“What if I am not either?” he whispered.
“I would say that you are both, Warren.” Duke Emberly said and Luke felt something inside of him break at the man’s knowing look.
“How is she?” Luke blurted, unable to stop himself. “Em – Miss Pembleton, I mean? Is she well?”
Duke Emberly smiled broadly and shook his head. “Emily is recovering. She will need a few days of rest, but the doctor thinks she will be back to her full strength in no time.”
“That is good.” Luke nodded to himself. “Why are you laughing?”
“It is nothing, just… Well, I really should know better than to bet against my wife.” Duke Emberly glanced towards the castle.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, Rose and I had a wager on when you would ask about Emily. And she has just won.” A clock chimed in the distance and Duke Emberly patted his stomach.
Luke felt a flush of heat in his cheeks. “You had a wager on when I would ask about Miss Pembleton?”What does that mean?
Duke Emberly shrugged, and jerked his head towards the castle. “We did. Seven guineas in fact. She is going to be so smug when I tell her.”
“You will not tell Miss Pembleton, will you?” Luke felt a pang in his chest and his heart began to pound.
Duke Emberly raised an eyebrow at him. “Why ever not?”
He opened his mouth, but found he did not have a good answer. He shook his head. “Consider it a favour, Duke Emberly.”
“Duke Emberly? I shall agree to your favour, but only if you stop calling me Duke Emberly.” The man gave Luke a hard look. “You have saved the life of one of my family members, let us consider one another friends.”
“Very well.” Luke took a steadying breath. “Emberly, I would be most grateful if you would not tell Miss Pembleton I asked after her.”
“As you wish.” Duke Emberly gave him a curious look, and Luke felt as though he knew something and was deciding whether or not to share it. “Though it is no bad thing to care for the wellbeing of another.”
Before Luke could say another word, the Duke turned and walked away, calling over his shoulder. “I am going to grab a bite to eat at the club, will you join me?”
Luke hesitated a moment, glancing towards the castle.She is well, you do not need to be here.And then he moved to catch up to Duke Emberly, trying to ignore the unsettled feeling spreading through his chest.
Chapter Fifteen
“Scones and pies and biscuits.” Emily sang happily to herself. “Food will always fix it.”
It had been two days since her fall, and her headache and nausea had finally abated. She had decided to celebrate by taking herself down to the kitchens to prepare herself a little feast. Her stomach growled as she made her careful way back to her room.
She stopped and nibbled one of the scones, making an appreciative noise. She glanced outside and saw a beautiful moonlit sky. A gentle breeze tickled her cheeks, and then she heard it.
Soft, haunting music.
“Am I dreaming?” While she felt more recovered, she felt a little disoriented still.
Emily frowned, wondering if it was just some flight of fancy. She strained her ears. She was right. It was music, coming from one of the drawing rooms.
“Who is playing at this time of night?” Emily muttered to herself, turning around and walking in the direction of the music. “It cannot be any of my family, no one is as skilled as this.”
That meant it could only be Luke or his brother.The Duke.Emily corrected. She still was not sure how much of her dream had been real, but she knew she could not think so familiarly of the man.He had only been doing his duty, that is all he cares about.
The music continued to drift through the hallway, deep and rich. It sounded so full of sadness and longing, that Emily felt her heart break. It was haunting in its beauty. Streaks of lavender mixed with warm, amber tones appeared, patterns swirling before her as they often did with music. She moved towards them. The accident had not made the patterns vanish then; if anything, it had made them more lovely and complex.
“Perhaps I should just return to my room.” Emily muttered. “He may not wish for an audience. But I need to know if it is him. I cannot believe it is.”
She doubted it would be Lord Baine, she could not imagine him playing anything like this.The music shifted, going from the longing and melancholic lavender into something else entirely.. They were deep, rich forest greens and cool blues. Silvery white flashes with startling grey.
