For the Love of a Broken Lord [EBOOK]

Chapter 1 <br>
Back straight, shoulders down, eyes straight ahead. It was the rule of three that was drilled into Emma's mind like a poem; one she recited to herself at any spare moment she could afford. <br>
The carriage ride felt like the perfect opportunity to practise her mantra, since she was already trying to tune out the sound of her mother and sisters as it was.
She was unsure if her father was listening to what was being said. If he was, the Duke was very good at focusing on the passing countryside while also listening intently.<br>
"I'm just saying it's only going to have poor implications for us!" Elaine's pitch was too high to ignore anymore. Emma let her shoulders sag as she stared at her youngest sister. <br>
Elaine wore her blonde curls loosely while they made the journey through the country to their cousin's estate. Emma wished she was afforded such a luxury, but instead her hair was pinned so tight that her face felt slightly stretched from it.<br>
"Your sister is trying her best," their mother spoke up. "This is going to be the year. It has to be."<br>
"I'm right here," Emma said finally. "And yet you speak of me as though I'm riding one of the carriage horses and out of earshot!"<br>
"Perhaps there will be someone for you at Louise's party," Elaine chimed in once again.<br>
"I'm going to wish my cousin a happy eighteenth birthday, and warn her of what pressure will be put on her by even those closest to her," Emma said, firing a glare at her sister. "Searching for men isn't something I like to busy myself with at an event like this."<br>
"If we're being honest," Susan, the middle child, said, "you never look for a man who could be a suitable husband."<br>
Emma stared at her sister with a look that said, not you too. Susan was only two years Emma's junior, and normally the one who would jump to her defence. But it seemed that on the matter of marriage, it was very clearly every young woman for herself.<br>
"We just don't want you to become destitute," her mother's tone was much softer than her sisters'.
"Or worse, a spinster for a sister," Elaine added with a theatrical gasp.<br>
If her parents hadn't been in the carriage with them, Emma would have rolled her eyes at her sister's comments. The Partingtons had a reputation to uphold. They had a place in society that Emma knew she was putting in danger with her choices. She was going to let the family down if she didn't find a husband, and soon.
"Elaine," her mother scolded at such brash talk in the carriage.<br>
"But it's true, Mother," Elaine persisted. "Emma is the one who will marry and her husband will inherit the duchy, correct? She needs to choose before there is nobody left who is prepared to marry an older woman."
Emma felt the heat rising in her cheeks, but she bit her tongue and remained composed. Inside, though, she was plotting how she would get revenge on her younger sister for the things she was saying. Emma wasn't normally malicious and so all she could think was to perhaps leave one of her sister's skirts out in the sun for too long to discolour the material.<br>
She knew if it were the other way around, the mischievous girl would plan something much worse for her. But Emma was the eldest, and she had a responsibility to her family, so she couldn't stoop to such levels.<br>
"Are we nearly there yet? It's getting awfully hot in here," Emma said while beginning to fan her face with the lace-trimmed fan that matched the same blue hue of her dress.<br>
"She's trying to dodge the question," Elaine mumbled.
"That's enough from you," her mother said before turning to Emma. "I'm sure it cannot be much longer. You know as well as I it's a relatively straight road from Padvine to Louise's estate. Imagine if we had to travel all the way down to London. Now that would be much more of a commitment."<br>
Padvine was the vast house the Duke and his family called home. It was the large estate where Emma had grown up, and it held many fond memories in every nook and corner. Travelling anywhere felt wrong to her, for Emma felt safe on the grounds of Padvine and didn't like leaving. <br>
Even when going to London, the buzzing city of opportunity, Emma wanted nothing more than to be back on the lawn reading a book in the afternoon sun. London was too crowded, and there were far too many staring eyes and mouths talking about her. Emma shuddered at even the thought.<br>
Luckily, there were no trips planned to the capital in the near future, but she was concerned about finding a husband in time to please her family. <br>
While Emma didn't want to end up as a spinster as her sister had suggested, she knew what she wanted in a man; someone who would respect and love her; someone who would not see the imbalance of their arrangement and try to take advantage of it. She winced internally, wondering if it was too much to ask for.<br>
It was a beautiful day; while travelling such a distance in the rain came with its own risks, Emma couldn't stand being cooped up in a carriage when she could be out with the sun on her skin.<br>
"I hope the party is out in their gardens. I remember Louise being excited to show me the grounds the last time we were there," Emma said while staring out of the carriage window.<br>
"I hope her parents are sensible and keep the party indoors," her mother said, shaking her head.
"But look how nice a day it is," Emma said, pointing out of the window. "It would be a pity to spend the early evening inside."<br>
"Think of the insects," her mother said, cringing. Emma, again, found herself digging deep to refrain from rolling her eyes.<br>
"Will you just promise tonight you will at least lower your expectations?" Elaine said.<br>
Emma didn't know how to respond. She wasn't willing to compromise just to marry someone who would make her life no harder. She was the daughter of a duke, and that meant all manner of men came calling to try to win her hand. <br>
It attracted the kind of men Emma wouldn't even dream of holding a conversation with, let alone entertaining the prospect of marriage. She wanted a gentleman, not one who was simply trying to elevate his status in society.<br>
"I can't make any promises," Emma said finally, realising all eyes, aside from her father's, were on her. "But I will try to keep an open mind this evening." Her words were clearly the correct ones, for they were met with muted surprise.<br>
Back straight, shoulders down, eyes straight ahead. Emma knew she had a duty to her family. And while finding a husband from the crop of usual suspects wasn't so appealing to her, Emma no longer had age on her side to bide her time.<br>
They drew closer to her cousin's estate, and for the first time, it began to dawn on her that her time was running out.<br>