Page 16 of Three Scandals for the Wild Duke

She knew it wasn’t going to last anyway. Emma swallowed her food and prepared herself for the inevitable exchange.

“Why do you have a habit of intruding into people’s lives and complicating them for them?” She returned instead, her voice steady but her hands beneath the table clenched in her lap.

“By complication you mean?” He quirked a brow, leaning forward slightly, his interest visibly piqued.

And Emma decided she’d had enough. She refused to let this continue. She didn’t think she could bear another confrontation with her parents as a result. Thus she said, “I know you’re trying to come between the Earl and me.”

He surprisingly did not feign ignorance. “Does that mean you’re trying to get the Earl’s attention? And possibly affections too?” His gaze was searching as he inquired, tilting his head slightly as if to read her more clearly.

Emma suddenly felt self-conscious. Her throat ran dry too, and she took a sip of her orange juice to calm her nerves.

“What business of yours is my relationship with the Earl?” She returned sharply, meeting his gaze with a defiant lift of her chin.

“First, he is like a brother to me. So of course, it is my business to look out for him,” he replied, his tone softening just a bit as if to remind her of his genuine concern.

“I believe he is a man more than capable of looking out for himself,” Emma shot back, unwilling to let him see the turmoil beneath her composed exterior.

“You are right,” he agreed, nodding slightly. “But that is family, is it not? We look out for each other, even when not needed,” he added, a light shrug accompanying his words.

Your family. Not mine, she almost blurted out. But instead, she said, “You tried every means yesterday afternoon to get in the way. Is that your definition of looking out?”

“You make it sound as though I gave you no choice. I didn’t force you, Miss Lovell. You could have easily left my company for Firman’s, you know. But you didn’t. Why?” he returned her question with another of his own, a slight tilt of his head indicating his curiosity.

He was right, damn it, Emma thought to herself. She’d had a choice. Yet she’d subconsciously chosen to remain with him.And she didn’t have the answer to his question right now, for she didn’t know why. Only that she’d chosen to remain with him. For whatever reasons elusive, and yet unknown.

Emma let her gaze fall back onto her plate. She really had no appetite to continue eating.

She thought of abandoning her meal, and wondered if that would give him the upper hand on her. The satisfaction of affecting her so that he eventually put her off her food weighed heavily on her mind. As she contemplated her options, they suddenly heard voices in the hallway before Lady Amberton appeared.

“Oh, Emma dear. There you are. I’ve been looking all over for you,” she said, her voice carrying a cheerful urgency that Emma found both relieving and opportune.

“Is everything all right?” Emma asked, her expression one of mild concern, grateful for the interruption.

Lady Amberton smiled warmly and explained, “I am planning a treasure hunt for the afternoon and need your help writing the clues on the cards.”

Emma couldn’t be happier for the excuse to leave her food behind. She really couldn’t stomach more, not to mention she desperately needed a breather from the Duke’s suffocating company. He’d somehow deduced that she’d set her cap for Firman now, and she had a feeling he wouldn’t back down and let them be…

Things had taken an unexpected turn now. As if she needed more complications in her life.

She forced herself out of her disturbed thoughts and prepared to leave. Emma was only too glad to join Lady Amberton, seeing it as a perfect escape from the tense atmosphere.

And as she walked out of the breakfast room, she felt his eyes on her and couldn’t help glancing back when she reached the door. Seymore regarded her with such intensity it felt almost as though he could read her very soul. Something curiously akin to excitement fluttered in her stomach in concert with the cold blanket of apprehension that suddenly came over her.

CHAPTER 8

George lit his cigar in the library and took a long puff. His mind was racing from the events of the afternoon. If he thought he’d imagined Baroness Dewsbury’s initial disapproval of her daughter, he was certain that he hadn’t mistaken the second one upon their return. Something was definitely going on in that family. With Emma. And for some reason, he felt the need to unravel whatever it was.

He’d had to admit to himself that Emma was pleasant company. And the more time he spent with her, the more he curiously enjoyed it. And wanted more. A voice in his head warned him at this thought. And he moved to serve a drink in an attempt to distract himself and hopefully change the course of his thoughts away from Emma Lovell.

“Need a drinking mate?” Olivia suddenly popped her head into the room.

“That depends,” George returned with a smile.

“I do not take conditions,” Olivia strode into the room and plucked a tumbler off the display.

“Do not tell Alex. I cannot stand his lectures,” she gave a conspiratorial wink as George chuckled and obliged her.

He poured her a drink. “Thank God for lenient brothers,” Olivia laughed as she accepted her drink happily before sitting in the chair opposite the one he occupied.

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