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Jacob looked over at Nick, his friend’s features imposing but unreadable. “Sounds good.”
“Just so that we’re clear. You had your aunt pose as her aunt and lied to a solicitor about the nature of your relationship,” Nick asked, his voice hard, his facial expression now perfectly understandable. It was filled with irritation.
“Nick,” Aubrey murmured softly to her husband.
“I had to get her here to you.” Jacob was not intimidated by his friend, but he did wonder if he’d gone about this all wrong. His compass was not always as true as he wished. And Nick could demand that…
“Don’t pretend, Jacob,” Clara started. “We all know you ought to marry—"
“Clara,” Emily’s eyes snapped open her chin notching up. “That’s enough.”
Clara closed her mouth and for a moment, Jacob was grateful. He’d face the angry duke if he had to, but he preferred not to have the confrontation. But as Emily leaned forward and took a sandwich, taking a small bite, a different thought occurred to him.
Had Emily stopped Clara because she didn’t want him? Did she see what everyone else did? That he was no good?
His gut clenched as he rose and crossed to the crate, pulling out the first letter with Emily’s name upon it.
He slid out the papers and began reading but his hand, always steady, trembled as he looked at the numbers on the page. Could this be right?
“Nick,” he rumbled, meeting his lifelong friend’s gaze. “I think we might need the aid of a jeweler.”
And then he held out the papers to other man.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Emily wasn’t certain what Jacob saw but she abandoned her small finger sandwich to rise and cross the room. Both men stood over the paper grimacing.
Was it bad?
Was the jewelry not worth much?
Was she in trouble?
“Jacob?” she asked, her brow scrunching as the duke turned away, sifting through the crate and pulling out several more sheets. “What is it?”
“Ahem,” he said clearing his throat as he held the paper out. It was the documents on the ring. She’d looked at them already.
“What is it?” she asked again.
“Emily,” he whispered, looking pained. “That ring that’s been riding around tucked in your corset…”
“It’s in a stocking,” she said a bit defensively.
And then Wingate rumbled with clear accusation. “How do you know what’s in her corset?”
Jacob ignored both comments. “It’s not just valuable,” he said, his face spasming. “It’s worth a small fortune. More than my original debt.”
“What?” Her fingers felt cold as she looked at the page again, the numbers and words blurring.
“Here,” he stepped closer, pointing at the page, “is the ring’s estimated value.”
She gasped because the number was so large but also, how had she not noticed that the first time she’d looked at this page? Shame filled her. No wonder everyone treated her like a naïve little girl.
“There’s more,” Wingate called, waving Jacob over. He left her with the page to look at another sheet. After scanning the page, his gaze lifted to hers once again, his green eyes lit with something she didn’t recognize but it frightened her.
“Jacob,” she let out a strangled cry, feeling strange. The sadness was gone but some sort of numbness was sweeping over her. He was back at her side in a second, his arm wrapping about her.
“It’s all right, sweetheart. I promise. Nick is going to take those jewels and tuck them somewhere safe. Then he’s going to protect you while I go question Barrow. No one is going to hurt you, you know I will keep you safe.”
