The Seduction of Emily (3 page)

They walked to the door and descended the stairs.

Emily sighed. “The tobacco company is a business you and Nicholas’s father, your best friend, wanted both of us to benefit from. You have to trust me that Nicholas will not have it all. As long as I draw breath that will not happen.”

He shook his head and stared ahead. “You deserve it all. When his father and I became partners, our dream was to pass a thriving empire to our sons . . . but alas, I was given a daughter. Albeit a heavenly one.”

Guilt pressed down heavy and unyielding on Emily’s chest. She stared at his balding crown, once thick with dark hair as black as hers, and sought further words to reassure him. “Papa, look at me.”

He met her eyes and her heart hitched. The color at his cheeks grew sallower as the weeks and months wore on. Despite the physician telling him the inhalation of smoke would only strengthen the blockage in his lungs, Emily hazarded a guess the stub of a freshly-smoked cigar smoldered in the drawing room ashtray.

She pressed a kiss to his weathered cheek. “You have to trust me when I tell you all will be well.”

He smiled softly and patted her hand before gently leading her forward. They halted at the bottom stair. Nicholas was early. His voice was loud and his forced laughter far too jovial as he spoke to the footman behind the closed drawing room door.

Needing a moment to prepare mentally and physically to face him, Emily turned to her father. “You go on in. I’ll be right behind you.”

His gaze ran over her face once more before he took her hand from his elbow. “You take all the time you need, my dear. I can handle Nicholas.”

Emily smiled as her father drew in a deep breath and pushed open the drawing room door. “Ah, Nicholas. You are a little early.”

The door closed behind him and Emily approached the hallway mirror. Her maid, Annie, had buffed and preened her to within an inch of her life. Her hair shone glossy and smooth, the complex twists and curls adorned with scarlet feathers and pearl-tipped pins, a feat in itself.

Annie could not have done more to raise Emily closer to Nicholas’s extreme expectations. Knowing she looked her very best, there was little else she could do if her appearance remained unacceptable to him. After her mistake of impulsively interacting with Mr. Samson a week before, Nicholas had exerted his power over her by complete non-communication.

Although the notion sat heavy in her heart, she needed to curb her compulsion to misbehave if she had any chance of making their union amicable. She stared at her reflection. The outcome at the auction might have flustered her father, but Emily didn’t regret her exchange with Mr. Samson in the slightest. The man had eyes the color of the ocean and a smile that sent shivers of excitement along her spine.

She pulled back her shoulders. All would be well. She would soothe Nicholas’s fury by being her most charming, her most happy and, most of all, her most malleable at the ball that night.

Exhaling, she made an about-turn and entered the drawing room.

“Good evening, Nicholas.” She smiled before nodding to the footman as he bowed and left the room.

Nicholas looked up and a surge of satisfaction warmed Emily’s face when his wineglass paused at his mouth. His eyes widened and a faint color darkened his cheeks. At least tonight she’d met his high standards. He stared for a moment longer, his gaze hungry, before he turned and placed his glass on the low table in front of him.

He stood and strolled toward her. Emily remained poised even though the lust that shone in the emerald depths of his eyes made her want to turn and flee the room. His heat was one that would certainly scald and scar rather than energize and excite. She concentrated on keeping her smile fixed in place.

He took her hands and gently pulled her forward, placing a chaste kiss to her cheek. “You look wonderful.”

She dipped her head. “Thank you.”

His gaze swept over her hair, her face, and the revealed orbs of her breasts. Emily slowly pulled her hands from his and swept past him toward her father sitting on the settee. “We are very much looking forward to this evening, aren’t we, Papa?”

Her father’s eyes shone with pride as he looked at her. “Indeed we are, my dear.”

Emily seated herself beside him and Nicholas cleared his throat. “Would you like a glass of wine?”

Thinking a little alcohol-based support might be in order for the evening, Emily nodded. “That would be lovely. Thank you.”

He turned to the silver plate on the bureau, laden with glasses and a crystal decanter. He poured her drink and their fingers brushed as Emily took the glass. When her eyes met his, Nicholas’s flashed with knowing. Nerves washed through her blood. A dangerous aura surrounded Nicholas tonight, one she had not known before.

