What I Ask of You
By Misha
Disclaimer- Not mine.
Author’s Notes- This is my first Hamid/MC fic. I’m using a different MC for this one, Emma Ashby. Emma is very different in nature and temperament than Georgina, not as pragmatic and more wary of the role forced upon on her and I wanted to show that. This is an alternate ending to chapter eight. I really love Prince Hamid and knew I had to create an MC for him.
Pairing- Hamid/MC
Summary- After she escapes Duke Richards’s clutches, Prince Hamid offers Emma a ride home and the conversation takes a personal turn.
Rating- PG
Word- 1017
I ducked out of the Duke’s sight, hurrying after Mr. Sinclaire, mostly to satisfy my curiosity, but also to get away from Duke Richards. After the way I’d had to fend off his advances throughout the show, I was not eager to ride in a carriage with him.
I was about to cross the street when I heard my name called out and froze.
“Lady Emma.”
The voice was familiar and for a moment, I tensed, afraid it was the Duke but as the figure stepped into view I relaxed. It was Prince Hamid.
“I was hoping for the chance to see you again,” he told me with a warm smile. “May I offer you a ride home?”
I cast a look across the street where Mr. Sinclaire had vanished from sight and then turned my attention to the Prince. “I’d be honored.”
He beamed and held out his arm, which I took. He led me to his carriage and then helped me inside. “Where is Miss Parsons?”
“She accepted another offer,” I told him, “Duke Richards offered to see me home, but…” I trailed off, knowing it would be indelicate to indicate my true feelings.
Hamid merely smiled. “I understand. I’m just glad I was able to benefit and enjoy more time in your company. Did you enjoy the show?”
“Not really,” I admitted, “the company left something to be desired and it distracted me from the show.” My skin was still crawling from the Duke’s advances.
“That is a shame,”: Hamid told me, taking my hand in his, “we will have to attend another show soon to rectify that. After all, the opera is meant to be enjoyed.”
“With you as my companion, I don’t think I could help but enjoy myself,” I told him sincerely.
He smiled and then sobered, “I am sorry if I distressed you earlier by mentioning those terrible rumors.”
“You didn’t,” I assured him. I bit my lip and then let out a slight sigh. “I’d been expecting it, honestly.”
Despite my father and grandmother’s assurances, I had expected society to be hostile and while I was disappointed to be proven right, I was not surprised.
Hamid looked surprised. “You were?”
“I am the illegitimate daughter of a foreign-born opera singer who is now the recognized daughter of an earl,’ I reminded him, aware of the feel of his hand against mine, “of course there were going to be rumors. I hate the idea of my mother’s good name being tarnished like that or my father’s, however it was what I expected.” I paused, hesitating slightly. “It was part of the reason why I was reluctant to come to London.”
Even after learning about my father, about who I really was, I’d never expected to come to London and participate in the season because I’d known how it would go and yet here I was. Because it was what expected of me and I didn’t want to fail the father I had just met.
“Well, I am glad you overcame that reluctance,” Hamid told me, my hand still clasped in his, his eyes locked on my face, “otherwise I would not be enjoying your company now.”
There was a sincerity in his voice that had me averting my eyes, suddenly unsure what to say. There was a long moment and then he gently cupped my face in his hands. “Are you not happy that you came?”
“I enjoy being here with you,” I told him honestly, “but the rest… I am not sure I am cut out for this life. A part of me wishes I could just run away.” It was painfully honest, an admission I had been keeping to myself. I hadn’t even dared tell Briar my true feelings, so why was I opening up like this to a near-stranger. And yet… Did I really consider Hamid, a stranger? Our acquaintance had been short, yes, but the connection… It was undeniable.
“And if you could, would you?” Hamid questioned, his grip on my hand tightening as he gazed into my eyes. “If someone offered to take you away from all of this, would you accept?”
My breath caught in my throat. He couldn’t be…? Not yet. I mean, we had just met and yet, our few meetings had been intense and the connection between us had been instant. Before I could answer, the carriage came to a sudden halt.
“Reality intrudes,” Hamid said ruefully, relinquishing my hand. I immediately missed his touch. “Perhaps it is for the best we were interrupted because it is a not a question to be answered lightly.”
“No,” I agreed, wondering if I sounded as breathless as I felt.
“Now you have time to consider the question before it is asked again,” Hamid told me in a low voice as he helped me out of the carriage, his hands lingering briefly on my waist and filling me with a pleasant, yet unfamiliar.
“Will it be asked again?” I inquired, staring up at him, feeling as swept up in the moment as I had when we’d been backstage, acting out that play.
His hand brushed my cheek. “I believe it will, my dear Lady Emma.” He hesitated, as if he wanted to say something else and then thought better of it and then dropped his hand, “you best go inside.”
I nodded, disappointed and yet knowing he was right, there were already enough rumors about me, I didn’t need to give Miss Sutton reason to spread more. “Thank you for the ride home.”
“It was my pleasure,” Hamid answered, lifting my hand to his lips, “and I look forward to continuing our conversation, at a later date.”
And then he was gone, leaving me to enter the house, a dazed smile on face. A smile that immediately vanished at the sight of my Lady Grandmother waiting for me, her very presence reminding me of the obligations I tried to forget and that my life had spiraled so far from what I had always known.
Though I now knew the answer to Hamid’s question.
- End
