Page 22 of A Bride for the Devilish Duke

There was such hopeful eagerness in her face that Damien could not help but agree. Emma was smiling broadly until she caught Damien's eye. It melted away, and she became stony-faced once more. Damien suppressed a smirk.

They went through the lynch gate and Josie made a fuss of the horse, a brown mare, calling it by name. Then she looked towards the church door where a man was stepping out.

“Oh, look! It is Sir Thomas Donovan!” she cried, “what an unexpected coincidence.”

She hurried away to greet Sir Thomas, who responded in kind, a broad grin splitting his face.

Emma rolled her eyes. “I think that Josie has hoodwinked us both.”

Damien tilted his head. “This gentleman is a… particular friend, isn’t he?”

“Veryparticular,” Emma intoned. “Papa would disapprove for Sir Thomas does not possess a title. So, Josie meets him in secret whenever she can.”

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Emma looked like she wanted them back. Her cheeks colored, and she looked away with a sharp twist of the head, folding her arms. Damien recognized some of her physical traits and deduced this one was anger.

“I should be glad to speak to your father on Sir Thomas' behalf,” Damien put in.

Emma frowned for a moment. “I should not have even mentioned it. It is our business, not yours.”

“But youdidmention it, and I should be glad to assist,” Damien added.

“Do you imagine your title would influence my father?” she asked.

“It has to be useful for something,” Damien shrugged, “perhaps if I vouch for the fellow—”

“But you do not know him,” Emma replied challengingly. “Or us. So why are you really doing this?”

Now, she faced him, and Damien met her gaze squarely.

“I should like to know you better then,” he said, “and for what it is worth, I am sorry that our first meeting went... the way it did. That is not how I would have had it happen. I am trying to make amends.”

“By forcing me to marry you?” Emma scoffed.

“Byavoiding scandal. I did not begin the rumors,” Damien reminded, his tone mirroring Emma's unconsciously.

“And I don’t anticipate those rumors requiring such an outcome,” Emma replied.

“Perhaps you should not have begun them then?” Damien muttered hotly.

“Is it my fault that a woman cannot choose to remain unmarried without facing pressure from her family and her peers? Withoutbeing regarded as an oddity for choosing to be a spinster? That is why I went to the extraordinary lengths that I went to!” Emma grated in a hushed tone.

They had stepped closer to each other as their conversation spiraled into another overblown argument. Damien found himself ensnared by her eyes even as he was enraged by her words. Anger mixed with a desire to form a potent, passionate brew within him.

“That is hardly my fault either,” Damien retorted, “if you only knew...”

“Well then, tell me! If it explains your extraordinary behavior, then I have a right to know, do I not?”

Damien drew breath to tell her of his enemies. Of his revenge. Of his brother. But he clamped his mouth shut, clenching his fists in frustration.

Emma suddenly looked around.

“Where are Josie and Sir Thomas?”

Damien looked too. The young couple had quietly slipped away.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Emma and Damien hurried across the churchyard and into the church. It was calm, dark, and quiet inside, with no sign of the young lovers. By the time they stepped back into the sun, Sir Thomas' mare had also disappeared.