His Not So Sensible Miss (A Gentleman's Guide to Once Upon a Time - Book 3) (20 page)

Marius set the book aside and looked
up. “I think we should call her Sleeping Beauty.”

“
Who?” Phoebe
asked.

“
Emily, of course.” He rose
and walked to the table and poured himself a glass of the fiery
Scotch Whisky.

“
I am not sure I follow.”
Noah sauntered over to refill his glass.

“
Well we already have Little
Red Riding Hood.” He indicated to Phoebe. “I have Cinderella.” He
reached over and squeezed his wife’s hand. “It only makes sense
that Emily is Sleeping Beauty.”

“
And why that character as
opposed to any of the others in the book?” Taylor asked.

“
Think on it. Emily was
resuscitating in the country. Before then, she had been allowed to
reach the age of three and twenty without so much as being in
contact with an eligible male. Dillon comes along, and I have no
doubt he kissed her thoroughly, awakening her to possibilities she
had never considered.”

“
Oh, I see where this is
going,” Phoebe interrupted enthusiastically. “The prince secretly
married Sleeping Beauty, keeping her away from his ogre of a
mother. When the woman learned of her presence, she tried to kill
the young princess.”

“
I, for one can clearly see
Mrs. Chambers in the role of the ogre,” Noah agreed as he turned to
come eye to eye with Dillon. “That was uncalled for. I
apologize.”

“
No need,” Dillon dismissed.
“When it comes to how I should marry I don’t think there are any
lengths my mother won’t go to so that her goals are achieved.
Though I would like to think she wouldn’t resort to murder, nothing
else would surprise me.”

Janine reached over and took the book
from Marius, studying it. Slowly a sly smile came to her lips.
“Martin, I believe we are going to host a ball.”

Her husband groaned. “What kind of
ball?”

Her smile grew wider. “A
masquerade.”

“
What shall we do?” Sabrina
asked enthusiastically

Marius turned to his wife. “You shall
do nothing. You should not even be out of the house.”

The ladies rolled their eyes. “These
fashions allow a lady to go out in society much longer than before.
I will not sit idly by.”

“
You won’t have to. I’m
taking you to the country.”

“
You wouldn’t.” Sabrina came
to her feet, suddenly angry.

“
Calm yourself, wife.”
Marius smiled at Sabrina. “My mother has mentioned wanting to have
a house party, a small intimate gathering you see. I thought you
could help her prepare.”

“
A small gathering?” Sabrina
asked, settling back down in her chair. “A party that would include
Dillon and Emily?”

“
Who else?” He grinned down
at her.

Janine turned to Phoebe. “Do you have
any thoughts?”

“
Yes, but the plans are not
so well formed. I do know it will allow for much more privacy
between the two.”

This time it was Noah who objected. “I
will not have Emily ruined.”

Phoebe dismissed him with a wave of her
hand. “Oh posh. If he were going to ruin her, he would have done so
already. They had a month together with a private cottage at their
disposal.”

“
Thank you, Phoebe.” Dillon
inclined his head. “At least you have faith in me.”

Chapter 12

That afternoon Dillon called at the
Ellings’ mansion, as he did every afternoon. For a change, Emily
didn’t leave the room upon his entrance. Instead, she blushed
lightly and returned her attention to her needlework. Claresta’s
court was smaller today, but Dillon waited them out, so he wouldn’t
have to compete over the conversations. Once the young bucks were
finally gone, Dillon truly relaxed, especially since Emily was
still in the room. It was Her Grace who stood first. “I think I
will go above and rest. We have a late evening tonight.” She smiled
at Emily as she left the room.

Claresta leaned forward to pour a cup
of tea then set it back down. “This is cold. I’ll ask cook for a
replacement.” She stood and headed for the door.

“
You could ring for a
servant,” Emily hinted.

“
Where is the fun in that?”
Claresta grinned mischievously as she carried the teapot out of the
room and closed the door behind her, leaving only a crack for
anyone to look in.

Dillon didn’t hesitate a moment and
quickly crossed the room to where Emily sat. “Perhaps this’ll be
easier than I thought.” He brought his lips to hers and Emily
returned it with vigor. Too soon they heard Claresta calling to a
servant as she returned to the room. Quickly, the two separated,
sharing sheepish grins when Claresta entered the room once
more.

The next few days were spent in a
similar manner. Dillon continued to visit each day, where he was
allowed less than five minutes alone with Emily. Soon, she put
aside her stitching and joined the group who had come to visit with
Claresta.

The evenings were spent at balls, one
following another or so it seemed. Dillon made a point of dancing
the first waltz with Claresta, to please his mother. The last was
with Emily. He never danced the dinner waltz. Instead, he would
arrange to be seated at the same table as Emily and Claresta. Thus,
pacifying his mother once again and able to spend time with the
woman he truly wished to be with.

All in all, he enjoyed his time with
Emily but it was becoming frustrating. They were never given a
chance to speak at length on any one subject, except the few
minutes they were granted each afternoon. He supposed they could
have spent this time talking but why, when kissing was so much more
enjoyable. Still, he wished for more private time with her and was
at a loss on how to achieve it.

* * *

The discontent of the situation ate
away at Emily. How did one ask friends to arrange private time with
Dillon without ruining one’s reputation? So, until she found the
answer, she remained silent. Those were her musings as she sat in
the garden at a dull luncheon with Phoebe one afternoon.

“
I don’t know what we’ll do.
Polly does fine with the twins, but she seems distracted at times
and a good portion of the staff have today and tonight
off.”

Emily tried to concentrate on what
Phoebe was talking about and quit her woolgathering.

“
It isn’t that Polly doesn’t
adore them, I’m just not sure she is the best person to stay with
them tonight.”

