As the coach rolled away from Bletchley, Lord Graham said, “Such does not mean I cannot be your gallant, as you promised to be mine, my lady. You obviously require someone whose emotions do not cloud his thinking. We can be as brother and sister, bickering over the most insignificant situations, but loyal when it is most important.”
Though she wishedto speak more on what had occurred, Emma and Lord Graham avoided discussing Lord Orson or the man she had challenged on a street in Bletchley. Instead, Lord Graham spoke of the numerous towns and villages through which they traveled and the history associated with each.
She said, “I had not noticed your Scottish accent previously. Though I suppose the blame lies with me. I have been too much involved in recovering my memories to take a true notice of those about me.”
“No harm,” Lord Graham said graciously. “Though all know my home seat is in Scotland, many like to remind me I hold an English university education.” He grinned largely, which tugged his scar at an awkward angle, but Emma found the change in his expression endearing, for he appeared to be at ease with her.“I wish you could have heard Lady Elsbeth Duncan. She would chastise the other boys when they would tease me regarding my accent. Hers would be so thick when she did so, and they knew Duncan would have taken a belt to their hides if they dared to talk back to her or to know amusement at his wife’s expense. She would finish by saying, ‘Now, that be a Scottish woman talkin’.’”
Emma was laughing along with him, ignoring the soreness about her own mouth.
Lord Graham appeared happy. “When Beaufort adds his Irish Gaelic to a conversation, it can be quite difficult for Orson, Marksman, and Thompson to understand a bit of the conversation. Beaufort and I often pretend to communicate when the others are listening in on us. We make up words and gestures that they cannot know, for they truly do not exist.”
“Oh, I hope I am around to view this for myself!” Emma said, caught up in the laughter.
“You will be,” his lordship said. A smile of something that appeared to be longing appeared upon his features. “And I will rejoice in reminding Orson that I was the first to make you laugh.”
“You are,” she said as she, too, sobered. “It has been a long time since I have done so. I do not recall enjoying myself so easily with anyone.”
“Not even Lord Orson?” he asked in serious tones. “A man and a woman must be able to enjoy each other’s company.”
“We have not reached that point yet,” she admitted. “We are still in the ‘challenging,’ and, I suppose ‘testing’ stage. I was quite jealous of how his lordship and Lady Theodora ‘fought’ over which music to play the last night I was at Duncan Place.”
“They are both quite gifted on the pianoforte. Lady Theodora also excels on the harp.”
She knew his lordship wanted to ask if she recalled any so-called accomplishments of a fine lady, but Emma did notvolunteer a response, and so, Lord Graham glanced at the fingerpost along the road to determine how far they had traveled. Bletchley was some five and fifty miles from London, and so the daylight hours were becoming thinner. “We will soon be in London, and we should decide where I am to set you down. I would prefer you did not yet return to Donoghue House. There is still the mystery of the missing lilies, and, after your reaction to the sound of distant gunfire, I—rather I should say ‘we,’ meaning the Duncan contingent—believe your attack came at your house, likely when you discovered what occurred with your mother’s lilies.”
Emma sat in quiet regard for several elongated seconds before she responded, “I feel you are accurate in your summary, but, if so, it is as Mr. Rheem said: I trusted the wrong person.”
“It happens to each of us. My natural father refused to acknowledge me, and my mother sold me to a tenant farmer for enough money to escape to America and a new life without me. Therefore, it took me a long time to trust anyone, especially Lady Elsbeth Duncan, though she was the one who insisted that her husband take over my care. Even those not associated with Lord Duncan face trials daily of which we are unaware. The world did not place all the downtrodden under his lordship’s care, though God assuredly blessed the five of us He placed with Duncan. Generally, people who are suffering simply close the door and no one is any the wiser. I am not speaking as if your attack is minimal, but rather to say, we must learn to practice empathy for others.”
He reached across the coach to pat the back of her hand where it rested on the bench. “Assuming our deduction is accurate, you, assuredly, cannot return to Donoghue House, without knowing who to trust.”
Emma reluctantly admitted, “I had a recent memory of eating at the table in the kitchen at Donoghue House. Mr. Palmer, my butler, was upset with my doing so.”
“It is difficult to maintain the hierarchy of a stately home without acknowledging the necessary lines,” he said in factual tones, rather than as a reprimand. “Even so, it must be terribly lonely for you—in such a stately house with no company. When did your governess leave?”
“Five years,” Emma murmured. “It was all so sudden, and I was so young.”
Graham nodded his understanding. “Likely, when this is settled and you return to Donoghue House, it will be necessary for you to set new expectations for all within your household,” he suggested diplomatically. “The situation you described at the Tower of London was probably a result of what you just shared.”
“Then you think someone from my household did this to me,” she gestured to her bruises, “because I complained about the care of my mother’s lilies?”
Lord Graham frowned. “If a member of your household struck you thusly, surely more than one of the others would have come to your aid.”
“Then where am I to go?” Emma asked. “I would not wish to banish Lord Orson from his family because I returned to Duncan Place. Moreover, Lord Duncan thought to be rid of Mrs. Braylon once I was safely removed from his home. Lord Orson caught Mrs. Braylon listening in on Lord Duncan’s conversation with Mr. Rheem. Theodora told me so shortly after the confrontation with the nurse. Lady Theodora was still upset that her father did not send the woman away immediately, but his lordship said he would wait until I was safely removed elsewhere.”
“I was not aware of the extent of the situation,” Lord Graham said. “I assume those details were discussed with Beaufort, andI was late to join your rescue, for I have been doing government work elsewhere for the last two months.”
He paused before adding, “If we cannot return to Donoghue House and you would prefer not to be set down again at Duncan Place, then a suite of rooms at a hotel must do. I have a former housekeeper whom we might press into service for a few weeks to serve as your companion. Mrs. Ottoway could use the fees, and, believe me, no one will be admitted to your quarters without your approval.”
“Why is the lady a former housekeeper?” Emma asked.
“Mrs. Ottoway was required to step away from her duties when her husband’s health took a downward turn. The man has since passed,” Graham explained. “Mr. Ottoway’s poor health carried on longer than either of us were expecting. So long, I was required to replace her, though I did not enjoy the task.”
“I am truly sorry for her loss,” Emma said solemnly. “If you think she would join me and appropriate accommodations may be had, I agree.”
“A hotel, it is! You are my cousin. Let us construct a backstory for you.” He paused to think aloud. “You are my cousin and have, of late, employed a man to complete major repairs to your London house; therefore, you must be out of the way of the refurbishments, for you were, unfortunately, injured when some of the man’s equipment fell upon you. I will be sponsoring your stay, and your elderly maternal aunt has agreed to share your quarters with you. Though you have reached your majority and possess some discretionary funds provided by your father, you are cognizant of the hotel’s reputation and will not be entertaining gentlemen in your rooms, including me.”
“It amazes me how quickly you created this whole story,” Emma admitted.
