Page 7 of The Earl's Christmas Deal
She stiffened as the duke approached her, a slight smile on his face as his eyes ran over her body in a way that made her skin crawl.
“Lady Emilia,” he said dutifully, bowing to her as her mother watched their interaction eagerly. “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
He pressed a kiss to her hand, and Emilia compelled herself to relax as he straightened.
“Likewise, your Grace,” she said formally, retracting her hand as soon as she was able and plucking at the edge of her dress as the duke bowed to her parents and made his way into the ballroom. His three daughters followed behind, gliding into the room with an effortless grace Emilia could never hope to achieve.
Emilia could just imagine her future at Elderbridge House, sitting silently amidst her inherited family. She envisioned herself seated at a long dining table, her sole companions her icy husband and his even colder daughters. Perhaps once she had given him the heir he craved, she might spend all her time alone or locked in a bedroom in the tallest tower, waiting for her knight to come and rescue her.
As Emilia was considering her future and the dim prospects before her, another carriage drew up to the manor. In it, Adam sat with his aunt and Lionel. He watched the house slowly grow larger out of the window and was wracked by a deep sense of uncertainty. Nerves rumbled unpleasantly in his gut, and he could feel his palms sweating inside his evening gloves.
Whyever did I agree to this? Two weeks trapped in a house with a group of strangers. I would rather fall through the surface of a frozen river.
“I am so pleased the Sternwoods are holding their party again this year,” his aunt proclaimed happily.
“Why would they not?” Lionel asked, and his mother rolled her eyes dramatically.
“You know of the rumours, Lionel. I have told you a hundred times.”
“I am sorry, Mother, but I do not hold with gossip.”
Adam turned to his aunt with a frown. “You cannot mean what was said about Lord Julian Blackmoor?”
“Of course I mean it! There were many pernicious comments at the time, and the Sternwoods have not held this event since. I had thought they might recoil from society altogether, but I am glad they have not. I have always liked Camilla Sternwood. She is terribly sensible.”
“Didn’t the countess herself deny the rumours?” Adam asked. He hated any type of gossip and remembered there had been noevidenceof any impropriety, only hearsay.
“She did. I have never believed Lady Emilia capable of what she was accused of. Her mother is adamant that nothing took place, and that is good enough for me.”
Adam breathed a sigh of relief as the carriage drew to a halt. The last thing he needed whilst they were in the company of their hostess was his aunt making jibes about the Sterlings' conduct. He loved his aunt a great deal, but her tongue could cut glass.
They all descended from the carriage, Lionel helping his mother down as they looked up at the house. It was a fine building, pale and ornate, with pillars at the front and a beautiful swathe of ivy climbing one side, its evergreen foliage lending a sense of life to the barrenness of winter.
Adam looked about him at the milling guests arriving, feeling very out of place. He was not accustomed to societythese days and disliked the idea that he could not escape over the coming days.
They ascended the stairs and Adam winced as his aunt gave a shrill shriek of delight as she saw Camilla Sternwood, a beautiful lady standing beside her husband in the main entrance hall. The two women embraced, and as they did so, they revealed a graceful young woman standing behind her parents. She had long chestnut hair and large hazel-green eyes framed by long lashes.
She was extremely beautiful but stood back from her parents as though to fade into the shadows. Adam felt a jolt of sympathy for her and wished he could do the same.
Then Emilia looked up at him, and Adam found it difficult to catch his breath.
It was as though he were looking at a mirror image of his own pain and grief. There was a darkness at the back of her eyes, a hidden sorrow as though offering a permanent apology to the world. It was as if an unspoken conversation occurred between them in those few seconds, a recognition he could not name but burned so brightly it quite overwhelmed him.
“You are staring, cousin,” Lionel said discreetly, leaning against him and breaking the spell.
Mortified, Adam returned his attention to his hosts, shaking hands with Lord Sternwood and trying not to look at his daughter again. It was more difficult than it should have been.
What an idiotic introduction,he thought irritably.Two steps inside the house, and I have already disgraced myself.
He hurried after his aunt and cousin, keeping his back straight, his gait steady, trying to ensure that no one could pick up on the disquiet swirling in his mind.
As the final guests were shown to their rooms, Emilia breathed a sigh of relief at the sudden silence that fell upon thehouse. She considered the prelude to the evening ball a success. She had only detected derision and disdain from the Duke of Elderbridge’s daughters. Few other attendees appeared concerned by her presence.
Checking behind her to ensure her mother was not monitoring her every move, she walked along the corridor and into the drawing room. It was blissfully empty, and she quickly made her way to the pianoforte, running her fingers over the keys and knowing that nothing else in the world would calm her as effectively as creating the music she loved.
She sat down before the piano and began to play a piece by Bach from memory. It was a spritely tune that she knew her mother would approve of with a house so full of guests. She wondered about playing something more festive, but the keys called to her of their own accord, and soon she was lost in the lilting melody.
Her mind moved to the duke and his daughters against her will. The thought of becoming their stepmother was a terrifying prospect. She could picture years stretching before her with nothing but empty halls and anger for company. His daughters regarded her as a figure of fun, someone neither to be feared nor obeyed. She knew that if she were to act as their stepmother, they would never view her as anything other than a pawn in their father’s ambition to have a son.
