Emma’s heart lurched as the duke grabbed Lord Linley by the coat and peered at him, his expression full of rage.
“No!” She cried as she raced toward them. “He didn’t know.”
Lord Linley grinned. The fool didn’t seem the least bit afraid. Was he daft? Emma stared at him. Her mind catching up at last.
Lord Linley had kissed her on a bet. Her cheeks burned as she met his gaze. She should be outraged. Why wasn’t she? She’d ponder that later. For now, she needed to protect him. Emma drew closer and said, “Please, release Lord Linley.”
The duke ignored her plea and leaned closer to the still grinning Lord Linley. “I have a mind to beat you senseless.”
“No need for violence.” Lord Linley said, his voice smooth, confident even. He chanced a smile in Emma’s direction before looking back at the duke. “I have every intention of marrying Lady Emma.”
Her heart somersaulted. “You what?” She could not have heard him right.
Lord Linley’s smile broadened as he stared at her. “I said, I intend to marry you.”
“See that you do,” the duke scowled, then gave Lord Linley a shake before he released him.
Lord Linley stumbled back a few feet before catching his balance and turning to Emma.
She shook her head. “You cannot be serious. We just met. You don’t know me.” She averted her gaze. “I do not know you.”
“I know all I need to.” Lord Linley came to her side, then captured her hand in his. Warmth spread through her, her hand tingling at the intimate contact. “I know you will be ruined if I do not wed you, and I know I would do anything to protect you,” he said, sincerity shining in his gaze.
Emma pulled her hand free and stepped back, putting space between them. “No. I cannot. I will not.” She did not know what to think or do, but she was confident she had no wish to trap him in marriage. He did not deserve it—neither of them did.
The duke strode closer as Olivia wrapped her arm around Emma.
“He has a duty to you,” the duke said, his tone firm.
Emma shook her head, tears stinging her eyes. “And what of my duty to myself? I will not marry a man simply because he is honor-bound. I’ll not sentence myself, or Lord Linley, to a miserable life.”
“We will see what your father has to say on the matter, shall we?” The duke said, then turned to Lord Linley, his gaze laced with barley contained threats.
“I am sorry, Emma,” Lord Linley said without meeting her gaze. Then he gave a firm nod to the duke and said, “I will call on the earl at first light.”
“See that you do.” The duke bit out the words as he looped his arm through Emma’s. “It is time for us to be on our way.”
“No.” Emma protested, digging in her heels. “This is not settled.”
Olivia leaned closer to Emma. “People are taking notice.” She squeezed Emma’s arm gently. “Let us sort everything out in private, shall we?”
Juliet drew closer. The Lady’s Elizabeth, Louisa, and Catherine following her. “Olivia is right. We are causing a spectacle.”
Olivia urged Emma forward. “If we don’t go now, the damage will only worsen,” she said in a low voice.
Emma shot one last pleading glance at Lord Linley before her well-meaning friends led her away.
Chapter 6
When Archer appeared at the earls’ office door the next day, Emma’s father, Lord Heywood, looked up from the stack of papers lying on his desk. “I’ve been expecting you,” he said with a scowl.
Archer had expected nothing less, and thus his steps did not falter as he proceeded into the office.
He would be more put off if Lady Emma’s father was not angry. After all, he had ruined the man’s daughter. Archer stilled when he reached the desk and waited for the earl to make the next move.
“Sit.” Lord Heywood pushed the papers in front of him across the desk as Archer lowered himself into the chair opposite the mahogany expanse. A marriage contract. It would seem Archer would get precisely what he had come for—Emma.
He glanced at the pile of parchment before returning his gaze to the earls.
