Page 30 of The Odd Riddle of the Lost Duchess
Oh, how I wished I was born of another family,Emmeline despaired.
It was Ann who first heard the crunch of boots coming towards them, and it was she who touched Emmeline’s arm. “Em, your prince in white armor is coming towards us.”
Emmeline’s head snapped up, and she spotted Noah coming towards them, his cravat gone and his white shirt loose at the collar. His dark hair seemed to merge with the night around him as his purposeful strides took him to them.
“Miss Benwick,” Noah greeted, “May I usurp your walk and your companion for a moment?”
Ann’s eyes darted between the two, clearly in apprehension but she nodded, “That lovely fountain not far off needs an examination, I believe.”
With a smile, Ann left the two and Emmeline felt her throat go dry at the loaded look Noah was leveling at her. She was still when his hand rose, cupped her cheek, and he threaded his fingers through her hair. Not a word was uttered before he lightly touched his lips to hers.
The kiss was soft, but Emmeline felt it was stronger and more ferocious than a tempest. A soft warmth was kindled in her chest, then moved throughout her body.
Noah’s lips were just the bare side of chapped, but they were firm. He made no motion to deepen the kiss but rested his lips for a moment before he pulled back. Emmeline pressed her head into his chest.
A whisper of a wish–that was more emotion than thought–flitted through Emmeline’s mind and before she could mentally phrase it, Noah fulfilled it. As his arms circled her and cocooned her in his hold, Emmeline prayed that time would stop, and she would be suspended in eternity with his arms around her.
“What happened inside the card room?” Emmeline whispered softly.
“A matter of honor, my dear.” Noah replied, “One which the gentleman in me would rather you not know of.”
“I know it was about me,” Emmeline replied, “But it doesn’t matter why…Noah, are we doomed not to be?”
“I cannot say,” Noah admitted, his words fluttering her hair, “It does seem that the cards are stacked against us.”
Pulling away from his hold, Emmeline added to his statement, “And even if you are adamant in courting me, my brother will refuse you. Even my Aunt cannot persuade him otherwise, and I believe he despises you too much to even speak man to man–just because of a foolish misunderstanding and a misplaced grudge.”
“I suppose we can elope,” Noah said dryly. “My duchy is already under scrutiny with the St. Maur debacle, and my reputation is already in the dirt. If they think I am a scoundrel, whisking you away will not harm it… but it will harm yours. No matter how I feel about you, I cannot mar your standing in good company.”
“And you are comfortable being labeled a rake?” Emmeline asked incredulously, “When you are the farthest thing from one?”
“My history,Cherie,” Noah replied, “might paint a scarlet picture.” A callused hand nudged her head up, and Noah’s gray eyes had a mischievous light, “I pray thee now tell me, for which of my bad parts didst thou first fall in love with me?”
Emmeline couldn’t help but laugh and replied in the lines of the same play, “For them all together–which maintained so politic a state of evil that they will not admit any good part to intermingle with them. But for which of my good parts did you first suffer love for me?”
“All of you.” Noah replied, “From the moment you failed to catch the firefly and your eyes flashed with so much indignation. You proved yourself a faithful sparring partner in words and spirit.”
“I...” Emmeline faltered, as she shot a look over to Ann, “I must go, my chaperone will get worried, and I hate to put her in anxiety.”
Noah frowned but his expression mellowed, and he kissed her lightly on her forehead, “I understand.”
“Ann,” Emmeline called over to her friend while not moving her eyes from Noah, “We must go.”
Ann ambled over and after looking between the two, grasped Emmeline’s hand with a sigh, “Good night, Your Grace.”
Without another word, Ann tugged a wordless Emmeline back down the path to the manor. Its warm interior banished the chill from the night air, and though toasty, Emmeline’s insides felt colder than ice. Noah had just admitted he loved her without even saying the words and when the time had come for her to do the same, the sentiment had stuck in her chest.
“Go to your room, Emmeline,” Ann said quietly while brushing a hand over her friend’s pale forehead, “I will make the excuses to Lady Alford. You need to rest before you fall ill.”
Nodding silently, Emmeline hugged Ann and took the stairs up to the guest rooms while Ann went back to the parlor. Neither of the two ladies had seen the Duchess of Newberry follow them to the garden, witnessing the whole exchange with her son.
* * *
The Duchess of Newberry knew that her son, Noah, had a deep fascination for Lady Emmeline Grant. She had known it from the day he had come back home from his holiday with his uncle in Leverton. Over the years, when the two had met in London, the Duchess suspected that Noah timed his visits in concordance with Lady Emmeline’s.
Noah had been born with a wild streak in him, one that had matured into rebellion in his youthful years. Now, though tempered, the Duchess knew that Noah was once again tempting fate with this Grant.
Entering the foyer, the Duchess looked up the staircase and shook her head. This connection the two had must be stopped, or no one would come out happy.
