Her mother was almost bouncing now. “Oh, but they say it is. He didn’t like the attention Sir Archibald was paying to you earlier, and here we are.”
The blood in Emma’s ears was rushing and her arms had begun to tingle, but she fought to keep a serene face as her mother prattled on and on. Was it possible this was correct, that James had almost fought with another man overher? That was taking their ruse mightily far, for he had claimed to want to bring men to her side, not push them away.Literallypush them.
“…an opportunity you cannot turn down, so you must put your best foot forward and catch Abernathe at all costs,” her mother said, grabbing Emma’s arm.
Emma shook her off as her words became clear. “Catch Abernathe?” she repeated.
“Yes. When we came here, I would have, quite honestly, settled for someone like Sir Archibald for you,” Mrs. Liston said.
Emma clenched her jaw. “He is older than Father and he has a brood of awful, awful children, some of whom are older than I am!”
“And what other options did you have?” Mrs. Liston snapped. “But now I can see we must reach much, much higher. Emma, you could catch a duke. Aduke!”
Emma could hardly breathe. Oh, this was exactly what she and James had planned together, but her mind still spun regardless.
“I willnotcatch Abernathe,” she whispered.
Her mother arched a brow. “Not with that attitude. Emma, you must be aggressive now. And…oh, how shall I put this…you must fight dirty if the opportunity arises.”
“Dirty?” Emma repeated, nervous now about her mother’s tone.
“It is true, he might be reluctant, despite his actions today,” Mrs. Liston said, rubbing her hands together. “But that cannot stop us. If you must than I would suggest you…you…”
“What?” Emma burst out.
“Compromise yourself with him,” her mother finished.
Emma stared, her mouth agape with horror. “Mama, you cannot mean that.”
Her mother folded her arms, a smug expression on her face. “Why not? Sometimes that is the way these things are done. And you can bear it, Emma. You shut your eyes and you just imagine the wonderful life you could have and what you could provide for me. Picture the freedom from any damage your father could do, the freedom from fear of the unknown. It will make his touch bearable.”
Emma shivered, for her mother was so in the dark. Not only did she have no idea of Emma’s plan with James, she also didn’t know that Emma had, for all intents and purposes, already compromised herself with James. Bearing his touch was not an issue. She couldn’t stop thinking about it.
“Emma!”
Both women turned down the hall to see Meg coming toward them. She was smiling but there was something in her eyes, some tiny look that made Emma’s heart skip a beat. Had she overheard this horrible conversation? Certainly Meg wouldn’t want to be her friend if she knew what her mother had just said.
“Just think about it,” Mrs. Liston hissed before Meg met them and linked her arm through Emma’s.
The affectionate gesture soothed Emma a little as they made their way down the stairs toward where the others were gathered for their short walk to the picnic site, but she still felt an unease in her stomach. It seemed at all sides she was besieged with plots. And none of them felt right.
Emma slowly dropped back through the crowd of partygoers until she trailed behind them. Only then could she breathe again. The past quarter of an hour had been a nightmare, with James shooting her looks, her mother’s suggestion ringing in her ears and Meg smiling and chatting with her, utterly oblivious to all the betrayals Emma was committing.
She felt like rolling into a ball and hiding away forever, but that wasn’t possible. So the best she could do was provide some distance between herself and the others and try to regain some purchase on her emotions.
Something that became clear was impossible when she looked up to find James standing along the side of the path, leaning against a tree. She let out a sigh as she approached him.
“Waiting for me?” she asked.
“Hiding fromme?” he retorted.
“No,” she lied, for she had, of course, been doing exactly that. “I needed…I needed space.”
He straightened up and looked at her more closely. “What’s wrong?”
She worried her lip for a moment and shook her head. “Just…my mother is pushing me. And she told me…”
When she trailed off, he reached out and took her hand. She caught her breath as she looked up at him. His gaze was heated, hooded, and her body responded even though he was barely touching her. Everything felt hot and tingly and the world went blurry, the only thing in focus was him.
