anniversary of his natural father’s suicide. Simon still wondered what drove the man to such an extreme. The duke could have married anyone he wanted, even the poor daughter of a banker from Cornwall, as his son did. Most people believed madness was the root of the issue.
Only one time did Simon’s natural father deigned to enter Hell. After a glance about the room, the duke had left without a word to Simon, or even a wager on a game.
While Simon had known duke was his natural father at the time, the man had never admitted his paternity. When he passed, Simon grieved for the father he’d never known. He mourned for the father he should have had if his mother hadn’t decided Albert Kingsley would save her from disgrace. Not that an opera singer should need to worry about what people thought of her. If she had told the duke about the baby sooner, he would have protected her with a home and money.
There would have been no beatings for such small infractions as forgetting to bring home a jug of ale. To some, it might seem odd that he could easily forgive the duke for not being there, but not Albert Kingsley for taking a strap or worse to him.
Pushing the painful memories away, he focused on the drive toward Worth Hall. The large red brick home stood proud with a multitude of chimneys. Large mullioned windows gleamed in the late morning sun. The impressive building always took his breath away.
After reining in, he looked back as a coach rumbled down the drive with the ducal emblem on the door. He’d expected Harry and Louisa to already be at home since his brother had told him they were leaving on Friday morning. Simon jumped off Lucifer and handed the reins to a stableboy.
Glancing at the front door, he wondered why the staff wasn’t lining up to greet their master. Highly unusual. He stood waiting for the coach to stop, and once it did, he waved off the outrider and opened the door.
“Well, it is about time you arr....” Big blue eyes greeted him, but they didn’t belong to Louisa.
Emma Drake’s mouth gaped as she stared at him. “Wh—What are you doing here?”
“I was about to ask you the same thing.”
“Your brother invited me,” she said, clasping his hand as she climbed out of the coach.
“Your sister invited me,” he retorted.
“Oh dear,” she said with a sigh. “I had no idea you’d be in attendance.”
Anger wove its way through his veins. He’d thought a few days away from her might do him good. Instead, they would be in closer quarters for as long as either of them could manage. God only knew what kind of trouble she might manage to get herself into out here.
“Emma? What are you doing here?”
They both turned at the sound of Louisa’s surprised voice.
Simon shook his head. “Don’t tell me that my brother didn’t inform you of her pending arrival.”
“I wanted it to be a surprise,” Harry’s voice sounded from the doorway. “What the devil are you doing here, Simon?”
“I invited him,” Louisa replied tightly. “Well, no matter, you both must come inside this moment. I will have rooms made up for you.”
Simon held out his arm for her and half-expected Miss Drake would ignore him, but she didn’t. She hooked her arm with his and politely let him lead her into the house. Just the sensation of her delicate hand on his arm was enough to spin his desire upward. He would never last the week he’d planned to stay with her so near.
He slid a glance over at her and noticed the bright stain on her cheeks. Could she be recollecting her offer of a kiss? He doubted she recalled much of anything from the night she went to Hell. Truth be told, he’d enjoyed himself immensely that night. Drunken Emma Drake was intriguing, to say the least. Perhaps while they were both here, he could discover what she’d meant by scratching off numbers two and three.
Once inside, she separated herself from his arm as swiftly as she could manage. “Thank you, Mr. Kingsley.”
Simon nodded at her with a slight smile. He wasn’t sure why, but he found the entire situation rather humorous. Obviously, neither Louisa nor his brother had told the other they that he and Emma were accompanying them for the fortnight. Louisa appeared to be glaring at Harry as she fought for control of her emotions. She directed them