Emily drew herself up proudly. "It has nothing to do with the way he feels about me. My husband is a just and honorable man and he will do the right thing. He just needs a little time to think about it first. And I do not happen to have a great deal of time."

"Mayhap 'e don't think savin' this gentry cove is the right thing," the voice snapped.

"Well, it is and he will soon see that for himself. The gentry cove is an innocent young man who happens to have gotten himself into deep water and will very likely get killed before he can swim out of it. My husband will not allow that to happen."

"Bloody 'ell," the voice muttered. "I 'ear different. I 'ear yer 'usband is a 'ard un. Not one to let 'imself be led about by a female. It's my guess 'e'll not only let this gentry cove take 'is chances, but 'e'll be out to teach you a sharp lesson, too."

"Nonsense," Emily said briskly. "You know nothing about my husband. He is a true gentleman. His thinking just gets a bit muddled at times, but I find that is true of most men. Now, then, let us get on with our bargain. What is your asking price?"

"A great deal more than yer wantin' to pay, I'll wager," the voice grated.

"How much?"

"What if I was to say the price for me services was a toss in the 'ay?" The voice was suddenly savage.

Emily froze, truly frightened for the first time that evening. She edged backward a step. "If you ever dare say such a thing to me again I shall tell my husband and he will break your damn bloody neck."

"Is that a fact?" the voice taunted roughly.

"Most definitely," Emily declared fiercely. "My husband protects his own. If you so much as touch me, I guarantee he will not rest until he tracks you down. I doubt if you would survive a day."

"Christ. Ye 'ave me shiverin' in me boots, lady," the voice drawled.

"As well you should be." Emily lifted her chin. "Be aware that if you are contemplating anything treacherous, you had better know that I left a letter at home in my bedchamber. In it I told my husband precisely what I was going to do tonight. In the event I am harmed in any way, he will know to go to George, the man who hired you. From George he will learn your identity. You will not stand a chance of escaping his lordship's wrath. Do you understand me?"

"No," Simon said ruefully as he stepped out from behind the tree. "But I am beginning to believe that it is my fate to be forever unable to comprehend your strange fits and starts."

"Simon." Emily stared in astonishment at the tall, dark figure shrouded in a greatcoat. "What on earth are you doing here?"

"Damned if I know. I believe I had some vague notion of giving you a good scare and thereby teaching you a much-needed lesson. But that is surprisingly difficult to do when you insist on threatening me with myself."

"Oh, Simon, I knew you would help me save Charles."

Emily flung herself into his arms. "I knew you just needed a little time to think about the matter. You could not possibly allow my poor brother to fight a duel."

Simon crushed her against him for a moment. "I ought to beat you soundly and lock you in your room for a month for hatching this insane plot. You know that, don't you? Good God, woman, what do you mean by arranging to hire professional villains? Do you have any notion of what you were getting involved in? Kidnapping, of all things."

"I know you are annoyed with me, my lord," Emily said, her voice muffled by the thick wool of his coat. "But you must see time was of the essence. I knew you would come around eventually, but I had to do something about rescuing Charles immediately. I was merely trying to buy a little time for you to come to your senses and realize that you had to help me save my brother."

"And I suppose you now believe that is exactly what I will do?" Simon asked coolly.

Emily raised her head to look up into his shadowed face. "I do not believe you can let him risk death, Simon. Surely you do not hate him. He had nothing to do with what happened all those years ago. He was only a boy."

"The sins of the fathers…" Simon quoted softly.

"Nonsense. If that applies, then it applies to me, as well as Devlin and Charles. And you do not hold me responsible for what happened to your family twenty-three years ago, do you?"

Simon exhaled heavily and gave her a gentle push back toward the path. "We will discuss this later."

Emily glanced back over her shoulder as he followed her out of the woods. "What are we going to do now, Simon?"

"It appears there is nothing for it but to see what I can do about rescuing that scapegrace brother of yours. Obviously I will not have any peace otherwise."

"Thank you, Simon."

"It would be well for you to remember, elf, that this is the one and only favor I ever intend to do for a Faringdon."

"I understand," Emily said softly. "And I shall be forever grateful."

"I do not particularly want your gratitude," Simon told her.

"What do you want?"

"Assurance that you will never again get yourself into a scrape like this. You could have been robbed, raped, or killed tonight, Emily. Sending George to hire a villain was a monumentally stupid notion."

She tightened her grip on her shawl as they stepped back out onto the path. "Yes, my lord."

"Furthermore, in future, you are not to—" Simon broke off with an oath as Lizzie cried out at the sight of them and rushed toward her mistress.

"There you are, ma'am. Thank the sweet Lord. I was so worried. I was afraid you'd been carried off and ravished and I did not know what on earth I was going to tell his lordship when he asked about you and it would have been hard to keep him from knowing you was gone. Sooner or later he would have been bound to notice and—" Lizzie halted abruptly as she realized who it was standing next to Emily.

"You are quite right," Simon said coldly. "Sooner or later I would have been bound to notice if her ladyship had been carried off."

"Oh, sir." Lizzie gave a jerky little curtsy and stared at Simon in shock. "Tis you, sir."

"Very observant of you. And if you do not wish to find yourself on the street looking for a new position without benefit of references, you will endeavor to make certain that in future her ladyship never promenades along the Dark Walk alone again."

"Yes, sir." Lizzie looked terrified now.

Emily gave her husband a chiding look. "Simon, do stop frightening the poor girl. As for you, Lizzie, stop sniffling and collect yourself. All is well. His lordship was on to my scheme right from the start. Was that not brilliant of him?"

"Yes, ma'am." Lizzie cast an uncertain glance at Simon's forbidding face. "Brilliant."

"And now," Emily said cheerfully, "you will go straight home in the carriage, Lizzie. His lordship and I must be off. We have business to attend to tonight. Do not wait up for me."

"A moment, if you please, madam," Simon drawled. "There seems to be some misunderstanding here. You will be going straight home with your maid."

"But, Simon, this was all my idea and I want to see it through to the end."

"You have involved me now and when I am involved in a plan, I prefer to be in charge. You are going home. I will walk you out of the gardens and put you into the carriage myself."

"But, Simon, you will need me with you."

"This is men's business."

"This is my brother we are talking about," she said desperately.

"You have turned the problem over to me to resolve."

Emily ignored him and plunged into a detailed explanation of why she simply had to accompany him while he set about rescuing Charles but she might as well have been talking to a brick wall. Simon was implacable and unswervable.

Several minutes later she found herself bundled into the carriage together with Lizzie. Simon closed the door and gave his coachman strict instructions to drive straight home. Then he swung around and walked off into the night without looking back.