CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

The two men walked beside one another down the stairs, and without a word, they headed toward the billiard room. The stillness over everything felt just the same, but now the air was charged with tension.

Lionel jerked back in shock as Adam slammed his foot into the door of the billiard room, all the fight and the drive that had been missing returning to him in an instant.

Frederick, who was alone at the billiard table, still smoking his cigar with a second glass of whisky at his elbow, jumped back three feet and stared in wild confusion at Adam.

Adam could feel the energy pulsing through him. He was flooded with guilt once more, but this time none of it was for Anastasia—it was all for Emilia.

How could I have dismissed her? How could I have doubted her so entirely? I am a blaggard and a fool, and I will do everything in my power to make it up to her for the rest of my life.

“As you can see, Fred, I am still living,” he spat, bolstered by Lionel’s reassuring presence at his elbow. “Or had you hoped that I might have expired even in the few moments since you manipulated the duke’s hand into ruining me?”

Frederick’s mouth was hanging open like a fish. He stared at Adam, his gaze flicking between him and Lionel. Then, there was the sound of running footsteps, and Lord Sternwood loped into view, pausing as he took in the scene with a raised eyebrow.

Frederick backed away from the table, dropping the cue from his fingers and staring around like a caged animal.

“What the devil are you talking about?” he asked, but his voice was thin, his face pale.

“I am speaking of the conversation that Lord Spencer just heard between yourself and the duke. Do you deny it?”

Lord Sternwood came to stand beside Adam, his eyes sharp but wary.

“What… I have not…” Frederick asked. His gaze was flitting about the room frantically as though looking for an escape.

“I heard you,” Lionel said, his voice a dark promise of retribution. “You were congratulating one another on a job well done. You have manipulated the duke into securing his match with Lady Emilia Sterling in haste because you do not want Adam to remarry. You have been after his title for years, and believed another loss would destroy him.”

“No, I—” Frederick was spluttering wildly.

“I am told you think me weak,” Adam said. “I remember when Anastasia died, you were at the house almost daily, pretending to be sorry for my condition, when I knew in my heart you were there merely to rejoice in my decline.”

Frederick stuttered but could find no words to reply.

“My Lord,” Adam said, turning to Lord Sternwood. “The duke and my cousin have been conspiring to use your daughter as a pawn in their scheme. Mr Frederick wished to thwart my honourable intentions towards your daughter so that he could ally himself with the Elderbridge name.”

“What is the meaning of this?”

The duke entered the room, looking like a carbon copy of Frederick at that moment. They could not have done more to confirm they were in cahoots, smoking the same cigars, drinking from the same glasses. Adam could not have planned it better if he tried.

“Do you deny it?” Adam demanded,feeling a wave of satisfaction that he could finally speak down to this odious man.

“Deny what?” Benedict roared, but as his gaze fell on Frederick, he paled.

“You brought forward your proposal after my cousin warned you that I had intentions of my own. You care nothing for the lady in question, only for your own future.”

Lord Sternwood was staring at Adam in consternation.

“Of what is he speaking?” Lord Sternwood asked, staring at Adam in bewilderment as Lionel stepped forward, pointing a finger at the duke.

“The Duke of Elderbridge and Mr Frederick were discussing their alliance. The duke spoke of your daughter as though she were a dog he could bring to heel. What was it you said?” Lionel asked, turning to the duke with suppressed fury. “That you would prefer a family that was ‘untainted’ but that your options were limited. The Sternwoods, after all, are far from the exalted status of the Elderbridges.”

Adam turned to the duke. The man was gaping at Lionel in horror, and Lord Sternwood, who until that point had been a mask of confusion, turned to him, his face mottled with red blotches of anger.

“I beg your pardon, Duke; what did you say of my family?”

The duke shook his head. “I did not mean—”

“You called my daughter tainted? ” he stepped forward, rage pulsing from him in waves. “I have spoken to you at length of her disgrace. You were one of the few voices of reason. You even knew the Blackmoors and are on intimate terms with Lord Julian. You knew she had done nothing, behaved exactly as she should. That was the only reason I allowed you anywhere near her.”

Adam was taken aback by Emilia’s father's passion. He presented himself as rather withdrawn, only wishing to secure Emilia a good marriage, as many fathers did. But the person standing before him now was vibrating with indignation, his eyes sparking with fury as he glared at the duke.

“I will take the degradation of our alliance out of your hands, your Grace,” Thomas Sterling snarled. “If you wish to find yourself a woman who is untainted , you can find her in the halls of the society you so bitterly crave.”

The duke stuttered a blustering apology, but Lord Sternwood would not hear it, turning his back on the man in disgust. After a moment of paralysis, the duke retreated from the room, the cigar falling from his fingers as he did so.

Adam turned to confront Frederick for a second time, but the man had escaped through the rear doors while they were distracted by the duke, and Lionel swore loudly and set off in pursuit of him. That left Adam alone with Thomas Sterling, who was still puce with anger, but his expression sharpened as he looked back at Adam.

Adam bowed.

“My Lord, I have not been entirely honest with you myself,” Adam said quickly. “I suppose you may wonder about my involvement—why I would careabout the duke’s intentions for your daughter.”

