.
Colonel Brimingford was never one of Victor’s favorite people, and one reason why was because the man would keep talking even when the French were on the next rise. There were no enemies that wanted to stab them at the Hartleys’ ball, but Victor was only willing to let the man reminisce for so long before he excused himself.
He turned around to locate Emily, and when he saw that she wasn’t there, he felt a trickle of panic run down his spine. He knew that she was a capable young lady, able to look after herself, but he couldn’t stop himself from walking a little quicker as he looked for her. He located Sir Eugene and Lady Caverly, but neither of them had seen her. After a short while of quick walking and subtle shoving, he had to conclude that she was nowhere to be found in the ballroom.
“Where the hell are you, Emily?” he murmured.
It was rude in the extreme, but he had spent enough time in the Hartley house to navigate it very well. The servants were busy with the event, and he slipped away easily. They weren’t in the ladies’ solar or the library, but he heard murmurs from one of the drawing rooms. He released a sigh of relief when he recognized one of the voices as Emily’s and another as one of Charles’ female relatives, but he stiffened when he heard Charles’ voice as well. What the hell was going on?
He opened the door, and nearly growled when he saw Charles sitting close to Emily, one hand over her soft shoulder, that warm look on his face.
Anger washed over him, and he stepped forward, snatching Emily’s hand in his.
“We are going the hell home.”
She blinked at him, her eyes not quite focused.
“Victor? What in the devil are you doing?”
“Just as I said. Taking you home. Charles, is the west passage for the servants still in use?”
“Yes, and it takes you down to the gardens the way it always did. Wellford, for God’s sake, calm down. Cherry was with us the whole time. Nothing happened.”
“And nothing is going to happen either. Please let Lady Caverly know that I have taken Emily home. I am not going to wait another moment.”
Emily protested weakly behind him as he tugged her out of the room and toward the west passageway, slamming the door in his wake.
After the pair left, Cherry turned wide eyes to her brother.
“So... that was the Wellford you wanted me to meet? You made him sound... very, very different.”
“Yes, well, things have rather changed,” Charles said thoughtfully. “I had hoped that perhaps you two might find a match in each other, but now I see that the ship might have sailed on that particular venture.”
“Is Emily going to be all right?”
“Oh, I should think so. I was probably in more danger here than either of you. If I’d been sitting any closer to Lady Emily, Wellford probably would have slit my throat.”
The west passage led down to the garden, and from there, a gate led directly to the street. Victor was in too much of a hurry to locate his own coach, and instead, waved down a hack that was cruising by, hoping for some custom. The windows were baize paper instead of glass, and the whole thing smelled terribly of old tobacco.
Emily made a face.
“What in the world are you doing, Victor? I was just sitting with Charles and Cherry.”
“And it smells like you were having a fine time as well. On a night when you had so much to do, were you really going to get drunk on top of it?”
“Well, that’s my affair, and not yours, isn’t it?” asked Emily, thrusting her chin up proudly. “I had a rather disturbing upset, and they were both very kind to me.”
“Wait, what upset?”
“I don’t believe I shall tell you if you are going to fly off the handle.”
Victor wrapped his hand around her arm, forcing her to look him in the eye.
“What upset?”
“Oh, for the love of all that’s good, do not be so dramatic. It was just Lord Bagley hinting into the void and hoping it might get him a desperate girl.”
“Emily!” Victor said, slightly shocked by her tone.
She waved her hand at him, shooing his shock away.
“As if you and Aunt Winnie and Sir Genie don’t say the same and worse. Why do I have to be so very good?”
“Because... because you are, and you wouldn’t be saying it at all if you weren’t foxed.”
“I am not foxed! Cherry Hartley gave me some very delightful pear cordial that she got from a friend, and it is not very strong at all.”
“I can smell it from here, so it is strong enough. Were you playing your little game with Charles?”
“It’s not a game, Victor! It is a matter of life and death, and you are being very crude to think I take any of this lightly.”
“All right, your deadly serious matter of life and death. Were you trying to get Charles involved? Were you assessing him for your husband?”
Emily peered at him from her seat, and Victor felt his heart beat faster. If she said yes, what in the hell could he do? Hell, Charles was one of the best men he knew. If he really cared about Emily, cared about them both, he would think this was a wonderful idea.
He couldn’t even entertain the thought for a heartbeat. The idea of Emily with Charles, getting married, Emily in Charles’ arms... Victor gritted his teeth so hard he was surprised that one of them didn’t crack.
“That was far from my intention, Victor,” said Emily. “Once again, he is not at all what I need. I did not come up with these specifications on a whim. I didn’t say I was going to look for old men because I didn’t think I could get a young one, you know.”
“As a matter of fact, I know very little,” Victor said, slumping back in the seat. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, he felt both exhausted and on edge, like he had always felt after a battle.
“Besides, you were the one telling me perhaps my specifications were all wrong. Why wouldn’t you want me to marry Lord Hartley? Unless...”
He glanced at her.
“Spit it out. We have been in too many damned strange situations to focus on decorum now.”
“Unless you truly think I’m too awful to marry your friend. Which is fair, I suppose.”
“Oh, close your mouth, Emily. I don’t think that.”
“And you comfort me with such charm, too, Victor.”
“If you wanted fair speech, you should have stuck with Charles.”
“I couldn’t. You dragged me out of there so fast I left my wrap on their chaise.”
“Ah. Right, I suppose I did. What I am getting at, Emily, is that I am jealous.”
Emily blinked at him, and Victor felt his heart beating fast. God, she was the dearest thing in the world to him. She was beautiful, but there was so much more to it than that.
“Emily, I can’t stand for a man I know so well to have you because I want you.”