Page 3 of The Matchmaker Meets her Duke
“The rose garden, My Lord.”
Pandora sighed and started toward the maze entrance, just past the rose garden. “Of course. Edward, I’ll take care of this.”
Edward hurried in her steps and caught her arm. “Not without me, you aren’t. Heavens, wandering the gardens in the dark unchaperoned? You really are nervous today, if you forget yourself so.”
Pandora shook him off, but before she could reply, a second scream sounded in the darkness. Pandora took off in a run, lifting her peach-colored skirts above her ankles to increase her speed. Edward muttered under his breath at the sight but didn’t reprimand her.
They passed a strolling couple, Viscount Gillingham and his wife, and slowed only long enough to exchange nods. Lady Gillingham had a tight grip on her husband’s arm, the whites of her eyes gleaming in the shadows of an apple tree. Their daughter must still be in the ballroom, dancing with prospective suitors. Pandora rounded the corner and came to an abrupt halt at the sight of two ladies on a bench, both sobbing. Roses of all colors surrounded them, and a gentleman stood off to the side. He shrugged helplessly when Edward's eyes fell upon him.
“Earl Danvers, thank goodness. I am so glad to see you. It’s my sister, she–” Pandora’s attention was caught by the sound of a snapping branch coming from the other side of the tall hedge to the left. The maze? She moved away from the crying ladies as Edward did his best to sort the situation out.
There was a gap in the hedge. It looked like someone had forced their way through, creating a hole in the foliage. She cursed under her breath. Sinclair wasn’t going to be pleased. The gardener cared more about the plants here than most parents cared about their children.
She glanced over her shoulder at her brother. He was now seated between the two ladies, looking completely out of sorts as the one on the left cried on his shoulder. Edward was thoroughly distracted. Whoever had pushed through the hedge had to be the one to have upset the ladies.Well, I certainly can’t have some rake going around terrorizing my guests!
Gathering her skirts, she squeezed through the gap in the hedge. The scent of evergreen teased her nose and broken twigs tore at her clothes and hair. A tiny voice in the back of her mind that sounded suspiciously like her governess, chided her for ruining her appearance. But the adventurous part of her swelled as she burst into the hedge maze. It was terribly exciting, in its own way.
But that excitement faded in the face of the darkness that awaited her. Only the light of the half-moon lit the maze, interrupted by clouds across the star-studded sky. She had never been here alone, and the high walls and sudden silence caught her off guard. It was a different place at night. A place for indiscretion, scandal. She’d best be careful not to be caught alone, lest the rumors spread. That would serve as a death sentence for her work here. So with careful steps, she felt her way forward, half-blind until her eyes adjusted to the moonlight.
And tumbled down into an unseen pit. She flailed and landed hard in the bottom of a dirt hole. She lay, stunned and breathless, as she tried to comprehend what just happened. Mud seeped in through the layers of her dress, and she shivered, both from fear and confusion.
With a groan, she stood. The pit came just past her breast and had steep sides, slick with dew. She tried to pull herself up, but her skirts wrapped around her legs and her thin silk slippers could gain no purchase on the walls of the pit. Pandora slid back down and landed with a thump. Words failed her.Where did this hole come from? Who was digging up the garden? Sinclair would never!
“Help,” said Pandora in a shaky voice. “Someone help me!” She was loath to cry out, but this situation was impossible for her to escape on her own. A shadow loomed over her, cutting off the light of the moon, and she sprang backward. Above her was a masculine silhouette, with a trim waist and broad shoulders. The stranger leaned down, but didn’t offer his hand.
“Why, if it isn't Lady Pandora. I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” The stranger’s voice was deep and low, rumbling out of his chest like distant thunder. But it was strangely familiar.
“Pardon, My Lord, but could you assist me? I seem to have found myself in a bit of a predicament.”
The stranger chuckled. “Why should I? I find myself quite fond of seeing you below me.”
Pandora flushed and gritted her teeth. “If you aren’t going to help me, then can you leave? I have no business with you.”
“Oh, but I think you do,” said the stranger. Pandora glared up at him. She knew him, didn’t she?
“I am sure you find this charade entirely amusing, but I ask that you help me, name yourself, or leave. Or I will be forced to scream for help.”
“And wouldn’t that be exciting? The virtuous Pandora, found in the company of the scandalous Duke of Willcrow.” Pandora gasped. Her column on Emmett Groves had been one of her most popular. She still received letters about it, after she exposed his rakish ways.
“What on Earth are you doing here?”
“Some welcome. Your parties are well-known. I had to see one for myself.”
Pandora crossed her arms. “I didn’t invite you. I would never invite you.” The clouds parted and in the faint moonlight, she could just make out the curve of his lips, turned downward in a pout.
“No? Your butler thought I should be allowed in.”
Pandora cursed under her breath. “I will have a word with him about proper judgment about the quality of guests allowed in my Manor. Now, why are youhere? Come to destroy some other lady’s life?”
Emmett sank into a crouch with another of those dark chuckles. The sound did something strange to her, sending chills down her back. It wasn’t entirely unpleasant. “As a matter of fact, yes.”
“And whose life do you intend to ruin.”
“Yours,” said Emmett.
“Pardon me?”
“Yours is the life I came to ruin. And yet, I find you here, a maiden in distress, and am inclined toward mercy.”
