A Bride For Windridge Hall

by Jeanie P Johnson

  “But I have no way of supporting myself, if I disappear,” Emily insisted.

  He lifted her face to his and wiped her tears with the handkerchief that he took from her hand.

  “I will take care of you until we discover the answers. I don’t have much money, but I have enough to keep you from having to live destitute, or get employment. There is a small cottage on my property. It is pretty run down, but between Lilith and Alfred and myself, I think we can fix it up well enough for you to live in. Say you will come, Emily.”

  He gently bent his head and kissed her lightly on the lips, and smiled at her.

  She kissed him tenderly on the cheek.

  “I have such dear friends, I don’t deserve you!”

  “Yes, you do Emily. Now enough of those tears. I will go and tell Lilith of our plans.”

  He hugged her to him and Emily kissed him in thanks on the cheek once more. Then he left her sitting on the bench to puzzle over these new events.

  Roderick saw Willard entering the garden. Good. It would give him an opportunity to talk to him in private and settle the question about Emily once and for all. If he could get Roderick to help him convince Emily that he had admitted to himself that he did love her, this turmoil could be over. He arose from his place by the potted plant and followed in Willard’s wake.

  Roderick lost sight of Willard. He followed the garden path for quite a ways and was just about to turn back, when he rounded a bend in the way and saw two figures in the dusk, just ahead of him. They were sitting together on a bench with their heads together. They were talking too softly for him to hear what was being said, but he could tell by the way Willard held Emily’s hands, they were not just discussing the weather. He was about to step forward when he saw Willard kiss Emily on the lips, and then, she, in turn, reached up and kissed him on the cheek. She had said she was going to marry Alfred, and yet here she was kissing Willard, and now they stood and embraced, and Emily kissed him again before he departed.

  If this was the way she acted when she claimed she loved him and said she was probably going to marry Alfred… He thought how easy it had been to seduce her and his heart dropped to his stomach. She was just a tart! A little sneaking tart! His memory went to the time she had boldly touched him, acting innocent and curious. No wonder he could not decide if he loved her or not. She had never loved him! It must be some sort of wager between her and Alfred, and perhaps Willard as well, to get him to admit to loving her and then she would give him the ultimate snub causing him to lose his inheritance. Afterward, she could turn and marry Alfred for his money, or Willard for his.

  Perhaps her snub of him all those years ago was real! Perhaps she wasn’t destitute. Alfred had plenty of money. He would have never allowed his friend to go penniless. This must all be one big game, between Willard, Alfred, and Emily. No wonder Willard was trying to get him to admit his love to her. They were waiting for the one big laugh when she told him what she really thought of him!

  He stepped into the shadows as Willard passed. He should go to her and bring the whole situation out in the open. No. It would be better if he confronted his cousin instead. He turned to catch up with Willard, and it did not take him long to do so.

  “May I have a word with you, dear cousin?” he asked, placing his hand on Willard’s shoulder.

  “Why, certainly, Roderick. I thought you had left.”

  “No, I am afraid not. I was going to talk to you about Emily,” he gave a little laugh. “Luckily I saw you together in the garden before I made a complete fool of myself. You have all had your little game. Consider it over!”

  “What are you talking about, Roderick? I thought it was you who was playing games with Emily’s heart.”

  “Oh, I am sure you wished it. Emily must be up to her old games of making wagers again. Certainly, that little scene in the garden I just witnessed, does not imply a woman who is in love with me, and heart-broken because I will not vow my everlasting love to her. I don’t know why you are playing this game, or why you want me to admit that I love Emily unless it is to put me down completely. Nothing I can do or say will persuade her to become my wife because she never had any intentions of marrying me in the first place!

