The Emerald Duchess Read Online Free Page B

to look for cheaper lodgings. Bradley’s Hotel on Davies Street would be far from her touch.
    At Number Twelve, an elderly butler showed her into a cheerful morning room to wait until Lady Quentin was ready to see her. It seemed a very long time before he reappeared to take her upstairs, a time Emily spent in fervent prayer.
    She curtsied to the lady still reclining in bed, sipping her morning chocolate, and tried to take her measure in the brief second that was all she had before she had to lower her eyes in servility.
    What she saw was a young woman with a slight, immature figure. She had light-brown hair that curled charmingly under her cap and a pretty if not a beautiful face. You would never have called her an Incomparable, and in the company of other more dashing ladies, she was sure to go unnoticed, but there was a great deal of sweetness in her expression and her large gray eyes were kind.
    “How young you are,” she exclaimed, although she was not far from girlhood herself. “I am not perfectly sure—but then, of course—well, you may sit down. I do not have much time. How could I forget?”
    After presenting her references, Emily took a straight chair near the fireplace, realizing that the question was not addressed to her. She hoped that the lady did not always speak in fragments, for it made it difficult to follow her. As Lady Quentin read her letters, Emily had a chance to inspect the dainty bedroom. It was decorated in shades of pink and rose, with deeper rose accents, from the hangings of the large four-poster, to the draperies and rug, the ruffled pillows and the striped upholstery of the chairs. Idly, she wondered what the lady’s husband was like. She could not imagine a man in this powder puff of a room.
    Lady Quentin reread the letters before she put them down, then, with a slight smile, she asked Emily how old she was. “For, Miss Nelson, you seem very young to have so many accomplishments. And I am used to an older maid—dear, dear Daffy!”
    Before Emily could answer, a knock came at the door, and it was opened immediately by a large, handsome gentleman dressed in full regimentals. “There you are, sleepyhead, awake at last,” he said, striding quickly to the bed and sitting down to plant a careless kiss on Lady Quentin’s cheek. She smiled up at him, her eyes glowing, and Emily realized that she was much more attractive than she had at first appeared.
    As for her husband, Emily saw with a sense of foreboding that he was one of the handsomest men she had ever seen. She prayed he was very much in love with his wife. In the delicate, feminine room, he appeared very tall and masculine. He was powerfully built from his broad shoulders to his long, muscular legs, and he sported a head of jet-black hair, a mustache to match, and the fresh complexion of the confirmed outdoorsman that complimented his soldierly bearing.
    As he turned away from his wife, he caught sight of Emily, who rose and curtsied. “And who have we here, Alicia?” he asked.
    “This is Miss Nelson. She has applied for the position as my maid to replace Daffy,” Lady Quentin said in her girlish voice, clasping his arm tightly and cuddling closer.
    “Indeed? She is much better-looking than Daffy, pet. Have you engaged her?” the captain asked idly, little knowing he was striking fear into Emily’s heart.
    “Not yet—I do not know—well, what do you think? I mean, she is so young, and even though her references are excellent—well, what does that prove? Besides, Daffy was a dear. I was so sorry she had to leave me because of her sister’s illness, for you know she has been with me ever since Mama decided it was time for me to have a maid.”
    The captain put a large hand over his wife’s mouth. “Enough! I shall be late to headquarters if I stay to disentangle and answer all of that statement.” He unclasped her clinging hands and added as he rose, “I must be off, my love. Do what you think best, but you know the