Page 47 of The Odd Riddle of the Lost Duchess
“I must have this Grant woman removed,” the Dowager Duchess declared to herself. “She must not poison that foolish boy anymore even though he surely deserves to feel the hand of the wicked Grants.”
* * *
Unknown to the Dowager Duchess, her daughter-in-law, was just outside of the door listening. She was quiet as she eavesdropped on her mother-in-law mumbling malicious plans to herself. She heard Lady Emmeline and her son Noah’s names and knew that things were going to get perilous if she didn’t act.
The Duchess knew that her mother-in-law, though old and frail, still commanded power, and the money she had at her fingertips could tempt a saint to become the worst sinner. But could she do anything to stop her?
* * *
Emmeline was cold inside and out. She stood on the balcony of her bedroom, in nothing but a thin night shift and a summer robe, watching balefully as the moon climbed higher in the sky.
Two and a half weeks had passed and she had not received any word from Ann. Emmeline feared she had lost her best friend entirely. There was no word from Noah, either, and she felt cut off from the world like she was on an island in the middle of the sea with no other living soul. Emmeline was used to solitude but this level was not natural.
Her mother had promised to help her in her quest to become Noah’s bride but it was a slow process. So mind-numbingly tedious that it felt as though it was going backward instead of forward.
The situation with her brother wasn’t resolving–George was civil but abrupt. If it was another person, a matriarch of theton, or even if the King belittled her, she could have born it. But it was her brother that was snubbing her and it pained her greatly.
Life was bleak. There was nothing except Noah’s promise that gave her any hope of a better future, and sometimes she had to dig deep inside her to hold on to that hope.
Pressing her head on the cold brick Emmeline now knew for a fact what the pain of unfulfilled love felt like.
“Why did I have to choose the hardest road?” She sighed.
“Because they give the greatest rewards, love,” A deep voice said, from over the balcony.
Scuttling back, Emmeline grabbed her chest as Noah easily swung himself over the balustrade and landed on his feet like a cat. Even as she stared at him, Emmeline swore her eyes were deceiving her, that they were projecting a fantasy that was fermenting in her heart.
Noah’s face was crinkled in amusement and his usual black clothing blended into the night. “Are you not happy to see me, love?”
Emmeline’s mind spun, but the response manners gave her was overridden by her heart. “Noah! What are you–how could you–did you climb two storeys of bare wall… are youmad?”
Rushing to the balcony’s edge Emmeline looked over and had to drag herself back in case she started to collapse. The height Noah had climbed, only with rocky handholds and trellises of ivy, made an impossible endeavor for her to even contemplate.
Pressing a hand to her cold forehead Emmeline turned back to her midnight visitor.
“This is rash…my brother is here.” She stated, “He would have shot you if he saw you.”
“All the more thrill in avoiding him then,” Noah replied, while reaching out for her, “Admit it, love, what is life without any thrills?”
“I think I’m dreaming,” Emmeline replied. “What made you chance the trellis? Are you Capulet reborn?”
“Ah,” Noah shrugged while framing his hands around her dainty waist, “Funny enough, I was thinking if Romeo could do it, I could certainly do it better. Was my performance not up to your standard, milady?”
Resting her head on Noah’s chest, Emmeline sighed, “Only if you had broken your neck. How did you bypass the gate?”
Noah pulled out an iron key from his pocket and twirled it, “A mysterious benefactor mailed this to me, saying it is the key to my love’s heart. I think you might recognize the hand.”
Squinting in the low light, Emmeline read the note Noah produced, and let out a pleased laugh. It was written in her mother’s hand.
“Care to dance with me, love?” Noah asked.
“There is no music,” Emmeline replied.
“We do not need music.” Noah replied, “The beat of our hearts is enough.”
This close, there was less than a hairbreadth between them, and Emmeline was mesmerized by the gray eyes inches away from hers. She barely recognized when they had started to move in a slow waltz on the tiny space of the balcony, secluded from prying eyes.
The music Noah was following, was indeed the beat of his heart, and the only light, came from the moon above. The ambiance was that of a dream.
