Always True to Her (Emerson Book 2) (5 page)

“His younger, beautiful sister. I must confess
myself surprised that you are yet unmarried. Have the gentlemen in England
gone mad since I was last here?”

She narrowed her eyes just the slightest. “Are you
trying to charm me, sir?”

“Not at all.”

“I believe we have our answers reversed. If you
were to ask me if your efforts were working, I would reply ‘not at all.’
However, I believe you are doing your best to turn me up sweet. Hence the
smile with your remarkably white teeth and the compliment about my marital
status, though it was not really a compliment at all.”

James was taken aback. He was rarely rebuffed. And
while she had noticed his admittedly very white teeth, it came as a surprise that
she was not more receptive to his efforts. For a moment, he feared he’d lost
all his appeal, until he remembered the ladies onboard the ship on his journey
to England. More than a few had made it known that they would welcome his
advances. He reckoned he could get a bed partner for that very night if he’d
been so inclined.

Yet, this chit had not only rebuffed him, she’d had
the audacity to recognize the game he was playing. Cedric had been a bit of a
halfwit. It was looking more and more likely that not only had Irene Wallace
been given a full portion of brains, but she’d somehow also acquired the half
that Cedric had been denied.

A beautiful woman who was also intelligent. He
wasn’t sure he was ready for that.

“How was what I said not a compliment?” he asked.

“You implied that I am unmarried solely because the
gentlemen of England had gone mad. Perhaps I am still unwed because I simply did
not say yes to any proposals. Perhaps the gentlemen of England are even more clever
than you remember, yet I still felt I would rather remain alone. “

“Whyever would you prefer to remain alone?”

“Why do you remain unwed?”

“That is not that same thing at all.”

“Truly? Pray enlighten me as to why.”

“It is the normal course of events for a gentleman
to wish to remain unattached, yet for women it is the norm to yearn to be
married.”

“If your sweet daughter were not in hearing range I
would utter an unladylike oath.”

And oh how James wished to hear it. He was annoyed
with this woman who would not fall into his trap, yet was growing more
intrigued with her by the moment. Perhaps it was the fact that she was a
mystery to him. Too many people were so easily deciphered. But not this
chit. If she’d come here to play on his sympathies, she was truly making a
hash of it. He had to learn more about her. “What issue do you take with my
statement, Miss Wallace?”

“While it is true that ladies too often must rely on
a husband for their welfare, I daresay not many would marry were it not for the
financial considerations.”

“And why would that be?”

“A woman’s lot is to keep her husband’s home, bear
his children at her own peril and tolerate his excesses.”

“His excesses?” James’s mind was immediately filled
with any number of excesses he would like to indulge in with Miss Wallace.

“Drink, consorting with lewd women, and the like.”

“You, Miss Wallace, have just described my ideal
evening.” He wasn’t sure why he was goading her, but it was a great deal of
fun. “What about the advantages of marrying? Are you saying you do not wish
to have a large house and children?”

She considered the question for a moment, worrying
her plump bottom lip as she did so. James could not take his eyes off the
movement.

She spoke a moment before he was about to kiss her.

Which was fortunate timing for everyone.

“I would like to have my own home, though it would
not matter to me if it were large or otherwise. And I would very much like to
have children. It is simply unfortunate that a husband comes as part of the
package.”

“I daresay he’s rather indispensable when it comes
to children.”

“On the contrary, most fathers have very little to
do with the raising of children. Indeed, I’m sure some of them rarely see
their children above two or three times a year when they are young.” She could
not count the number of birthdays she’d spent alone growing up on the country
estate, save for a few servants.

“When speaking of a father’s indispensability, I was
not referring to the raising of children, but rather to the begetting of them.”

Miss Wallace turned a lovely shade of red.

She cleared her throat. Then cleared it again.
“You, sir, have reverted to your strategy of attempting to charm me again.”

“Is it working any better this time around?”

“I hate to offend your male pride – though I believe
not much can put a dent in it – but, no. You are as successful this time as
the last.”