She sipped her wine and its warmth was welcome against her throat. Her hand trembled as she lowered her glass. Her father put his glass down on the table with a clatter. “Now then, what is next on this evening’s agenda? Ah, yes. Nicholas. I wonder if this would not be the opportune time to present Emily with your gift?”

Emily’s smile wavered. Nicholas stepped toward her and slowly extracted her glass from her tightened grip. He placed it on the table next to his with a predatory smile. Lingering for a moment, he whipped a scarlet velvet box from behind his back like a magician would the fanged jaws of a viper.

“Please accept this as a token of my endless devotion to you, my dear.”

Emily lifted the lid of the box. Despite her reservations about wearing such a jewel, a gasp escaped her. The necklace was breathtaking. Lying upon a bed of creamy-white satin, the Heart of Kingston shone brilliant in its beauty as it sparkled and glistened beneath the candlelight.

“It looks even more beautiful now than it did at the auction.” She pressed her hand to her chest. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Then say nothing.”

She looked up. Nicholas’s eyes shone with unmistakeable affection and her heart skipped a beat. Every now and then, his childhood fondness for her shone in his eyes. Her shoulders relaxed a little even though apprehension tightened around them like an ill-fitting cape. Was his frequent derision toward her a façade to protect his father’s name as a ruthless businessman? Maybe the pressure of living up to the Milne name became heavier for him every day.

Wasn’t she as equally guilty of such a charade—albeit from a different standpoint?

“Thank you. It’s beautiful, Nicholas. Truly.”

“May I?”

He held out his hand and she passed him the box. With careful precision, he took the necklace from its bed and gestured for her permission to clasp it around her neck. She nodded and stood. When she heard the faint click of the necklace locking into place, Emily closed her eyes. A ball being fitted to a chain. Nicholas’s fingers lingered for an unnecessarily long time at her nape and nausea swirled inside her.

“There. Now you belong to me.” His breath whispered hot against her ear.

She stiffened before snapping her eyes wide open and spinning around. Angry words battled on her tongue, pinched and bit at the inside of her mouth like tiny daggers of poisoned injustice. Her fingers trembled when she touched the jewel lying on her chest.

“Indeed. Duly collared and kept.”

A flash of color assaulted his cheeks and affront raged instantaneously in his eyes. Emily turned to her father, who remained seated. His brow was so furrowed she could’ve balanced a row of shillings in the depth of the craters.

“Shall we make haste? I would hate to miss the start of the ball.”

He rose unsteadily to his feet and Emily cupped her hand to his elbow. They all moved to the drawing room door. The glimpse of the old Nicholas she’d grown up admiring clearly no longer existed. He wanted her and he had her. Hopelessness and anger waged a war behind Emily’s ribcage. They entered the hallway and at the appearance of her father’s footman bearing their coats, he and Nicholas left her alone.

Emily stepped toward Annie, who waited patiently by the door holding open Emily’s mantelet.

“Thank you, Annie.” The maid laid it over her shoulders.

“Miss?”

“Yes?”

“The Mckendrys have arrived asking if you, your father, and Mr. Milne would like to travel to the ball with them rather than taking Mr. Milne’s carriage also.”

“Well, I—”

“What a splendid idea.” Her father beamed, coming alongside her. “I do so miss my friend Mr. Mckendry.”

Emily looked at Nicholas. His green eyes shone with triumph and unease rippled along the surface of her skin. “Nicholas?”

A slow smile curved his lips. “As nice as I am sure Mr. and Mrs. Mckendry’s carriage is, I would much rather escort you to the ball myself.” He turned to her father. “If, of course, you haven’t any objections, sir?”

Emily stared. Go alone with Nicholas to the ball? Trapped within his carriage like an animal in a cage. Her father looked from Nicholas to her and back again, a dark flush of color pinching his cheeks. “I will leave that choice to my daughter. Emily?”

Icy-cold perspiration broke out at the neckline of her dress. Her father’s gaze was distrusting, Nicholas’s challenging. Anger rose up behind her breast. How dare Nicholas so openly test her in front of her father? Well, if he thought he could intimidate her, he was wrong. She tilted her chin.

