Page 13 of The Unfortunate Debutante
“It couldn’t possibly be Peter,” Emma said with a shake of her head.
Lord Camden glanced between them with a pointed look. “Who is Peter?”
“He was my father’s solicitor, and a friend of the family,” she said, turning Matthew in her arms and sitting him down on her lap.
“He had it in his head that he was going to marry Emma,” Luke revealed, removing a stack of letters from a drawer and placing them on top of the desk. “He has written to her every month for the past two years.”
“He has?” Emma asked in a surprised tone. “But I haven’t received any of his letters.”
Walking over to Adrien, Luke extended him the stack of letters bound by string. “Of course not. I ensured they were intercepted before they reached you.”
“For what purpose?” she inquired, her voice rising in irritation.
Luke’s expression grew serious, and his tone matched it when he spoke. “Peter is a bloody nuisance. He has filed multiple lawsuits to contest my guardianship over you. He even sued me for breach of promise because he claimed your father granted him permission to wed you.”
“My father did no such thing,” Emma argued.
“Exactly,” Luke stated. “We were protecting you.”
Emma turned her gaze towards Rachel. “You knew about Peter?”
Rachel nodded. “I did. He’s not a good man, Emma.”
A terrible feeling of guilt swept over her. What a horrible burden she was to Luke and Rachel. “I am sorry. I had no idea that Peter was harassing you.”
Placing a hand on her shoulder, Rachel regarded her with kindness in her eyes. “And that is why we didn’t tell you. We didn’t want to distress you in any way.”
“But I have been nothing but a burden to you,” Emma replied, attempting to control her growing emotions.
“That is utter nonsense. Get that thought out of your head immediately,” Luke declared. “My solicitors have been handling these trivial matters.”
Emma felt oddly comforted by Luke’s authoritative manner. She had learned that Luke spoke his mind and rarely became sentimental, but now she could hear the emotion fluctuate in his voice.
“For what purpose would Peter want to ruin my Season?” she questioned as Lord Camden distributed some of the notes to Jonathon and Benedict.
“If I had to guess, Peter didn’t have access to you in Scotland, and you are within his grasp here in London,” Jonathon remarked.
“This is ludicrous,” Emma replied. “I grew up with Peter, and he was like a brother to me. He is not capable of what you are accusing him of.”
All the men in the room cast worried glances at each other. Finally, Luke cleared his throat. “If someone intends to harm Emma,” he said, “we need to ensure her protection. It might be best if we brought in the Bow Street Runners.”
Lord Jonathon grunted. “There must be another way. Bow Street Runners are incompetent at best.”
“Do you know where Mr. Lockhart is?” Benedict asked.
“I do not, but I know he maintains an office in the village of Totternhoe,” Luke shared, glancing between the men. “Would Uncle Charles be willing to open an investigation into Peter Lockhart?”
Tucking the stack of letters into his jacket pocket, Jonathon replied, “I’ll see what can be done. Perhaps we can assign an agent to protect Emma.”
A slow, satisfied smile grew on Adrien’s lips. “No need. I can recommend a Bow Street Runner.”
“No. Not him,” Jonathon contended, shooting him a warning look. “Anyone but him.”
“Who?” Luke asked with a lifted brow.
Benedict wore a look of amusement. “He did get shot saving Emmett’s life.”
“He deserved it,” Jonathon muttered under his breath.