  “You have not changed in the least, Willard. Admit all of this was to ruin me, so you could have my inheritance! You knew how Emily had snubbed me, and how I promised to return the snub. You are far too friendly with Alfred and Lilith. I believe the three of you set me up from the beginning with Emily, making me believe she was destitute, and putting her in my path. You knew I would never allow a woman to touch my heart. Only at the same time, you knew how attracted I had been to Emily the moment I met her. This has all been a ruse, hasn’t it?”

  “I told you, that you were in love with her,” Willard accused. “So why don’t you just have done with it and save everyone any more suspense. Just admit to loving the girl!”

  “Of course, that is what you want me to do. You want me to admit that all these years I have been in love with that sixteen-year-old nymph. Once I admit it, you will all have a good laugh, while Emily puts me down another peg! No thank you!”

  Roderick started to walk away, but changed his mind and turned back again.

  “If I actually loved her and was willing to admit it, she would never believe me. However, considering that between you and Alfred and Emily as well, there is some wager going on. I believe it was to dare Emily into seducing me into admitting I loved her, so she could snub me once again! I would be crazy to tell her I loved her! Even if I did love her, I would never give her the pleasure of knowing it! And I thought I was the one who was doing the seducing!”

  His mind flickered to the times she acted so coy while giving Roderick hope of gaining more than she allowed. And she pretended to be a proper lady! She had invited Lilith and Alfred to stay so they could be witnesses when she wrung his words of love out of him! Well, the ploy didn’t work, and he would have the last laugh!

  Willard’s eyes widened. He had seen Emily kiss him. That was what all this was about.

  “I think I should explain,” he said, but Roderick stopped him.

  “I am through with explanations. I wouldn’t believe you anyway. This has been a hell of a time for me, Willard. It is not bad enough all that mess with James and Abigail, but you must do this to me as well! Apparently, you must want my inheritance more than I imagined, for you to lower yourself to this kind of backstabbing!”

  Roderick turned to go. Willard called after him, but it was no use. He had already gone down the path and was headed out to his carriage. Willard put his hands to his eyes. Now what? He had his proof of Roderick’s love for Emily, but little good was it going to do him. Roderick would not believe him, as long as he believed that Emily was playing her own games.

  How were they going to convince him otherwise? He turned back to where Emily was. Some plans were going to have to change. He just didn’t know how to get Roderick to come around to believing that Emily truly did love him?

  Willard remembered his words about the birthday dance. He had said it had all started with a birthday dance, and maybe it should end with one. Damnation! This was not the ending Willard had had in mind when he said the words.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Roderick stormed into the house. How could he have been such a fool? Twice now, he was about to tell a woman that he loved her, only to be brought to the reality that she had never loved him, nor could she ever love him. What was it about him that made women turn from him? Every one of them, but Della. Yes, Della had always been there for him!

  He strode down the hall and up the stairs, past the room where Emily had stayed. He paused. He put his hand on the knob and pushed the door open. He could still smell her perfume. The very essence of her seemed to remain in the room. He slammed the door shut again, and continued down the hall, and came to Della’s door.

  He tapped lightly. It was late. He didn’t even know if Della would still be up? Slowly the door opened a little,
and then it was thrown open wide when she saw who it was. Della was dressed in a long flowing wrapper that she had not bothered to fasten, which revealed her body, clad only in a sheer piece of material that clung to her shapely figure.

  “Roderick! It’s… It’s been so long! I knew you would get over the tart! I see it did not take long for the sparkle to wear off of her! Come in.”

  She took both of his hands in hers and pulled him into the room, closing the door behind them.

  Roderick had almost forgotten how alluring Della could be. He now looked at her inviting body and remembered his purpose for coming. She put her shapely arms around his neck and drew him down to her, placing her lips firmly on his. His arms automatically went around her waist and he started to tighten his embrace. Then the flashing memory of Emily Kissing Willard flowed into his mind, and it stopped him short. She had kissed Willard, and here he was kissing Della! He pulled away from her.

  “I must be mad!” he said, staring at Della in disbelief. “I am in love with another woman, and am taking my anger out on her, by coming to you!”

