Regency Romance: An Intriguing Invitation (Historical Billionaire Military Romance) (19th Century Victorian Romance) (79 page)

*****

The party season was in full swing when Emily, Helen,
James,
and Edward
were invited
to a ball at the home of the Duke of Marlborough. The Duke's palace was just outside
London
and set in some of the most splendid
parkland
in the country. As their coach approached the palace, Emily
hopped
in delight as she saw a stag grazing in the middle of
a huge group of
doe. When the
coach
pulled up in front of the enormous building, one of the horses neighed as if telling the passengers to get out. Edward jumped down and held out a hand for Emily.

''I love you,'' he whispered to her. He looked around to see no one was within
earshot
, ''I want to make love to you this evening, here at this ball. I will find a place.'' She looked at him in a show of mock disapproval.

They'd been seeing each other since April. It was now
June,
and they'd become inseparable. They made love whenever they could persuade Helen to turn a blind eye, and Edward had taught Emily things she'd never
thought about
. When he'd knelt behind her and pulled her bottom up, she'd had no idea he could enter her from such a direction and when he'd lifted her up and made love to her in the standing position she'd become so excited he'd had to put his hand over her mouth.

The
ball room
was much the same as most of the other ballrooms they had visited since the beginning of May, except it was much larger. The Duke of Marlborough had a large estate and was the second richest man in the country. Emily had never been in such a large crowd and even
Edward,
who had ten years more experience of the ball circuit than Emily had never been to a ball attended by so many people.

As they walked
between
the
guests,
Edward had never been prouder. Emily turned heads wherever they went and this evening she seemed to be turning more that usual. Helen and Emily had taken full advantage of Aunt Beatrice's generosity and visited the dress shop in town several times
since
April. On one occasion Emily had asked Jane to come along and give advice. When Emily had tried on a pastel green dress with dark green edging and a low decollete, she'd thought it inappropriate, but Jane had persuaded her to take it and wear it to this ball.

''You are a beautiful young woman. Time passes quickly, and soon enough you will be
married,
and nobody will look at you anymore. Take the opportunity now to feel what it's like to be a worshiped.'' Jane's words had persuaded Emily to be daring. Jane had been
right;
male adoration was beginning to make her feel like a Goddess.

''Who were you talking to?'' she asked Edward as he returned to her. ''I mean the tall man with the large nose and exaggerated sideburns.''

''Oh, that's just someone who pulled me to one side for a moment. Are you going to visit your father soon?''

Emily
was taken
aback. ''I have booked another coach trip at the end of the month. It's so difficult to get a seat. I asked Aunt Beatrice if her coach could take me, but she told me private coaches weren't allowed within three miles of the prison.''

Edward was sorry he'd asked the question. She'd had such a loving expression on her
face,
and she was plainly enjoying the evening very much, but the mention of the father had changed that. ''I'm sorry to bring it up now. Let's dance.'' Dancing restored Emily's
mood,
and as she circled Edward in her daring dress, his desire began to flow. When he suddenly pulled Emily from the dance floor, she wondered why. ''Look,'' he whispered. When she did, what she saw made her giggle. ''You understand now why I couldn't continue,'' he said as he tried to pull his jacket closed. She nodded and began to laugh.

''What is it?'' Emily asked when she saw the expression on Edward's face. His murderous expression frightened her. ''My dear, stay here and talk to Helen and James. I have some business to
attend to
. I'll be back very soon.'' She nodded and watched him weave between the guests and stop next to a tall man and a shorter bald man, neither of whom Emily liked the
look of
.

After twenty minutes of Helen's incessant gossiping, Emily decided to see if Edward was alright. She was worried about him, the expression he'd worn had shocked her, she'd never seen him look that way before. As she walked towards them, she wondered who the two men were. They both looked like rogues, one of them had a nasty scar on his
face,
and the other had a shaven head.

''No, that's not her. That's just some woman from the village I'm
friendly with
. She's
very good
in bed, but horrible to
talk to
. I'm just having some fun with her before I find someone better.''

Emily's legs turned to
rubber,
and she felt a cold sweat flow over her. Had it
really
been Edward she'd heard uttering these words. How could he? What was he doing? He was using her and didn't love her after all. She turned away and started to walk away from him as quickly as she could. All she thought of was leaving the room before she was sick over someone.

Edward saw her out of the corner of his eye and wanted to run after her, but he was trapped. He'd convinced the two men her name was Mary Cooper, a girl from a village nearby, who he was using to satisfy his sexual urges. If he ran after he now, he would blow it.

''Emily,
wait
, stop,'' Helen said as she ran over the lawn. ''Emily what's the matter?'' Emily saw a bush and darted behind it. When Helen caught up with her, she heard Emily's sobbing interspersed with the
hideous
sound of her retching.

''Oh, my Lord, dear Emily, what on earth is the matter?'' she said as
she
pushed the bush to one side to get to her cousin. When she saw her, Helen was shocked. Emily was on her hands and knees, her eyes were
red,
and there were the remains of vomit on her chin.

Emily looked up at her with glazed eyes. ''I want you to take me home, now. And I want you to deliver a message to Mr. Dirksen. Tell him I never want to see him again. Tell him to go to hell.''

