Devil in Duchess's clothing

Chapter 11

"Are you certain about this, Waverly?" Garrett asked his man of affairs. He had travelled here from London when he'd obtained information about the Queen's missing anklet.

"Yes, my lord. I spoke to the man myself," he nodded confidently.

"Thank you, Waverly. I shall write to you if I need any more information."

The man bowed and left.

Garrett smiled with satisfaction as he leaned back against his armchair. 

He'd had a hunch about Arthur Graves and he'd been right. Waverly had asked around at the clubs' Graves frequented and also made rounds at the man's townhouse. One night when Graves had been a little too deep in his cups, he'd blabbed about a certain anklet to a courtesan. The woman had not read much into it and had not remembered anything else about the anklet. She did, however, have a lot to say about Graves's preferred pervasions in bed.

While he did not have a lot to go on, Garrett felt confident that Graves was their man. He'd already suspected as much and Waverly had only confirmed his suspicions. The Queen had mentioned that Graves had a grudge against her but she'd refused to disclose anything more. And that frustrated him. But that did not matter. He had been assigned a task and he would see it completed.

He wondered if he should talk to Emma about it. He wanted to but something held him back.

Garrett was still contemplating this when he heard a knock.

"Enter."

"Are you occupied?" Emma peaked in.

"Not at all," he replied and stood up. He took his time perusing her. Garrett decided that he liked the country version of Emma. She looked far more carefree and alluring here. She'd forgone the tight, almost punishing bun she usually tied her hair in. Instead, her hair was styled more simply. Her mourning gowns were gone, too, replaced by better-fitted muslin gowns in lighter shades. They suited her. And they allowed him to view that mole by her neck whenever he wished.

"You are smiling," she said almost accusingly.

"What can I say, my dear, you make me smile," he replied with a grin.

Emma rolled her eyes. "Flattery will get you nowhere, sir. Tell me why Mr. Waverly was here. Has he received any information?"

"When did you get acquainted with my man of affairs?"

"Just now, I stopped him when he was leaving. I can be chatty when I wish to," she smiled slightly, sitting in the chair Garrett pulled out for her.

"Why do you never chat with me, I wonder." He leaned against the table near her chair instead of going back to his armchair and folded his arms about his chest.

"You are deliberately trying to distract me from the topic of conversation, Garrett."

He was but he wasn't about to admit as much to her. "What do you want to know?"

"Why was he here? Was it regarding a lead?"

Garrett considered lying to her but then decided against it. He would tell her the truth, a part of it at least.

"We think Lord Graves has something to do with the case." He looked at her face carefully. She did not look distressed, just thoughtful.

"Emma, I would like to know more about your relationship with Graves."

"Why?"

"Because I feel like it is something I should know. You were not brought to London as a mere coincidence."

"Normally, I would object to being reduced to a pawn. But I'm starting to feel the same way," she said on a sigh, her eyes meeting his.

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Emma was quiet for a long time before she spoke. She told him about how Arthur Graves had waltzed into their lives. She narrated the events of that fateful day when she'd lost her sister...when her entire life had been turned upside-down. He was silent, listening to her patiently.

She had never spoken about that incident to anyone, she had never dreamed that she would trust anybody enough to talk about it. And she had certainly never expected that she would want to talk about it.

Garrett was an unexpected pillar of strength and Emma relied on that strength to keep going. After all these years, she had finally found a friend, she realized.

"It was very kind of the Duke to have supported you. My respect for him has increased immensely," Garrett said.

Emma smiled. "He did not have to interfere, he did not have to save a virtual stranger. But he did it anyway."

"And that is how you ended up being married to him," Garrett murmured with satisfaction as if a piece of his mental puzzle had finally fit. "Thank you for telling me. And for what its worth, you are amazingly strong. I do not know how I would've reacted if it had been my sister instead of yours."

"I haven't reacted yet, Garrett. Henry had asked me to give him my word that I would stay away from Arthur Graves. And so far, I have honored that promise. However, I long to bring justice for my sister. And I will not rest until I find out what that cretin did to my sister and see him punished.

I agreed to be the crown's agent so that I can expand my contacts and so that I can be a part of the network."

Garrett nodded thoughtfully. "I am there for you," he said. But Garrett knew that he wasn't just going to be there for her. He was going to destroy Graves for hurting Emma.

"Is Victoria aware of all this?"

"I do not know. She often wrote to Henry for advice but I do not know if my husband had shared any of this with her."

Garrett said nothing, his mind awhirl with all the possibilities.

"Has your mother said anything to you about last night?" Emma asked, her cheeks bright red.

"No," Garrett replied, grateful for the diversion. He had been about to get a headache.

"Well, she has been looking at me a little differently."

Garrett chuckled. "Stop fretting, your grace. Given our predicament, my mother should be the least of your worries."

"Well, she had written about a house party and—good God, I'm rambling," she muttered and stood up as if to leave. And that brought their faces extremely close.

Emma felt all the air leave her lungs. She wanted to gasp for air. She realized that she had spent all these years taking breathing for granted.

She wished for Garrett to close that little distance desperately. And then berated herself for the thought immediately.

What was wrong with her?!

She looked up from his irritatingly attractive mouth to find him staring at her. As if he wanted to kiss her too.

Butterflies. In her belly.

And she felt hot, her face flamed.

"I should leave," she whispered.

"Mm, you probably should."

And so Emma fled, feeling disoriented and lost.

Meanwhile, Garrett was frozen in the same spot, his heart racing madly. His knuckles were almost white from gripping the table too hard to keep from reaching for her.

His initial assessment had been correct, the woman was a she-devil. And she had been sent to torture him for his past sins.

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Hey guys, I'm so sorry for not updating in so long. Please don't hate on me, I had burdened myself with a lot of work.
Anyhow, hope you enjoyed the update and I hope y'all are staying safe.
Love,
Ashmita
P.S. Did anyone else get a Christian Grey vibe from that last bit? :P