“
Who is Polly?”

“
One of our maids. She has
helped out before.”

“
What about your nurse?”
.

“
Stella has gone to visit
her sister, who’s come down with an illness. Taylor and I have
already promised to dine with the Marches. We couldn’t renege and
upset the numbers at this late hour.”

“
You have a houseful of
servants. Even with half of them gone you have an ample staff. I
find it hard to believe you don’t have anyone to stay with the
twins?” Emily laughed.

“
Oh, I know it’s silly but I
hate to presume too much on them. Polly was my only logical chose
but she distracts easily. You can’t be distracted and watch the
twins at the same time.”

Emily thought it was the most
ridiculous thing she had ever heard, but Phoebe seemed genuinely
concerned. “I have no plans tonight. I could keep an eye on them.”
The Ellings were staying in and it wasn’t as though she could
attend functions her own. Staying with the twins might actually be
a nice change.

“
Are you sure?” Phoebe asked
hopefully. “No, I couldn’t. What am I thinking? Forget I mentioned
it.”

“
My grand plan for this
evening was reading a book. Even though I have never spent any
length of time with children, I can’t imagine it would be
difficult.”

“
Truly?” Phoebe clutched
Emily’s hands. She must be very desperate. “They won’t be a
problem, I swear and I would be so grateful. At least I know you
won’t be distracted. Taylor will come for you around seven thirty.
I won’t forget that you’ve done this for me.”

* * *

Dillon glanced up from his paper when
Taylor sat in the chair across the table from him in
Whites.

“
What are your plans
tonight?”

Dillon shrugged. “I’m not sure. The
Ellings are staying in, leaving me with nothing to do.” Actually,
he planned on dining with Celia, but he couldn’t say as much to his
friend. “Phoebe and I are dining at the Marches.”

Dillon raised an eyebrow, impressed
that such an influential family would actually invite Taylor into
their home.

“
You could always come by
the house if you’re really at a loss.”

“
What would be the point if
you aren’t going to be in?” Dillon laughed. At least he wasn’t
desperate enough to wander around his friend’s houses when they
weren’t at home.

“
Because our nurse has gone
to visit her sister and Phoebe is, at this moment, trying to
convince Emily to watch the twins while we’re away.”

Dillon’s head snapped to
attention.

Taylor leaned forward. “Do not let Noah
know about this. He would kill both of us because of the
impropriety.”

“
My lips are sealed,” Dillon
assured him, smiling. “What time?”

“
We leave for dinner at
eight.”

“
What time do the twins fall
asleep?” He could still have dinner with Celia and spend the
evening with her before calling on Emily.

“
Usually around
eight.”

Dillon couldn’t help but grin. “Emily
will be bored out of her skull without company.”

“
Yes, that has been my
concern all along.” Taylor laughed.

* * *

The twins already slept soundly within
an hour of Emily’s arrival. Sighing, she settled into the small
sitting room off the nursery and picked up the book she’d brought
along. The door was open between the two rooms so she would be able
to hear if they woke. It wasn’t as though she would have been doing
anything different at home, she’d just anticipated more activity.
Still, it was good she was here, in the event the twins did wake.
After meeting Polly, she could well understand Phoebe’s concern. It
appeared Polly’s concentration was focused on one of the footmen.
Emily couldn’t blame her. If Dillon were here, no doubt she would
forget about the sleeping babes as well.

“
I heard there was a lonely
nursemaid in this house and came to see if I could provide some
entertainment.” Dillon leaned against the frame of the
door.

Had she conjured him in her mind? “What
are you doing here?”

“
Oh, someone mentioned,
quite secretly, that I would be able to find you here this evening.
I was also led to believe the only disturbance we might have would
be two young children.” He smiled as he sauntered into the
room.

“
I can’t believe you would
forgo an evening of entertainment among society to check on small
children.”

“
You’re correct. It is their
nursemaid who holds my interest.”

Emily couldn’t believe he was here and
they were alone, almost. They had hours before them with few
disturbances. Just like in the country. “Phoebe did this on
purpose.”

“
I wouldn’t put it past her
to send the nurse away, and half the staff, so we could be alone.”
He took the book from her hand. “What are you studying now? I’ll
need to prepare myself for future discussions.” He lifted the book
so he could read the title. “A horrid novel?” He laughed. “At least
discussion on the merit of this work won’t be too taxing on my
brain.”

Emily grabbed the book from him and set
it on a small table. “If you have only come to insult me, you may
leave.”

“
Insulting, hardly.” Dillon
settled into a chair next to hers. “Less intimidating would be a
more accurate description.”

Emily lifted an eyebrow. “I intimidate
you?”

“
Your intelligence does,
which I am ashamed to admit.” He shrugged.

Emily couldn’t help but be thrilled by
this admission.

“
Your skills at fishing
however, have a lot to be desired.”

“
Nor do I plan on trying to
improve them.”

“
Do you study the markets?”
He wondered how far her interests ran. “Or estate
management?”

“
As in investments, crops,
livestock and such?”

He nodded his head.

“
No. They are much too
complicated.”

“
Then at least there are a
few mental challenges in which I could surpass you.”

Emily laughed. “I am sure there a
many.”

Dillon leaned forward, pulling her off
her chair and onto his lap. “I intend to learn what each and every
one of them are,” he said before his lips descended toward
hers.

Emily had been waiting for this moment.
Her opinions, attitude and dreams had altered since their
discussion in the carriage and now she embraced every second they
were given and didn’t regret any of it. His sincerity in wanting to
be with her pulled at her heart and she could deny him nothing.
Their time together was short, perhaps only a month or two, and she
wasn’t going to waste any of it.