“These shifts in life…will be easier…once you marry. My only regret. Not a single grandchild wed.”
Emily straightened so she could meet her grandmother’s gaze. “It’s not so simple.”
“You just…need to find the right man.” The bleakness in Grandmama’s eyes was distressing. “You should have…done so by now.”
Troubled by the energy Grandmama seemed to require to get the words out, Emily tried to convince her to rest, but the old woman would hear nothing of it. Her eyes had sharpened and though she looked like she lay at death’s door, it was clear now that she had a final battle to win before she made her departure.
“Think of the future,” she pressed. “Time…is fleeting. You’re… two-and-twenty…but you’ve never been courted.”
“That’s not true,” Emily blurted for no other purpose than to appease an old woman and give her some peace. “I…I’m being courted right now.”
Grandmama snorted. “There’s no need to lie just to...make me happy.”
“I’m not lying,” Emily told her, digging herself into deeper trouble. “In fact, I’m fairly sure I’m about to become engaged.”
What was the harm in giving an old woman joy?
“To whom?” Grandmama asked with interest.
Emily didn’t hesitate. “The Duke of Stratton.”
“Ha.” The old woman actually managed what looked like a tiny laugh, if the twitch at the edge of her mouth was anything to go by. “He’s not…the marrying sort.”
“People change,” Emily insisted.
Grandmama merely sighed. “Forgive me. All this…talking has worn me out. I…need to rest.”
“Of course.” Emily gave her hand a squeeze and dropped a kiss to her brow. She then retreated from her grandmother’s bedside. When she met one of the doctors outside in the hallway, she asked, “How long do you think she has left?”
“It’s hard to say. Could be as much as a couple of weeks or as little as two or three days. Depends on her will to live, I suppose.”
Emily nodded as those words sank in. If the doctor was right, she might just have enough time to fulfill her grandmother’s dying wish.
8
Callum gaped at Lady Emily, who sat before him, quietly waiting for his response. The message he’d received from her last night had mentioned an urgent matter. She’d requested he call upon her the following morning, at his earliest convenience. So he’d set off for Rosemont House as soon as it was appropriate for him to do so, and was now comfortably seated in the parlor.
Naturally, he’d been concerned. And worried. He’d hardly slept since he’d tried to work out what this was about. But he’d not imagined this.
“You want me to do what?”
He still couldn’t quite comprehend her request. She’d spoken in a rush while clutching her hands and strolling about in a state of complete agitation. Finally, she’d ceased her pacing and lowered herself to a spot on the sofa. Her eyes were wide, imploring pools of green.
“I realize it sounds a bit mad, but you are the only person who might be willing to help.”
“By lying to your grandmother?” He just wanted to be perfectly clear about what she was asking of him.
“Is it so terribly wrong if it lets her die happy?” Lady Emily gazed back at him as though he had the means by which to save the entire kingdom if only he’d try. When he didn’t answer – not because he had nothing to say but because there were too many thoughts filling his brain – she shook her head. “I’m sorry. It’s a silly idea. Let’s forget I asked.”
“I beg your pardon?” He stared at her. “You’ve just asked that I pretend to be your fiancé, and now you want me to forget it?”
“I’m sure you have more pressing matters to attend to than this and judging from your response, you’re not inclined to do it. Which I completely understand. Honestly, I don’t know what I was thinking.”
He was fairly certain he did. She loved her grandmother and was attempting to fulfill her dying wish. That was precisely the sort of lovely thing he’d expect from her, the only problem being all the potential complications that might arise while carrying out the plan.
He took a deep breath and slowly expelled it. “First of all, I’d like to take a moment to tell you how sorry I am to hear of your grandmother’s grave condition. That cannot be easy for you or your parents.”
She averted her gaze briefly, but not enough to hide the tears that welled in her eyes. It tore at his heart knowing she suffered – that she would soon suffer more when news of her grandmother’s death arrived. Dismissing propriety, he reached for her hand. She started a little, but quickly relaxed and allowed him to simply offer the comfort he wished to impart.
