by Amanda Davis
It should not hurt but it does.
“He is a good man, a fair man and a man who will sell his own family’s business to pay off your debts.”
Charlton gaped at her.
“You cannot be serious. Who is he?”
“Does it matter, Father? We know who he is not—Walter Greene.”
Father and daughter stared at one another for a long, silent moment but it was Charlton who looked away first, shaking his head in defeat.
“If I had known you would drive such a hard deal, Emmy, I would have made you my heir and not Xavier.”
He was jesting, of course but it was the first time in her life that Emmeline had ever felt an iota of respect from her father.
“Is it a deal, then, Father?”
“I suppose it is…however, someone must tell Mr. Greene.”
Emmeline beamed happily and nodded.
“That would be my pleasure to arrange,” she told him earnestly.
“He will not take it well, Emmeline,” Charlton warned her.
“He will when I tell him that Christiana and his child are still very much alive, Father.”
She did not permit him a response as she glided out of the office toward the front of the lobby where she had left Walter Greene.
The guests began to disperse, some lingering about as if they longed to hear a snatch of last-minute gossip before returning to their respective households but as they filtered away, a coach and six appeared.
Emmeline’s heart skipped wildly and she ran down the front steps to greet the gleaming black carriage.
The coachman barely had time to open the door before Elias spilled out, blinking against the blinding winter sun to look at her.
“You came!” she breathed happily, studying him from barely a pace away.
“Did you have any doubt?” he asked and she shook her blonde mane vehemently.
“I have no doubts about you whatsoever.”
Oblivious to the stares of the remaining guests, Emmeline threw herself into Elias’ arms and embraced him tightly. He held fast to her and they remained pressed against one another for a long moment, not caring who gaped at the display.
“You are unscathed,” he murmured. “I was concerned it would not go as planned and I would come here to find you a married woman.”
“Ah,” she tittered. “It sounds as though it is you who was plagued with doubts.”
Elias stepped back and peered into her face, shaking his head.
“I have never been surer of anything than I am you,” he promised her. “From the moment I first saw you, I felt grounded, confident.”
“Come inside,” she urged, linking her arm through his. “I will show you your office.”
Elias chuckled.
“How did your father handle the news?”
“Better than I expected,” she replied honestly. “Confidentially, I believe he was relieved that he was given an escape.”
“And Mr. Greene?”
“After I explained the situation to him, he disappeared quite abruptly. Joshua told me he left word to have his items transported to London.”
Elias stopped walking and peered at her.
“Do you believe that Mr. Wesley and Christa are safe?” he asked quietly and Emmeline was touched by his concern.
“I have been in touch with Honor and he assures me they are doing well. He is consumed with regret although I am sure that is small consolation to you after all you have endured.”
“I do not wish for him to be woeful for what has happened,” Elias replied quickly. “I only wish to put the past behind us and for us all to start anew.”
“Hear hear,” Emmeline agreed, patting his arm gently. “You are a good man, Elias. I am glad I will be your wife.”
“My first and only wife,” he chimed and they laughed, moving inside the hotel lobby.
“Elias!” Joshua cried when his eyes fell on the older man. “You have returned!”
“Indeed,” Elias replied and Joshua blushed, lowering his eyes.
“Forgive me. Mr. Compton.”
“I think it is fair to call us friends, Josh,” Elias told him quietly. “You may always call me Elias when we are alone.”
“I-I will try not to confuse the issue,” Joshua muttered, looking nervously at Emmeline.
“If you call him Elias, you best call me Emmeline too,” she insisted, a slight exasperation to her tone. “I will be appalled if you do not. I did throw you in the mud more times than Elias.”
Joshua giggled and nodded.
“I will try, Miss—uh, Emmeline.” He looked about as though he expected God to strike him down for such a blunder and shuffled away, his ears pink.
“There will be a lot of changes upcoming,” Elias commented. “I do hope everyone will conform.”
“They will,” Emmeline assured him. “The Balfour Hotel has been here a long while and we did not survive without change.”
Their eyes locked and they shared a private smile.
“I have never run a hotel before,” Elias confessed. “Will it be difficult?”
Emmeline laughed and tugged on his arm.
“It is not the hotel which should worry you,” she told him softly. “It is the Balfours themselves.”
Epilogue
The rose gardens were fully in bloom and the scent was causing Emmeline’s gut to flip.
“Are you well, Emmy? You look the color of fresh milk.”
