as Annie set another pin into the hem of her dress. “He was the first man to turn my head but now I must grow up and understand love affairs for what they really are.”

“Miss?”

“A means to an end, Annie. A step along the path of future assurance for the next generation. I should never have thought my marriage to Nicholas could be delayed, altered, or cancelled. Love does not exist.”

“You do not mean that.” Annie shook her head. “You love Mr. Samson and you should be with him. Even Mr. Darson thinks so.”

Emily looked at the crown of her maid’s head and pursed her lips. “Father thinks a lot of things but his hands are as equally tied as mine. He’s dying. He is weakened by his illness and deep down knows Nicholas is in far too good a position for us to fight him and not lose every penny.” She looked to the open window. “I know Mr. Samson promised Papa he’d be back with a plan to make everything right, but I can’t afford to believe a word of it.”

“Why? I think Mr. Samson is capable of anything.”

Emily met her gaze. The girl’s eyes were dreamy as she stared ahead at absolutely nothing. Emily frowned. “He might have told me the truth about his history with Nicholas in the end but still . . .”

“You cannot blame him for keeping something like that to himself.” Annie stared, her eyes wide. “How was he supposed to tell you his mother was a prostitute? Or that he intended to bash Mr. Milne into next week? Which I think he fully deserves, by the way.”

Emily smiled. “Oh, I am not berating him for it. Nicholas deserves it. All of it. I am merely facing the reality that Will can look anyone in the face and convince them white is black.” She sighed. “Even though I have feelings for him, it would be stupid of me to act like a blind woman. If I fail to carry out my promise to marry Nicholas, not only will I lose all Papa’s money, I will have nothing of my own.”

Annie sat back on her haunches. “It’s not fair. None of it.” “We’re not alone.” Emily’s mind wandered to each of her female friends who were tied in a loveless marriage. “I do not know how I’d survive or where I’d go without a penny to my name. Father’s illness has used all we had. I allowed myself to relish in the fantasy of true love. That was foolish.” She laughed, the sound sharp and devoid of emotion. “What a dimwitted little girl I am.”

“Dimwitted is the last thing you are.” Annie frowned. “What else has happened to make you doubt Mr. Samson’s return so fervently? He is a good man, a handsome man . . . a man most women would give their eyeteeth to see swim naked in the river.”

She gave a saucy wink and Emily’s cheeks heated with knowing and a little longing, but she kept her face somber. “I have no idea why you find any of this amusing. If I lose father’s legacy to Nicholas, what do you imagine will happen to you? I will never be able to afford to keep a maid in employment.”

Annie shrugged. “What of it? I will find work elsewhere. It’s your happiness that matters right now. I wish you wouldn’t doubt him so.”

“Nicholas will see this marriage through to the end.”

“Mr. Milne is a thug and a bully. He raised his hand to you. You cannot marry him. What about everything you stand for? You will find a way to get your money and your man, just you wait.”

When tears threatened, Emily lifted her skirts and stepped down from the overturned box, annoyance prickling her agitated nerves. “There is no release. Will used me to get to Nicholas. Men are a race unto themselves.” Her emotions lodged in her throat, threatening to choke her. “A race that, for now, we are bound to rely on. Our job is to ensure that is not true for our daughters too.”

Annie pushed to her feet and planted her fisted hands on her hips. “Mr. Samson will be back. I know it and so do you. You’re afraid, that’s all. There’s nothing wrong with fear if you channel it to make you stronger. Mr. Samson loves you.”

Heat burned at Emily’s cheeks and in her heart. She couldn’t bear travelling the same path for yet another day. Her bones were tired and her belief weak. Will left and his absence rocked her to her very core. She needed him. She thought they were destined to be together. Separated they were strong, but together they were invincible. She swallowed as tears burned her eyes, blurring Annie’s face. With Will gone, there was no use in contemplating the dreams they could’ve achieved.

“Oh, Annie.” Emily thrust her hands to her face as the tears she fought so hard to contain burst forth. “If he doesn’t return, my heart will be broken forever.”

