by Lisa Campell
“It... it’s the real thing?” she whispered.
“It is.” Thomas held the watch up. “Your uncle said it was his blood and considering how many fights he’s ended up in at Drake’s, it was perfectly feasible. But when you told me it was Jonathan’s and not Christian’s, I realized what had happened.”
“It…” Emilia glared at her uncle. “It had my mother’s portrait inside. How did you explain that away?”
“He said it was a portrait of his grandmother, the love of his grandfather’s life.” Thomas put the watch into Emilia’s hand. “Forgive me for this, Emilia, but I had to get you to listen in while I riled your uncle up. He wasn’t going to say anything in your earshot, so you couldn’t be seen while I got him wound up enough to say something he shouldn’t.” He turned to Hill. “Which you did.”
“You…” Hill’s eyes narrowed, his lip curling in an angry snarl. “You tricked me, you…”
“Save it. Considering what you’ve done to me and my reputation over the last few weeks, that’s the least of your worries.” Squeezing Emilia’s hand, Thomas let go and moved towards the door. “I’ve told Brent to fetch the constable. He’ll be here shortly.”
“What?” Hill’s anger disappeared. He became panicked. “I can’t! I can’t go to the gallows! It was an accident! Really, it was!”
“Save that for the trial, Hill.” Thomas leaned against the door and folded his arms. “You ruined my reputation and you broke your niece’s heart. The least you can do is grow up and be a man for once in your life.”
Hill froze, looking at Emilia. Emilia was silently crying, tears trickling down her cheeks as she stared at the watch. Thomas hated to see her like this, but she deserved the truth. Even if it was going to hurt.
Hill looked around wildly. Then he charged at the door, taking a swing at Thomas’ head. Thomas barely moved to avoid the punch at his face, knocking the arm aside. Then he pressed his hand into Hill’s face and pushed back. Hill was put off-balance, tumbling backwards until he fell onto the couch and then onto the floor. Thomas straightened up and adjusted his jacket.
“I think you’re going to sit right there and wait, Mr Hill. Don’t bother getting up again.”
Emilia stood at the window and watched as Christian was put into a carriage. He had bracelets on and was arguing with Constable Bowers, but the constable was having none of it. Emilia had heard the protests all the way down to the side door. At least Bowers had given Christian some decency to leave by that door instead of dragging him through the middle of Drake’s. Thomas had suggested it would be preferable, which the constable had listened to.
She felt a little numb. Her uncle had killed her father. Uncle Christian. The man she had grown up with and despaired over. He had a lot of faults, but he was one of those people who was steadfastly loyal to Jonathan. And they had their arguments, nothing like this. Nothing that one of them could die over.
Christian had completely shattered all of that. Emilia didn’t recognize the man who had been taken away anymore. He had tried to make Thomas the bad person in this and had almost succeeded. Thomas had suffered as a result. Anna had suffered. And Emilia.
She shouldn’t have given her uncle credence. But that was gone now. Emilia had almost destroyed Thomas’ reputation, and had nearly shattered hers in the process, all because Christian had been selfish to pin the blame on someone else.
“Emilia?”
Emilia turned. Thomas was standing by his desk, watching her closely. He didn’t approach her, and after holding her hand while Christian confessed to Jonathan’s death, he hadn’t touched her. It was as if he was giving her space. Emilia felt really cold not having his touch.
“I’m all right.”
Thomas shook his head.
“No, you’re not. You’re allowed to not be all right.”
Emilia sighed. She wrapped her arms around her middle.
“What will happen to Uncle Christian?”
“He’ll stand trial shortly. While he didn’t mean to kill your father, he still has to face the consequences for his actions.” Thomas leaned against the desk. “If he’s lucky, he’ll get prison time or transportation. With his connections, he will most likely be sent to Australia or America with the promise he’s not to come back.”
That made Emilia a little better. Not much, but a little. While she was furious with Christian’s actions, she didn’t think she could cope with her uncle being hanged. There was already one death in the family; they didn’t need another one.
“I can’t believe I was taken in by him and his accusations. That I believed him when he said you had killed him.”
“The mind will believe anything in a time of distress. It’s to be expected.”
Emilia stared at him. Thomas watched her, no anger at all in his face. He looked sad. At her? For her? Emilia wasn’t sure anymore, but his reaction was strange. He had just proved that he wasn’t the killer, so he should have been jubilant. But to Emilia, he had an exhausted acceptance about him.
“You’re not angry at me for my part?”
Thomas half-shrugged his shoulders.
“I am, a little bit. But I understand why. I would’ve been surprised if you hadn’t become angry at me.”
“I... I guess.” Emilia swallowed. “Can you forgive me, Thomas? Please?”
Thomas stared at her. Then he smiled and reached for her.
