Cardiff Siblings 01 - Seven Minutes in Devon Read Online Free Page A

smiling cheerily, as though there couldn’t
be a lovelier scenario in all the world than the one currently
smacking Emma in the face repeatedly. “She thinks such amusements
are better spent on the younger generations.” With that, he dropped
the arms of both Emma and Vanessa and moved forward to welcome his
guests.
    When he was safely out of earshot,
Emma glared at her sister. “You knew.”
    “ Of course I knew. Mr.
Cardiff is David’s longest friend. They’ve been nearly inseparable
since Eton. Or they had been until—”
    “ Until three years ago,
yes,” Emma said heatedly, cutting her sister off with a dismissive
wave of her hand. “But you didn’t tell me.”
    A great sigh hefted from Vanessa’s
chest and she closed her eyes—as certain a sign of a heavenward
plea for patience as Emma had ever seen from her sister, though she
had seen it countless times from Mama. “You wouldn’t have come.”
Vanessa’s matter-of-fact words hung heavily in the air between them
as she headed over to the carriage. Emma’s eyes followed the same
path her sister had just taken.
    Mr. Cardiff had stepped out, every
strapping, sardonic inch of him, causing nausea to roil within
Emma’s stomach from her panic. His presence could only mean her
nightmares would now come true. For the briefest moment, his
mocking blue eyes locked with hers. A flash of revulsion shone in
them before being replaced by his usual haughty disdain and the
ever-present, smug half-smile he always bore—one which claimed
knowledge of just a splash more than everyone else.
    Before his presence could affect her
any more deeply than it already had, Emma cut her eyes away from
him to stare blandly at the scene. She refused to grant him the
satisfaction of knowing just how much power he held over her,
simply from existing.
    He turned back to the carriage. A
delicate, gloved hand reached out and took his before halting
footsteps descended the stairs in painstaking fashion. Emma tried
to ignore the animosity pouring toward her in waves from Mr.
Cardiff so she could instead focus on meeting Lady Morgan
again.
    In that summer, before the incident at
the river, Emma and Lady Morgan had struck up an odd friendship of
sorts. It would be refreshing to renew it over the next fortnight.
Not as invigorating as it might have been without her brother’s
presence, perhaps, but stimulating nonetheless. And if Lady
Morgan’s impending return to society was any indication, perhaps
the fit of the blue devils that had held her in its grasp for so
long had finally relinquished its hold.
    Emma certainly hoped so.
    Once free from the shadow of the
carriage, Lady Morgan took a cautious step forward, holding on to
her brother’s arm as a lifeline. Her travelling bonnet obscured her
face from view at first, but then she stepped into a wide swath of
sun between the drive and the main house. A flood of angry, red
marks covered her visage, spreading in patches from her forehead to
her neck and spanning from ear to ear, standing out against her
pale, porcelain skin.
    Emma could not contain her gasp. Mr.
Cardiff’s head snapped up at the sound, his long, sandy hair
whipping around where it peeked free from beneath his beaver hat.
If sheer hatred could commit murder, she would be dead where she
stood. Lady Morgan either hadn’t heard Emma’s ill-mannered outburst
of shock or chose to ignore it. She held her brother’s arm as he
guided her along to greet first David, then Vanessa.
    Mortification stronger than Emma had
ever known seized her. How callous she’d been mere moments earlier,
comparing her teeth to leprosy and her social ineptitude to a pox.
Worse yet, Vanessa hadn’t stopped her. She had neither scolded her
for her callow insensitivity nor given any indication of what Emma
should expect. Vanessa had simply allowed Emma to dig herself into
a mammoth pit of unfeeling amusement.
    Lesson learned.
    Forcing her feet into motion, Emma
stumbled forward to join the rest of the