Always True to Her (Emerson Book 2) (10 page)

His remarks were met with a moment of complete
silence, save for the muffled laugh coming from, if he didn’t miss his mark,
Miss Prudence. But in that moment, no one else at Gunter’s said a word. The
two so-called ladies he’d addressed stood there with jaws inelegantly ajar.

The first woman, who looked to be in her early
thirties, recovered first. “Who are you to speak to two ladies thusly?”

“I am Lord James Emerson, recently returned from
America with my beautiful daughter and enjoying tea with my friends. You are
married, I take it, madam?”

“Yes,” said the woman, who was looking James over
with some interest now that he was a roughly dressed peer, rather than some
roughly dressed nobody.

“Then I would tell your husband that the next time
his wife insults either my daughter or my friends, I shall treat the insult as
if it came from him and act accordingly.”

That elicited gasps from the rest of the diners. It
would also surely be spread about the
ton
within the hour.

James didn’t care.

“I believe you were leaving,” James said to the
ladies. “Pray do not let me keep you.”

With that he turned his back on them and resumed his
seat. An instant later, the silence of the past few minutes erupted into
excited mutterings at the other tables.

At his table, all he saw were grins. Then Violet
and Anna resumed their conversation and Miss Wallace and Miss Maria discussed
an exhibit at the British Museum.

James became aware of Miss Prue staring at him.
“Nicely done,” she said.

“Yes, well, I hope I did not embarrass you or Miss
Maria overly much.”

“Not much can embarrass me anymore. And I long ago
stopped listening to the gossips. I care little for my own reputation, but I
have worried how it will affect my niece and nephews and Maria, of course. I
hope you are not chased away from London because of the untamed tongues of
witless peers.”

He laughed at the apt description. “No, I have a
farm in America. Well, there is some legal dispute at the moment, but I intend
to get it back and return there with Anna.”

“That is a shame, Lord James. Your sisters and, if
I might presume to say it, both of your brothers will miss you very much. I
daresay your dear Anna will miss out on a great deal if you return there.”

“Yet, I have no means of supporting her if I remain
here.”

“I do not know Ridgeway well, but I sincerely doubt
he would bar you from returning to the family estate. Nor would Layton.”

“I do not wish to live on any man’s charity, even my
brothers’.”

“That would be quite understandable, were you the
only consideration. I realize I am being unforgivably forward when I have no
business saying such things, but I believe your family would be much happier if
you stayed, though it might necessitate putting aside some of your pride for
the nonce. I believe there might even be some happiness in it for you, as
well.” She glanced at Miss Wallace, who was still engrossed in her
conversation with Miss Maria.

James inwardly groaned. He knew Miss Prue wouldn’t
gossip about them, but if she picked up on the attraction between them, was he
harming Miss Wallace’s reputation just by spending time in her company? “You
have the right of it that my family already cares a great deal for Anna and she
has grown quite fond of them. But what of the rest of society? As you noticed
here today, her birth would always be the object of derision. Her marriage
prospects within the
ton
would be slim. I would not wish to subject her
to the life of a second-class citizen.”

“Will her prospects be that much better in America?
Are they that much more of a tolerant people? A country that cannot rid itself
of slavery is hardly a haven of equality and tolerance.”

“Slavery is an abhorrent part of American life. And
you are correct that a girl of mixed Indian heritage would encounter problems,
but…”

“But you are determined to go your own way. To,
perhaps, prove something to a dead man.”

He looked up in surprise.

She smiled kindly at him. “Young men are not so
hard to understand. They either have a father they long to live up to, even
when he has been dead these many years – as is the case with my nephews. Or
they want to win an argument with a dead tyrant. Pray forgive my rudeness, but
my position at the edge of society permits me to observe without being seen.
You and your brothers – both of them – are much better men than your father
ever was. And you need do nothing more to prove it. Indeed, from the way you
adore your daughter, you have already succeeded.”

James was not sure what to say. Miss Prue had hit
upon thoughts he’d had, but never voiced aloud. But he did not think he could so
easily set aside his pride.

