Page 14
Near Hyde Park
The next morning
Emily released an audible, irritated huff when she had to slow her steps for the third time in as many minutes. Though subtle and assuredly not comment-worthy, her public display of temper earned her an inquisitive look from a young lad dashing past.
She was not eager to see the Duke of Heatherston again.
Nonetheless, her dratted feet conspired with her erratic pulse to rush her along. It would not do for the duke to think she wanted to see him.
Don’t you?
No. Not like that.
Never like that again.
Exchanging vows with a man already married and the father of three children who deserted her in a foreign country…well, that treachery tended to put a woman off men and marriage for a lifetime.
Never mind that Clement had vowed undying love for Emily.
His excuses for his unforgivable ploy still rang in her ears.
My wife is an impossible shrew.
I must think of my three children.
How amazing that he could remember his children after he’d knowingly deceived Emily and not only proposed but had the gall to marry her under false pretenses. The reprehensible bounder. All the while knowing, knowing by heavens, he’d have to abandon her at some point.
Leave her.
Ruined. Alone. Destitute and devastated.
Praise God she hadn’t been with child, and her diplomat brother Richard had requested she once more act his hostess until he died unexpectedly. Circumstances had brought Justina to her doorstep a short while later, and that had been the greatest blessing for the past decade.
Now Emily had been given a new purpose. Help Avery Levingtone prepare for her Come Out.
Yes, it was only for a short while. The task wasn’t glamorous or life-changing, except for perhaps Avery. Regardless, it made Emily feel needed and valuable. Not that Justina and Baxter made her feel inadequate or unwanted.
Indeed, they couldn’t be kinder, more accepting, inclusive, or loving.
However, for almost a decade, Justina had been Emily’s focus. Her niece had filled the gaping void Clement’s perfidy had left. These next few weeks, assisting Avery Levingtone would be a temporary reprieve.
Emily knew that.
But she could use the time to decide her future and what that looked like.
Elbows linked, two giggling maids hurried past, baskets on their arms. Probably headed to the market for their household.
Emily glanced up, and her breath hitched.
Arms and ankles crossed and leaning indolently against Hyde Park’s entrance, waited the disarming Duke of Heatherston. Neck bent as he studied the mundane path, he hadn’t spotted her yet.
She allowed herself a moment to take him in from the long, lean legs encased in black pantaloons tucked into shiny Hessians. He wore a charcoal-colored coat and a gray and burgundy striped waistcoat. Straying from typical fashion, a neatly tied maroon neckcloth encircled his neck. His gray beaver hat with grosgrain ribbon shadowed his angular features.
Unlike many of his peers, he didn’t carry a walking stick.
He appeared deep in contemplation.
What held his attention so rapt?
