Page 74 of Wicked Designs
After nothing else distressing occurred, she relaxed.
Cedric eased back into his chair. “I say, Godric, howis the fishing in that lake of yours? Anything worth catching this time of year?”
“It’s been months since I’ve been there with the intent to fish. Be my guest, and feel free to take the others with you.” Godric put his hand on Emily’s knee under the table. Did he want her to go as well?
Emily bit her lip a moment, debating what his touch meant before speaking. “May I go too? I used to love fishing as a child.”
Cedric and Charles exchanged amused looks. Godric’s hand tightened on her leg.
“May I, Godric?”
“You want to spend the day fishing?” Displeasure darkened his eyes.
“Well, if you’d rather that I didn’t…” She wished she understood men better. They were such secretive, guarded creatures, and entirely unpredictable in what they wanted. They were frustrating.
“Let her come, Godric. Fresh air is good for a woman like Emily,” Cedric said.
“You truly desire to sit about in a boat for several hours in the sun?” Godric’s eyes widened in sheer disbelief.
“You’d be there with me, wouldn’t you?” Emily’s hand underneath the table settled lightly on top of his hand. “And if you fall in and pretend to drown, I can pretend to rescue you again.”
Godric sighed in defeat and shot a rather mutinous glare at Cedric. “Fishing it is then. Give me one hour in my study. I’ve a few things to attend to.” Godric got upfrom the table and left Emily alone with the other four lords.
Emily finished her hot chocolate before jumping up to follow Godric.
Charles half rose,ready to follow her but Ashton put a hand on his forearm.
“Rest easy, Charles. She is not going anywhere.”
“How can you be sure? The little sprite has run us ragged over the past few days! How do you know she’s not giving it another go?”
“It is obvious you’ve never been in love before. Emily doesn’t want to let Godric out of her sight. She’s attached to him now more than ever.”
Charles sat back down. “You’re saying that she won’t run because she’s infatuated with him?”
“Some people spend their entire lives falling in love again and again, over and over. Others fall in love that first time, and it is a true spark of love rather than a passing fancy. What Emily has shown towards Godric is not infatuation.” Ashton sighed and took a long sip of his coffee. “And that’s what worries me.”
He prayed to God that Godric knew what he was doing. If Emily was harmed physically or emotionally it would hurt them all.
To think that the infamous League of Rogues hung on the happiness of one young woman.
Emily pausedat the open doorway to Godric’s study. He was seated at his desk, poring over ledgers and letters. She took the opportunity to memorize his features, paint them on the canvas of her mind, and burn them into her heart—the way his dark hair fell into his eyes, the strong hands that gripped the pages, the lean muscled legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles.
With a tentative step she crossed the study’s threshold. The wooden floor creaked. Godric glanced up at her, smiled and resumed his work. Perhaps another woman would have been upset that she hadn’t been addressed. But Godric’s polite acceptance of her trespass had a wholly different meaning. It represented trust. She didn’t wish to ruin the moment by being bothersome and distracting. She selected a book from the shelves, a botanical discussion of plants native to Kent, and settled herself on the couch near him.
After a quarter of an hour she looked up to find Godric glaring down at a ledger before him, his teeth gritted in a silent snarl. Emily set her book down and got up from the couch, coming behind Godric and studying what had upset him. It was a messy book of accounts, very ill-kept and confusing. But Emily’s keen eye located instantly where the numbers were incorrectly calculated.
She put a hand on his left shoulder, her fingers curled into his shirt. “Oh dear. May I help?”
He turned his head in surprise as though not even aware of her presence.
“What?”
She gestured to the books. “Is this how you keep all your books?”
“It’s how I was taught.”
“But it’s so confusing the way you’ve set up your columns of numbers.”
