Lord Landstone promptly closed the still gaping doors of the drawing room, shutting out the rest of the ballgoers. Emily sat down on the nearby settee, cold and still as a statue. As the brute of a man had labeled her a thief, Cooper’s voice had rung out and ended her life as she knew it. He’d ruined her with a few words. It wouldn’t have mattered if they had not been in the slightest true. The mere fact that he had linked their names in such an intimate manner in such a public forum relegated her to the status of ruined.

Desperation surged through her trembling frame, scattering her thoughts.

Mr. Paget—completely indifferent to her discomfort and the tattered state of her life—had moved to hover over her as though she might try to run. Certainly, she would have, if given the chance, but it still annoyed her that he had assumed. With Cooper and Arthur to her right, Aunt Hortense seated off to the side, and the Landstones and Mr. Paget to her left—at least Lady Vardy was still in the ballroom—it almost didn’t matter what the outcome of the next few moments was. Her life was irrevocably changing, and it was all utterly beyond her control.

Mr. Landstone’s deep bass was a rumble that suddenly caused Emily’s stomach to roil. “Now, I believe our friend here is claiming that Lady Emmaline is a thief, and Lord Brougham has countered that claim by saying she has been amorously engaged with him. My lady, could you perhaps help us out and clarify which man is correct?”

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “My lord, you give me so many cheery options. Could it not be that neither man is correct? Perhaps I am both not a thief and not amorously engaged, as you so politely put it.”

Cooper sighed. Arthur glared. But she tilted her chin and fell silent.

“That may be true, my lady. However, if you cannot prove that you were not with Lord Brougham, then I shall have to leave the resolution of the other claim to the authorities. Which I might remind you would mean jail, for at least the short term, a public trial, and potentially transportation.” The man ended on the most ominous note possible, letting his tone drop low and deep to great effect.

She felt the blood leach from her head as it all plummeted somewhere south of her clacking knees. Stubborn to a fault, she pressed on with her argument. “But my lord, either choice is imprisonment. One a cage of steel, the other gilded in gold, perhaps, but a cage nonetheless.”

Cooper growled beside her.

Lord Landstone pinched the bridge of his nose. “My lady, both men cannot be wrong.”

Of course not. Men in general were thought never to be wrong. Oddly enough, both men were correct. But what could she say that was not incriminating in one capacity or another?

Emily wanted to be sick. Very, very sick—all over Cooper’s shoes, preferably.

After she sat mutely for a few moments, her brother finally spoke. “Do not be foolish. What’s done is done. Do not make this any worse than it is. Admit”—he looked furious as he slashed a glance at Cooper—“what has happened, and then we can go home to sort out this disaster.”

She remained in her seat as a dizzy spell swept over her. Acknowledge her ruin? In public? Never. Besides, if the two meddling men had left well enough alone, she would not be in this situation. The ridiculous detective—or whatever he was—could search her person, and he would find nothing to indicate she was the villain. Not that it mattered any longer. The damage to her reputation was done.

Cooper huffed. “Lady Landstone, Lady Emmaline has a small dark birthmark on her upper right thigh on the inside of her leg. If you might validate that what I say is true, we could dispense with this charade.”

Lady Landstone blushed to the roots of her hair, but she nodded. “Of course, I will do so in the name of justice.”

But then Aunt Hortense spoke up from her perch in the corner. “No need to embarrass the girl further. I can assure you she has a mark such as Lord Brougham describes.”

Emily watched the private inquiry agent’s face turn red as he gaped after Aunt Hortense concurred with Cooper and he realized his culprit had just been exonerated.

“There, now that we’ve established that Lady Emmaline is innocent, I believe Lord Dunmere and I have matters to discuss. Lady Landstone, is there a more private room we can make use of?” Cooper asked as a matter of manners.

“We’ll leave you to your discussions here, my lord.” And then she and her husband exited the room with the reluctant detective in their wake.

As they left, Emily felt as if her future had walked out with them.

Once the door closed, silence reigned until they were certain they were alone. Cooper turned to face her, but she refused to look at him as fury surged forward to replace her disbelief.

He sighed. “You cannot ignore me and expect me to go away.”

“If you please, my lord. Do not address me so informally.” Emily’s lips felt stiff as she seethed beneath her calm exterior.

Arthur sat next to her as he tried to take her hand in his. “Emily, please. I believe Lord Brougham saved your life. That brute would have strung you up from the nearest tree.”

She turned to him. “And you. How does it feel to be complicit in the charade that has ruined your sister’s reputation and made Aunt Hortense complicit in your deception, as well as an incompetent chaperone?”

Her brother snorted, slanting a glance at the now sleeping woman in the corner of the room. “Nobody in their right mind would believe Aunt Hortense to be a competent chaperone—one can only imagine what our parents were thinking when they named her such. And what the busybodies won’t know is that we saved you from being hanged for a thief.”