  Della’s eyes sizzled!

  “Then why aren’t you in her arms?” she asked, anger filling her voice, as she stared up at him.

  “Because it was all a game, Della! All a horrible game!”

  He laughed critically at himself.

  “I was the one who was going to play the game on her. Make her fall in love with me, and then snub her, like she had once snubbed me. And then nothing went right. I was caught in her trap. I had loved her on her sixteenth birthday, only to be snubbed by her, and then I fell in love with her again. Now I find her kissing Willard, yet telling me she plans to marry Alfred!”

  “Maybe she is trying to make you jealous. Have you ever thought of that? Smart man that you are. You won’t tell her you love her, so how else is she going to get you to admit it?”

  “I begged her to stay engaged to me until I could profess my love for her, and she refused me! No, she was not trying to make me jealous. It was a game all along. I believe it was another wager with Alfred, whom she probably had planned to marry all along. I just can’t figure out why she was kissing Willard. I thought he was sweet on her girlfriend Lilith. The one who has the money. Marrying Emily would profit him nothing. If he did that, I would find a wife, come hell or high water, so he would never get my inheritance!”

  “So you thought you would drown your sorrow in my arms again? I wouldn’t mind…”

  “No. That would probably be a mistake, even though it is an attracting thought. I am so angry right now, I can’t see straight. I need to find out for sure what this is all about, and if it is a game I need to know why she has decided to play it? I can’t imagine any reason for it unless it is just her nature to play tricks on inspecting people.”

  “Why don’t you ask her?” Della suggested.

  “Because I would probably wring her little neck if I found out it was a game. I have already indirectly caused the death of two people. I am not about to work on a third!”

  “Then let me find out,” Della suggested, her eyes narrowing. “Women sometimes will be more honest with each other, than they ever would be with a man. Even a man they love.”

  “She hates you, Della. What makes you think she would talk to you?”

  “Because she hates me, and I hate her, she would believe me. There would be no reason for me to be on her side. Actually, I am on your side, Roderick. I truly want to see you happy. I know you can’t marry me and keep your inheritance, so at least you need to find out if this is all a game before you lose your heart all for nothing!”

  “You could be right, Della. I need to know for sure before I look for another wife.”

  Roderick put his hand to his eyes.

  “How can I contemplate looking for another wife, when Emily is the only one who could make me happy?”

  “Not if all of this is a game,” Della pointed out. “She does not deserve your love if that is the case. Abigail did not deserve your love. You have just had terrible luck with women, Roderick. I feel sorry for you.”

  “You are sweet, Della,” Roderick said and kissed her lightly on the lips. “You pulled me through the death of my wife, and I owe you more than you could ever know.”

  “Well, I am one woman you don’t have to wonder about whether I love you or not. I realize it is a love in vain unless you are willing to lose everything and marry me.”

  “Della, Della. I do love you, but not the way I should love a wife, and not the way I feel about Emily. I am sorry to say it. I just have to be truthful.”

  She patted his cheek.

  “I know. I know. I knew it would come to this eventually. You had to get married someday, so I have steeled myself for this. I just hope it works out for the best. I guess my luck with men is as bad as your’s with women,” she said with a sad smile.

  “If this all falls through, we may end up with each other yet,” he chuckled.

  “I only wish!” Della sighed and watched him as he turned and went out the door.

  **********

  Willard was pacing the floor and Emily was sitting with her hands clenched in her lap, watching him with worried eyes. Lilith and Alfred sat across the room, Alfred shaking his head and Lilith with wide eyes.

  “Now, tell us again, exactly what happened?” Alfred asked, a little confused.

  “The damn fool saw me kissing Emily,” Willard blurted out.

  “You were kissing Emily?” Lilith shrieked. “Why ever were you kissing Emily?” she demanded.

