London Husband

Chapter 5: She Is Emma Dunster, Not Meg

Alex immediately agreed to support the company:

- Good idea. Perhaps it's really time to take my legs out of here ...

Then he fell silent, noticing the admiration of a friend, suddenly changing his face.

- What's the matter?

- Lord! Breathed Dunford. "What colors ..."

"For heaven's sake, of whom are you this time?"

Dunford shrugged his shoulders.

"It must be Emma Dunster who came to us from the forgotten colonies of God. But how could there be someone so charming?"

"It's not the colony anymore, Dunford." Alex remembered the tirade spoken by Meg. "They have been free for a long time and are now called the United States of America."

Alex's speech drew Dunford out of a dreamy reverie, and he turned to his friend with a strange expression on his face:

- Since when did you become sympathetic to our rebel colonies?

"Since ... However, it does not matter. So who is this notorious person who caused such enthusiasm for you?"

"Look and see for yourself. Not a classic beauty, I'm ready to admit it, but it looks good. Chestnut hair and these gentle violet eyes with golden sparks ..."

An unpleasant sensation began to grow on the bottom of Alex's stomach as soon as he heard the description of Miss Emma Dunster given by Dunford. Can not be…

Alex slowly turned around and at the same time made sure that on the other side of the hall directly opposite him stands the brave Meg. Except for such a trifle as reincarnation in Emma Dunster, everything converged to the smallest detail.

Alex's body reacted immediately: all his muscles tensed, but he could not understand whether this was due to a reaction to deception or desire.

At the same time, Emma clearly did not notice his presence and smiled wearily at one of the fans. Hell! But what does she think, going to dance all night while she may have got a concussion?

Alex frowned, but did not succumb to the temptation to approach her, grab her by the shoulders and shake to instill a bit of common sense into her head.

Alas, she really was lovely. Her small figure in a dress made of purple satin, from which the creamy shoulders and upper chest part protruded, looked simply irresistible. Young women in their first season were supposed to wear pale pastel shades, but Alex was pleased to see that Emma despises the conventions of this kind. She chose a brighter color for her toilet, which corresponded to her fighting character and singled her out of a crowd of colorless maidens. Her hair was disbanded, and this also did not fit the fashion.

All this indicated a free and living nature, and Alex immediately remembered the temper of Meg, that is Emma. However, in her gaze, he saw vulnerability and fatigue, which meant that the headache still troubled her.

Something in her guise aroused the Duke's desire to protect her, but he did not move.

Noticing something strange in the expression on his friend's face, Dunford chuckled:

"I see that this girl touched you alive? I also…"

"And do not you dare think about it," Alex reacted instantly and frowned at once, realizing that he was not the only one who fell under the charms of a beauty.

Young rakes lined up in line, hurrying to introduce themselves to a young American woman. Mentally, the duke made a notch in memory, in order later to reason with the most zealous of them.

Dunford looked up in amazement.

"Do not you allow yourself too much, because you did not even meet that little one."

- It turns out that I met him, but did not know it.

A wrinkle appeared on Dunford's forehead.

"I understand you did not want to go to the Whites?"

Alex answered with a roguish smile:

- It seems that this evening suddenly became interesting.

Passing through the hall, Alex tried not to catch Emma's eyes and finally settled in a niche right behind her. From the guests he was reliably covered by a heavy crimson curtain while he could hear every word uttered by the girl and her interlocutors.

"Why the hell are you hiding here?" Dunford asked, appearing beside him.

- Speak quietly and do not draw attention, otherwise someone will notice you! "The Duke pulled his friend toward him, and the curtain concealed them both.

"Looks like you're crazy," Dunford muttered. "I did not think that I would live to see a day when the arrogant Duke of Ashbourne would watch over the woman because of the curtains."

"Shut up!"

Dunford grunted, and Alex cast a fierce glance at him, and then switched attention to more important things.

"I think I found what I wanted," he said, grinning and rubbing his hands.

- Really? And I thought you were quite far from the goal, "Dunford continued to mock.

Alex glared at him.

"Remember my words, I'll be much closer to her by the end of the night."

He immediately turned his attention back to what he could see through the crevices between the curtains, then smiled triumphantly and, like a lion preparing to jump, fixed a fixed look at a woman with flaming red hair standing no more than five feet From him.

All the while Emma was taking a tribute to the queued applicants for being represented, there was a polite smile on her face. Aunt Caroline already announced to her that the ball and Emma herself enjoyed a dizzying success. How great this success was, proved that more and more young people turned to her and her husband to present them to their niece.

Emma behaved perfectly: she looked lively, witty and, fortunately, did nothing unseemly. Caroline knew that to remain invariably correct - a difficult test for Emma, the greater was her admiration for the behavior of her niece.

In turn, Emma did not find the need for impeccable behavior so painful, besides she was too tired to justify her reputation as an eternal minx. All that she was capable of now is to talk about nothing with the young people she was just introduced to.

Nevertheless, even suffering from a terrible headache, Emma would never allow herself to be judged as a shy and shy girl.

"Emma, dear," her aunt called, "let me introduce you to Lord and Lady Humphreys."

Emma with a smile extended a hand to each of this well-fed pair. The head of the family was thirty-five years older than Emma: he politely bowed to her and kissed the tips of her fingers.

"Glad to meet you both," Emma said graciously, without trying to hide her strong American accent.

- So it's true!" Lord Humphreys stated triumphantly. "You are from the colonies! Our good old Percy beat me, considering that you are from France. I was right, and now I have to get a win."

Before Emma could say anything, he turned and went to look for his friend.

