Samuel huffed out a breath. It was unspeakably rude of him to stand about when a young lady—one of his guests, no less—lacked a partner, and he couldn’t simply charge up the stairs and batter down the door of Emma’s bedchamber. “Yes, of course.”
“Go on then, before the dance is over.” Lady Lymington shooed him away with a flick of her fan. “I’m certain Emma will have appeared by the time you return.”
The grateful look on Lady Mary’s face when Samuel offered her his hand mollified him somewhat, but he kept a sharp eye on the guests wandering in and out of the ballroom as he took Lady Mary through an interminablecountry dance.
Something was amiss. Hecould feel it—
“My hand, Lord Lymington.”
Lady Mary was gaping up at him, and all at once Samuel realized he was squeezing her hand much too tightly. He dropped it at once. “I beg your pardon, my lady.”
The dance dragged on for another ten minutes—ten minutes in which Samuel couldn’t have said who was the more miserable of the two of them, himself or Lady Mary. He did his best to smother his impatience, but once he’d returned Lady Mary to her parents, he fled the ballroom as if the devil were chasing him, before his mother cursed him toanother dance.
At this point, he could think of nothing but Emma.
Damn it, where was she? He didn’t like this.
Perhaps hecouldcharge up to Emma’s bedchamber, after all.
His mother caught his eye and beckoned to him, but for the first time in as long as Samuel could remember, he ignored her, and strode from the ballroom. He took the stairs two at a time to the guest wing, each of his footfalls a dull thud in his ears, and hurried down the hallway to Emma’s bedchamber.
Before he could knock, the door opened and she emerged, wearing a blue silk ballgown, her shoulders bare, her hair a cascade of curls and blue ribbons. Samuel froze, swallowing at the sight of her silhouetted against her bedchamber door. “Emma.”
“Lord Lymington.” She jumped, startled, then her eyes narrowed. “You haven’t been waiting in the hallway forme, have you?”
“No. I’ve just arrived.” Samuel didn’t add that he would have been outside her door far sooner if it weren’t for his mother. “You’ve missed the first twodances, and I—”
Samuel broke off as she drew nearer, his gaze dropping to the pendant hanging from a blue ribbon around her neck. He caught the edge of it on his fingertip, his gaze meeting hers. “No. I won’t allow this, Emma.”
To Emma’s credit, she didn’t try to pretend she wasn’t taking an enormous risk. “This may surprise you, but I do know what I’m doing, my lord, and Daniel willkeep me safe—”
“No,” Samuel repeated through gritted teeth. “A man who’d strangle a woman is vicious, conscienceless—more animal than human. I can’t simply stand by while you become his next victim.”
“I don’t deny he’s vicious, Lord Lymington, but he’s clearly not a fool. There are dozens of people in your ballroom this evening. He won’t dare make amove tonight—”
Samuel tipped her chin up, forcing her to meet his gaze. “This is madness, Emma. You must know that.”
Emma jerked her chin from his grasp, her eyes darkening with emotion. “Do you suppose this is the first time I’ve been in danger, the first time I’ve been threatened? I was acourtesan, my lord. I’ve faced vicious men before, and survived it.”
Unbidden, Samuel’s gaze dropped to her hands. White silk gloves stretched from her fingertips to the curve of her elbow, but he’d seen the evidence of her past written on her skin, and he could never unsee it. He reached for her, and stroked his thumb over the back of her hand, over the deepest of her scars. “There must be some other way.”
Her eyes softened at the gentle caress, but she shook her head. “There isn’t. I’ll keep my wits about me, my lord. I always do.”
Samuel remained silent as he struggled with himself, but at last he said, “You’ll remain in the ballroom at all times. No strolling in the garden, or even venturing onto the terrace.”
“Daniel will be in the garden all evening—”
“This isn’t a negotiation, Emma. Either you promise to do as I say, or you’ll return to your bedchamber, and I’ll see to it you don’t leave it again for therest of the…”
Night. Samuel bit off the last word, hisface heating.
That had sounded a great deal more suggestive thanhe’d intended.
Emma’s eyes widened, and Samuel hurriedly cleared his throat. “You’ll dance either with me, or with Lord Lovell tonight. No one else.”
Emma bit her lip. “I’ve already told Lord Dunn I’ll dance with him.”
“Dunn!” Samuel’s brow lowered.