James could not prevent his laugh. “You are a
delight, Miss Wallace. And do not fear that I am once again trying to charm
you by saying so. I am only stating a fact.”

She narrowed her eyes at him once again, as well she
should since he hadn’t stopped trying to charm her. Then she spoke. “I should
clarify what I said earlier. Most fathers only see their children on occasion,
but I do not believe you are like most fathers. You are quite attentive to
Miss Emerson. I admire that.”

“Thank you. Anna is such a loving child that I
cannot imagine doing otherwise. Though, in my personal experience, I can
attest there are indeed fathers like the ones you described.” Then, fearing he’d
revealed more than he’d intended, he added “Perhaps you should tell me why
you’ve come.”

For a moment, it looked like Miss Wallace had quite
forgotten why she was there. But then, she cleared her head. “I am asking you
to not pursue this matter against Cedric.”

He’d thought as much. “Will your father plead my
case with your brother?”

“I do not believe there is a case to plead. Cedric
would not do what you have accused him of doing. It would be akin to
stealing.”

“Not ‘akin to.’ It is actually stealing. I entrusted
your brother with my land and in my absence he leased it to a mining concern,
then pocketed the profits. What would you call that?”

“A misunderstanding.”

“I assure you it is no such thing.”

“Unfortunately, it comes down to your word against
his. Perhaps you are the one being dishonest here.”

She looked pained to say the words, but, evidently,
Miss Wallace was loyal to her family. James valued loyalty, though knowing her
brother as he did, he wondered how she could be so blind to his faults.

She continued. “I do not know you at all.”

“My brother can vouch for my honesty.”

“Just as I can vouch for mine.”

“Though in your case, it is sadly a case of a
sister’s blind devotion.”

“Could not the same thing be said for your brother?
My grandmother said you have spent the last eight years abroad. Even if the
Earl of Ridgeway knew your character growing up, who is to say it has not
changed?”

“Because, Miss Wallace, true character doesn’t
change.” Though he realized even as he said the words that she had an
unfortunate point. He had at times over the past eight years behaved in ways
no gentleman should. But true English gentlemen didn’t last too long on the
American frontier. And he’d never done irreparable harm to anyone who hadn’t
deserved it. Nevertheless, the chit was probing areas he didn’t wish to think
about. It was time to send her on her way. “If you have merely come to call
me a liar, Miss Wallace, you have wasted your visit.”

“I came with no such purpose. I want to find a
resolution to this. My father is ill….”

“Did he send you?”

“No. He does not know I am here, nor would he like
it.”

“What about the dragon?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“I suppose her formal title is the dowager viscountess,
though it is not nearly as descriptive as mine.” Her eyes were scowling at him
but he could have sworn her lips quavered just the slightest.
Damn it
.
She was charming him without even trying.

“No one sent me. I only came because I am concerned
that a scandal of this kind could be injurious to my father’s health. Before
you take any action, I would ask that you wait until Cedric’s return.”

“When will that be?”

“I believe he is expected back by the summer.”

“Impossible. If I wait that long my land will be
completely despoiled, if it has not been already.”

“But if it is truly your land, I’m sure Cedric will
give you the profits he earned.”

“It is my land and your brother made it clear that
he would part with only half of the profits, though by the time I left, he’d
reneged on even that offer. And has it not occurred to you that I am in this
for something other than monetary gain? I bought that land – with money hard
earned, I assure you – because I wanted to work it. To grow food. To build a
house and raise a family. To make something more of the land than when I took
possession of it. To make my life better than it had been up to that point.”
He stopped before he said more than he already had. What was it about this
woman that made him bare his soul? He hadn’t even told Colin or Nick about his
dreams and they were his closest friends. Yet he’d told this woman. His
enemy’s sister. How the devil had that happened? “Mock me if you will, Miss
Wallace, but that is my dream and waiting until the summer is not in accordance
with it.”

“I could never mock you for that,” she said
quietly. “Your dream is a beautiful one. I envy you, really, because I can
see you and Miss Emerson being very happy with such a life.”