“I am terribly sorry for overstepping,” said Prue.
“It is one of my worst failings. Although I am not a Kellington by birth, I do
love an entire family of them and I fear their meddling nature has rubbed off
on me. But before I begin a dismally dull conversation about the weather,
please allow me to say one more thing. There are places in the world where
Maria and I could live a relatively peaceful, unnoticed life. But we will
never move there because of what we would miss here. Another generation of
Kellingtons is on the way and I cannot imagine missing a moment of those
celebrations. I can bear any insult here, as long as I am among those I
love.” She turned her gaze to Maria and Violet. “Now, Lord James, will you
tell me how cold it is outside or must I?”

Twenty minutes and one cinnamon cake later, James,
Miss Wallace and Anna escorted the ladies to their waiting carriage. James
noticed the coachmen’s livery was quite smart, and the men themselves had the
builds of pugilists. If he wasn’t mistaken, all were also armed.

He had a feeling Lynwood took no chances with the
ladies’ safety.

James had become quite fond of them himself.

“You will visit when you come back, won’t you?”
Violet asked Anna. “I could show you my little brother. I sneak into Mama and
Papa’s room to watch him sleep.”

“Violet!” said Prue. “Why are you sneaking?”

“Well, I don’t want them to know that I’m beginning
to like him because I do want them to give me a baby sister next time.”

“If Papa has a baby boy, then my brother and your
brother could be friends,” said Anna. “Just like you and I are friends.”

Violet liked that idea. “I hope your papa and Miss
Wallace get married soon! That way your brother and my brother would be babies
together.”

“Violet!” said Prue, with that loving admonition
again. “I am quite certain Lord James and Miss Wallace do not need any advice
on when they should get married. They will decide that quite well enough on
their own.”

“But we are not betrothed,” said Miss Wallace. “We
are not even…we…oh, dear.”

“Yes, well I’m sure everything will work out in the
end,” said Prue. “And do be so kind as to come visit when you have returned
from your journey.”

With that, the two women and Violet left in their
carriage, with the well-armed servants.

And now James had even more to think about.

Irene’s heart was in her throat early the next
morning when she left the house. She’d packed only a single valise because a
governess would hardly bring a large trunk. She’d never before travelled so
lightly and found it to be a rather liberating experience. Her grandmother had
always insisted that she dress like a true lady of the
ton
, which
necessitated changing clothes at least six times per day, a practice Irene had
always found tedious for her and torturous for the poor servants who had to
tend to her wardrobe.

When she’d informed her grandmother the night before
that she was taking a spur of the moment trip to visit her friend Lady Lancaster,
the dowager had told her to be cautious. Lady Lancaster’s standing had fallen
in the
ton
ever since she’d chosen to spend too much time hidden away in
the country. If Irene paid her too many more visits, it would reflect poorly
on her. And it wouldn’t do to develop a reputation as an eccentric, since she
was still in desperate need of a marriage proposal.

While Irene was unwed, she certainly did not
consider herself in need of a proposal, much less desperately so. She simply
smiled at her grandmother as she so often did when the dowager was spouting
such absurdities, then went back to anticipating her trip.

Fortunately, neither her grandmother nor her father
had seen her off that morning. She’d been confident that her early morning
departure would guarantee that no one save Carter the butler and the coachmen
would be there. For his part, Carter looked like he’d rather be breaking his
fast in the kitchen. But it wasn’t until the coach had been underway for
several blocks that she finally relaxed.

Her adventure had begun.

She’d styled her hair simply, just a low chignon at
the nape of her neck. But she’d still taken an extra five minutes to make it
look just right. She needed to appear to be a governess, but that didn’t mean
she couldn’t look her best. She steadfastly refused to examine just why she
was so intent on doing so. Some thoughts were better left undisturbed.

Selecting her clothing had been another matter all
together. It was just as well that she was only taking a valise, because she
did not have many gowns that were suitable for a governess. In truth, she had
none. But she wasn’t above making some simple alterations.

In the end, she chose a periwinkle blue wool, then
carefully removed the delicate embroidery that adorned the collar. She cursed
Cedric as she did so, because it was a sin to desecrate such a pretty dress.

Then she had a green gown which could pass, if she
wrapped dull wool scarves around the intricate neckline. There was a dark
sapphire gown that, well, didn’t look like anything a governess would wear, but
she had always felt her most confident in it. And she had a feeling she would
need all the confidence she could muster. Especially when she would be sharing
the long journey with the impossibly handsome and incredibly frustrating James
Emerson.

