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“It has to. Emma, I finally have a chance at happiness, and it is all thanks to you. I cannot believe this has happened so suddenly. I thought that my life had ended!”

“Well, I am pleased that you have at least found some good in all of this. Our father certainly has not.”

“We cannot care what he thinks. We have only ever done our best for him, and he fails to ever show any gratitude for it at all. If you ask me, we should have rebelled years ago. Besides, with how angry he is with you, he is yet to mention my own little rebellion.”

Emma thought back to Sarah dancing with Lord Rosendale, and how happy she had looked as she did. She must have known the trouble it would go on to cause, or would have had there not been a far greater issue at hand by the end of the night. Could they really be blamed, she wondered, for needing to do something for themselves for the first time?

“You certainly appeared quite proud of yourself.”

“Oh, I was. I thought, if I were to be engaged within mere days after our return, I had to have one final good memory. Now, thanks to you, I may be able to make more.”

Emma felt lighter from their conversation. In truth, the only person whose fate she cared about was her sister, and if she was happy, then there was truly nothing sad to be taken from it. Emma herself had always planned to be alone, after all, and so what could the loss of reputation do to her?

She was, of course, in disgrace. The day passed, a maid bringing her lunch to her as she had not been allowed to leave her bedchambers, but by the afternoon she was summoned to her father’s study. The second earful that she received would not matter as much to her, partly because Sarah had already made her feel better about it and partly because it wouldn’t be anything that she had not already heard from him before.

“You seem well for a ruined lady,” he scoffed when he saw her.

“Father, I–”

“No, I believe you have done enough. You may not have noticed, but your sister is yet to receive any callers today. She had not one, but two suitors vying for her hand, and now thanks to you she has none at all. Have you no shame? You simply had to bring her down with you, didn’t you? Had to prove that, if you could not have exactly what you wanted, then we could not have anything at all.”

“That isn’t true! I had no intentions of hurting Sarah, and I never have. Besides, we have barely been home for a day. Give them time, and they will come.”

“You do not know that. You do not know anything. You have ruined your sister, and all for a rake, and now I shall never be rid of you.”

“I shall be living with my Aunt–” she began.

“As if that matters! I shall always be looked at differently because of what you did, and all because you had to fall for the oldest trick in the book. At least now you shan’t pretend you are some intelligent thing.”

“But I–”

“I have heard enough from you,” he shouted. “Now, before I lose my patience with you entirely–”

“That is no way to speak to a duchess,” came a deeper voice.

Emma turned quickly to see the Duke standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame with a complete disregard for his surroundings.

“Your Grace,” her father stammered. “You must know that I–”

“I have heard quite enough from you,” he continued walking toward Emma.

“But this is not what I expected at all.”

“Then you ought to hold higher opinions of others, especially when those of you yourself are so low. Now, are you going to act as chaperone or not?”

“It is rather too late for that,” Emma whispered.

“I told you I have heard enough from you,” her father snapped.

“Do not make me do something I shouldn’t,” the Duke said firmly, looking her father in the eye.

He was a tall and foreboding man, one that would intimidate almost anyone if necessary. He certainly frightened her father well enough, as he simply straightened and said nothing more.

“Your Grace, what are you doing?” Emma asked, bewildered.

“Asking for your hand, of course. That is typically what comes from situations such as these, is it not?”

“In normal circumstances, yes, but you… well, you said you do not wish to marry.”