The Wicked Wager (13 page)

“They are here!” Catherine squealed.

Emma tried to smile, and noticing Lady
Babbage watching her, she forced herself to grin. The effect was disturbing.

“Is something the matter?” Catherine asked

“I am just really nervous.” It was the
truth.

“Come on, we must get ready for dinner. It
is still another hour away, but I think we should all dress up for the
occasion,” Catherine said, taking hold of Emma’s arm.

Prudence jumped up and rushed to the door
before either of them could take a step, no doubt planning to outdo the cousins
in their attempt to enthral the new arrival.

Emma grimaced and led the way out. She
ascended the stairs and paused to look back at Catherine, who was no longer
behind her. She looked over the rail and found her cousin staring at a man in
the hallway. Their voices drifted up to her.

“Ah, I take it that you are the maid. Here
is my hat … take it, you silly thing, you must be new here. Now, where is the
duke’s study?”

“Who are you?” Catherine snapped.

“I am the Earl of Hamilton, My Lord to you,
and I forgive your insolence, since you were unaware of my identity. Now
quickly, girl, where is the duke’s study?”

“But … but …”Catherine’s stuttering was
halted by the duke’s voice, and the man turned and walked away, leaving his hat
in her outstretched hand.

Emma quickly ran to her room and
contemplated barring her door. How had she got herself into such a fix?

“Emma?”

Better to get it over with; she opened the
door.

“I just had the most curious encounter.”

“Oh, with whom?” Emma asked innocently.

“I just met your earl, but something was
decidedly odd about him.”

“What?”

“You told me that he had blonde hair.”

“I may have exaggerated, it is more dark
blonde.”

“Yes, but …”

“Some would even think it brown. In some
lights it is decidedly dark.”

“Yes, but this man … his hair … it was
raven black!”

Emma gulped. Everyone knew the earl was
blonde. How could Richard have forgotten the colour of his best friend’s hair?
This was a complete disaster, and he had left her to deal with this entire mess
all alone.

“Maybe he has been out in the sun too
long?”

“Emma, the sun darkens the skin and
lightens the hair. You are not making any sense whatsoever.”

Emma opened her closet and poked her head
in. Hiding her face among the dresses, she finally spoke in a muffled voice,
“Let me meet him at dinner, and then see if it were, in fact, the earl that you
spoke to. Perhaps you were mistaken.” That was the best she could do for the
moment.

“I was
not
mistaken. He told me his
name clearly, and he was the one mistaken, for he took me for a common
housemaid!”

She glanced at Catherine’s face and
silently cursed the newcomer. The moment he had stepped foot in the house he
had already alienated one member of the family.

The earl came up with the most idiotic
plans. She would start suffering from nerves soon.

***

Emma entered the dining room wearing a
beautiful rose gown. Catherine outshone her in a soft silver dress. She had taken
his earlier offence to heart and wanted to show herself in all her aristocratic
glory. He would not mistake her for a maid again.

Only one person was sitting on the sofa,
and Emma could safely assume that this was the earl’s friend. She also noticed his
jet black hair with a sinking heart.

“Emma!” The man rose from his seat and
unfortunately looked directly at Catherine.

“It is good to see you again, My Lord. May
I present, Lady Catherine Arden?” Emma quickly spoke.

Lord Raikes bowed formally to both of them.

“Emma has told me a lot about you, My
Lord.” Catherine said politely.

“I am sure all wonderful things that no man
can live up to. I assure you, I am full of flaws.”

“Oh, not everything she said was all …
wonderful.”

He was taken aback, unaware that Catherine
was out for revenge for his earlier slight.

“Well, then,” he paused, unable to
continue.

Catherine’s eyes gleamed, and Emma was
delighted to see such a side in her normally demure cousin.

Prudence and Mrs Barker entered the room,
followed by the duchess.

Prudence had once again donned her teapot,
and she immediately engaged the newcomer in conversation. A bit of cold tea
dribbled onto his excellent shoulders …

… Emma watched the droplets splash onto
Lord Raikes’ blue evening coat and frowned. She caught his eye in silent
appeal, wondering how she could warn him about the undeniable issue of his hair
colouring.

He blinked uncomprehendingly.

She narrowed her eyes in irritation, and
then recollecting the watching audience forced herself to smile. At least his
eyes were blue, though darker than the earl’s, she consoled herself. She had to
concede that Lord William Raikes was an exceptionally handsome man in a darkly
brooding sort of way. If only his hair had been lighter, the plan would have
worked beautifully.

She raised her brow when he chanced to look
her way again. She escaped to the balcony, hoping he would follow. After
waiting for ten minutes, she strode back inside in annoyance to find him
talking to her cousin again. From the heated flush on both their faces, it was
clear the conversation was not going well.

She walked towards them and overheard
Catherine say,

“But surely, My Lord, you must agree that
women are capable of intelligence, if not superior, then at least on par with
that of men?”

“I do not dispute that fact, Lady Arden.
Yet saying they should be allowed into a university is ridiculous. You do not
understand how many hours of work are required, nor do you know how the
students live. Women should be protected from such an environment. You have
your ladies institutes where women may study, and they are designed to bring
out the best in you. All young ladies seem to be extraordinarily accomplished
these days, and their talent in their own field cannot be matched by a man.
Thereafter you have to marry and bear children. It is a man’s job to provide
for the family and accordingly study further for his chosen occupation. What
good would it do a woman?” Lord Raikes replied.

“You are simply afraid we would outshine
you in your own field. That is why you choose to hold us back with brute
strength rather than wit. Who is to say we are incapable of providing for our
families? Governesses, teachers, maids, housekeepers, all earn their keep. We
cannot prove what we can or cannot do unless we are given a chance to compete
with men on an equal footing.”

