Page 53 of The Unfortunate Debutante
A knock came at the door and the butler announced, “Lord Wentworth is here to call on Miss Pearson.” He turned his gaze towards her. “Are you available to receive him?”
Rachel and Luke’s eyes both landed on her, and Luke spoke first. “Wentworth is calling on you now?” His words were slow and deliberate.
Ignoring their curious expressions, she directed her comments to Munro. “Please inform Lord Wentworth that I am not receiving any callers at the moment.”
He nodded and excused himself from the room.
Rachel’s brow lifted. “You are refusing to see him?”
“I am,” she answered, picking up her fork. “He said some rather cruel things last time I saw him.”
“Yesterday? Did you speak to him after that awful proposal?” Rachel pressed.
Just before she took a bite of food, she muttered, “I did. Just for a moment in the hall.” She didn’t dare confess that she had seen Simeon the night before when she had snuck out of Caddington Manor and attended a meeting.
“Would you like me to secure you another guard, then?” Luke asked.
She shook her head. “Lord Wentworth may be cruel and unfeeling, but he is a proficient guard. I feel safe with him. However, I don’t want to spend any additional time with him.”
A knock came at the door before Munro walked back into the room. “Lord Wentworth refuses to leave. He says he needs to speak to Miss Pearson about an urgent matter.”
She was about to turn him away again when Luke spoke up. “This is ridiculous. Send him in,” he ordered with a wave of his hand.
“Yes, milord,” the butler said, departing from the room.
Luke furrowed his brow as he asked, “Is Wentworth attempting to court you?”
She shook her head adamantly, causing the curls framing her face to swish back and forth. “Heavens, no. He is my guard. There’s nothing more between us.”
“Good,” Luke admonished. “I would prefer you to marry someone greater than a viscount.”
Emma frowned. “You know I don’t care about titles.”
“As long as you don’t marry Wentworth, I will be hap…” His words trailed off as Simeon walked into the room holding a bouquet of flowers.
She turned to face Simeon, and immediately noticed the quality of his fine garments. He was wearing a blue jacket, grey trousers, and a white waistcoat. His brown hair was brushed forward, and it almost appeared as if he had a smile on his face… almost. If she had to guess, she would assume he dressed up specifically to call on her.
Simeon stopped short of the door and bowed. “Miss Pearson, thank you for agreeing to see me.”
“I didn’t,” she informed him. “Luke did.”
“I see,” Simeon said before he acknowledged Luke and Rachel with a tip of his head. He brought his gaze back to hers. “May I have a moment of your time?”
Emma pressed her lips together. Part of her wanted to know why he was here, but she wasn’t in the mood to chat with him. Not yet, anyway.
“I am busy at the moment, Lord Wentworth,” she started, ignoring Rachel’s knowing gaze, “perhaps another time.”
Simeon moved quickly to stand next to her and extended her the flowers. “Just hear me out, please.”
Emma kept her face expressionless as she tilted her head to look at him but didn’t move to accept the flowers.
“I said some rather hurtful things to you, and I wanted to offer my deepest apologies,” he said. “I had no right to speak to you that way.”
Hearing his apology caused some of her anger to dissipate. “You were right, though. We aren’t friends.”
Grabbing the chair next to her, Simeon pulled it out and sat down. “I assure you that you don’t want to be friends with me. I have had a string of bad luck when it comes to friends.”
She smiled. “It couldn’t have been worse than my series of unfortunate incidents.”
