Page 45

Six Weeks Later

“P ardon, my ladies,” Mr. Fields said, “there is a gentleman who wishes to speak to Lady Emma.”

Emma had never known such happiness as she had experienced while living with the Duncans.

She had a “sister” and a “father” who spent time with her every day.

She had especially enjoyed training with Lady Theodora.

Though Lord Orson had yet to renew his proposal, Emma knew Duncan had asked Richard to wait until the scandal had subsided.

Bringing charges against Davidson, first for Maria Babbington’s death and also conspiracy to commit murder, had only added more fuel to the gossiping nature of the ton .

However, when they had learned how Mr. Palmer had turned Emma’s badly-beaten body over to Lord Davidson, and how his lordship’s first thought had been to claim Emma’s innocence and force her to marry him, the truth of Davidson’s perfidy was exposed.

Ironically, though in poor shape, Emma had fought off Davidson, creating the need for the scarf and plaster Theodora had noted previously.

Not knowing what else to do after his tussle with Emma, Davidson and Palmer had staged the assault on Emma, leaving her in an alley in Covent Garden and stealing her reticule and shoes to make it appear she had trusted someone she should not, which, ironically, she had.

Davidson left Palmer to finish the job, and such was why Richard had spotted a man he thought a bit familiar, for he had occasionally noted Palmer closing the door to the house upon Richard’s many walks before Donoghue House, and why the butler hurried away, for, evidently, Palmer likely had taken note of Richard’s presence upon occasion.

“Who might the visitor be?” Theodora asked. “Surely Richard does not need to be so formal, unless he means to propose today.”

For a few seconds, Emma’s heart hitched higher, and she reached to her hair to know assurance none of the curls had come loose.

Then Mr. Fields said, “Lord Donoghue, my ladies.” Odd as it was to think, for she had come to see Lord Duncan in the role of father , Emma did not wait for her own father’s admittance.

She was immediately on her feet and rushing from the room.

Her father was waiting in the front foyer when she looked over the banister to the hall below.

“Papa!” she squealed and turned to rush down the stairs.

The man who opened his arms to her had more gray hair than she recalled, and he had noticeably gained a bit of weight, but he had the same smile and twinkle in his eyes as always.

“Oh, my darling girl,” he said as his arms closed about her. “I am grieved how badly I have failed you.”

“You are here,” Emma said as she snuggled deeper into his embrace.

A male throat cleared behind her, and Emma turned to Lord Duncan. “Oh, my lord, I did not realize you were still in the house. I thought you had called in at your office. My father has arrived.”

“So Theodora informed me.” Lord Duncan presented her father a brief bow and extended his hand. “Lord Macdonald Duncan, my lord. Welcome to London. I am thankful you have come, for Lady Emma’s sake.”

“It has been twenty years since I was last in London,” her father said, initially ignoring Lord Duncan’s comment.

“Quite different indeed.” He glanced to where Emma waited.

“I should have returned before now. I owe you more than I can ever express, my lord. Your communication was quite eye-opening.”

“I imagine it was,” Lord Duncan said with a challenging lift of his brows. “I was intending to call in at the Home Office. Perhaps you might wish to accompany me.”

Her father held Emma’s hand tighter. “But I...”

“Naturally, you wish to speak to your daughter; however, you have likely not called in at diplomatic services yet. This debacle has had more impact than any of us would care to consider. There was more involved than a simple kidnapping, not that a kidnapping is not problematic enough. My son plans to marry your daughter; therefore, you and Lady Emma will be a part of my family. We should discuss how we will proceed.”

“But...” Emma began; however, her father said, “Lord Duncan has the right of it, my girl. I have not handled this business with your mother properly, and it has impacted other avenues none of us ever considered. I chose instead to concentrate on my duties to Great Britain rather than my family, forgetting it is family that binds this great nation together.”

“We could seek out Richard and permit him to know Lord Donoghue has arrived,” a voice said from behind her.

Emma turned to discover both Theodora and Lord Graham. She smiled largely at the pair, knowing they had become her truest family. “Papa, these are my friends, Lord Duncan’s daughter, Lady Theodora, and another of his sons, Lord Graham.”

“How many sons do you have, Duncan?” her father asked.

“Five,” they all chorused together.

Theodora reached for Emma’s hand. “Aaran says he left Richard at White’s where Orson was listening patiently to Lord Birkdale’s latest complaints about the war.

We might entice Richard outside so you could propose to him.

Do you not think your future children, especially your daughters, would enjoy the story of your choosing Richard before he could propose to you? ”

“I am not confident I approve,” her father said with a frown.