“I agree they do a remarkable job, but can
you imagine a woman in battle or venturing into dark caves for coal? Or perhaps
arguing politics in her gentle voice? A female mind and body is created
differently from a man, and we must focus on our strengths. A common university
for both sexes would prove difficult to police. The women would not be safe, as
it would be difficult to chaperone so many ladies and men present together for
any length of time. As for men, why, the bevy of women would prove to be a
distraction. We cannot have that interfering with the quality of education of
our scholars. Even if a rare woman does excel and is admitted to a university,
then what would happen to her thereafter? Who would marry her or offer her a
post? What if she becomes pregnant, a job does not have the luxury to wait. It
needs to be done there and then. No employer will wait nine months for his
workers to return.”

Catherine gasped. It was not done to speak
of pregnancy so openly, not even amongst women. It was referred to as ‘that
delicate time’ in hushed tones by close friends, and between acquaintances
never mentioned at all. Her embarrassment warred with her mounting anger as she
glared at him. Her palms itched to slap his face, while her upbringing told her
to introduce the topic of weather.

Emma knew Lord Raikes had travelled to
various countries, and had no doubt forgotten how to behave like a gentleman.
She had stayed silent, fascinated with the subject of debate being conducted.
She knew her cousin held some outlandish views, but she had never before heard
her speak so passionately about her cause to a stranger.

She also recognised the look Catherine wore
presently. The last time she had worn that expression they had been fifteen
years old, and Catherine had pulled a chunk of hair from the head of a village
girl who had dared to mock Emma. One did not argue with the duke’s daughter and
speak so candidly. No one else would have dared to say such things to
Catherine.

She quickly intervened, “My Lord, I was
looking for you.” For a moment, she thought he would not recognise her.

He stared at her blankly and then said,

“Emma?”

“It is a full moon tonight,” she hinted.

“Yes, well … that is good. Bright, you know
… for people walking home in the dark …err … keep them safe from footpads.”

Emma waited for him to ask her to take a
walk on the balcony. He did not.

She finally said, “Dinner will be served in
a few moments. I hope you can wait?”

“Why, yes, I can.” He turned to address
Catherine, “When I was on an expedition in Egypt, I was accidently left behind
in a pyramid chamber. I did not hear the party I had arrived with leave, since
I was engrossed in examining a recently unearthed mummy. I had to go without
food for two whole days. Thankfully I had enough water to survive a painful
death through dehydration. Do not concern yourself, these few moments do not
bother me,” he said soberly.

Emma groaned. That man needed to stay in
character. Her earl would never forget his surroundings and calmly declare his
unfortunate experiences to ladies.

He was meant to talk of roses and ponies.
He should be romancing her, since this was the first time they were supposed to
be meeting after a long separation. Instead, he was scaring her with visions of
mummies.

“You were in Egypt?” Catherine, on the
other hand, sounded enchanted.

“Yes, a few years back. It was an
exhilarating experience. A man I travelled with was bitten by an asp. He died.”

While Catherine gasped, Emma walked away.
She had never realised her cousin had such a blood thirsty soul.

“My dear child, you should not be wasting
your time with me when your betrothed is in the same room. Why don’t you sit
with him?”

“You are hardly old, aunty. I believe you
are prettier than all the ladies present here. As for the earl, I …” Emma
stopped, unable to come up with an excuse.

She had taken a seat next to the duchess
hoping to avoid that very question.

“I think the time apart has made things
awkward between you. One forms an intimacy through letters, and when you meet
the person in the flesh, you do not know how to behave. Give it time, and
things will get back to normal before you know it.”

Emma was grateful for the excuse and
heartily agreed with her aunt’s reading of the situation.

Dinner was announced, and they all trooped
into the dining room to find the duke already present at the head of the table.

While the first course of cold soup and
duck salad was being served, the duke engaged
Lord
Raikes in conversation. It seemed to be going well until Catherine interrupted,

“You have had him to yourself long enough,
father. Give us a chance, you will have him cooped up in your study soon enough.
Now, My Lord, I have a question that no one seems to be asking. How is it that
you have black hair when we all know the earl is, in fact, blonde?”

The entire table froze, cocking their ears
to hear the reply.

Instead of looking uncomfortable, Lord Raikes
leaned back and smiled ruefully,

“Alas, that is an embarrassing story, and I
was hoping to avoid telling it. But I see it is necessary to do so now.”

Emma sat up straighter. So the earl had not
forgotten, and they had concocted a story. If it were embarrassing, then it
would be more believable.

“I was staying with an aunt of mine who
happens to have seven children of all ages. My nephew, who is eight, spent the
entire week following me around and asking questions. I confess to be being
absent minded at times, and he found me in a distracted mood one day. A
particular business matter was bothering me, and it was hard to think with so
many children running in and out of the house. So forgive me for what I did
next.” Here he paused to take a sip of wine and then continued,

“
He asked me how he could take
revenge on his tutor, who he assured me was an absolute tyrant. I had, during
my own childhood days, taken a passionate interest in chemistry. I gave him a
formula for a hair dye which I had used on my own governess, who had long red
curly locks. She had been extremely proud of it. The dye is easy to make and
the materials are readily available amongst household supplies. Now, you can
guess what happened next. My dear clever nephew decided to dye my hair while I
slept, to ascertain that it actually worked. You see, the lad could not imagine
that an adult would give him such a beautiful bit of mischief. My aunt threw me
out, and I do not blame her.”