Page 40 of The Matchmaker Meets her Duke
"I thought you might be here," the Duchess said. "Duke." She nodded her head to Emmett, and Emmett returned the greeting with a simple tip of the head. "Henrietta," he said evenly.
A pregnant silence followed, wherein Emmett cleared his throat and Pandora fumbled with her gown and her hair.
"We thought we might get some fresh air." She could think of nothing else to say as the silence slowly melted into awkwardness. If the earth was capable of opening up and swallowing her from this embarrassing scene, now would be a splendid time.
Henrietta’s easy smile remained in place. "It's a lovely night indeed," she agreed with Pandora's blatant lie and remained quiet.
Pandora realized Henrietta was waiting on her to finish putting her dress back in place before she stated her purpose for finding her.
So she tied her belt twice, and gave her hair a thorough, gregarious pat, as if to say,Now I'm done!
Henrietta cleared her throat. "I'm afraid there was a bit of a scene, so I thought it best to find you."
Pandora straightened up. The ghost of Emmett's touches burned her skin still. She still had the smell of his whiskey-scented clothes in her nose. But she felt clearer in the head now, less clouded with the haze of desire. She stepped toward her new friend. "What do you mean?"
Henrietta hesitated as if embarrassed of whatever had unfolded in their absence. "Well, I think my brother may have finally let…" she glanced quickly and away from Emmett, "our dear Rose down, and as you would imagine she hasn't taken it too well."
"Where is she?" Emmett asked, already trudging out of the garden. The tail of his coat flailed in the wind as he turned his back to them. Pandora followed after him, Henrietta in step beside her.
"She fled the ballroom in tears. I think she might have gone and locked herself in one of the coaches."
Emmett huffed a breath. A string of soft, passionate curses followed. Only Emmett could make cursing sound like music. Still, she chided him. "Emmett," she said simply, a reminder that they weren't alone. Henrietta made a dismissive gesture with her hand, to say that she didn't mind one bit.
Pandora followed after Emmett, then stopped short and faced Lady Wellington. "Thank you for calling on us."And for not making me feel more embarrassed than I already felt.
Henrietta’s smile was comforting. "Of course." She paused and cleared her throat. "Duchess Willcrow–"
"Pandora, please."
She nodded. "Pandora, I ought to apologize for Lord Fitzroy."
"Oh. No, you have nothing to apologize for."
"I do. I didn't know of your…history with him until tonight, and it had seemed like a harmless enough request at the time."
Pandora's gaze shot up. "A harmless enough request?"
"Yes. Lady Rose asked that I include his name on my invitations. Something about a missed acquaintance of yours and wanting to surprise you." Pandora felt all the warmth drain from her face.
Henrietta waved a worried hand in her face. "Pandora? Are you all right?"
"Rose. Yes. Of course." Pandora regained herself.
"All right then, Pandora. I must return to my guests. And I imagine you want to join His Grace in finding Lady Rose before she… does anything unwise."
"Indeed. Yes. Thank you, Duchess– " a meaningful look from her new friend, and Pandora corrected herself with an amused bow. "Thank you, Henrietta."
Henrietta nodded and turned back into the ballroom, the flowing silk of her dress sweeping the ground like a forceful wind. Pandora lifted the hem of her dress and followed the sound of Emmett's voice calling to Rose.
ChapterSeventeen
The horses galloped and the wheels creaked, but there wasn't a sound inside the coach as they journeyed back home.
Beside him, Rose, her eyes a dull red but now dry, nestled her head against his shoulder. He patted her lightly on the back.
They had all known this day would come. No matter what, he trusted that his best friend had been kind in his delivery of his rejection, but unrequited love was unrequited love, and, tough as she liked to project, Rose was a delicate girl at heart.
Across from him, Pandora fiddled with the hem of her skirt. It had been a long evening. Her cheeks had lost their color, and all the light that had sparkled in her as they held each other in the garden was gone now, replaced by a placid look that Emmett could not quite make out. Was it him, or was she cutting glances at Rose when she thought no one was looking?