“Seeing as you said please.”
Emilia went to him, burying her face against his chest as he embraced her. Thomas let out a shuddering sigh, his arms tightening around her before he was gently tugging her head back. Emilia looked up and Thomas pressed a gentle kiss on her mouth, then a kiss on her cheek, her forehead, her nose, and then back to her mouth.
“Do you know something?” he asked.
“What?”
“It makes me feel good knowing that you’re not a widow.” Thomas brushed her hair away from her face. “That no man’s been lucky enough to be your husband.”
Emilia blinked. That was not what she had been expecting.
“That’s a strange comment to make.”
“I tend to make strange comments.” Thomas arched an eyebrow, his fingers brushing over her cheek. “Although I have wondered where you learned all those things in bed. If you were a virgin…”
Emilia winced. She had hoped that wouldn’t come back to haunt her. She closed her eyes for a brief moment before opening them and focusing on the buttons of his shirt, unable to look at him.
“There was someone else. I was eighteen and it was my first Season. We had…an understanding.” There was no other way to describe it. “He promised me the world, said we would get married and have a family. The courting was...well, he was showering me with compliments. I was in love enough that I allowed him to…”
She winced. Thomas’ arms tightened around her.
“You gave yourself to him.”
“I did.” Emilia tried to pull away, but Thomas didn’t let her go. “After he and I... spent the night together, he suddenly distanced himself from me. Told me that it was nothing serious and we had had our enjoyment, and if I thought anything else was coming out of it then I was a fool.”
“He used your love for him to get you into bed.”
Thomas’ voice came out as a growl. Emilia still couldn’t look up at him.
“He did. I’ve never told anyone about that, not even Charlotte.” She swallowed. “Father would have skinned him alive.”
“I still might if I ever catch up to him.”
That did make Emilia smile a little. She rested a hand over his heart, feeling it beat beneath her fingers as she looked up at him.
“He moved to America six months after he ruined me. Out of my life for good.”
The relief in Thomas’ eyes was clear. His shoulders sagged and he hugged her close, kissing her forehead.
“Good. I hope you know that I would never treat you like that.”
“I know.”
Emilia had worried
that Thomas would push her away after he knew the truth, but she hadn’t needed to worry. He was still here, still holding her. It made her feel like she had weight lifting off her shoulders. She rose up on tiptoe, tugging his head down.
“I love you.”
Thomas groaned and kissed her, almost pulling her off her feet. Emilia wobbled and he put her back down, smiling as he broke the kiss.
“And I love you. Although meeting you like this was not exactly the most romantic of moments.”
“You make it sound like I set out to do this.” Emilia rubbed her hand over his jaw, which was starting to roughen with his bristles. She liked the feel. “I suppose that comment about no man’s been lucky enough to be your husband was a hint.”
“It was.” Thomas turned his head and kissed her palm. “I’ve only ever proposed once, so I don’t exactly have much practice.”
Emilia shook her head.
“Well, you’ve got enough time to practice saying it again. I’d say...a few hours.”
Thomas groaned, burying his face in her neck.
“God, Emilia, you’re going to make me do it all properly, aren’t you?”
“I think every girl is entitled to have a proper proposal.” Emilia tugged his head up and kissed him. “Let’s go home. I want to wake up with you tomorrow and not sneak out early.”
“You’ve got to take Anna riding.”
“Then later.” Emilia grinned. “I’m sure Anna could spend the day with her grandmother. I know there’s someone I want to spend the day with. Preferably alone, in a big bed.”
Thomas’ eyes darkened. Then he threw back his head and laughed.
“You’d definitely have to marry me after that comment.”
“Then I suggest we get the banns read as soon as possible.” Emilia nuzzled his neck. “Unless you have something more interesting to discuss.”
“I think I have.” Thomas cupped her face and kissed her. “I think I have.”
Epilogue
One Month Later
“Emilia?” Charlotte appeared over Emilia’s shoulder in the mirror. “Lady Andrews is at the door. She wants to come in.”
Emilia was still a little nervous about being in Lady Andrews’ presence. Even though it had been nearly a month since the truth had come out, there was still a slight coolness with the older woman. She was certainly less trusting of Emilia, and that she couldn’t blame her for.
But the fact she wanted to come in so close to Emilia getting married had to mean something. And Emilia’s curiosity was piqued. She nodded and smoothed her hands down her dress.
“Sure. Let her come through, Charlotte.”
Looking a little dubious, Charlotte moved out of sight. Emilia turned away from the mirror and watched her friend open the door to her bedchamber. Lady Andrews came in, dressed in a beautiful dress of pale blue, half of the wedding colours. Thomas did love the colour blue, while Emilia preferred sunflower yellow, the colour Charlotte was currently wearing. And Lady Andrews looked very handsome in blue, almost regal. Emilia had to admire the way the woman commanded a room whenever she walked into it, and she didn’t even need to try a lot of the time. She could only hope that would be the same for her.
