Page 114 of The Girl Out of Time
“Oh, dear.” Maria scoffed. “He was already married. That it was a miserable marriage is perhaps not a good enough excuse for some.”
Theo looked at Emmeline, but she kept her gaze on Maria.
“You can judge us. But I loved him, and he loved me. For years, I thought it could go on forever, that somehow, we’d manage. He did his duty. His wife gave him children, and even though he didn’t care for her, he loved them. I stayed on the periphery—always there when he needed me. His family was one life, and I was another.”
An invisible steel fist gripped Emmeline’s chest, eating its way to her heart. Was that what awaited her if she couldn’t give Theo up? They had to part—but what if time weakened their resolve? Would she become the woman in the shadows—his solace and his pain?
“It’s not like a much better fate was waiting for me here,” Maria said. “And between having to marry a man who doesn’t want me, and not being able to marry a man who does, I’d always go for the latter.”
“What happened then?” Emmeline asked in a small voice.
“Edward had quite the adventurous spirit in those days, even if it was confined mostly to fantasies. One day, he’d caught rumors of a lost treasure left by smugglers or something the like. He enthused me—it didn’t takemuch, I’ll admit—and a good friend of his with it. A friend who would not remain one for a lot longer.”
“De Villiers,” Emmeline whispered.
Maria nodded. “I didn’t know it at first because Edward and his friend—de Villiers, let’s say—discussed some details privately, but it turned out de Villiers was in financial trouble, and Edward approached him with the idea, thinking we could split the profit and that would help de Villiers. If you’d known him back then, you’d see how Edward could absolutely sell you an idea. Not that he’d do anything in malice, of course. Just sheer enthusiasm. So de Villiers joined the hunt, and even invested a substantial amount in it.”
“And you found Starry Night.”
“It was just a necklace.” Maria scoffed at herself. “A single piece of jewelry, and not that valuable, either. None of the experts we took it to recognized the material, and without it being confirmed as something precious, or at least something with an established history, our treasure was useless. And it couldn’t even be split.”
Maria stood and turned to the fireplace, idly stirring the dying coals. “De Villiers was furious. He challenged Edward to a duel. I asked him not to do it, but men are men. It ended as horrible as one might expect.”
“Death?” Theo asked.
“No. But Edward wounded de Villiers in a … rather unfortunate spot, to adhere to the sensibilities.” Maria grimaced. “And so, from two best friends, two mortal enemies were born.”
“The duel.” Emmeline shot up. “The Duke of Redbridge was in a duel—so you’d heard, right?” She looked at Theo, who nodded. “Perhaps they weren’t referring to what happened at the masquerade ball in the castle, but to this duel!”
“Oh, he was, all right.” Maria turned back to them. “But the Duke of Redbridge isn’t de Villiers. He’s Edward.”
Emmeline’s hands fell to her side. “What? No, that doesn’t—he—” But as she thought about it, no good argument presented itself. Yes, the duke had a small scar on his neck, which could correspond to the nick Theo gave him with the rapier, but it could also be from anything else.
“You’re the mistress of the Duke of Redbridge?” Theo asked.
“Was,” Maria said. “Some time after the dispute, I left. Not because of it, although it didn’t help. I couldn’t do it anymore. His children were growing up. Daniel was … four or five? I never met him in person before you sent me to the previous century, you know,” she said to Emmeline.
Oh, God.Daniel.Maria used to be engaged to him.
“But I still knew. It was strange, but besides that, it felt wrong, hopeless. He could never truly be with me, and the longer I stayed, the more we’d both suffer. So I put an end to it, tous, and left. Came to London. Continued writing my books.”
Emmeline sat back down, hiding her face in her hands. Among all the confusion came a bit of relief. She’d liked the duke when she’d first met him. Perhaps he’d made some questionable decisions in the past, but she was glad he wasn’t the villain. “But if the duke isn’t de Villiers, who is?”
A corner of Maria’s mouth quirked up.
“Wescott,” Theo said.
Emmeline whipped her head to him.
“Wescott wanted the pendant. I wrote to him when I came to England last summer,” Theo explained, avoiding her eyes by looking somewhere between her and Maria. “I expected him to summon me to London immediately, but instead, he told me to spy on the duke and steal his pendant. It never made sense to me until now.”
“You stole it?” Emmeline asked.
“The night when you went to look for it.” A slight blush painted his cheeks.
Of course. They’d conveniently discussed the pendant—and its location—just hours before. But knowing the leash Wescott held Theo on, she couldn’t be angry at him.
“I attempted to return it to the duke.” Theo gave a side glance to Emmeline. “At the wedding. I thought I could bargain. Offer my crimes to him in exchange for letting you go.”