He had everything he could do to keep from reaching
for her hand, pulling her to him and just holding her. She understood him. He
barely understood himself. But somehow this woman who’d been raised in the lap
of luxury knew why he wanted to work a small parcel of land in the wilderness.
He was in serious danger of kissing her.

He shook himself from such thoughts. “Then I hope
you will plead my case with your father.”

She seemed torn. Genuinely. Achingly so. “I am
afraid I cannot help you, my lord.”

“Then I am afraid I shall have to ask you to leave
this house, Miss Wallace, for we have nothing further to discuss.”

Her eyes widened. He suspected she did not get
asked to leave often. And he almost regretted doing so. But they were edging
ever closer to an intimacy that scared him. He had no wish to form a bond with
any woman at this time. Especially Cedric’s sister.

She began to rise when they were both surprised to
find Anna standing before them. He hoped she’d not heard their argument. His
daughter had been subjected to more than enough strife in her young life. He’d
sworn to protect her from further unpleasantness.

He was failing her yet again.

Anna spoke in her quiet voice. “I don’t understand
the picture. Can you help me, please?” Then she held out her hand.

To Miss Wallace.

Irene looked at the adorable little girl in front of
her, holding out her hand so trustingly. Lord James was confoundingly stubborn
and could cause Irene’s father untold harm if he pressed his case. Not to
mention he’d had a most unexpected and aggravating effect on her. He was
charming in the extreme and it had only been by a concerted effort that she’d
been able to pretend an indifference to him when in fact she felt quite the
opposite.

She’d met more than a few rakes in the years since
her debut, but had never been attracted to any of them. She’d found their
practiced ways laughable and could not imagine how ladies forgot themselves
around them.

But she feared if she spent too much more time with
Lord James she would forget why forgetting herself with him was a bad idea.

Had it just been his words and rugged good looks,
she likely would not have been affected to this extreme. But his moment of
vulnerability when speaking of his father had struck a chord with her. She
knew very well what it felt like to grow up as a disappointment to her father.
To never be good enough, no matter how hard she tried.

She loved her father and certainly did not want his
health to suffer because of this land business, but she was not close to him.
She’d never spoken of her problems with her father to anyone. She had few real
friends. But somehow she felt that if she were to speak of it to Lord James he
would understand.

Which was ridiculous, of course. This man was
accusing her brother of stealing. They could not be friends. She should leave
the house immediately. And she would do that very thing, were it not for the
girl.

Irene’s first instinct was to take Miss Emerson’s
hand. But Lord James had just told her to leave. Irene was at a loss as to how
to obey his directive without hurting the little girl’s feelings. And she had
a feeling that no matter what Lord James thought of Irene and her family, he
would not want Miss Emerson to feel slighted. Irene looked at Lord James, only
to find him studying her intently. Then he nodded just the slightest amount.

She gently took the girl’s hand.

“Will you come show me?” Miss Emerson asked her.

“Of course. What would you like to know?”

The little girl led her back to the volume of
artwork, lying open on the table. Lord James helped Miss Emerson climb into
the chair.

“You can sit here,” said the girl to Irene, pointing
to the chair next to her. “And Papa, you can sit there.” Miss Emerson indicated
the chair opposite Irene.

Lord James helped Irene take a seat, accidentally
brushing his fingers across her shoulders as he did so. The accompanying
sensation was most unwelcome. And she was most irritated when it appeared he
was unaffected.

“What is this?” Miss Emerson asked, pointing to a
painting of a city.

“It’s a city in France called Paris,” said Irene.

The girl studied the painting, taking everything in.

“It’s across the ocean,” said Irene, “but not in the
same direction as America.”

The girl nodded, as if that made sense.

“Have you been to Paris?” Lord James asked Irene.

“Once. A few years after the war ended. Papa had
business there and Grandmama convinced him to take us. It was beautiful. Have
you been there?”

“The war was still raging when I left for America.”

“I see.”

Miss Emerson turned the page to a painting of a man
and woman on a picnic in the park. She looked at Irene again.

