Henry had feelings for someone else! That was why he had been so eager to break off their engagement. That’s why it had only taken one letter from her for him to run away--risking everything.
And the lady, no doubt, was Emery’s best friend, Georgina. Watching them together now, she couldn’t believe it had taken her so long to see it. The affection was obvious. Henry couldn’t stop smiling, and his ears were very red. Georgina, meanwhile, was blushing prettily, and her mouth also kept curving up into a smile. She also kept lowering her eyelashes and fluttering them while giggling, something Emery had never seen her do before. It was practicallycoquettish!
“Oh my goodness,” she said. She was so stunned that her mouth had literally fallen open. “I cannot believe it.”
Lucien turned to her, and when she looked up at him, she could see how livid he was.
“This is his fault,” her husband whispered. “He is the reason that you are I were forced to marry one another. If he had not formed designs on this Miss Holloway, he would have received your letter and at least had the foresight to talk to me about it, to bring to my attention both your unhappiness in the marriage. Instead, he panicked, and acted rashly, because he hoped it might end with an engagement to her!”
“Lucien--” Emery began, her own panic starting to set in now at the look of fury on her husband’s face.
But he wasn’t listening. “This just proves, once again, that I was right!” Lucien snarled. “Love turns people into selfish monsters who are willing to doom the rest of their families just so they can play out their fanciful dreams.”
“That isn’t fair, Lucien,” Emery said sharply. “I also wanted out of the engagement. Henry and I both dealt with it improperly, but it isn’t just his fault.”
“No. This is his fault.” Lucien shook his head, his eyes blazing. “You were an innocent girl. He was a man grown. He knew what was at stake with Leah and our family fortune. And yet he still threw it all away simply because he had a passing fancy for a pretty face. I will never forgive him for this.”
“Lucien, please,” Emery said, grabbing his hand and turning him around to face her. She looked pleadingly up into his eyes. “Don’t be angry at your brother. Please. Let us just have a good time together at this ball. There has been enough strife already in our family. And… and things did not turn out so badly, didthey? Our marriage is not so horrible? We are friends, are we not?”
“Friends.” Lucien snorted, then wrenched his hand from her grasp. “We can never be friends, Emery.”
“Why not?” she whispered. She felt as if someone had filled her stomach with lead. All she wanted was to return to the joyous, happy feeling that had filled her up just moments before, when he’d reassured her she hadn’t made any mistakes. But it was all gone.
“We cannot be friends,” he said heavily, “because I am not your co-conspirator. I am your jailer. I am the one who took away your happiness. And it is all because of my little brother’s selfishness.”
He then turned away and, without another word, strode from the balcony and disappeared into the crowd.
Emery sighed, shaking her head as she turned back to watch Henry and Georgina. As upset as she was by her husband’s words, she also felt certain that he would calm down after he’d taken some time for himself. Realizing the identity of the woman who had made Henry so eager to break off their engagement must have shocked Lucien, and she could understand his anger, but he had already known there was another woman, and he would recover in time.
If anyone should be angry, it’s me. I’m the one who was left at the altar because my fiancé had fallen in love with my best friend!
But as much as Emery searched for the emotion, she couldn’t find any anger. Yes, there was surprise, perhaps even a little bit of prideful hurt. But there wasn’t anger, or jealousy for that matter.
I never loved Henry, and he never loved me. It would be a waste of time to be angry that he found someone else he could love.
He and Georgina were now standing side-by-side, a little awkwardly, not speaking. It was almost funny how nervous they both looked. He was rocking back and forth on his feet, while she was twisting her hands in front of her.
“Why doesn’t he ask her to dance?” Emery muttered to herself. “He must be too shy.”
Well, if Henry was too shy to ask Georgina to dance, then Emery would have to help him.
She walked across the balcony and opened the door, letting herself back into the ballroom. Immediately, she was met with a burst of heat and loud, raucous sound, as all the laughter and conversation of the ballroom had been muted out on the balcony. She quickly waded through the crowd over to her friends and tapped Henry on the shoulder.
“There you two are,” she said, smiling at them both. “I was just looking for you two.”
“Oh, hello,” Henry said, and he looked sideways at Georgina as if nervous about something--probably Emery catching him.
“Hello, Em,” Georgina said, kissing Emery’s cheek. “How are you enjoying your first ball?”
“Oh, very much, indeed,” Emery said, beaming. “I have danced at least four times! And two of them with my husband, which I’ve been told is a touch scandalous.”
“I think it is alright for newlyweds,” Georgina said with a laugh.
“Have you danced much?” Emery asked her, and Georgina blushed.
“Oh, no… there are not many gentlemen here tonight, I fear.”
Emery looked pointedly at Henry. “Well why don’t you and Henry dance together?”