“You should have no care of my son’s loyalty,” Lord Duncan declared.

“My Richard has been besotted with Lady Emma for longer than any of us care to mention, and, without his quick thinking, your daughter might have died multiple times over. He has been waiting most impatiently until both he and Emma heard from you.”

“He has already proposed once,” Emma said in Richard’s defense.

“Only once?” Lord Graham asked with a laugh. “My brother’s patience must be at its wit’s end.”

“And you turned him down?” her father asked.

“I told him we must wait until my memory returned,” Emma corrected, realizing how little her father knew of her and how much the Duncan family did.

“You will adore him, Papa. He is truly the best of men and the only one I will have. You may still without my dowry, which I pray you do not. However, I may choose to marry without it.”

“Then tell your young man I am eager to welcome him to my family, and he and I can negotiate what should not be part of the equation at this point.”

A half hour later, Lord Graham set Emma and Theodora down near the corner where White’s was situated. “I will go ahead and rouse him out. Hopefully, Birkdale has taken a breath by now or Richard may be deaf to your pleas.”

Emma caught Lord Graham’s arm. “I do not wish to embarrass him. I have caused Lord Orson enough notoriety. Perhaps I should choose a different means of communicating that my father has come to England.”

“And that you are now prepared to marry Richard,” Lord Graham said with a frown.

“Emma, you know I adore you, but, not to be rude, people are watching you to learn when you become with child. It has been six weeks since Richard rescued you and the world learned of the attacks of both the Palmers and Lord Davidson. Propose to Richard. Claim his acceptance. Then wait another five to six weeks to marry, depending on when your father must return to the Continent. When your first child is born, if it is at least nine to ten months after your marriage, the scandal will die away until another scandal takes its place, hopefully, not at your hands. Let us start by ensuring the haut ton knows when the ever-fabulous Lady Emma Donoghue proposed to Lord Richard Orson.”

He leaned down to whisper, “The ton will expect your bravado—actually, they will claim that your mother broke the mold, and you repaired it. I can guarantee Beau Brummell will adore your feminine swagger, and if the Beau adores you, so will the rest of society. I am to call upon him later today, and he will come to your aide, but, first, you must propose to Richard. One of Duncan’s sons should know happiness, so the rest of us can keep our hopes alive. ”

Theodora presented his lordship with a shooing motion. “No more lectures, Aaran. Just fetch Richard.”

Lord Graham saluted and walked casually away.

Theodora turned Emma to face her. “Though I have known Aaran longer, Richard was my first brother. Orson is the responsible one of the five. I guarantee you will never have one regret, and you will possess a lifetime of devotion and love. Is such not what you desire?”

Richard noted Aaran Graham’s return to White’s, and as Aaran rarely frequented any clubs, having him do so twice spoke to something being odd.

He half listened to Birkdale as he watched his brother’s steady approach.

Graham’s cane tapped out an evenly paced tattoo.

“Good afternoon, Graham, what brings you to White’s twice in one day? ”

Graham used his cane to point to the window. “Our Theodora and Lady Emma had a visitor this morning. Lord Donoghue has arrived in London.”

Richard stood, totally ignoring Birkdale and the others. “Is Emma well?” he asked as he noted her nervous fidgeting as she looked to the club’s window.

“Lady Emma has come to accept your proposal, Orson,” Aaran declared, but Richard heard only “accept your proposal,” for he was on the move to reach her. Behind him, Graham ordered, “A round of drinks for all on Orson’s tab. Hurry now, my good men, or you will miss the spectacle!”

Richard crossed the open space outside the club with only one purpose: To reach Lady Emma Donoghue. “Emma?”

“Richard,” she said with a small smile, but the sudden appearance of the other gentlemen pouring out of White’s made her nervous again. She had not expected an audience.

Lord Orson glanced over his shoulder at what she saw, and he, too, frowned.

“Be brave, Emma,” Theodora encouraged. “Remember, you have called each of those men out for their lack of recognizing a woman’s worth. Permit my brother to set the standard.”

Emma swallowed hard. “You proposed previously . . . and . . . and I . . . I gave you . . . the impression . . . I thought . . . I thought to refuse.”

He opened his mouth to respond, but Theodora ordered, “Silence, Richard!”

“I... I came today... which is likely one of the most... well, I suppose I have executed many questionable...” Emma shrugged off her discomfort and set her shoulders to the task. “Yet, this is not one of them, my lord. I adore you, Richard Orson. I wish to spend the...”

The remainder of her words were swallowed by Richard’s mouth covering hers. A round of applause filled the air, but neither Emma nor Richard heard it. They were lost to each other, just as it should be.