“It looks like they’re having a lovely time, doesn’t
it? Has your papa taken you for luncheon in a park?”

Miss Emerson shook her head.

“Lord James! You should remedy that immediately.”

“Winter is hardly the season for outdoor dining,
Miss Wallace.”

“But what about last summer or the summer before that?”

Lord James stiffened and Irene did not know what
she’d said to offend him. She certainly hadn’t meant to. She was making an
effort to be polite in front of his daughter. She was on the verge of
apologizing – though she wasn’t quite sure why – when he spoke again.

“I was unaware of Anna’s existence until six months
ago,” he said quietly, even as he reached over to gently tug one of his
daughter’s braids.

It was an endearing gesture that Irene felt to her
soul.

“It is the greatest regret of my life that I did not
know of her birth sooner,” he said. “Fortunately, her mother told me before
she passed away.”

“I am so sorry,” said Irene. “So terribly sorry.” She
reached out and squeezed Anna’s hand. The little girl simply looked at her
with soulful eyes.

They were interrupted by someone knocking loudly on
the front door, followed a moment later by the visitor’s appearance in the
library. Irene recognized him as Simon Chilcott, a cousin of the current Earl
of Layton. Chilcott was in his early thirties, of medium height, with sandy
brown hair. He had a round face that was currently scowling. Irene knew him
only slightly, but had never found him particularly pleasant. The current
expression on his face did nothing to raise him in her esteem.

“What are you doing here?” he said accusingly to
Lord James, before turning his scowl on Anna.

Without thinking, Irene put her arm protectively
around Anna’s shoulders, as Lord James rose to his rather impressive height.
The two men might be matched for weight, but Simon Chilcott carried most of his
about the middle and Lord James’s was sheer muscle distributed quite pleasingly
throughout his frame.

“Chilcott,” said Lord James in a level voice. “I
did not hear you announced.” Then he turned his gaze to Williams who was
hovering in the doorway. At least the butler had the good grace to look embarrassed.

“I don’t need to be announced,” said Simon. “This
is my home.”

“Actually, this is the Earl of Layton’s home. And
my daughter and I are his guests.”

“So the rumors are true. That is your daughter.”

“It is odd that there are rumors already floating
about since we only arrived in town last night.” Here James looked at Williams
again and this time the butler departed the room as quickly as possible.

“I never would have believed it, had I not seen it
with my own eyes,” said Simon. “Of course, it’s exactly something an Emerson
would do.”

Fearing that violence could break out at any moment
since Lord James looked murderous, Irene stepped into the fray. “Mr. Chilcott,
is it not customary to not only have yourself announced, but then to greet everyone
on admittance? I do not believe you did either of those things.”

Simon studied her. “Pray forgive me, Miss Wallace.
I did not mean to appear to be a savage.” Here he looked at Anna again, a
small sneer on his lips.

“Lord James,” said Irene quickly. “The Earl of
Ridgeway has recently wed, has he not?”

“Yes,” he said curtly, as if upset that she had
stopped him from proceeding to thrash Simon for all but calling Anna a savage.

“I am sure he must have disappointed many of the
ton’s
mamas.”

“Disappointed?” asked Simon. “Or relieved them of
their worries, since their daughters would no longer be in danger of having
their fortunes siphoned off by the impoverished Ridgeway.”

Irene wondered how long she could keep Lord James
from planting the odious man a facer. She rather wanted to strike him herself. But
she rose to stand between the two men because she wanted to prevent a brawl for
Miss Emerson’s sake. “I quite liked Lord Ridgeway on the few occasions we met.”

Lord James frowned just the slightest. Did he not
like his brother?

She continued. “And I imagine a title would be nice
to have. However, I believe the Earl of Layton would have no trouble securing
a bride, even if he were an impoverished mister. In the last season alone,
there were any number of ladies who had to reach for their smelling salts any
time he was near. And you would know that best of all, would you not, Mr.
Chilcott?”

It was no secret in
ton
circles that Simon
Chilcott had never had much success with the ladies, in direct contrast to his
cousin’s ease with them.