It would have looked too suspicious for her to dress
in one of the plain gowns for her journey, since her grandmother had always
made her travel in her best clothes. So she left the house wearing a plum
colored travelling gown with matching muff and bonnet.

Irene and James had made plans to meet at a coaching
house just outside of London. She’d told her coachman that Lady Lancaster was
sending a carriage to meet her and that she would rent a room in which to wait
for her. That would enable her to change out of her travelling costume and
into one of the plain governess gowns, as she waited for James and Anna.

She knew she shouldn’t be thinking of him as James,
but when he was with his daughter he did not seem like a stiff and formal
lord. He was James, the man who loved his daughter above all else and wanted
to farm his land.

His land. She was genuinely torn about the land
dispute. There was a part of her that wanted James to be right, to be able to regain
his land so he could pursue his dreams. But that would mean Cedric had behaved
dishonorably. Had stolen the land from James. The resultant shame could kill
her father.

Damn Cedric
for getting them into this. Even if he hadn’t stolen the land, and,
unfortunately, she was beginning to realize there was a distinct possibility he
had, he’d still been vague enough in his dealings that others were left to
clean up his mess once again.

That seemed to happen with some regularity with
Cedric. It was unfortunate that neither their father nor grandmother had ever
truly made him feel the consequences of his actions.

But she wasn’t going to think about that now. She
was on an adventure. A real one. She was going away with a man for at least
four days with only his daughter as a chaperone. She certainly had no
intentions of doing anything improper. Well, not anything terribly improper. But
it was exciting just to be out of her house, away from the constant criticism.
She would be spending time with two people whose company she genuinely enjoyed.

The Ainsworth carriage drew to a halt in front of a
reputable inn that she’d heard of, but never patronized. Irene could barely
contain her excitement as one of the footmen went into the inn to rent a room
for two hours. It was not an uncommon practice for ladies to do that on their
journeys. Often it was the only way to use a clean necessary. She’d purposely
chosen an inn so close to London that it was unlikely she would encounter
anyone she knew. Those on their way out of town would travel further before
stopping. Those returning from trips would continue on to their homes.

“Are you certain you don’t wish us to wait, my
lady?” asked Terrence, the footman who’d secured the room.

“Thank you, no. I shall be fine on my own. And I
expect Lady Lancaster’s carriage will be here directly.”

“If you’re certain, my lady.” He looked dubious.

“I am, thank you,” said Irene as she held out a few
coins, “But do be certain to enjoy the half day at your leisure. There is no
need for Lady Ainsworth or Lord Ainsworth to know.”

Terrence pocketed the coins as he bowed. “No, my
lady. There’s no need for them to know about any of this.”

“Good man,” she said, as she waved farewell to the
servants, then joined the innkeeper’s wife who was waiting to escort her to her
room.

Once she was shown to her chamber, Irene thanked her,
then gave her a substantial vale. If the innkeeper’s wife thought the generous
amount was odd, she kept her suspicions to herself. She simply thanked Irene
profusely and bowed herself out.

Once Irene was alone, she made the transition to
governess. She carefully removed her travelling gown. She’d chosen one with
buttons in the front, but it was still a more difficult task than she’d
anticipated.

She packed that gown away, cringing at how wrinkled
it would be for her return trip. Then she put on the periwinkle dress and took
a look at herself in the mirror. The gown would certainly pass for something a
governess would wear. Then she donned the spectacles with clear glass she’d
bought the day before and was satisfied that her disguise was complete.

She wondered how long she would have to wait before
James arrived. He couldn’t be shown to her room, of course. That would
attract too much attention and no matter how well she’d paid the innkeeper’s
wife, word of that would spread even if no one knew her name.

She had to stop herself from watching from the
window. It wouldn’t do to be spotted now. They’d arranged to meet at half
past nine and she still had ten minutes to wait. It seemed like an eternity.

There was a knock at the door not three minutes
later. Irene’s breathing hitched. Had James abandoned all good sense to come
collect her? Perhaps it was the landlady. Irene looked out the peephole, but
could see no one standing on the other side.

There was another knock, which would be impossible,
since she was staring into the hall where a person would be. Unless….

She opened the door to see a smiling Anna, holding a
posy for her.