She looked at her mother and tried to smile but the expression escaped in a waver.
“I believe I should lie down for a while,” she said, rising from the wicker chair and fanning herself as a rush of hot stained her face.
Anne snapped her fingers and Cora appeared.
“Cora, see Mrs. Compton to her room and send for the surgeon.”
“There is no need for a doctor, Mother,” Emmeline muttered but the words were hard to say against the bile forming in her mouth. Quickly, she clamped her mouth closed and swallowed, warding off the sick which threatened to consume her.
“Oh, I daresay there is,” Anne replied slyly, reaching for her glass of port. Her eyes were bloodshot and bleary but glimmering with profound knowledge. Emmeline did not bother to question her and instead stumbled out of the lush garden toward the back entrance of the hotel.
“There is no need to call Dr. Forrester,” Emmeline told Cora as the made their way up the stairs slowly.
Why must the family take the fifth floor? She bemoaned silently but it had never troubled her until that moment.
“Shall I call on the waiters to carry you up?” Cora asked with concern. Emmeline’s face flushed with embarrassment.
“Certainly not!” She could not fathom a more humiliating idea.
“Mrs. Compton, you are white as a sheet,” Cora whispered. “Please, remain on the landing. I will call for you husband.”
Cora hurried away and Emmeline scowled.
I must have eaten some bad cheese, she reasoned but she did not move, lest her wobbly legs fail. In seconds, it seemed, Elias appeared at her side, his face stricken with concern.
“My word! What is it?” he demanded, sweeping her up in his arms. “Are you ill?”
“I am merely faint. It must be the heat,” Emmeline fibbed. “There is no need for such a fuss!”
Elias turned to Cora.
“Send for Dr. Forrester at once!” he barked, striding up the stairs as if she weighed no more than a feather.
“Eli,” Emmeline protested. “I assure you—”
“You assure me nothing,” he interrupted. “The surgeon will look you over and that is the end of the discussion.”
She knew it was futile to protest and in her heart, she rather relished the comfort of being wrapped in her husband’s strong arms.
He lay her on the bed of their shared chambers, propping pillows behind her head before securing a wet compress for her.
No sooner had he started to dab at her face did a knock come at the door.
; “Enter,” he called and Dr. Forrester appeared with his bag, a frown darkening his wrinkled face.
“What have we here?” he asked, hurrying toward them.
“I am certain it merely a case of bad cheese,” Emmeline sighed but the surgeon would hear nothing of it and he dismissed Elias from the room.
“Some privacy, Mr. Compton. I have some rather delicate questions for your wife.”
“I will be in the salon,” he promised her and Emmeline nodded, smiling.
“I assure you, this is nothing.”
“We shall see,” Dr. Forrester intoned, closing the sliding doors on Elias’ face. “Now, describe your symptoms.”
“I am merely a bit nauseous,” she replied. “Perhaps a bit faint.”
“I see. Have you any tenderness anywhere?”
The question puzzled Emmeline.
“Tenderness?”
The doctor gestured to his chest and she widened her eyes.
“Indeed!” she gasped. “How did you know?”
A slow smile formed on his lips.
“I wager that you have little to worry about, Mrs. Compton. The sickness will pass as your womb grows.”
It took several seconds for her to understand what she had been told and she could only gape at the surgeon in disbelief.
“M-my womb?” she repeated. “I-I am with child?”
Without warning, the doors slid apart and Elias sprinted inside, his face alight with joy.
“A baby? We are blessed with a baby?” he choked. The doctor cast him a reproving look.
“This was a private interview, Mr. Compton,” Dr. Forrester scolded but Elias did not seem to hear him as he swooped toward his wife, embracing her in his arms.
“A baby,” he whispered, his eyes glowing.
“Our baby,” Emmeline giggled, placing his hands over her stomach. Gently, Elias placed a kiss on her forehead and Emmeline buried her head into his shoulder, exhaling in relief.
“Much better news than bad cheese,” Dr. Forrester quipped and the Comptons chuckled.
“I will check back with you in a day or two,” the physician told Emmeline. “If you are experiencing sickness now, I would wager you are two months along or so.”
“Thank you, Doctor,” Emmeline called but her gaze was still locked on Elias. Neither noticed when the older man left, the happiness overwhelming them.
“Did you hear that?” Elias murmured. “Come the new year, we will have our first child.”
“Yes,” Emmeline breathed. “And heir to the Balfour Hotel.”
THE END
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