“How long have you got to come up with the money?”
“Normally I’d have to get it to him right away, but because it’s a large amount he told me I could have a fortnight.”
“As long as that?” Emma said sarcastically.
“I think he gave me the extra time because he likes to feel he has power over me.”
“You’re probably right.”
Ned swallowed convulsively, his hands clutching the arm of the chair. “He said he would forget about the entire matter if I could arrange a tryst between him and Belle.”
Emma felt a white-hot flame of rage consume her. “I’m going to kill him! Of all the sickening notions,” she spat out, striding to her desk and throwing open the drawers. “Do you have a gun?” she asked wildly, rummaging through her belongings and tossing papers onto the floor. “All I’ve got is this letter opener.” Suddenly an awful thought entered her head and she turned to Ned, her face ashen. “You didn’t—you didn’t agree?”
“For God’s sake, Emma,” Ned blazed. “What kind of man do you think I am?”
“I’m sorry, Ned. I know you wouldn’t—I’m just so upset.”
“I’m not about to trade my sister’s innocence for a gambling debt,” he added defensively.
“I know.” Emma sighed, tapping her finger against her pathetic little dagger. “It’s sharp.”
“You’re not going anywhere with that letter opener. You wouldn’t be able to do much damage with it, anyway.”
She tossed the knife back onto her desk and sank down onto the edge of her bed. “I never told anyone about this, but I had a run-in with Woodside last week.”
“You did? What happened?”
“It was all very strange. He made all sorts of insults about my being American and lacking a title.”
“Son of a bitch,” Ned swore, clenching his fists.
“That wasn’t it, though. He told me he was going to marry Belle.”
“What?”
“I swear to God.” Emma nodded for emphasis. “And I think he really believed it.”
“What did you say?”
“I laughed at him. I probably shouldn’t have done so, but the thought of Belle with that bastard was ludicrous beyond words.”
“We’re going to have to watch out for him, Emma. His obsession with Belle is bad enough, but now you’ve insulted him, and he’ll be out for revenge.”
Emma shot him a disbelieving look. “What could he do? Besides collecting your ten thousand pounds, that is.”
Ned groaned. “Where on earth am I going to come up with it, Emma?”
“If we can cancel this debt, Woodside won’t have anything with which to pressure Belle. We’re going to have to come up with a plan.”
“I know.”
“What about your parents?”
Ned leaned his head against one of his hands, his expression anguished. “Oh, Emma. I don’t want to ask them for the money. I feel so ashamed of myself as it is—I don’t want them ashamed of me, too. Besides, Father’s funds are all tied up. He recently made a big investment in a plantation in Ceylon. I don’t think he could come up with that amount of cash so quickly.”
Emma chewed on her lower lip, uncertain as to what to say.
“I got myself into this mess. I ought to get myself out.”
“With a little help from your cousin.”
Ned smiled at Emma wearily. “With a little help from my cousin,” he repeated.
“It’s probably for the best that Uncle Henry and Aunt Caroline can’t help,” Emma said. “They would be sick about it.”
“I know, I know.” Ned sighed and stood up decisively, walking over to the window and gazing out over the busy street.
“It’s just too bad that this didn’t happen six months from now,” Emma said thoughtfully.
Ned turned around sharply, his eyes narrowing. “What happens six months from now?”
“My twenty-first birthday. My mother’s family left me some money—I don’t know if I ever mentioned it to you. It’s been earning interest for quite some time, and I imagine there is enough to cover your debt. But it’s in a trust, and I can’t touch it until my twenty-first birthday. Or unless I—” Emma’s voice caught in her throat.
“Unless you what?”
“Marry,” she said softly.
“I don’t suppose Ashbourne proposed this weekend,” Ned said, only half joking.
“No,” Emma said sadly.
“It’s no matter, anyway. It’d take months to get the money over from America.”
“Actually, it’s here in London. My mother was born in America, but my grandparents emigrated from England. My grandfather never quite trusted Colonial banks and kept the bulk of his funds over here. I guess my mother and father never saw any reason to move it over even though the States were independent.”
“Well, it’s useless even to think about it. No banker would release the money to you early.”
“Unless I married,” Emma said softly, her heart beginning to beat a little more rapidly.
Ned looked at her quizzically. “What are you saying, Emma?”
“How difficult is it to get a special license?”
“Not very difficult, I imagine, if one knows the right people.”
“I would guess that Alex knows all the right people,” Emma commented, wetting her lips. “Wouldn’t you?”