Blydon 1 by Splendid

Author:Splendid [Splendid]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-07-27T12:37:59+00:00

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then she had to say something more. "Do tell us more about your afternoon, Emma dear." It seemed to be a popular topic.

"Well, actually—," Emma started, her irritation beginning to get the better of her.

Belle's foot slammed into her shin. Emma gulped with pain, smiled weakly, and replied, "It was lovely, thank you."

Silence fell again, and this time nobody, not even Caroline, was brave enough to break it.

Emma stared down at her lap, her fingers idly plucking at her skirts. She could feel Alex's eyes resting on her, and much as

she tried, she could not summon the courage to meet his gaze. As she sat in stony silence, she had to admit that it was herself

with whom she was angry, not Alex.

She knew that she was intensely attracted to Alex. But to admit that fact to the gentleman in question somehow seemed to go against every tenet of her upbringing, and it was difficult to turn her back on the set of morals that her father and her aunt and uncle had instilled in her. She was in a fine mess now, wanting him so badly and knowing that she shouldn't allow herself to have him. She could justify her desire by the fact that she loved him, but she somehow had to find the willpower to stop herself from acting on that desire.

It would all be different if he loved her even just a tiny bit as much as she loved him.

Or, Emma thought despondently, if he merely proposed. Marriage to Alex without mutual love was preferable to not having

him at all. She looked over at him. He had gone back to examining his fingernails and did not look even remotely like a man

who was about to ask a woman to marry him. Emma swallowed and sank back further into the sofa.

"Goodness! It sounds as if we've had a funeral in here. Have you all lost your powers of speech?"

Eugenia stood in the

doorway of the drawing room, clad in an elegant gown of green silk.

"Actually, Mother, I think everyone is somewhat afraid to open his—or her —mouth." Alex smiled widely at his mother as

he rose to give her an affectionate kiss on the cheek.

Eugenia looked at her son accusingly. "You haven't been brutalizing our guests, have you?"

"Only me," Emma chirped bravely, causing her aunt to shoot her a remonstrating look.

Alex chuckled, delighted at Emma's barb. "Perhaps I could escort you to supper, Miss Dunster," he said graciously, walking

over to her and extending his arm.

"Of course," Emma murmured. What else could she do with such an avid group of onlookers? Smiling prettily at her audience,

she rose and tried to take a step toward the door, but Alex's iron grip held her firmly in place.

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