“Oh, Miss. Don’t cry.”

Emily let Annie take her in the soft circle of her embrace. Closing her eyes, she rested her head against Annie’s shoulder and tears slid warm and soft over her cheeks. “I love him and my need for him is hardly his fault. A sad and desperate fact that’s breaking my spirit and my optimism for something good to come of my life.”

“You and Mr. Samson are meant to be together and you will be.” Annie’s fingers were comforting over the surface of her hair. “He’s more of a man than any I’ve ever met. He loves you. Whatever comes after that, the two of you will face united.”

Emily shook her head and eased back from her arms. “He told me he needed to go back to Bristol to collect some more money and then return to find a solicitor willing to help his quest for Nicholas’s incarceration.”

Annie grinned. “He has money? Well, that’s even better.”

“He is comfortable, but you are missing the point. He came to Bath looking for revenge, nothing less, nothing more. He lied to us all and I fear my feelings for him have blurred the truth.”

Annie’s smile dissolved. “What truth?”

“He has no missing nephew and managed to infiltrate his way into our home to get closer to Nicholas. Why would I think just because I gave myself to him—”

“You laid with him?” Annie’s eyes protruded from their sockets like two eggs from a hen’s behind.

Heat seared Emily’s cheeks even as undeniable excitement pulsed at her most illicit place. Memories of their night together flooded her senses and warmed her heart. She tried and failed to stem her lips curving into a smile. “Yes.”

Annie squealed and gripped her hand like the friend she really was, pulling Emily to the bed. They sat side by side, their hands joined. “I don’t believe it. That is . . . astounding.”

Emily laughed. “Despite the ache in my heart, I’ll never regret what I’ve done. Ever.”

Annie grinned. “Mr. Samson will be back to claim you as his own. Mark my words.”

Hopelessness twisted at Emily’s heart. “Real life rarely turns out the way we wish it.”

A sharp rap at the bedroom door had Annie leaping to her feet.

With a quick nod to each other, Emily cleared her throat. “Come in.”

Malcolm walked in carrying a letter. With a curt bow, he held it out to her. “This arrived with the afternoon post, Miss Darson. Your father told me to bring it straight to you.” He grimaced. “It appears to be from Mr. Milne.”

Dread turned Emily’s blood cold. “How is father?” She rose from the bed and took the envelope. “Has his fever reduced since Doctor Morgan left?”

Malcolm shook his head, his forehead creasing. “No, Miss. The badness inside him has strengthened its grip. I really don’t know what else I can do. I try to think of new ways to help him but . . .”

Emily patted his arm. Malcolm had worked for her father for close on twenty years. “I know. More importantly, he knows. My father is strong. He wants to see me married. He won’t be going anywhere soon.” She smiled, forcing optimism into her voice.

The weight of losing Will bore down on Emily’s chest. She cupped Malcolm’s elbow and turned him toward the door, lest he see her distress. “Now off you go and try not to worry. All will be well.”

With a bow, he left the room.

The moment the door closed behind him, Emily hurried to her bureau and took out her letter opener. She sliced the seal and extracted the letter, hating that her hands shook so vigorously. Her gaze quickly scanned the words until sickness settled like a hardened lump of gruel in her stomach. “Nicholas wishes to take me out driving at eleven tomorrow morning.”

Annie stood beside her and touched her hand to Emily’s shoulder. “Does he say where he is taking you?”

“It’s not that which concerns me.” She looked into Annie’s eyes.

“His presence will upset Papa immeasurably. It is too soon after Will’s revelations about Nicholas’s past . . . and present. He can’t come to the house. I must prevent Nicholas from coming here until I’m sure Father won’t risk a heart attack by launching at Nicholas upon sight.”

“How will you get a message to Mr. Milne before tomorrow morning?”

Emily snatched her writing box from a drawer in the bureau. “I will send Malcolm right away. He can deliver a note asking Nicholas to meet me at the Pump Rooms for tea instead.” She met Annie’s eyes. “That way I am in the safety of public company, if nothing else.”