Emma was somewhat surprised by the excess of attention to her, and she was even somewhat worried that people could bet on her because of her. Ned believed that in society, often wagering just a joke for fun. Is there no time for them to waste more time?

Emma turned to Lady Humphreys and, as graciously as she could, smiled at her.

- Tell me, how are you?

"Thank you, very good," Lady Humphreys answered. Although her manners did not cause complaints, yet she seemed Emma slightly stupid. "Is it true that wild bears roam the streets of Boston freely? I heard that there are as many of them in the colonies as savages!"

Caroline's eyes widened, and she even groaned, fearing that her niece would have a long sermon on the merits of the United States. Nevertheless, nothing of the kind happened.

- In fact, Boston - a completely civilized city. You would feel quite comfortable there." such was the polite response.

- Can not be! Exclaimed the shocked Lady Humphreys.

- I assure you, there are even dressmakers there!

- Really?

- And modistka too! And seamstresses! Emma's eyes widened. "But when the city is flooded with packs of hungry wolves, it all ends up being destroyed."

"The wolves?" Incredible!

"Yes, and they are terribly ferocious! Residents have to lock themselves and do not leave the house for weeks."

Lady Humphreys began to fan furiously.

- Oh my God! Oh my God! Please excuse me. I must immediately tell Margaret about this. - She quickly disappeared in the crowd of guests.

Emma turned to her aunt and cousin, who could hardly contain their laughter.

"And yet, my dear," said Bell, wiping away her tears, "you should not have done this."

Emma snorted.

"I must also get a little bit of pleasure," she said grimly.

- Of course, of course. Caroline shook her head. "But still this farce that you played with Lady Humphreys ... In ten minutes everyone will know about it."

- Nonsense! Common sense wins, and no one will believe it. By the way, I'm not at all interested in what they think those who do not have them." Emma raised her eyebrows.

"She's probably right." Agreed Bell.

"I must admit, I always found Lady Humphreys somewhat ridiculous," Caroline surrendered.

A minute later, one of Ned's friends appeared near Emma and, having invited her to a dance, made Alex frown.

- It seems that we are jealous, eh? Dunford asked venomously.

"Not at all," Alex said quietly. "There's no reason for jealousy."

Dunford shook his head thoughtfully: he had not seen his friend so worried about the woman from university days.

The dance ended, and Emma returned to where her aunt stood.

"I hope you enjoyed the dance, dear?" Caroline asked.

"Oh, yes, John is a wonderful partner," Emma answered without hesitation. "Besides, this extremely pleasant young man promised to teach me fencing."

Alex gritted his teeth. Hell, that was all he needed.

"I do not know if it's worth studying fencing, but I'm glad you liked it," Caroline said. - Between us, a very worthy party. His father is a count, and with a great fortune.

Emma's eyes narrowed.

"I'm happy for him, but for the time being I'm not going to get married."

Alex immediately relaxed. This situation suited him perfectly - he also did not aspire to marriage. Emma patted Caroline's arm.

"Do not worry, my dear aunt." When the time comes, I will find a decent husband, and certainly an American, because I'm not going to throw "Dunster Shipping".

"I'm afraid there are not so many Americans in London," Caroline's niece tried to reason with.

"In that case, I take this opportunity to just have fun in the company of witty young people, like John."

Anxiousness reappeared in Alex, and Dunford was already thinking about whether he should keep his friend if he thought of jumping out of ambush, which would make them both heroes of a very ridiculous scene.

At that moment, Bell approached them: her cheeks were pink.

"Emma," she said, panting slightly, "come with me, I'll introduce you to some of Ned's friends. Do not doubt, you will like them. In addition, they just die from the desire to get to know you." She winked funny.

"Okay, but they can wait a few minutes. My head ached," Emma answered casually.

In fact, at this very moment, she had the feeling that someone was beating her temple with a wooden baton: apparently, the dance with John Millwood was not in vain.

Emma looked pointedly at Bell, who promised not to tell her mother about the recent incident, then turned to Caroline:

"Aunt, will it be very rude if I go to my room for ten to fifteen minutes? My knocks are on the temples, and I'd like to rest for at least a few minutes to recover."

"Of course, dear, I'll tell everyone that you went to the ladies' room to freshen up."

- Thank you. Emma sighed with relief. "I will not be long, I promise." - She slipped out of the room and quickly climbed the stairs to the bedroom.

Alex's eyebrows shot up when he heard Emma's request, and an ecstatic smile appeared on his face.

"Oh no," William tried to reason with him. "To follow the noble lady into her bedroom is too much! Even you will not get away with it."

"Do not scare me!"

Dunford immediately tried to resort to a different tactic:

"If they find you there, you'll ruin the reputation of the girl on the first evening and, besides, you'll have to marry this baby. Understand, it will not be possible to get out: honor will require such a step."

"Ha, no one will see me," Alex said in a casual tone. - If someone asks me, tell me that I went to freshen up. With these words, he slipped out of his secret shelter and, without moving, followed Emma.

The corridor remained almost unlighted, so that tipsy and secluded guests would not wander around the house, but Emma easily found her room. Entering, she lit a candle, then yawned, dropped her shoes and, sitting down on the bed, began to rub the whiskey.

Despite the dizziness, she liked the first London ball. Of course, here she met a lot of inflated and self-satisfied aristocrats, but at the same time she got acquainted with many clever and interesting people.

If it were not for this damn bump on the head! Without her, she would feel much better.

Feeling terrible fatigue, Emma closed her eyes, involuntarily thinking about what kind of inhuman effort would be required to get out of bed and return to the ballroom.

Silently entering Emma's room, Alex mentally blessed that the hinges on the door of the room are well oiled. For a moment he stopped and looked around.