“What?” Emma finally burst out. “Here?”
Graham nodded. “After what happened in Abernathe in the early summer, I did track him for a while. But the situation with Simon…” He hesitated, looking at Adelaide. Her gaze darted between himself, James and Emma.
“What happened in Abernathe?” she asked.
Emma trembled as James helped her into her seat. “My father made an arrangement for me to marry that bastard,” she whispered. “James saved me, but Sir Archibald was enraged. He attacked me and nearly—”
She broke off. James’s face was red as he said, “I kept him from hurting her. I should have killed him.”
Graham bent his head. “Well,Inearly did. You see, he has been lurking about the theatre as of late. He was bothering a…a friend of mine.” He shot Adelaide a glance, but she didn’t look at him. She almost seemed to be doing it on purpose.
“A friend?” James repeated, his eyebrows lifting.
Graham glared at him. “A friend.”
“Was she hurt?” Emma whispered. “The poor woman, was she injured by him?”
It was clear what she meant by injured, and Graham reached out to gently take her hand. She lifted her eyes to his and he said, “No, Emma. I stopped him. I nearly killed him, but my…my friend was wise enough to stop me.”
“A good friend, indeed,” Adelaide said softly.
He turned his gaze on her. “Yes,” he agreed with a sigh. “Honestly, Emma, he fears James. I don’t think he’ll pursue you. He much prefers women who have no such protection that you do.”
The color in Emma’s cheeks returned a little with that statement, but James’s jaw was set with a barely controlled rage Graham recognized. “I shall employ a guard,” he said through clenched teeth.
Graham nodded. “I can help you arrange that.”
Emma let out her breath gently. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to have a few extra men as protection.”
Adelaide voice trembled as she said, “Yes, I think it wise, but Emma, why didn’t you tell me about Sir Archibald?”
Emma shook her head. “There was so much that happened. And it was a moment of horror in the midst of such happiness. I just didn’t want to speak of it.”
Adelaide’s expression gentled, and there was a wealth of understanding there. Enough that Graham wondered how she could be so empathetic. Had someone hurt her at some point? The idea stoked an anger in him, rivaling what he’d felt when Lydia was attacked. He took a few breaths to calm it.
“Well, we must speak of happier things now,” he said. “Unless you have more questions, Emma?”
Emma smiled at him. “You are very kind, Graham, but no. I think you’re right that talking the past to death will do us no good. James and I know about Sir Archibald now. And I’m certain, given my husband’s protective expression, he will take care of me.”
James spun on her. “I will, Emma. I vowed that to you and I meant it.”
He shocked Graham by tilting Emma’s chin up and pressing a brief but passionate kiss against her lips. Graham turned his head and found Adelaide was also staring at a loose thread on the settee. Her cheeks flamed as she lifted her eyes to him.
In that moment, he wished he were so free as to be able to kiss her. He wondered what she tasted like. What she would feel like in his arms. What her sighs of pleasure would sound like. How she would move her delicate hands across his skin.
“Your Graces,” James’s butler said from the doorway. The group turned toward him, and he nodded. “Supper is served.”
Emma took a long breath and then slid her hand into the crook of James’s arm. “Shall we?” she asked as she motioned to the door. They exited, and Graham turned to Adelaide.
Touching her in this moment seemed very dangerous, but there was no avoiding it. He held out his elbow and lifted his brows. “May I take you, Adelaide?”
She caught her breath quietly and her gaze darted away from his. She nodded, but the movement was jerky. “Y-yes,” she stammered. “Of course.”
She glided toward him, graceful in her movements, and then her fingers folded around his arm. He fought every urge within him to groan at the gentle touch and instead moved toward the dining room.
A place where he hoped he could gather his senses before he lost all ability to control himself.
Adelaide shifted as she felt Graham’s gaze turn on her yet again. It felt like the hundredth time this evening, and she hardly knew how to react.
