by Ella Edon
Cecil nodded. He walked off almost immediately. Henry on the other hand walked towards the study and took his seat. He wanted to have dinner with her. He wondered what he would tell her. He wondered how he would speak to her and what they would discuss. For days he had had dinner alone. If the Earl came home, they dined together butthe dinners were filled with insults and arguments that made Henry wonder how the Earl could truly be his father at all.
The last time they dined together, they had argued about Lord Hamilton again. The Earl had called Henry selfish, for not giving in to his requests. But Henry knew that he did not want to ruin a relationship he had built for years. He did not want that.
Henry realized, on those nights, as he longed for his wife, that he should have indeed told her the truth about his mother's death. He should have been honest with her, protected her. He was hurting because he missed her. He missed seeing her laugh, he missed seeing her smile. He missed when she told him her fears. And now, he wanted all of that back. He wanted to speak to her openly, and with honesty. He hoped that it was not too late. He hoped that she still had a place for him in her heart.
He stood up from his seat, and headed for the door of the study, his heart filled with uncertainty but determination. He had planned what he would say to her, and all of it was the truth. The sound of thunder called his attention. His eyes zeroed in on the hour glass by the stand. Hs fears rose again. He began to panic. She had not returned yet. The show must be over. He was panicking now. He looked around and saw Mr. Anders at the end of the hallway.
"My Lord. The lady is yet to return. I fear that with the weather at its worst, we need to look for Lady Blackmoor."
Henry nodded unable to speak. He was right. They needed to find her. What if something bad had happened.
Henry gave his head a shake then said, "Tell George to saddle a horse for me. I shall go looking for Lady Blackmoor."
Mr. Anders nodded and headed away immediately. Henry clasped his hand together and prayed that all was well. The thunder came again, and Henry walked towards the doors. Just as he pulled it open, Emma walked right into him, her cloak wet, and her hair wet as well. Her eyes were wide as he gripped her shoulders to still her. They stood there staring at each other. Henry was so happy that she was alright. Without thinking, he pulled her into a hug.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Emma was drenched when she walked into the house. Her cloak was soaking wet. As she pushed open the door, she was stunned to see Lord Blackmoor staring at her. She nearly stumbled, but he gripped her forearms and held her still. Her heartbeat increased at that very moment, and she was suddenly conscious of who was holding her and why. She closed her eyes, but all of a sudden, she felt him pull her into a hug. She stilled as he hugged her, murmuring into her hair and holding her close. Emma held her breath and waited, waited for him to remember that they had not spoken in days. She waited for him to remember that he had lied to her, kept secrets from her..
"I was worried about you. I came home and I heard you went to see Lady Allen." He creased his brows. He was about to go on, but she cut him short.
"Perhaps it would be better if we had this discussion when I am not soaked and shivering, My lord."
He gasped. "Pardon me, I was — pardon me. Of course. Let me help you out of your cloak."
Emma allowed him to help her out of her cloak. Mr. Anders and Sally approached them then. Henry handed the cloak to them as she raised her dress and began to walk away.
"Lady Blackmoor," Henry called.
She stopped. She turned to him and waited for him to speak. He however, only stared at her. Emma raised a brow..
He shook his head then and said, "It is best you change out of that dress. You are shivering."
"Why, thank you for stating the obvious, Lord Blackmoor. I was heading to do that when you requested my attention."
He nodded. "Of course. Go ahead. You shall need Sally for this."
Emma nodded curtly and turned away. He was acting very strange.
She was so exhausted. All she needed to do was rest her head. She had had such a long day. She turned around, to tell Sally to come help with her dress, but was stunned when she saw Lord Blackmoor standing by the door, trying to close it silently.
Emma folded her hands over her bosom and raised a brow. "You look nothing like Sally."
Henry creased his brows, but soon enough, he laughed. "I did miss your humour." He gestured for her to turn around. "Let me help you out of that dress."
Emma sighed in defeat. "What is this, Henry? What are you doing?"
He walked over to her and said. "Please, Emma. Let me take care of you."
Emma's heartbeat increased at that statement. She felt flutters inside of her. Her heart softened, but she did not turn. He needed to say more. So, she waited, unmoving, brows raised.
Henry smiled. "I am sorry, Emma for not letting myself trust you. I just did not want to relive the moment. I did not want to have to go through it again. And I told you nothing about it because deep down, I knew that Lady Allen was good and kind, and you were growing to trust her. If I had told you about it, you would have drawn back from her, and I just wanted you to be happy. To let yourself trust. I had a good judgement for Lady Allen, so I knew that you were in good hands. Also, information had reached me that the Duke was out of town."
Emma shivered from the cold.
Henry sighed. "Let me take you out of this dress, so we may discuss. You are shivering. Let me take care of you."