''But Emily.....'' Helen was about to ask why.

''Shut your mouth and do as I say,'' Emily growled. Helen nodded and was silent during the journey home.

*****

The journey to the prison didn't seem as long this time.
Perhaps because it was more familiar, Emily thought.
As they drew up to the
huge
door, her mind thought
over
what had happened since the last time she'd seen her father. Edward Dirksen was her first thought, but she was relieved when she was interrupted by the coach driver who swore when he couldn't get the door open. ''Push from inside'' he shouted. The
ample
woman sitting next Emily pushed against it with her posterior and it sprung open.

Emily waited at the same
table as
the last time.
It was a different warden, he looked kinder.
A few gruesome
looking men walked into the room and sat down with their wives. When Henry walked into the room, Emily immediately began to cry. Both his eyes were half closed and
swollen,
and he cold barely walk. As he limped towards her, she put her hand over her mouth and bit
into
her finger.

''Father, what have they done to you?'' she howled. Everyone in the room started across at them.

''Don't be upset Emily,'' he said as he sat down. ''I'm alright.''

''But you don't look
alright
. I'm going to see the
warden
about this.'' Emily stood up, but her father stopped her.

''Sit down,'' he commanded. She did. ''I was beaten up by some people over money. A very kind man helped
me,
I'm recovering. Please, Emily, stop crying, I'll be alright.''

Emily sniffed and wiped her nose. ''I'm sorry, but seeing you like this has been a terrible shock. I've brought some food for you, look.'' Her father peered through his swollen eyes to the bag she was holding. The sight of fresh red apples, and a pot of strawberry jam lifted his spirits.

''So tell me, Emily, what have you been
up to
? How are Aunt Beatrice and your cousins?''

''Well, I think.''

''You think?''

''I left London, and went to stay with Aunt Prudence in Norwich.''

''But why? My sister has no children for you to socialize with.''

Emily looked at her father's hands. They were
black,
and some of his nails were lifting off. ''Because a man of cousin James' acquaintance has wronged me in the most terrible way, and I couldn't bear to be anywhere near him.''

''And how are you feeling now?''

Emily wanted to say, devastated, weepy, nauseous and crushed, but didn't want her father to
be concerned
about her. ''I
'm fine
. I will never let a man treat me like that ever again. I will never suffer from a broken heart, ever again.''

He patted her hand and looked into her eyes. ''I love you. You are all I've got in the world, and when I get out of
here,
I'll build us another splendid house to live in, and the best tree house in England.''

Emily nodded and smiled, but the thought that he may not survive long enough crossed her mind, and her smile turned into a frown.

*****

Throughout the winter, Emily visited her father as often as she could from her home in Norwich. Each time, she took fresh fruit in an attempt to prevent him from succumbing to some of the horrible diseases in the prison. Aunt Prudence proved to be an accommodating host and kept Emily amused. It had been a long cold winter, and Emily began to think of London and the new season. She didn't want to see Edward again, but she wasn't going to find a husband in Norwich. She needed to go back to the city and find a man to settle down with before she became too old. Aunt Prudence was loathed to see her go, but understood. Indeed, it was Aunt Prudence who suggested she should go and stay with her sister in law, Mary Coates, who lived in the heart of the city of London.

When Emily arrived, she was pleased to see she was right in the middle of all the action. Mary
was married
to a banker, and the
bankers
lived in the city center, in magnificent town houses. Eighteen Jackson Row was just like all the others in the street. A black railing surrounding a small front garden, and a black front door with a window above it and a brass doorknocker in the center.

When Emily arrived for the first
time,
she was greeted by Christopher Coates, Mary's son. Agreeable, Emily thought as she looked at the tall young man. He was
dark,
and his eyes told her that he was a kind soul. Over the coming weeks, she became very fond of him, and they began to spend more and more time together.

''He's so handsome,'' Helen said when she came to visit. ''He
really
is quite the most handsome man I have ever seen. Much more
handsome
than Edward.''

The sound of the name Edward shocked Emily. She'd thought of him all winter, every day, and for some part of every hour. In the end, she'd forced him out of her mind in
a savage
attempt at self-preservation. Now he was there again. Helen wasn't correct, Edward was far more handsome than Christopher, but Christopher was adequately
handsome
. He also had good prospects in the bank which his father ran, and Emily saw a decent future for herself with him.

The British Bankers Association Ball is always on the third Saturday in May, and this year was no exception. Emily, tired by the winter and depressed by her failed relationship with Edward, had decided to wear the green dress which showed off her breasts so well.

Emily was surprised how well Christopher could dance. Much better than Edward. Christopher for his part, didn't take his eyes off Emily for a second that evening. When she moved her breasts jiggled
seductively,
and he felt himself getting hard on at least three occasions.

''Emily, will you walk with me outside, we can ask Helen to accompany us?'' Emily agreed and as they walked, Helen, who'd learned much about being a
chaperon
from Emily's previous encounter, stayed a discreet distance behind them. Helen was jealous, Emily always took the most handsome men. Christopher made Helen feel like a silly
schoolgirl,
and when she looked at
him,
she felt warmth rising in her belly.