“I think that will be quite all right seeing as we are to be married shortly. You go with Mr. and Mrs. Mckendry, Papa. Nicholas and I will meet you at the Assembly Rooms.”

Her father’s hesitation was palpable. “Are you quite certain?” She forced a wide smile. “I am.”

Their gazes locked for a moment longer before her father exhaled a heavy breath. “As you wish, my dear.”

Emily turned to Annie. “Will you help my father outside please?”

She dipped her head. “Of course, Miss.”

Inhaling a long breath, Emily faced Nicholas and took his offered arm. They walked outside in silence.

Her father was assisted inside the Mckendrys’ carriage and disappeared without as much as a backward glance. Once the horses moved forward and the carriage was a distance away, Nicholas cleared his throat. Emily kept her gaze on the shrinking carriage until it was out of sight.

“Shall we climb aboard, my love?” He steered her toward his carriage.

Nicholas’s family carriage was beautiful. Painted deep burgundy with gold edging and lanterns that glowed beneath the street’s oil lamps. It was yet another public symbol of his inherited wealth. A wealth that would never be enough to ensure their happiness even when their marriage came to fruition.

Emily placed her fingers on the carriage door handle and looked to the velvet black sky. It was a beautiful night. She should have felt excited, in love, yet . . .

She entered the carriage. The interior was equally as luxurious as the exterior. The seats upholstered in plush gold-colored velvet, the walls lined with a paler gold cloth around two huge round windows on either side, a smaller one at the back. It was fit for a princess and it only reinforced the knowledge that her future stood to change beyond recognition if she and Nicholas did not marry.

She’d be destitute without a penny. Her father’s physician’s fees had taken the last of their funds and there was nothing left. Frustration burned in her eyes as Emily ran her hands over the smooth softness of the seats and gathered every ounce of strength. From that moment on she would do her utmost to make things more amicable between her and Nicholas. If his suspicion that she wasn’t happy about the union were roused any more, he might do anything to ruin her ambitions for a fairer future.

The carriage jolted and pulled away. They sat in silence as the horses clip-clopped through the cobbled streets toward the Assembly Rooms. Emily stared out the window, paying no heed to the spires of the passing Bath Abbey or the couples walking arm in arm enjoying the late spring evening. Her mind whirled with a million and one thoughts and worries.

She needed to ensure she and Nicholas passed the next few hours with at least a modicum of enjoyment. All would be well if Nicholas accepted their marriage on a more even keel. He was a young man with a vision for more. Surely he would come to accept her need to be involved in their future decision making, past home and hearth?

Nicholas moved close enough that the heat of his thigh seared through the material of Emily’s dress. Despite her best intentions for the evening, she stiffened.

“You really do look wonderful tonight.” The soft tone of his voice filled the carriage. “Extraordinarily so. In fact, you quite took my breath away when you entered the drawing room.”

Emily turned. Only sincerity showed in his dark gaze. Surprised, she forced a smile. “Thank you.”

He smiled and faced front once more.

In the amber glow of the evening light bathing the interior of the carriage, his handsome profile was difficult to ignore. His compliment surely meant he wanted the evening to be as much of a success as she did.

“I’m looking forward to this evening.” She sat straighter in her seat. “It’s been an absolute age since I danced.”

His gaze wandered over her face before he touched his finger gently to her jaw. “And that, my love, is a shame because you dance so beautifully. I trust you will allow me the pleasure of your first?”

“I would very much like that.”

She smiled even as tension flickered through her shoulders. She suspected an ulterior motive to his kindness but endeavored to keep up the façade of peace between them. She turned to the window. Her mind filled with the jealousy ignited amongst her peers upon the announcement of their engagement. She’d thought it daft and entirely unnecessary bearing in mind Nicholas’s recent mood changes, but when he behaved like this, a small part of her understood his appeal.

She let him take her hand when he reached for it.

“You know, many people will be watching us tonight.” He drew gentle circles over her glove with his thumb. “You are considered very lucky to be my fiancée. I trust you feel blessed?”

Disappointment crashed into her heart like a herd of wild horses. She exhaled a heavy breath. “Oh, Nicholas, why do you insist on being this way?”