Emma did as asked. She turned. Slowly, she felt him undo the straps that held her dress, and her petticoat. Soon it was all off and all she wore was her chemise. It was dry on her, but she was still shivering. She watched Henry pick up a quilt from the bed and lay it around her shoulders. She felt warm then, and her shivering stopped.
Henry led her to the bed and asked her to sit. She did as requested.. He sat beside her, smiling. Emma cast her gaze down. She was surprised, when he searched for her hands under the quilt, and took them in his.
"Emma, I do not know what the future may hold, but I want to walk down that path with you. I want us to do this together. I want us to take that step together, to fully understand what this marriage means to us both. I know I have made a promise before, but now I make it again, in all sincerity. I have no secrets that I keep, and I want to be able to protect you from everything and anything. I want a life with you."
Emma felt her heart lurch. His words made her smile and made her want to hold on to him forever. She believed every word he uttered, because she saw the truth in his eyes.
He went on. "It may have taken me time to realize it, but Emma, these past few days have made me understand what it is that I want the most,” he said as he moved closed to her. He held her firmly and with his eyes, pleading that she should not look away. She did not. She gazed at him..
"I love you, Emma Blackmoor. I want us to take every journey together. I want us to move away from here, start a life together and be happy. I want us to bear children. More lasses than lads," he added quickly.
Before Emma could stop herself, she protested. "More lads than lasses."
Henry's eyes widened. Emma felt her cheeks heat up. They stared at each other for a while, before bursting into laughter. Emma felt in that moment, truly, truly happy. But she had wronged him too. She called him out for not trusting her, yet she too had not told him her great secret. For them to move forward, Emma realized that she needed to be true to him as well. She took his hand in hers.
"Henry. I should have told you about the blackmail."
"Emma, do not dwell on what my father said. He has not shown proof of any letters about the affair."
She nodded. "I know this, but I cannot risk it being true. If he is right, and my father finds out, he would be broken by this. His reputation, as well as mine, will be ruined."
Henry looked into her eyes. "Emma, we will get to the root of all of this. We will be free of all of this, soon, and we shall move far away from here
."
Emma was sad, for her identity bothered her. But she knew deep down that she would never acknowledge anyone else as her papa. For even though she had ups and downs with the Earl of Elesmere, he was the only papa she wanted. Henry was smiling at her. And his smile gave her hope. She suddenly felt peace.
He nodded. "We shall overcome all of this."
She leaned in and kissed him. He responded with more eagerness than she. She giggled against his lips and said, "I love you Henry."
He repeated after her. "And I you."
But in spite of her happiness, Emma was suddenly gloomy, for she remembered her father, and the trouble they were in. She remembered that she could never truly be peaceful until she was free from the Earl and until she was sure of who she was and where she stood. She wanted to say that to Henry, but she realized that saying it out loud would make her feel worse, and she did not want her happiness to fade.
Henry touched her hair as he sat comfortably beside her. "Do not worry yourself. I shall find a way to free you of my father's threat, so he won't loom over us for all of our lives. And then we can move faraway."
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Henry felt so at peace. There was a certain promise that came with what he had shared with Emma. That promise seemed everlasting. In agreeing to bear heirs, they had promised themselves a future. He wanted that future so greatly, that he had began to imagine it, to hope for it, to see it.
With his father back from Ireland and trying to get a solid contact with the Duke of Roxburgh, Henry was certain his father was up to something. It had been long since he had seen him desperate and in need of help from someone more powerful than he was. Henry was deeply perturbed about the issue. His father's desperation put him on edge and he feared that his father may be taking things too far.
"Blackmoor?" Lord Hamilton, who was seated opposite him said, averting his attention.
Henry was seated in the drawing room at the Hamilton home, on the red cushion opposite Lord Hamilton..
Henry nodded quickly, saying. "Carry on, I am listening."
Lord Hamilton scoffed. He closed the book he had been holding and placed it on the table beside him. "There is nothing more I have to say. I have said all there needs to be. However, you were quite distracted while I spoke. Tell me, my old friend, what bothers you?"
Hamilton was his oldest friend. They had known each other since they were lads. They had rolled in the sand at the Green Hills together, thrown arrows at boards and made wagers on them. Those days that Henry remembered made him smile. Hamilton did know him very well and Hamilton knew when something worried him.
"Come now, what bothers you?" Hamilton asked again.
Henry thought of how inappropriate it was to speak of the ills of his father. Although he trusted Hamilton, Henry knew that the walls had ears and he could not share why he was bothered there. Cecil was looking into it, but he still had nothing. Henry was beginning to worry. His father had become more suspicious in recent days, he stayed out late and often returned with his eyes racing, his mind calculating. Henry saw him in the study sometimes, going through paperwork, andwhen he asked, the Earl was quick to remind him that it was none of his business.
