Page 68 of The Unfortunate Debutante
“One?” Rachel chuckled. “We’ve gone over hundreds of rules.”
Emma left her bedchamber and hurried down the stairs. For some reason, she found she was excited to see Simeon. It must be because she planned to interview him today. That has to be it, she thought.
The door to the drawing room was opened, and she walked in. Simeon was standing next to the window, the sun illuminating his face.
He turned to face her. “Did you have a pleasant afternoon?”
“I did. How was yours?”
“It was… uneventful,” Simeon said, clasping his arms behind his back.
She arched an eyebrow. “Why don’t I believe you?”
A chuckle escaped his lips. “You would make a brilliant Bow Street Runner, if not for your gender.”
“My gender?”
He took a step closer towards her. “Women are not apt to handle espionage and such.”
“That’s ridiculous. I believe I proved myself at Templeton Square.”
“Ah,” he smirked, “how could I forget? You jabbed the constable in the throat, and you allowed yourself to get arrested.”
“At gunpoint, may I add.”
He gave her a look of disapproval, but she saw the teasing glint in his eye. “A pistol would not have stopped me,” he declared dramatically.
Deciding to play along, she asked, “Pray tell, how would you have stopped a bullet?”
He took another step closer to her, and now they were only an arm’s length apart. “My dear girl, the constable wouldn’t have had time to get a shot off before I knocked him unconscious.”
“I fear you are prone to exaggeration, milord,” she joked.
Simeon chuckled. “And I fear that you are an impertinent thing.”
A smile graced her face. She enjoyed bantering with Simeon. It was quickly becoming her favorite pastime.
“Would you care to take a stroll in the gardens?” she asked.
Simeon eyed her suspiciously. “If you are suggesting a tryst, then I am most assuredly not…”
“Good gracious, no,” she rushed to say. “I was just thinking…” Her voice trailed off as her face grew increasingly warm, and she brought up her hands to cover her cheeks.
To her surprise, Simeon let out a loud, unrestrained laugh before he took another step towards her. “You’re fun to tease.”
“You are a horrid, insipid man,” she declared, lowering her hands from her cheeks. “It was cruel of you to tease me.”
“No, you’re just angry because I bested you at your own game.”
She had to concede that he did have a point. Tilting her head to look up at him, she replied, “You laughed.”
He gave her an odd look. “I’ve laughed before.”
“Not like that,” she remarked. “You almost sounded happy.”
He extended his arm. “A stroll in the garden does sound delightful.”
“Indeed,” she replied. “It will give me time to interview you.”
