Page 18 of The Matchmaker Meets her Duke
Emmett nudged her. “You didn’t look so stricken at the idea of befriending me.”
A hot red blush stained her cheeks, but Pandora laughed sheepishly. “I’ll admit, I am having difficulty reconciling the man I wrote about and the man before me.”
“We are one and the same, there is nothing to reconcile. Perhaps I am just a particularly complex creature,” said Emmett as he paused in the shade of an apple tree, branches covered in new, pale green leaves.
Pandora gave him a strange look. “Perhaps you are, Emmett.”
Emmett smiled down at her. “See, we are practically friends already.” He led her back around the side of the Manor, where several outbuildings stood. He drew her past them in companionable silence as they headed back to the front door.
“I apologize for the shortness of our expedition, but I do have business to attend to in London today, and should take care of it before the sun sinks any lower.”
“I do believe the sun is still rising, but I take your meaning. That’s all right, I have a novel I’d like to finish, anyway. And I’d like to call on my brother.”
“Miss him already?” said Emmett in a teasing tone.
Pandora looked away. “He is my only family.”
Emmett’s face fell. “I’m sorry, Pandora, I didn’t mean–”
“It’s quite all right, Your Grace, Emmett. I’m used to having a tiny family.” Pandora smiled. “Perhaps I can get Rose to come around. I’ve always wanted a sister.”
Emmett gave her a confused look. “Rose is giving you trouble?”
They paused at the front door, arms still linked. Pandora waved the concern away with a flippant hand. “I wouldn’t say trouble per se. Rose is extremely loyal to you and overheard you and Lord Riverton talking about my column. She assumes the worst of me. She even accused me of tricking you into marriage!”
Emmett barked a laugh. “That does sound like Rose. She’s always had a vivid imagination. But she’ll get over it once she gets to know you. She has a sweet heart, and once she learns you aren’t a threat to me, you’ll soon be fast friends.” He paused to waggle his eyebrows at her. “That is, assuming you aren’t going to write any more nasty gossip about me.”
The smile Pandora gave him was small, but genuine. “I wouldn’t dream of it. Your name is my name now, after all.” Her expression hardened. “Which means you should be more careful should you decide to do anything to risk that name. Dallying on the West End in a brothel will reflect poorly on me.”
Emmett’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “You were listening at the door.”
Pandora squeaked. “No! I mean, I overheard a little, but–”
“But nothing, it’s all right, I’m teasing again! I’d do the same thing if I were in your position.”
“Truly?”
“Of course! What better way to get to know your new husband than to listen to his unguarded conversation with a friend?”
Pandora flinched. “It sounds so shameful when you say it like that.”
Emmett shrugged and dropped her arm. “No more shameful than visiting brothels as a married man. But then again, I never claimed to be a paragon of virtue.” He winked at the last word and gestured toward the front door. “Shall we? I’ll escort you to the drawing room.”
Pandora’s nose wrinkled. “Fantastic, I can be interrogated once again by your grandmother.” Emmett held open the front door for her, but when she moved to pass him, he reached out and grabbed her wrist with a gentle hand.
“Emmett?” said Pandora.
“I… thank you for going on this stroll with me. It was surprisingly pleasant.”
Pandora blushed. “You are most welcome to take me out again, I would like that. You… surprise me.”
The look he gave her as he gazed down at her was unreadable, but it made little tingles bounce and jump in her stomach as the intensity grew. “Perhaps I will,” he said after a moment and released her wrist.
Just what had that look meant, anyway?
ChapterTen
Emmett flexed the hand that had grabbed Pandora’s wrist and watched her as she climbed the stairs to the second floor. Her hips swayed from side to side with each step, and he had to admit that he had married a very attractive woman.
