The footman waited for Harry to read the note. Harry frowned. “It’s from Louisa.”
“Is all well?”
“No.” Harry looked over at the footman. “Have my carriage brought around now,” he demanded as only a duke could.
“What is wrong, Harry?” Simon asked.
“George’s coughing has worsened. Nurse thinks it might be croup, but Louisa is fearful of whooping cough.” Harry looked over at Simon as worry clouded his eyes. “I need to go to Louisa. Can I trust you to chaperone Emma and escort her home?”
“Of course, go. I will stop by after I return Miss Drake to her home in case you need me.” And because he wanted to make sure for himself that his nephew was well.
“Thank you.”
Once the dance ended, Simon noticed Emma glancing around for Harry. Simon approached her with a forced smile. “Miss Drake, I must speak with you.”
She shook her head. “No, I need to find Harry.”
“He has left.”
Her face fell. “What do you mean he left?”
“George has taken a turn for the worse.”
“Oh no, poor Louisa must be worried. We must go to them immediately.” Emma started walking past him, but Simon caught her elbow.
“I promised Harry I would chaperone you and then take you home.”
She shook her head. “No, we are leaving and going to our family now.”
Simon blinked at the commanding tone she used. She must be as worried about George as he was, and for that, he could not deny her the option to assist her sister. “As you wish.”
Once settled in his carriage, she glanced over at him. “You do not know, do you?”
“Know what exactly?”
“About Robert.”
Robert? Did Emma have a suitor? Robert? Robert Digby? No, the man was a reprobate. “Robert?”
“My brother,” she whispered.
“You don’t have a brother,” he foolishly commented.
“I did,” she said, still using a hushed tone. “Robert died when I was three, so I have no memory of him. But Louisa was watching him while my mother went to fetch the physician.”
“Where was Tessa?”
“She was visiting my grandmother in Portsmouth. Louisa didn’t go with her because she and Robby had been ill with what they thought was just a cold, but Robby did not get better. His cough became far worse until Mamma realized it was whooping cough.”
“What happened?”
Emma stared down at her gloved hands. “My mother stopped at the bank and urged my father to get the physician. She then returned to find Louisa holding Robert. His face was blue.”
“Poor Louisa,” Simon whispered. “I had no idea.”
“Now, you see why I insisted we leave the ball.”
Simon nodded, but worry gnawed at him.