Page 6 of Married Off by the Duke
Her maid’s hairstyling helped. As did the satin gown trimmed with green and pink silk roses.
This was a version of Miss Willis he didn’t know. At all.
Come to think of it, he hadn’t made any real effort to get to know her. She was, understandably, wary of him. But if she genuinely hated him, she wouldn’t have made him switch places with her in the carriage. Would she?
A strange feeling he couldn’t name roiled within him. Whether it was hope or lingering indigestion, Max couldn’t be certain.
“Where have you been hiding your ward all these years?” A man’s voice startled Max out of his reverie. “I thought you said she was a plain little mouse.”
“She is. Look at her, Pindell.”
“I am. You’ve undersold her beauty by a wide margin. You might not find her charming, but I’d quite like an introduction, if you’d be so obliging.”
Competition is good, Max reminded himself. Two suitors meant a better chance of finding one who would take Emma off his hands. Max had already inquired about obtaining a special license on behalf of his ward. Theoretically, he could be free of Miss Willis by next week.
Pindell was a far better match than a girl like Emma could expect to make. Max ought to be delighted to introduce them.
He wasn’t.
A ball of misgiving lodged behind his sternum as he reluctantly led his friend over to where Emma and Adkins were conversing, heads bowed as if they were old friends, despite having met all of ten minutes ago.
“A sensible man in your position ought to seek an heiress, not an illegitimate nobody,” Max grumbled.
Emma’s smile faltered.
Pindell cut him a glance. “I am in the fortunate position of being able to choose a wife for non-mercenary considerations. Besides, it’s rather presumptuous of you to assume I intend to propose before even having met her.”
“Marriages have been based upon less acquaintance.”
The way Emma’s expression darkened at his approach, then brightened the instant he presented Pindell, twisted knifelike in Max’s gut.
Emma
“Did he actually say that?” Adkins asked in a low tone of astonishment.
“Indeed,” Emma said tightly. “His Grace does not think highly of me.”
“I have never known Ardennes to be deliberately cruel. A little too convinced of his own righteousness at times, like most men of his class, but to speak so bluntly of your parentage…”
“He speaks the truth,” Emma shrugged. It hurt, but she couldn’t deny that she was an illegitimate nobody.
“Lord Pindell,” Adkins said affably, greeting the newcomer. Pindell’s ginger curls and eager, open face were a sharp contrast to Max’s glower and looming posture. Emma ignored the duke and gave the newcomer a welcoming smile. A viscount, she was informed.
“Miss Willis. I understand you were a teacher until recently?”
“Yes, at Mrs. Quarrie’s School for the Improvement Young Ladies. Working with the girls was such a pleasure,” she fibbed. There had been moments of joy while teaching, just not many of them. Emma deliberately shifted to a more neutral subject. “Mr. Adkins was telling me about his new grandson.”
“I’m surprised you indulged him,” Max interjected. “I didn’t think you liked children.”
A beat of stunned silence passed.
“Of course I like children. I’m not a monster, Your Grace.”
“Only a hoyden.”
Prickly anger crawled up her spine. She was going to lose her temper if her guardian didn’t shut up. Right now.
Max was deliberately sabotaging her already dubious marital prospects. What was wrong with him?
