She wasn’t the malicious type. If she’d done something she believed he’d be angry about, it would be accidental. Callum was certain of this. The pained look in her eyes confirmed it.
“No,” she whispered, her voice so small it clawed at his heart. “It’s worse.”
Georgina entered at that exact moment, bringing a tea tray with her. Callum waited until she’d arranged the tea things and removed herself to her usual spot at the opposite end of the room, before guiding Emily to the sofa.
“Let’s have some tea,” he suggested, “and then we’ll talk.”
He urged Emily toward the spot on the far right of the sofa, then claimed the one on the left for himself. She served the tea and they each took a sip.
“Better?” Callum inquired.
“A little,” she said even though she still looked as though she’d like to leap from the nearest window.
He took a deep breath and angled himself toward her. “Emily, whatever you’ve done, please know that it won’t affect how I feel about you.”
She shook her head. “How can you say such a thing when you don’t know what it is yet?”
“Telling me would probably be a good start.” He took another casual sip of his tea, attempting to look as non-threatening as possible.
She followed suit, then snatched up a biscuit, which she proceeded to eat with a striking degree of gusto. “I now know how you must have felt when you realized the threat your writing posed to our relationship. It’s this horrible dread that’s manifested behind my breastbone. It’s an unbelievably wretched sensation.”
“Emily,” he said, firming his voice a little. “It won’t go away until you confront the situation head-on. Tell me what happened and maybe I can help fix it.”
“I don’t see how. The man I spoke with said it was already too late.”
“Man?” Callum tilted his head and frowned. “What man?”
“The one I spoke with atThe Mayfair Chronicle. I went straight there when I realized what had happened. I explained to him that—”
“Emily.” Callum set the palm of his hand against her cheek, forcing her gaze to meet his. “What did you do?”
“I… I wrote a review.” Tears welled in her eyes. “You have to understand, Callum. I was hurt and angry at the time.”
Callum’s heart knocked back and forth with unsteady beats. “What did the review say?”
“ThatSeductive Scandalwasn’t worth the paper on which it was printed and that I’d struggled to finished it. It’s due to appear in tomorrow’s paper.”
He stared at her. She’d been right to worry. This was so much worse than what he’d expected. But he couldn’t fault her for it. She’d responded in pain, but that didn’t make her action less damning or hurtful. Least of all when considering all that had happened during the course of the last few days.
“I don’t understand.” IfThe Mayfair Chroniclealready had the review, she must have given it to them before departing for Seaton Hall. Before their conversation in the garden. Before their spectacular kiss. “How could you do this to me and then say that you love me?”
It wounded him more than he’d ever admit.
She shook her head. “I never intended to send it.”
“And yet it still ended up at the printers.” Try as he might, he couldn’t quite keep the accusatory tone from his voice.
“By accident, Callum. I wrote it in anger, then left it on my desk.” Emily sent her maid a quick look and lowered her voice to a whisper. “Georgina found it while I was away and thought I’d forgotten to have it delivered, so she did so herself. It’s not unusual. She often delivers reviews on my behalf.”
Callum stared at her and heaved a sigh. “We have to tell the others.”
“Westcliffe and Corwin?” she asked with a note of dread.
“Exactly so. That book you’ve written a harsh critique of was meant to provide an income. As you know, I’m not financially secure, but neither are they. We were counting on that book to provide us enough funds so we might invest in profitable enterprises and grow our wealth.”
“And I’ve wrecked it,” Emily croaked.
Callum considered her sorry appearance. What was the point in agreeing with her when she clearly felt bad enough as it was? Besides, she’d only done it in response to his own actions. If she were to blame then perhaps so was he.