  “It was a friendly kiss,” Emily assisted Willard. “He was comforting me. He was going to let me stay in a cottage on his property until Roderick came to his senses and missed me so much that he realized that he loved me. Only by that time, it would probably be too late for him to ever tell me he loved me because I most likely would never believe him anyway.”

  “So, back to this kiss…” Alfred prodded.

  “Well, I kissed her…”

  “And then I kissed him on the cheek…” Emily remembered.

  “Then before we parted, she kissed me on the cheek again…”

  “It sounds like a little too much kissing going on,” Lilith fumed.

  “It was all innocent, Lilith. In fact, I had just told Emily that I was going to marry you,” Willard said, smiling at her.

  “You were going to marry me? You haven’t even asked me yet!” Lilith sprang to her feet.

  “Oh, how lax of me,” Willard chuckled.

  He stopped his pacing and came to stand in front of her.

  “I realize I have nothing to offer you, but will you overlook that and marry me, Lilith?”

  “After you have been kissing my best friend?” Lilith fumed teasingly.

  “Especially after I have been kissing your best friend because her kisses could never compare to yours! Sorry, Emily…”

  He gave her a wink.

  “You must accept him, Lilith,” Emily encouraged. “After the mess, I have made of things, someone should be happily in love!”

  “I do love you, Lilith,” Willard said as an after thought. “I will not be stingy admitting that to you, so please say yes.”

  Lilith looked at him and tapped her finger against her chin, as she smiled slyly. “You say you love me?”

  “Of course I do!”

  He grabbed her up into his arms and planted a passionate kiss on her mouth, and she staggered back a little.

  “Oh!” she exclaimed when he released her. “Oh…I suppose you do!”

  “Well?”

  Willard looked deeply into her eyes.

  “In that case, I suppose there is nothing for it, but to marry you,” she said with a sweet giggle.

  Lilith threw her arms around his neck and kissed him just as passionately as he had just kissed her.

  “However, you must ask my father’s permission first!” she insisted as she broke away.

  Willard frowned, knowing he may be turned down by the man, considering he ha
d nothing but love to offer Lilith.

  “Now that that is settled,” Alfred chuckled, “we need to get back to this narration. You kissed Emily, then Emily kissed you, and Roderick was somewhere watching all of this?”

  “Yes,” Willard admitted, as he now sat down on the sofa and pulled Lilith down beside him. “Emily had told him she would probably end up marrying you…”

  Alfred turned to Emily and smiled.

  “You did? That sounds promising! Are you going to marry me, Emily?”

  “Let me finish before you get your hopes up, Alfred!” Willard cut in. “Then he sees her kissing me, so you know what he was thinking?”

  They all shook their heads.

  “He was thinking it was all a big game. She couldn’t be in love with him, if she was planning on marrying you, and then kissing me. He thought it was some sort of wager she had made with you, or with you and me together. He believed that as soon as he confessed his love for Emily, she was going to drop him flat, in the same way, she had snubbed him years ago. I don’t know how that man’s mind works, but that is the conclusion he came up with!”

  “This is all hopeless…” Emily whispered.

  “I tried to explain it, but he would not listen to me. He just stormed off. One thing I know for sure, Emily, and that is that Roderick does love you. He all but admitted it to me. He was in the garden because he saw me go there, and he was coming to talk to me about you…so he told me. Then before he could ‘make a fool of himself’ his words, not mine, he saw us kissing, and decided it was all a big game. Said that’s what he gets for letting a woman touch his heart. Then he took off before I could set him straight. He as much as told me he would not believe anything I told him anyway since apparently, a picture was worth a thousand words…in his opinion, anyway!”

  “So what do you suggest we do?” Alfred wanted to know.

  “I don’t know what we can do. That is why I called you all down here this morning, for this little chat. I have been thinking all night and can’t come up with any way to make Roderick come to his senses. I could tell him I am marrying Lilith, but that wouldn’t change his mind because he thinks Emily is going to marry Alfred…”