“I think we should leave our lesson there.” Luke was not looking at her and she could not tell if she was relieved or irritated. “It is late.”
“I suppose.” Emily wanted to say something else, to insist that they stay, but she could not form the words.
“Until tomorrow, Miss Pembleton.” Luke inclined his head towards her.
“Until then.” Emily agreed. “Sleep well.”
“And you.” Luke replied, and he swept from the room.
And for the second time that day, Emily felt an odd sense of loss. She supposed she should be used to it. She was only an obligation after all.
That is all I ever will be.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“There you are, I have been looking for you everywhere.” Rodger said as he peered around the door.
Luke was sitting at the pianoforte, and stopped playing as his brother walked into the room. There were several letters sat beside him, which he had intended to read until he had got distracted by the pianoforte.
“Why are you here?” Rodger asked.
“I needed to catch up on my correspondence.” Luke gestured to the scattered papers around him.
“By playing the pianoforte?”
Luke could not admit that he had started playing as a way to map more sounds onto music for Emily. A flush of colour crept through his cheeks as he thought of her. He felt a prickle of guilt spread through him.
Rodger noticed this, but misread the reason. “I should not have teased you brother, I know how seriously you take running the duchy.”
His brother’s faith in him stabbed like a knife in his chest. Luke stood up and straightened his clothes, tucking the letters into a pocket.
“You said you were looking for me?” Luke asked.Let us change the subject.
“Yes. I want to know your thoughts on something.” Rodger ran a hand through his hair, and Luke noticed an unspoken tension in his brother.
He seemed full of a giddy excitement, a restless energy. Luke tried to think of the last time he had seen Rodger like this.I think it was when he first discovered his love of philosophy.He felt as though someone had reached into his chest, and filled his blood with ice.
Mercifully, his tone was cool and disinterested, and did not seem to arouse his brother’s suspicions. “On what?”
“On a matter of the heart.” Rodger admitted, his cheeks flushing. “I know we do not usually speak of such matters, but well… You are the only person I can talk to. And I expect you know far more about women than I do.”
Luke laughed, hoping it did not sound bitter. “I doubt I know any more than you do. But I will do my best to advise you.”
“Thank you.” Rodger closed the door behind him, lowering his voice as he moved closer to Luke. “If a woman recommends you a novel, what do you think it means?”
Luke raised an eyebrow at him. “That she wishes you to read it?”
“But… Well what if it is… Well, it is rather a, erm… romantic book.” Rodger blushed furiously and looked away from him, tugging at the collar of his shirt.
Luke frowned.I suppose one could argue that the Mysteries of Udolpho is somewhat of a romantic book, but he has read it before. Unless, has she recommended something else?Had Emily been practicing outside of their lessons?
Pride filled him, mingling with some other, more unpleasant emotion.It is frustration, that is probably it. She has probably recommended something wholly improper and now my brother is in a tizzy over nought.“And you think perhaps she is suggesting that she might feel this way?”
Rodger ran a hand through his hair, chewing on his lip as he did so. “I am not sure. She has asked for a recommendation from me and well, I do not know what to say.”
“Why not?”Is it because she has not previously read your recommendations? I cannot tell you that she had a goodreason.He tried to keep his tangle of emotions from his voice, taking a steadying breath and focusing on affecting cool disinterest.
“Well, if I thought she were romantically inclined, then I should choose a book that might suggest I was open to such inclinations.” Rodger flushed an even deeper shade of scarlet. “But if she was simply recommending something, then I should perhaps read no deeper meaning and share only a book I enjoy.”
