“Fantastic,” Emily muttered with a cough that earned her a quizzical look from Cassandra.
“Are you all right, dear?” Georgina asked, leaning in.
Emily nodded. She managed a hoarse, “Of course.” Laura gave her a curious glance from across the table.
Georgina lowered her voice. “You’re not still in love with him are you?”
Emily forced back a frustrated groan and gave a quick shake of her head. “I never was.” When her mother said nothing further, apparently satisfied by this response, Emily turned her attention to her plate while the conversation continued around her. Langdon would arrive tomorrow. She would have to face him again for the first time since she’d been informed that they wouldn’t suit.
It had been awful, not because she had loved him as her mother believed, but because he had been her one chance of starting a family of her own. He’d given her hope by encouraging her dream of a countryside manor, three children, and a cocker spaniel for them to play with. But when he’d asked to speak with her father, it had not been to ask for his daughter’s hand, but rather to break things off. The coward had not even had the courage to tell Emily himself.
Dreading the upcoming meeting, Emily found it hard to focus on anything else for the rest of the evening. After supper, she remained silent while enjoying a cup of hot tea with the rest of the ladies. Perhaps she could feign illness and remain in her bedchamber for the entire duration of Langdon’s stay?
“Is something the matter?” Mary asked, her prodding voice breaking through Emily’s troubled thoughts. “You’ve been very distant all evening.”
Emily sighed. She could not be dishonest with her friend, nor did she wish to be. Setting her teacup aside, she stood and beckoned for Mary to take a turn of the room with her. When they were some distance from the others, she said, “I know I have always told you and Cass that I never secured an attachment to any gentleman because I was too…unappealing.”
Mary frowned. “You said you were a wallflower with whom no gentleman wished to dance.”
“And that is true, although I did have a brief understanding once. Or so I believed. With the Earl of Langdon”
Mary’s eyes widened. “Do you mean to say,” she asked in a hushed whisper, “that you were hoping to marry him?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, good grief.”
Emily caught her friend by the arm and steered her toward the window. “My heart never suffered on his account, but my hopes were ruined and… Well, I discovered soon after that Mama was to blame, for she’d gone to speak with him that very same morning. Her visit obviously gave him cause to reconsider his intentions.”
“You believe she may have overwhelmed him?”
“I have no doubt of it since the purpose of her visit was to question him about his experience in the bedchamber.”
“You cannot be serious!” The exclamation caught Cassandra’s attention. She glanced at them briefly before turning back to Caleb’s mother with whom she, Laura, and Georgina were conversing.
“Perfectly so,” Emily muttered. “Her intention, as she described it at the time, was to ensure that he would be both willing and capable of providing her with sufficient grandchildren.” Mary pressed her lips together. Her shoulders started trembling. Emily glared at her. “It isn’t funny.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. It is just...” A snicker burst past Mary’s lips, followed by a small snort. “Imagining that conversation and Langdon’s response to it has stirred my imagination.”
“Yes. Well. I suppose I can appreciate that now. In retrospect.” Emily sighed. “It has taken me years to forgive her, but speaking to Langdon again isn’t something I ever imagined having to do. Least of all at a house party where I’ll be forced to endure his and his wife’s company.”
“You mustn’t worry,” Mary assured her. “Now that you’ve made me aware of your predicament, I shall do what I can to ensure that your interaction with them is kept to a minimum. I promise you that.”
“Thank you.” Emily grabbed her hand briefly and gave it a squeeze. “You and Cass are the best of friends. I cannot imagine what I would do without you.”
When Griffin returnedto the parlor later, Emily was discussing the medicinal benefits of various teas and herbs with the other women.
She liked that he dove right into the conversation, adding that he’d had great success adding cloves, citrus, and honey to tea made from mint leaves and chamomile when treating a cold. “Adding a finger of brandy helps too, not only with the healing effect but with the flavor as well.” He winked, causing all the ladies to laugh.
“I have always liked adding port to my tea when taking it in private,” the dowager duchess confessed.
Caleb stared at his mother. “Really?” He arched his brows.
The old woman shrugged her slim shoulders. “As you say, it vastly improves the flavor.”
Laughter bubbled up Emily’s throat, catching her by surprise. She met Griffin’s gaze and noted the sparkle of mirth in his eyes. There was something undeniably funny about the idea of his reserved and very proper mother sneaking port into her tea. Noting her own mother’s look of disapproval directed her way, Emily struggled to regain her composure. But the comforting warmth of sharing a connection with Griffin lingered long after other subjects were raised for discussion. It eased her into a state of relaxation that helped her forget about Langdon and his imminent arrival so she could enjoy the rest of the evening.
After saying good night to everyone, Emily spent the next half hour preparing for bed. A fire burned low in the grate, heating the spot where she sat combing out her hair. The light from a candle on her dressing table flickered, casting an orange glow over its immediate surroundings. Everything else was muted by shadows, the furniture vaguely outlined in the dark.
