Chapter 11

11

Three days later,Emma and Sebastian climbed the stairs of Sumhall Place, situated on fashionable Grosvenor Street, one of the best addresses in Mayfair. It was the London residence of the Seaton family, and Emma and Sebastian had been invited for a visit.

On their way here, Emma had noticed a man standing under the trees on Burlington Square, watching Longton Place. With a chill down her spine, she realized Sir Jasper still refused to leave her alone. Sebastian noticed him, too, and sent Benedict, one of his footmen, to shoo him away. As soon as Benedict walked towards him, the man turned and left. But Emma knew he would be back. It would only be a matter of time before Sir Jasper made another attempt to retrieve her. She hoped the annulment would happen quickly.

Sumhall was different from Longton Place. It was newer, built just thirty years ago, Sebastian had told her, for the Seatons’ parents, who were newlyweds then. The pristine white walls were freshly painted. Three stories shot into the sky, the first two stories boasting tall, paned windows. The top story was clearly for servants, with small windows and low roofs. There was no garden or yard to ride into, but the entrance was still very beautiful and very chic.

Emma and Sebastian were shown into the sitting room, where all the Seatons were at their leisure. The room had a fresh and stylish air about it, with elegant paper hangings of pastel turquoise stripes. White curtains with embroidered patterns of flowers in the same shade dressed the long windows, and the mahogany furniture had white upholstery. The landscape paintings were full of sunlight and blooms.

The Duke of Grandhampton, Preston, and Lord Richard stood as Emma and Sebastian came in while Calliope and the Duchess of Grandhampton remained seated.

“Ah, there are our newlyweds,” said the duke. “How is your life at Longton Place, Duchess?”

Emma allowed herself a tentative smile, looking into the Duke of Grandhampton’s kind, dark eyes. “Is there anything a duchess could possibly miss?” she said.

“I don’t know.” The Duke of Grandhampton chuckled softly. “Is there?”

“Well, Sebastian is showering me with anything I could ever need.”

“But is there something you want?” asked Sebastian, his amber eyes intent on her. How did he have this ability to look at her sometimes so that she felt like there was no one else who existed but him?

“I am a country lady. I have never been to London before. All I know is nature. So yes, I miss gardening. You must all think me so provincial.”

“Not at all.” Lady Calliope beamed at her. “I quite understand.”

“Peonies are my favorite. They remind me of my grandmama, who taught me to garden. When I’m in the garden, I feel like she’s still with me. Back at Sherbourne Place in Staffordshire, my peonies even won our local flower fair three times.”

“My, my,” said the Duchess of Grandhampton, raising her eyebrows and letting wrinkles gather on her forehead. “Now there’s something to look forward to. I’d love to see your peonies next spring, Duchess.”

“Of course,” said Emma with a bright smile. “I’m sure they’ll bloom so well in Loxchester Hall, which Sebastian has told me much about.”

Sebastian’s eyes were so intense on her, she felt like her skin was burning.

“Well, Loxchester,” said Lord Preston softly. “You must build a garden for your duchess in London, as well.”

Sebastian nodded without looking away from her. “I will. I’ll also take you to Loxchester Hall soon, where you can grow peonies to your heart’s delight. But we must first resolve the issue of your marriage.”

“How is the ton accepting you, Duchess?” asked the Duke of Grandhampton.

“It must be hard,” Calliope added.

Emma smiled as she took a seat next to her. Sebastian stood by Preston’s side, still watching her.

“Quite,” Emma said. “Well. The rumor mill, miraculously, has not yet caught up.”

“And it helps that I’m a duke,” added Sebastian.

While the butler served tea to Emma and Sebastian, the Duchess of Grandhampton took a sip from her cup. “Of course it helps,” she said. “I daresay a duke is forgiven for more things than even a duchess.”

Emma picked up her cup. “Yesterday, we went to a ball, and the hostess all but gnashed her teeth, but she let us in.”

“Because of the duke, of course,” said Preston with an eyebrow raised.

Calliope cleared her throat. “But have you seen The Society today?”

The Societywas a gossip newspaper that every aristocrat in London read.

“No,” said Sebastian, his eyebrows drawing together. “What is it?”

Calliope sighed. “It says the Duke of Loxchester married a farmer’s daughter. The Loxchester bloodline is tarnished.”

Emma took a sip from her cup while it rattled slightly against the plate. She and Sebastian had spent the last three days in a bliss, like true newlyweds. They’d made love every night, several times. He’d also gone to his solicitor and inquired after an annulment, and, although the man thought there was a good basis for it, he couldn’t say how long it would take and recommended he contact someone who was more familiar with such cases.

She realized now, with a sinking fear, that she cared for this man more than she had ever wanted to.

“Well,” said Sebastian, locking his eyes with hers. “I do not care about my bloodline being tarnished. I care, however, about Emma’s reputation.”

“But how did they even know?” asked Lord Richard.

“How do these things always come out?” asked the Duchess of Grandhampton. “The Countess of Whitemouth is the biggest gossip in the ton. And she’s not kindly disposed to you, Duke, because you left her daughter unmarried. The whole ton must have heard some version of who your duchess really is, and the newspaper must have picked the most scandalous version of the gossip.”

Emma had never been clearer on how close she truly was to ruining her name.