“I would,” Lord Sternwood said slowly, “if I had not witnessed you together over the last few days.”

The astute expression on the man’s face made Adam hesitate and as Lord Sternwood’s shoulders relaxed Adam straightened his own, determined to begin to make amends—starting here.

“My Lord, I love your daughter,” he said earnestly. “It is not something I ever expected to happen, but it is true. From the first moment I stepped into this house, I knew that my life was going to change forever. She is everything to me, and I have been a fool to doubt her. I believe I can make her happy. I ask you most solemnly for her hand in marriage. I will spend my life trying to deserve her.”

Thomas Sterling’s face was a picture of surprise and amazement, but eventually, he smiled, his eyes twinkling.

“The duke was not what I wanted for Emilia, not in himself, but I wanted to secure her future. I have had many sleepless nights since the scandal about how she will live. Elderbridge presented a decent option but I will not deny I am glad she is free of him.” Thomas gave Adam a long stare, and he fought to hold it. “You are a good man, my Lord. I have seen as much with the way you treat those around you and the friends you keep. I would be honoured to align the name of Bellebrook with Sternwood—but I will not make the same mistake twice. If Emilia agrees, you have my blessing, not before.”

Adam shook his hand, and just as he did so, they both heard the distant sound of a pianoforte. Adam’s spine stiffened at the familiar notes, and Lord Sternwood smiled.

“That can be only one member of my household,” he breathed a sigh of relief. “Go to her. I believe you have a question for my daughter.”

Adam walked out of the room as quickly as he could, a strange echo of the first afternoon he had spent in the house overcoming him. He had not known when he walked down this very corridor that his life would change forever.

He waited outside the room, listening to the familiar notes playing, and closed his eyes, letting them wash over him for a moment.

Slipping inside, he watched Emilia’s fingers move across the keys. The tune was mournful and sad, and her expression was the same. Adam was desperate to make her smile again, deeply ashamed of himself for having assumed the worst of her.

“Emilia,” he said softly, and she snatched her fingers from the keys, turning to him. There were shadows beneath her eyes, and her cheeks were blotched with tears.

He walked up to her quickly and lowered to his knees beside the piano stool. She drew in a sharp breath, staring down at him in amazement as he dared to take her hands in his and stared up at her, trying to convey in a single look all the love and sorrow he felt.

“Lord Bellebrook,” she said, her eyes looking to the door behind him, trying to tug her hand free from his grip.

“Adam,” he replied, and her gaze fell on his once more. “I would prefer you to call me Adam.”

“I cannot!” she said, trying to pull her hands free again as fresh tears began to fall. “

“Emilia, listen to me; it is all over.” She frowned down at him, letting out a long breath. “My cousin Frederick told the duke of my intentions toward you, no doubt having observed us together in recent days. He used that information to force the duke’s hand to thwart any chance of me remarrying. He has always been desperate to inherit my fortune, and if I married again, his chance of that would be gone forever.”

“But my father—” she said helplessly.

“Lord Spencer overheard them speaking of you. The duke was callous in his description, calling you tainted following the scandal. Your father heard of it and has called off the engagement.”

Emilia stood up, swayed on her feet, and sat down again, staring down at him in astonishment. The rush of pure relief that she felt was almost overwhelming and she clasped Adam’s hands more tightly.

“He has called off the engagement to the duke?” she asked, her voice small and desperate.

“He has.” Adam hesitated as his fingers tightened around her own. “I can only hope that I am not too late. That you can forgive me.”

“Forgive you?” she asked. “What could I need to forgive you for?”

“I was blinded by my jealousy and anger, Emilia. I thought you had betrayed me, lied to me. My own demons had a hold of me. I should never have doubted you. I am sorry.” He took a deep breath. “And most of all, I wanted to tell you that I love you.”

Emilia’s eyes were shining with tears now, and as he stood, she did too. They stood together in front of the window where the snow had begun to fall again.

“You have lit up my life—your music, your wit, your intelligence. I came here dreading everything I would have to go through, and now I am happier than I can say that I took that leap. I will do everything in my power to deserve your love and nurture it for the rest of our days if you will have me.”

Emilia wiped at her eyes, the bright brilliance of his words shining through her like a shaft of sunshine. She had never felt such all-encompassing joy, and she smiled.

“When you first proposed to me on the terrace, I felt something had been growing between us since the beginning, but I was too afraid to name it. We have both been hurt in our lives, and we have both experienced loss. Over the last few days, I began to feel something far more than I ever thought possible. There is nothing to forgive, my Lord—”

“Adam.”

“Adam,” she said with a shy smile. “I am so grateful that we found each other.”

“As am I.”

“I love you,” Emilia said softly as he took another step toward her. “I cannot wait to share my life with you.”

Adam lowered his head over hers and finally claimed her lips with his own. They stood together as one being, their lips moving against one another, their arms coming around their bodies as they held each other close.

Outside, the winter wind rippled through the snowflakes on the bright Christmas Day, and a ray of sunlight pierced through the clouds illuminating the world around them in bright, perfect light.