“We’ll deal with that in a moment. And there’s more after that. But first…” He let his hand settle gently, warmly on her arm. “Emma, what happened to you?”
She whipped around, her total stillness abruptly tossed aside as her eyes blazed in fury. “What happened to me? Nothing. Absolutely nothing, Chris. I wasn’t hurt. I wasn’t injured. Millie’swrist might be broken. Henry might have a concussion. I’m not even bruised.”
“But—”
“I told them to stop. I told them to get out. They didn’t listen. I tried to stop them, but he grabbed me. He held me back as if I were a toddler and nothing I did made the least difference. When they were done—when they had Yihui—they left. They just left. I didnothing.”
“You did something, Emma. You fought them. You tried—”
“Nothing!” She screeched the word straight in his face. “Nothing!”
And then he understood. She was the privileged daughter of a duke. The world had always deferred to her, respected her, treated her with reverence. Indeed, he knew the only reason she was so fixated on him was because he was the only one to never bow to her wishes. That wasn’t completely true, of course. Certainly, there’d been a nanny somewhere who had said no to her. But in general, the world moved in a predictable, deferential pattern for her.
Until tonight.
She’d been powerless, and she’d probably never felt so helpless in her entire life. Unlike him, who fought daily against impossible forces, she’d always been protected and supported.
“Oh Emma,” he said softly. “I’m so sorry.”
He gently pulled her into his embrace. She didn’t want to go, and he did not force her. But the longer he stood there with his arm on her shoulder, the more she leaned toward him. In time, she surrendered. She pressed her fists to his chest not to press him away but because she didn’t know who she should punch or how. She was tight with fury and pain. He held her and murmured the only words he had.
“I’m so sorry. How can I help?”
She didn’t answer. He didn’t expect her to since, truthfully, there was nothing he could do to fix what had broken. Her sense of personal power was gone now, and there was no way for him to give it back.
Worse, he couldn’t even let her grieve. There were things she had to do.
And yet he couldn’t force himself to end this moment. She was rigid in his arms, her body shaking from her emotions, and all he wanted to do was hold her safe. He would kill the men who had done this to her. He would find them and rip them apart.
“How many men?” he asked.
“Four. I only knew Mr. Pearson.”
He jolted, pulling back with shock. “You knew them?”
“The leader. Mr. Noah Pearson. He’s the third son of Baron—”
“Trottham. Yes, I know.”
She frowned. “You know him?”
“Only by reputation.” It wasn’t a savory one. On the other hand, it wasn’t especially dark either. “He works for… for…”
“My father.” Those two words were filled with defeat. If there was one person the privileged daughter of a wealthy duke could not defy, it was the duke himself.
She peeled out of his arms and wandered listlessly to the settee where she sat down with a dull thud. “I cannot blame men who were working on my father’s orders.”
But he could. He absolutely could.
“Emma, there’s something else.”
She looked up and the sheen of pain in her eyes nearly defeated him. Of all the people in the world, he was the last person who should be delivering this news. His animosity to her father was well known, and the reverse. But the task had fallen to him, and he would not shirk it.
He dropped down beside her and gathered her listless hands in his. “Emma, I’ll find Miss Wong. You have that promise.” He didn’t know how, but he had resources. He’d figure it out.
“Thank you—”
“But right now, you must send word to your mother. You must get her home.”