“At least they didn’t publish my real name,” she said. “They don’t yet know I’m a lady and still think I’m a farmer’s daughter. It means a lot to me that you are people who can be trusted.”

The Duke of Grandhampton cocked his head. “Sebastian is family. The fourth brother we never had.”

Emma understood why. Anyone would want an honorable, caring man like Sebastian as a friend or brother. With what Sebastian had told her about how lonely he had been, even while both of his parents had been alive, she understood why these warm and friendly people were like a second family to him.

“Still, the question remains,” said Lord Preston, frowning his dark eyebrows. “How to deal with these rumors and what truth to tell? Only three people heard that man calling the duchess by her real name, all of whom are present here. But sooner or later, the truth shall come out. And even a duke—and especially you, Duchess—is vulnerable.”

“I suppose you can say it was a jest, Your Grace,” said the Duchess of Grandhampton. “Clearly, your wife is not a swineherd. She’s a gentleman’s daughter. That does not tarnish your bloodline, does it?”

Only, they were not truly married. And that information would be out there sooner or later. Unless her marriage with Sir Jasper was annulled quickly.

The only way to save her reputation was to really marry the duke. Only, was she ready to lock herself into another marriage when she would just have escaped her previous one?

Sebastian could set her free.

She wasn’t sure anymore that she didn’t ever want to be married. For the first time, she admitted the possibility she had simply married the wrong man.

But was Sebastian the right one?

“May I ask your advice, Grandhampton?” asked Sebastian. “It’s about the annulment of marriage. You’re more connected to solicitors and such. Perhaps you know something I may have overlooked.”

The men went off to one corner of the large sitting room, while Emma, Lady Calliope, and the Duchess of Grandhampton were left sitting at the tea table.

“Well, dear,” said the duchess, a smile brightening her kind expression. “I can see in the short time since you arrived that you have transformed the duke.”

Emma put her cup and saucer back on the table. “Do you truly think so?”

“Oh, yes,” said Lady Calliope. “He is different, isn’t he, Grandmama? Light has appeared in his eyes. I’ve never seen him like this.”

“Yes,” said the duchess with a sigh. “I know he and Preston only met in Oxford, but I knew his mama and papa for a long time. It was hard to watch when I visited Loxchester Hall, their country seat, for a house party. I remember him, always alone, even when he was with his governor. He appeared so surly, so abandoned. Looking at people with big eyes from under his little eyebrows, like a lonely wolf cub.”

Emma’s heart ached for Sebastian as she imagined him, an abandoned little boy, his bad behavior a desperate cry for attention.

Tiny wrinkles formed in the corners of the Duchess of Grandhampton’s bright blue eyes as she looked at Emma. “I always knew if a woman came to him who could show him love, he’d become the great man he was always meant to be.”

Emma could show him love. She wanted to. He was so wrong about being the reason for his parents’ unhappiness, because she saw what the duchess saw—a great man with a heart of gold.

“He is a wonderful man,” she said. “He forgave me when I stole his mother’s jewelry box.”

He may have, but his mama certainly hadn’t. She hadn’t spoken to Emma much at all, but there was one thing that his mama had said to her when they met by chance in the long hallway of Longton Place. “You’re a thief,” the duchess had whispered hotly into Emma’s face, her bony fingers digging painfully in Emma’s forearm. “You should hang, not march around here like the mistress of the place. It is only the fear of scandal that stops me from charging you with theft. You have no idea what you’ve done, what disaster you may have wrought for the duke and myself!”

“Please, forgive me,” Emma had said, ashamed but also confused by the duchess’s words. How could a mere jewelry box bring disaster? “I’m so sorry. I had intended to pay you back every penny.”

“Money can never repay the loss of that box. The best thing you can do for us now is to leave and never come back!”

Emma’s cheeks burned from shame that the memory brought.

“You stole?” cried Lady Calliope. “You never! Why did you do that?”

Emma looked at her hands that lay neatly on her knees. “I thought I’d spare him the need to throw me out of the house. I wanted my freedom, but I came into his house with nothing. Once I found a governess’s position, I intended to repay him everything. Of course, I regret my actions very much.”

The Duchess of Grandhampton giggled under her breath. “You certainly have a high spirit, dear. What jewelry box was that?”

“It was just a small one, made of mother-of-pearl. I needed some money to buy myself a fare to Scotland. Or to Canada. A name was engraved on the bottom—the Duke of Ashton. That is odd, I suppose.”

Suddenly, all humor disappeared from the duchess’s face and her eyebrows drew together. “Do not tell anyone else about that box.” Then she took a deep breath and smoothed her features, clearly intending to say no more about it.

But Emma couldn’t help wondering—Sebastian had said his mama cheated on his papa. Could the Duke of Ashton have been her lover, and could Sebastian be illegitimate? Would it make a difference to Emma if he was? She looked at Sebastian across the room, and as he caught her eyes, a huge smile spread on his face. Her heart lurched, and it was as though someone lit a candle right in the middle of her chest. She beamed back at him. It was the first time she’d seen a real smile on his face.

“I’ve never seen him smile like that in my life,” said Calliope. “He looks radiant.”

The Duchess of Grandhampton looked at Emma, her eyes brightening again. “I told you. All he needed was a good woman to show him love.”