Belle tumbled in.

“Oh, for Christ’s sake, Belle,” Ned burst out. “Were you eavesdropping?”

Belle picked herself up off the floor with as much dignity as she could muster, which wasn’t much, considering that she’d landed on her belly. “What do you expect?” she demanded in an exasperated voice. “The two of you have been creeping around the house for the past two days, obviously conspiring to carry out some sort of nefarious plot, and neither of you has had the decency to include me.” She snorted at Emma and Ned, planting her hands resolutely on her hips. “Did it not occur to either of you that I might like to know what was going on? I’m not stupid, you know. I might have been able to help.” She sniffed disdainfully. “Or at least had fun trying.”

Emma stared at her blankly throughout the tirade. “There wasn’t any nefarious plot,” she finally replied.

“And it wasn’t any of your business, anyway,” Ned said, somewhat peevishly.

“Rubbish,” Belle retorted. “If it were only your business, it wouldn’t be any of my business. And if it were only Emma’s business, it wouldn’t be any of my business. But if it is both of your businesses, then it’s obviously my business, too.”

“Your leaps of logic are astounding,” Ned commented dryly.

“I’ve quite forgotten what it is we were talking about,” Emma added.

“And then!” Belle said dramatically, working herself into a fine little snit. “And then, I came home from the park today only to find that my only cousin is crying her eyes out behind a locked door, and when I tried to go to comfort her, my darling brother stopped me and said, ‘Leave her alone. You don’t even know what she’s upset about. Do be gone. ’”

Emma turned to Ned, eyebrows raised curiously. “Did you really say ‘Do be gone’? That’s a perfectly horrid thing to say.”

“Well, I might have,” Ned said defensively. “If you recall, it sounded as if you were dying in here. I was quite worried.”

Emma stood up, turned to Belle, and took her hands. “I’m sorry if you felt left out, Belle. That certainly wasn’t our intention. It was just that Ned had a problem, I had a solution, and everything happened so fast that we forgot to include you.”

“And I’m sorry I made such a scene,” Belle replied sheepishly. “But now you really ought to tell me what is going on.”

“About which?” Emma asked. “The problem or the solution?”

“Either. Both.”

“Well, to sum things up, I asked Alex to marry me.”

Belle sank onto the bed, nearly pulling Emma along with her. “Whaaat?”

“And the bastard refused,” Ned put in savagely

“He what? He didn’t.”

“He did,” Emma said with a morose little nod.

“Why?” Belle asked incredulously.

“Actually, that’s a bit personal.” Emma fidgeted slightly and then quickly added, “And I haven’t told Ned a thing about it.”

“But why? Couldn’t you wait for him to propose? That’s how it’s usually done, you know. I’m certain he would have gotten around to it sooner or later.”

“I didn’t really have much time.”

“What on earth do you mean? You’re not exactly a spinster, Emma.”

“That’s where I come in,” Ned interjected. “Emma was sacrificing herself on the altar of marriage for my sake, I’m afraid.”

Belle drew back, looking at Emma with a skeptical glance. “You’d do that for Ned?”

“Anyway,” Ned continued loudly, pointedly ignoring his sister’s jibe. “I’ve gotten myself into a bit of a mess. A gambling debt.”

“How much?” Belle asked bluntly.

“Ten thousand pounds.”

“What?!” Belle shrieked.

“My reaction precisely,” Emma murmured.

“Are you crazy?”

“Look, I’ve already been through all this with Emma,” Ned sighed. “Suffice it to say that Wood-side was cheating.”

“Oh no, not Viscount Benton,” Belle groaned. “The man’s a swine.”

“He’s worse than you think,” Emma added. “He offered to trade the debt in for you.”

“For me? Oh no, you don’t mean…”

“Actually I think he wants to marry you. And he probably thought that compromising you would be the only way to get you to agree.”

Belle shuddered. “I suddenly feel extremely dirty. I think I would like a bath.”

“I have a bit of money that my mother’s family left to me,” Emma explained. “I thought I would give it to Ned so that he shouldn’t have to tell your parents about it, but I’m not allowed to touch any of the funds until I marry.”

“Oh my,” Belle breathed. “What on earth are we going to do?”

“I don’t think I have any choice,” Ned said. “I’ll have to see a moneylender.”

“Unless…” Emma said thoughtfully, her words trailing off.

“Unless what?” Ned asked sharply. “The last time you said ‘unless, ’ you decided to propose to Ashbourne, and all that got you was a broken heart.”

The mention of Emma’s shattered emotions nearly sent a tear rolling down her cheek, but she quickly blinked it back.

“You idiot,” Belle hissed, kicking her brother in the shin.