Simon Chilcott had a legendary temper. Irene knew
she’d scored a direct hit for his face flooded with color and he turned toward her
with enough force that for a moment she thought she might be struck.

Until a large muscled male quickly stepped between
them. “Why have you come, Chilcott?”

Simon took a deep breath. Irene couldn’t see him –
Lord James was rather like a human eclipse – but she could tell he was calming
just a bit. “I wanted to make sure everything was set to rights with the
house. I do that when Nicholas is away.”

“I shan’t steal the silver if that is what worries
you. And I shall make sure Layton knows of your secret visits the next time I
see him.”

“There is no need for that.”

“Yet I shall be doing it just the same.”

Irene could sense that Chilcott wanted to say more,
but didn’t.

“Perhaps I should leave,” he said.

“That is the most sensible thing you’ve said since
your arrival,” said Lord James, who still hadn’t removed himself from between
Irene and Simon.

It wasn’t until Simon had made good on his promise
and left the house that Lord James turned to face Irene.

Miss Emerson must have sensed something was amiss during
the confrontation between Lord James and Chilcott, for she’d leaned into Irene,
who’d held her close without even realizing it. She was still there, Irene was
surprised to see.

It rather surprised Lord James, as well, by the odd
look on his face.

Irene carefully removed her arm from the girl, who then
went to her father. He picked her up easily. “I regret you had to see that,”
he said to Irene. “Chilcott has been making Nick’s life difficult these past
several months.”

“I am surprised it has only been for that short a
time,” said Irene. “He seems to take great pleasure in making himself a
nuisance.”

“Indeed. What was it you said about Nick and the
ladies that angered Chilcott so much?”

“I suppose it wasn’t very nice of me to bring it up,
but Simon had been pursuing Lady Gwendolyn Bossert as a bride, but the lady
herself had eyes for no one but the Earl of Layton.”

“That must have irritated Simon.”

“Very much so. I might feel sorry for him if it had
been a love match, but I think he was more interested in the lady’s dowry than
her person. I do not believe Layton encouraged her. From what I observe,
Layton is continually pursued, whether he encourages it or not. I believe that
was the case for both your brothers.” She stopped and her face immediately
flooded with color. While it was all but common knowledge that the Earl of
Layton was the half brother of the Emersons, it was still a rumor. And
certainly not spoken of in polite company. “Pray forgive me, Lord James. I
did not mean to imply anything.”

He smiled wryly, even as he kissed his daughter on
her cheek. “Do not distress yourself, Miss Wallace. I am well aware of the
rumors.”

“Yes, but given our adversarial positions, I do not
want you to think I meant to insult you in any way.”

“Are we adversaries? I rather thought we were
getting past that.”

“Perhaps we are. I believe we have Miss Emerson to
thank for that.”

“Her name is Anna.”

Irene smiled. “Anna. It fits her nicely.”

“It is an Algonquin name, as well as Anglican. Her
mother chose well.”

“She did. She must have respected you a great deal
to entrust Anna to you.”

“Does that make a difference in your opinion of me?”

Irene was afraid to admit just how much her opinion
of Lord James had changed in the past half hour. “I do think it less likely that
you are trying to defraud my father,” she said slowly. “Though I also cannot
believe that my brother behaved so dishonorably. It must be a
misunderstanding.”

Her answer did not entirely please him. He simply
shook his head, resigned to the impasse.

“What will you do now?” she asked.

“I must find evidence to support my claim. I have a
solicitor looking into it – discreetly, I assure you. I have no desire to
cause your father anguish. I only wish to have this matter resolved justly.
What do you plan to do?”

“I shall write to Cedric straightaway, though even
if my letter were to reach him as soon as possible, I would not receive a
response sooner than two months from now.”

“Two months from now I hope to be underway for
America.”

“I will go through Cedric’s old papers to see if I
can find anything of use. Shall we meet in the park in two days to discuss this
further?”

For a moment it looked like he would refuse. Irene
was surprised by how much the thought disappointed her. But then he said, “Thank
you, Miss Wallace. You are most kind.”