He’dbeengoneforonly three days, but Emily’s uneasiness grew with each passing hour. Was the earl all right? Had his wounds healed fully?
Stop it.She took a deep breath and knelt down on the soft lawn of Falkirk House beside the herb garden.He’s gone. That was what you wanted.
But no matter how she tried to slip back into her former pattern of living, it wasn’t the same. With a pair of scissors, she hacked several handfuls of fresh thyme for the roasted chicken she had planned. Despondency seemed to settle over her shoulders, like a familiar burden. Normally the gardens lifted her spirits, particularly the scent of fresh herbs. And here, the large grove of Arbor vitae hid her from the house in a quiet green space.
What if the earl never came back? Or what if he divorced her? Her throat ached with unshed tears, even as she ordered herself not to cry. He hadn’t loved her when he’d offered to marry her. And now she simply had to live with those consequences.
A rough palm covered her mouth. She tried to scream, but her attacker’s fingers encircled her throat.
“If you make a sound, I’ll snap your neck,” he whispered. In a swift motion, he shoved her to the ground, pressing her face against the damp earth. Emily couldn’t breathe, her heart seizing with fear.
“You know what happened to your brother, don’t you?”
Her pulse raced at the knowledge that Daniel’s enemies had found her. She tried to nod.
“I want his papers, ledgers of all his investments. Where are they?”
He released his grip upon her mouth.
“I—I don’t know,” she stammered, lifting her chin to gasp for air.
Her attacker forced her back into the dirt, his fingers squeezing her neck. “Don’t lie to me.”
“Perhaps at my father’s house—”
Before she could say another word, she heard Royce calling out to her. “Aunt Emily!”
“Tell no one of this,” her enemy warned. “Or his children will suffer for it.” A fist collided with her ear, and she bit back a cry of pain.
When she turned around, the man was gone. Royce continued calling out to her, and Emily stumbled to her feet. With trembling hands, she wiped her face clean of the dirt.
They’ve found uswas all she could think. Daniel’s enemies, perhaps even the man who had killed him.
She clenched her skirts, her gaze traveling down to the trampled herbs. Why did the man want her brother’s ledgers? His demands made no sense. Daniel’s business investments had never been anything but failures.
They weren’t safe here any longer. She could not allow Royce or Victoria to fall prey to her brother’s enemies. Wild thoughts of sending the children somewhere far away, maybe to America, crossed her mind.
London. She would have to take the children to London. The earl could protect all of them. The thought made her uncomfortable, for she hated relying on anyone but herself. But they were less likely to be harmed if she stayed close to Whitmore.
Her bruised heart ached at the thought of being near him, entangled in a marriage that was never meant to be.
Worse was her reaction to his touch. Though he had done nothing more than hold her, it had evoked memories she’d tried to forget. Her body warmed at the thought. Skin to skin, his flesh joining with hers.
No. She refused to lower her defenses. Not when he could break her heart again. Resisting his advances would be easy enough if she closed her eyes and remembered every wrong deed he’d committed.
Emily gritted her teeth at the thought of journeying several days in a coach. Royce would think it was a grand adventure while Victoria would wail the entire trip. A sickening knot formed in her stomach. Of course, she could take the train to London, but she had no money for the fare. Not to mention, the very idea terrified her. She didn’t like moving at such speeds.
She went inside and found Royce curled up on the staircase, his mouth pursed as he struggled to read a book of fairy tales he had brought from home. When he saw her, he smiled. “There you are. Will you read to me, Aunt Emily?”
She wanted to say,“Of course,”and ruffle his hair. Instead, she shook her head. “Not now. I need to tell you something important. We’re going to London.”
“To find Papa?”
She shook her head, steeling her courage. The time had come to admit the truth. Why did she have to do this? Why did she have to tell him that another parent had died? It was bad enough when his mother had died in childbirth. To tell him that his father was gone quite simply broke her heart.
She knelt down. Royce eyed her with suspicion. “You’re going away.”
“No. That isn’t what I’ve come to say.” She paused, trying to find the right way to tell him. There weren’t any words gentle enough to say what needed to be said.
