Heat boiled up in Emma’s cheeks. “Ambrose, it wasn’t—”
“Let me answer, pet. ’Tis a fair question, and I have naught to hide.” Alaric regarded her family with cool equanimity. “My intentions toward Emma are honorable.”
She didn’t mistake the claim in his deliberate and intimate use of her name.
“Intentions? Toward my sister? Now see here—”
“Darling.” Marianne reached out and touched Ambrose’s sleeve. A silent communication passed between them. Amber eyes blazing, he clenched his jaw and let his wife speak.
“You wish to marry Emma, your grace?” Marianne said.
“Yes. As soon as possible.” His eyes upon Emma’s face, he murmured, “As soon as I can convince the lady in question to have me, that is.”
Way to throw me beneath the carriage. Emma gave him an annoyed look.
A smile flickered on his lips.
“Emma?” her brother said in disbelief. “Are you truly considering this?”
She took a breath. “His grace and I have agreed to a courtship period. To help us decide if we are truly suited.”
“You see?” Alaric’s wide shoulders lifted. “’Tis Emma who is dallying with me and not the other way around.”
“No one is dallying with anyone! Emma, I cannot condone this.” Ambrose gripped the back of the chaise, his face stark with disapproval.
For the first time, Emma felt a spark of anger. Why was her brother being so unreasonable? She was a grown woman, capable of making her own decisions.
“You’re the one who said I should find a husband,” she said.
“I meant a suitable one. He... his past,”—her brother waved a hand at Alaric in mute frustration—“he’s not good enough for you.”
The unfairness of the statement riled her. “Heisa good man!”
“A duke being condescended upon by a mere mister—that has to be a first.” Alaric arched a dark eyebrow. “Would you prefer it, Kent, if I were a costermonger?”
“’Tis your past and your character I question, not your title. Can’t you see how different you and Emma are? She is an innocent girl, devoted to her family. You are an accounted rake, and from what I’ve seen between you and McLeod, you haven’t the first notion of what it means to be a family.”
Emma cringed.
The muscle ticked in Alaric’s jaw. “You know nothing about my family.”
“And you know nothing about mine,” Ambrose said. “When it comes to marriage, Kents don’t care about money or rank.”
“Yes, I can see how you’ve sacrificed the finer things in life on the altar of matrimony.” Alaric’s gaze circled sardonically around the well-appointed drawing room.
Her brother’s cheekbones turned a dull red.
Intervening quickly, Emma said, “Strathaven and I aren’t making any hasty decisions. We’re taking the time to get to know one another. Nothing is written in stone.”
“Emma knows her own mind,” Marianne said quietly to Ambrose. “She always has.”
Emma felt a rush of love toward her sister-in-law.
“Someone is out to kill you, Strathaven,” her brother growled. “Do you wish to endanger my sister as well?”
“Emma’s safety is my primary concern. Which is why we will keep our courtship secret until the murderer is caught,” Alaric said evenly. “If you truly wish to guarantee Emma’s safety, you might consider actually finding the bloody killer.”
“We have made progress.” Ambrose’s tone was equally hard.