Shaking his head, Henry decided to not speak of the situation.
Hamilton spoke up, breaking the long silence. "Do you recall when we made wagers by the Hill, and placed boards up, and threw arrows at it."
Henry took a sip from the scotch placed before him. "I always won."
Hamilton chuckled. "My old friend. "
Henry raised his hand in the air, as he recalled vital information. "Once, when Emilia, whom you had eyes on, had come to watch and I let you win."
Hamilton groaned. "So that I would not embarrass myself before her. I did tell her, later, how you had let me win."
Henry laughed, for he found that hilarious. "Why would you do that?"
Hamilton relaxed into his seat. "I was courting her, and I thought it was best that I was truthful to her."
Henry shook his head. "How did that confession go?"
Hamilton grinned. "She kissed me and agreed to be wed to me. She reminded me of it some days ago, she is with child, as you know."
Henry's eyes widened. He did not know. "This is great news, Hamilton! Splendid news!"
Hamilton smiled. "I hope it took you by great surprise, just as you had taken me by great surprise with your wife."
Henry laughed. Of course, Hamilton was still not pleased about that surprise at all. Henry shook his head. "It has."
"You did not even send me an invite for the wedding ceremony."
"I got a special license. We wanted something quiet. Only our fathers were in attendance." Henry smiled.
Hamilton nodded. "I understand."
Hamilton was not done talking. Henry sensed that he had a lot to say, so he braced himself.
“Blackmoor, you helped save my father, so many years ago. I shall be forever grateful for that."
Henry remembered. They had been ten and nine years when Hamilton's older brother had been angry at the Earl, for not accepting who he wanted to be wed, in desperation he had thought becoming the Earl, by killing his father, would grant him freedom.
"Have you heard from him?"
Hamilton smiled. "He sent a letter upon father's death, sent his condolences and promised to come visit. Though he never did."
Hamilton shrugged. "I shall write to him again before the next season. I believe he is in Ireland. It was where mama had directed her previous letters to him. It was where his response came from."
Henry smiled at Hamilton. "I know how much you had looked up to him."
"Indeed, but then I learnt to stand on my own."
Henry thought about what he said. He too had learnt to stand on his own. Although he had never looked up to his father at all.
"The point in all of this, Henry, is to tell you that you have always been there for me when I needed you the most. So, if there is any way that you need my help at all, I shall be there for you as well, old friend."
Henry nodded. He thought about telling Hamilton. Hamilton did have connections and knew how to get secret matters out. But Henry wavered. He was not certain of what the Earl was up to, and he did not want for the matter to be escalated. He had sent Cecil, knowing fully well that he would be quiet about it. But Hamilton would ask questions and eyes would be on his father.
"I would be discreet about it, Blackmoor." Hamilton said, as though he had read his mind.
Henry decided, that after all, it was Hamilton, and he could trust him. He decided to share his burden.
"I fear that my father has been...acting strange of late. Staying late hours outside, keeping secrets and hiding paperwork from me. I am uncertain of what to make out of all this, Hamilton. I fear that my curiosity is piqued about the situation."
Hamilton relaxed and rubbed his chin. "And you want to know what your father is up to?"
Henry shrugged. "Most certainly, although I fear what I may uncover."
Hamilton shook his head. "Henry, you must remember that your father’s actions shall affect you as well. Perhaps it is best to not know about it, for now..."
Henry understood well what Hamilton was saying, and he knew that Hamilton was right. Hamilton sat up. "Blackmoor, if you want me to look into the matter then, I shall, but I strongly advise that you do not. Perhaps you should speak to your father. Confront him."
Henry was torn. Part of him wanted Hamilton to go and look into it, but he knew the dangers, so he shook his head. "Let it be...as you said, perhaps it is best to speak to him."
Hamilton nodded. "Yes. Yes, of course."
Henry looked around lazily, but his eyes widened when he saw the time on the wall clock. He stood up immediately. "I have to head home, Hamilton."
Hamilton chuckled. "Of course, so you can be on time to have dinner with the Lady. "
Henry laughed at that. Hamilton rose with him. They walked outside together, laughing and chattering. When they ap
proached the carriage, Hamilton gripped his right shoulder. "Blackmoor, never forget that you can count on me."
Henry nodded. He knew he could. As Henry left, he knew deep down that sooner or later, he would have to do something grave. But first, he wanted to go home and see Cecil. Perhaps, he prayed, Cecil would have good news for him.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
As Emma drew the thread through the piece of cloth, she smiled, recalling exactly how her mama used to do it. Sally stood beside her, smiling. "Lovely, My Lady. You are doing tremendously well."