“Anna, this is lovely!” said Irene, as she hugged
the girl.

“I’m glad you’re coming with us,” said Anna.

“So am I, sweeting. Where is your papa?”

“Downstairs. He watched me come up the stairs and
said if I needed him, I should call him.”

“That was very well done of you both. I am ready to
go,” she said as she picked up her valise. “Shall we set out?”

Anna nodded and took her hand. As the two of them
neared the bottom of the stairs, James automatically jumped up from his seat to
help them. Irene’s heart behaved erratically for a beat or two at the sight of
him, but with a look she warned him off. They were not supposed to know each
other. She and Anna left the inn with James following discreetly behind.

He tried to take her valise once they were in the
courtyard. She held onto it. “Lord James, a servant carries her own bags.”

“Not in the Emerson family they don’t,” said James,
who took the valise despite her protestations. “Remind me to tell you the
story of how my brother Colin made his way to his estate after acquiring two
additional servants, with little blunt in his pocket. It involves a farmer and
a cart. Nick and I plan to tease him about it for decades to come.”

“Did something bad happen to him?” asked Irene as
they made their way to Layton’s carriage.

“In a way. He ended up married.”

“Are you saying you dislike his wife?”

“Not at all. Ava is a wonderful woman and he has
truly met his match.”

“I like Aunt Ava,” said Anna, as James helped her into
the carriage.

He then offered his hand to Miss Wallace, who seemed
reluctant to take it.

“I am your servant,” she reminded him.

“And I am still a gentleman. Let me help you in, Miss
Wallace. Surely there is no harm in simply touching your hand in public.”

Irene knew there was nothing simple about it,
especially now that they were setting off on their journey. Somehow that made
everything different. More tempting. In the end, she gave him her hand, but
was careful to extract it from him as soon as she was in the coach. She busied
herself helping Anna get settled, but her fingers still burned from his touch.

James sat opposite them. He was dressed much the
same as she’d always seen him. The same greatcoat made of rough wool. The
same scarf, the same hat and gloves. But today he seemed bigger, though
goodness, he certainly didn’t need to be any larger than his regular intimidating
self.

She had no fears for her safety, of course. A whole
team of highwaymen could attack them and she had no doubt James would best them
all. And she didn’t fear that he would try to seduce her. After all, his
daughter was there.

More’s the pity.

She bit her lip at such a disloyal thought. She was
quite fond of Anna and looked forward to spending time with her. And Irene
certainly couldn’t allow herself to be seduced.

But perhaps, just perhaps, she would allow herself
to be kissed.

Of course, that was assuming he even wanted to do
so. He’d never given any indication in the past of such a desire. And he was
looking at her now with an odd expression. Perhaps he was trying to figure out
how to strand her at the next stop. Or trade her to highwaymen.

That was the trouble with big, handsome men. You
never knew what they were thinking.

*

James wanted nothing more than to take Irene’s
beautiful hair out of that severe chignon, rip off those ridiculous glasses
which did nothing to disguise her beautiful eyes and remove her blue travelling
costume. He thought she was going to try to look like a governess. But her
gown was obviously in the first stare of fashion, though judging from a few threads
at her collar, something had been removed to make it look less expensive.

It wasn’t working.

He noticed her cloak wasn’t fur lined, but the cut of
it easily marked it as expensive. A real governess could only afford it if her
mistress had given it to her. But no woman he knew would throw away such an
elegant cloak.

Truth be told, the clothes mattered naught. The
lady wearing them was quality and always would be, regardless of whether she
was the daughter of a viscount or a charwoman.

Or, his inner thoughts couldn’t help adding, the
wife of a poor farmer.

It was a good thing Anna was with them for he wanted
nothing more than to introduce Irene to the pleasures of making love in a
carriage.

It wasn’t just beauty, but a vibrancy of spirit that
attracted a man. Miss Wallace was richly endowed with both.

He’d like nothing more than to take her back to the
room she’d leased for the hour, throw her onto the bed, then slowly unbutton
her gown until she wore only her silk shift beneath. For he was fairly certain
that Miss Wallace would allow herself some luxury. He would run his hand down
her body, reaching the thighs which would part for him. Then he would run his
hand up her leg, searching for the heart of her as he lowered his mouth to her
breast, licking and suckling her nipple.