Molten anger burned through the last of her reserves. “By whose estimation? How can you be sure they would have had any evidence to call the magistrate, much less find me guilty? If you two fools had simply followed my lead, this conversation would not be happening. Unlike you two, I was well prepared for the potential consequences of my activities.” She stopped and stared at Arthur. “Wait just one minute. Why are you assuming I would be found guilty? It’s as if you know what has been happening while you’ve been out getting soused and throwing all our money away.”

Her brother shut his mouth and darted a glance at Cooper. “I assumed they would have manufactured whatever evidence they needed. Though I am not”—he cleared his throat—“sure why they focused on you.”

Emily rolled her eyes. “Arthur, you’re a terrible liar.”

She rose and faced Cooper. “What did you tell my brother?”

“That I suspected you were taking some rather terrible risks, and I suggested he should put a stop to such behavior.” He made a face of exasperation. “Clearly, I was too late.”

“You, sir, are a bastard, and I regret ever making your acquaintance.” She drew a deep breath. “Now, if you two are finished, I am ready to depart. I suggest you come along if you plan to ride with Aunt Hortense and me.” She started across the room. “I suspect Lady Vardy will be seeking out other transportation home.”

“Emily.” She stopped as Cooper called out. “You shall marry me so we can end this farce and move past it. And you shall cease your risky activity.”

She whipped around. “I shall do no such thing. I told you long ago marriage was out of the question. Nothing has changed.”

She wheeled around and sailed out of the room as her brother sputtered to life behind her. “But you can’t be serious! You’re ruined!”

Both the men in her life could go to hell. She would not be forced into marriage to appease Society.

Cooper turned to Arthur as the door slammed shut, and sighed. “She will realize very soon she has no other choice but to marry me.”

“That may be true, but she will not like it any more then than she does now.” He shook his head. “I fear she is a stubborn woman who may never soften under the circumstances.”

Cooper considered the fury he had seen burning in her eyes. There was no doubt in his mind that where there was passion—even angry passion—he could turn the tide his way. But first, he needed her to agree to the wedding.

“Tell me, Arthur, have you never put your foot down with her?” Cooper was curious.

Her brother offered him a sheepish look of apology. “More often than not, it was her putting her foot down with me.” He gave a soft sigh of resignation. “I’m afraid I was a coddled sort. Emily was the one who kept me from turning spoiled as we grew up. She frequently reined me in when I grew too wild or too demanding. Our parents never denied either of us anything. But unlike my levelheaded sister, I often took advantage of their generosity. It seemed there was always more to come. Of course, everything changed when they died. I learned the truth of our lifestyle and then did my own damage to boot.”

His gaze bore a hole in the floor of the drawing room.

Cooper nodded. “Well, the issue here is that you must intervene with your sister.”

Arthur looked up from the floor in surprise. “Me?”

“Absolutely. For the first time, you, Arthur, are going to put your foot down with that little hellion you call sister.” Cooper grinned and slapped him on the back.

“Indeed, it’s high time you reined that girl in. She’s like a runaway donkey.” Aunt Hortense seemed to come awake with no warning, but obviously she had heard enough to understand what was going on.

Arthur sputtered. “B-but—”

“Enough.” The elderly woman rose from her seat. “If you can’t make her do as she should, then you need to find some leverage to use against her. Family is the way to sway the girl. For once your tendency toward selfishness may actually serve another.” With that declaration, she hobbled from the room, leaving two rather shocked men in her wake.

Cooper shook his head at the wily old bird. “She’s right, it must be done. Emily is out of her depth. After all these years of her helping you out, and with you taking the reins as the head of the family, it falls to you to help her. Besides, it will be excellent practice for when you marry.” Cooper slung an arm about him and led him over to the decanters on the sideboard.

Arthur chuckled. “I have no intention of marrying. And if I do, I shall marry a biddable woman. One who is sweet and kind. I would never be so foolish as to fall in love with a woman such as my sister.” He preened at his pronouncement. And then realized what he’d implied. “Oh, not to say…”

Cooper huffed. “Never mind that. I like your sister just fine as she is. But I shall warn you, better men than me have sworn the same thing, and none of us have accomplished the task. We have all married handfuls, and I suspect you will be no less fortunate.” He poured two fingers of whisky and tossed it back.

Arthur considered his words and then shook his head. “No, I shall stick to my plan. A biddable woman if I must.”

Cooper simply smiled and nodded at his future brother-in-law.

Arthur stopped. “By the by, should we not tell Emily that the debts are paid? Seems as though it would have stopped this foolishness sooner.” Concern creased his brow.

“With our nuptials looming, I see little opportunity for her to get into further trouble.”

Cooper sidestepped the issue. And it was an issue, but for entirely different reasons than Arthur realized. If Emily was to be his wife, he needed to know she trusted him as he trusted her. He wanted to give her more time to do just that on her own. Perhaps that made him imprudent, or perhaps that made him a romantic at heart. In either case, he didn’t wish to think on it too much.