Page 39 of The Odd Riddle of the Lost Duchess
“Nothing Madam,” Noah replied coldly, “nothing worth even mentioning.”
“When it comes to you, you are right,” George sneered. “You are the embodiment of nothing.”
Lord Bexley and Emmeline reacted quickly, with Lord Bexley grabbing Noah’s coat, and Emmeline perilously putting herself in front of a lunging Noah. George had stepped back and vainly grabbed for where he carried his pistol but came out empty as he had forgone his holster.
“George!” Emmeline cried seeing his intentions. “How could you!”
“No!” George snapped, “How couldyou, Emmeline! Playing on my jealousy for Miss Benwick to get an easement to this scoundrel!”
“I did it for peace, George!” Emmeline returned, “Haven’t you had enough of this foolish feud? Or are you going to drag this nonsense into eternity?”
“That nonsense, Emmeline, is a family honor–our family’s honor.” George barked, “How can you give up your family’s honor for this son of a villain?”
“Me? A villain?” Noah shot back. “By all rumors you, sir, are the progeny of the devil that killedmygrandfather. And you have the gall to call me a villain!”
“Enough!” a deep baritone cut in. The people behind Emmeline parted like the arms of the Red Sea to allow Mr. Benwick to enter. Ann’s father, the lucrative merchant, was stoic, but his blue eyes held anger.
“This quarrel is not fitting for this jovial assembly,” the man intoned, “the Duke of Leverton and the Duke of Newberry, please leave your family’s affairs out of this night or leave entirely. Choose wisely.”
“I will depart,” Noah replied tersely, “Until Leverton comes to his senses–God given or not–and returns the gesture of peace, as I will not offer it again. Mr. Benwick, thank you and your house for your hospitality. Good night.”
Spinning on his heel, Noah strode out from the balcony and Emmeline, after shooting a disbelieving look at her brother, ran after him. Her heart was pounding, and her mind was racing before her. Noah was not in the ballroom or the foyer which only meant he was heading towards the stables.
Remembering the way to the stables, Emmeline hiked up her skirts and ran towards them. There she saw the Duke leading his horse out with clipped steps.
“Noah!” she called out. “Stop!”
The Duke halted and faced her, and his stony look melted to forlorn. “Go back inside, Lady Emmeline–you cannot be here.”
“I will be wherever I am needed,” Emmeline replied evenly, “and you cannot change my mind.”
The Duke tightened a strap on his horse’s saddle and then came to her. “Was what I heard right? Did you plan that trap for your own brother?”
Lifting her head, Emmeline sighed, “It was more a forceful play than a trap, Noah. He needs to stop living in the past, but he is as stubborn as a mule.”
“And you’re wise as an owl and sly as a fox,” Noah smiled. “And with a penchant for the dramatic, if I dare say so.”
“I’ve not read the Bard for nothing,” Emmeline replied softly. “I did it to create a way for him to let me love you in the open.”
One of Noah’s rough hands rested on her shoulder while the other caressed her soft cheek, “I yearn for the same and I will not stop until I find a way for us to be together under the covenant of the law. I will marry you, Lady Emmeline Grant. I just need to figure out an honorable way to do so.”
“And I will wait for you to do so…even to my last breath,” Emmeline replied while touching his cheek. “Ride safe, my love, and come back to me.”
Stepping out of his way, Emmeline grimly watched as Noah swung into his saddle and rode away.
With a measured pace, Emmeline made her way back to the country house and entered. Not deigning to acknowledge her onlookers, Emmeline walked to the card room where she knew her brother would be.
Her expectations were right, and she spotted George’s coat as his back was turned to her. “George.”
The young Duke turned to her, “I’ve ordered for the housekeeper to assemble your things, Emmeline. We are leaving.”
“In the middle of the–?”
“This is the end,” George grated and slammed his glass of rum on the nearest table. “Do you conceive what you’ve managed to achieve this night, Emmeline? You have both embarrassed me, caused shame upon Miss Benwick, and you have proven yourself to be a manipulator! What man in his sane mind would now choose you as his spouse when you have proven that you can easily trick people?”
“The one whom you have sworn to not make peace with,” Emmeline replied. “He is the man who will choose me.”
“Over my dead body,” George snapped. “He is an enemy, Emmeline, and when you understand that and realize that the picture painted for you by those gothic novels you fancy are not a reality, you will come to your senses and put this nonsensical pull of a ‘forbidden romance’ idea out of your mind. I’ll lock you up if I have to.”