Lady Andrews saw Emilia and stopped in the middle of the room. Her eyes widened a little and then her mouth opened and closed. Her fingers went to her mouth and there came a little sob. A sob? Worried, Emilia hurried to her.
“Are you all right, Lady Andrews?”
“I’m fine. I…” The older woman lowered her hand and took a deep breath. “Forgive me, my dear, I just...you look so beautiful in that dress.”
“Thank you.” Emilia looked down at the gown she had finally set her heart on. “I spent a lot of time with Charlotte choosing the right one.”
It was a day where Emilia wanted everything to be perfect. She had one chance at a wedding, and she wasn’t going to have it be anything less than what she had always wanted. That went right down to the dress. And with Charlotte’s gift for spotting the perfect dress, Emilia felt like a princess.
“Well, the two of you have a good eye.” Lady Andrews was looking less close to tears and more approving. “My son is going to be speechless when he sees you.”
Emilia couldn’t help but giggle. She was hoping for that reaction.
“I hope so. I like surprising him.”
“You’ve certainly surprised him since you came into his life.” Lady Andrews approached her and took Emilia’s hand. “I’m glad you told him the truth.”
“Not that I had much choice in the moment.” Emilia shot Charlotte a sharp look. “He did take that from me.”
Charlotte scoffed. “That’s not fair. You were dragging your feet.”
“You couldn’t have waited a few hours. At least Lady Andrews gave me a timeline.”
“I don’t think Thomas was going to wait a few hours once he knew something was going on.”
Lady Andrews smiled. “My son is more impatient than you realize, Emilia.”
Emilia didn’t doubt it. Every time there was time when they could be alone, undisturbed, Thomas would be eager to get her back to his bedchamber and into his bed. He couldn’t keep his hands off her once they weren’t entertaining people. Not that Emilia could lay all the blame at his feet; now they had laid their cards on the table, she was just as eager. It was like she had turned into a possessed woman. Was that what being a wanton woman was like? If it was, Emilia was certainly enjoying it, providing it was only with the man she was due to marry shortly.
It felt really strange. She was going to be a married woman soon. Emilia Andrews. Not quite the title she had been expecting to have when she first arrived at the Andrews estate. She had expected Thomas to be long gone from this world by now and she would have had closure for her father’s death. She got the closure, just not in the way she expected.
Now she was glad that she had found out Thomas’ innocence. That she hadn’t been completely taken in. It still frustrated her that she believed her uncle when he told her it was Thomas’ doing, but Emilia had taken her uncle’s word for it. He would have no reason to lie. At least, she hadn’t thought so at the time.
Now Uncle Christian was gone. The judge had said if Thomas hadn’t spoken in Emilia’s place, he would have sent Christian to the gallows. Instead, he had been assigned to the next ship heading to Australia, where they were building convict colonies. He could keep his life on the condition he never returned to England. Emilia still wasn’t sure what to think about that, but at least he hadn’t been put to death.
She still felt numb over it. True, she and Christian had had their differences, but she never thought he would do something like that. Would it have ended up differently if Christian had gone for help and confessed immediately? Definitely. But his cowardice had gotten in the way. And Thomas had almost paid the price.
Emilia knew she would be repaying Thomas with this for the rest of their marriage.
“Emilia.” Lady Margaret squeezed her hand. “You’re going there again.”
“What?”
“Thinking about Christian Hill. Don’t think about him today. He’s been dealt with. Focus on your upcoming wedding. That’s more important right now.”
She was right, but it didn’t quite stop Emilia from feeling guilty. She could only hope her father would forgive her for her rashness. Hopefully, he approved of Thomas. He could certainly look after her.
“Look, darling, it’s over now.” Lady Andrews said gently. “Thomas has forgiven you. We all have, and we all understand why. The real culprit has been dealt with and you don’t have to see him again.”
“I know.” Emilia bit her lip. “If only he had stopped gambling. Then he could have turned out better.”
“I understand.” Lady Andrews glanced at Charlotte. “Look, why don’t you have a few minutes alone? I need to make sure Anna’s finished getting dressed and I wanted a word with Lady Charlotte. We’ll meet you back here in…” She looked at the clock. “Fifteen min
utes?”
Fifteen minutes to get her composure back. After having people running around her for the last couple of days and barely a moment to herself since waking up that morning, Emilia would be glad to have a few minutes quiet before she went downstairs. They were getting married in the gardens, so she wouldn’t need to go far. A bit of time alone would be perfect right now.
“All right. Thank you, Lady Andrews.”
Her soon-to-be mother-in-law gave her a warm smile and squeezed her hands.
