Lord Lymington, onthe other hand…
Fate certainly had a wicked sense of humor, didn’t she?
Because Lord Lymington wasn’t the easygoing rogue his cousin was. He was aman, and aformidable one—
“Lady Emma?”
Emma glanced down at her gloved hands, the soft, fine kid hiding the web of silvery scars there, then back up at Lady Flora’s hopeful face. “Of course,I’ll help you.”
Really, hadn’t she known all along this would end in a confrontation with Lord Lymington? They’d been drawing their battle lines since their first dance together at Almack’s.
It had been coming to this from the very start.
And so Emma wasn’t surprised when she emerged from the little parlor, and found Lord Lymington waiting for her.
Chapter Nine
After Samuel’s walk with Lady Emma yesterday, time had slowed to an excruciating crawl. He’d spent an interminable evening at White’s with Lovell and Lord Dunn, followed by an endless night tossing in his bed, playing that strange interaction between Emma and Helena Reeves over and over in his mind.
When he’d finally fallen into a fitful sleep, his dreams were haunted with hazy visions of a tinkling laugh and smiling red lips. He’d woken with stinging eyes and an erect cock, and neither condition had been resolved to his satisfaction.
By the time Lady Emma emerged from the parlor, the hours since he’d last seen her seemed to have spun into days, and his patience was worn down to themerest sliver.
“Lady Emma,” he barked, rushing forward. “Here youare, at last.”
Lady Flora startled, then gave a delicate little cough. “Er, good afternoon, my lord.”
“My goodness, Lord Lymington.” Lady Emma turned cool blue eyes on him. “Where did you come from? Not hiding in the shrubbery, were you?”
“No, I…no.” Samuel shifted from one foot to the other, amazed to feel heat rising in his cheeks. Perhaps abitmore decorum wouldn’t go amiss. “I’ve come to take you for a walk through therose gardens.”
“How kind.” Lady Emma’s lips twitched, as if she were enjoying his discomfiture. “A walk sounds lovely after being confined tothe carriage.”
She accepted Samuel’s arm, but before he could hurry her off into the gardens, Lady Flora snatched up her other arm. For one ludicrous moment Lady Emma stood suspended between them, each of them unwilling to relinquish their hold.
Lady Emma tried to gently disengage herself from Lady Flora’s grip. “Lady Silvester must be wondering where you are by now.”
But Lady Flora held on. “Oh, but I long for a walk! I’ll accompanyyou, shall I?”
Samuel smothered a curse. A solitary walk was pushing the bounds of propriety as it was, and now Flora had gone and offered Lady Emma just the excuse she neededto refuse him—
“Nonsense, Flora. We won’t be gone for long. Isn’t that so, Lord Lymington?”
“No, indeed.” Not any longer than it took to get what he wanted. Whateverthatwas. Samuel’s wits were so addled he wasno longer sure.
“Yesterday when we were walking by the Serpentine, Lord Lymington promised he’d take me for a stroll in Lady Tremaine’s gardens.”
“Aprivatestroll,” Samuel added.
“P-private?” An anxious pucker appeared between Flora’s brows. “Oh, but a walk in the sun will only aggravate your headache. If you recall, Emma, youdidjust tell me you had a headache.”
Samuel drew Lady Emma toward him, his grip firm. “There’s no need for you to worry for your friend, Lady Flora. I promise you I’ll be careful with her. We’ll keep to the shady gardens on the western sideof the house.”
“But yourheadache, Emma.” Lady Flora stared meaningfully at Emma withwide-open eyes.
“It’s nearly gone.” Emma took Lady Flora by the shoulders and turned her in the direction of the terrace, where the rest of the party was assembled. “Lord Lovell is waiting for you, Flora, and I’m certain you must be parched. I daresay Lady Tremainehas lemonade.”
Lady Flora didn’t look pleased, but at Lady Emma’s urging she went off toward the picnickers on the other side of the terrace. Samuel took Lady Emma’s arm and hurried her toward the west side of the house, before anyone noticed she wasn’t with Flora, and came after them.
