CHAPTER 29
“Is Emma coming down?” Bridget asked.
“I thought she was,” Reeves said. “I did send someone up for her.”
It was just after sunrise. There had been no breakfast served yet, and this was earlier than any of them would normally have been out of bed, so perhaps it was unfair to expect Emma to be here.
He couldn’t help it, though. He knew his daughter would regret it if she didn’t say farewell to Bridget, and he didn’t want her to miss her chance. “Perhaps I should send another maid up to check.” He beckoned to one who was passing through the foyer. “Please go up to Miss Emma’s room and see to it that she presents herself down here as quickly as possible.”
The maid nodded and scurried off.
“She might not want to come down,” Bridget said. “This might be too difficult for her, and I wouldn’t fault her for it if that were the case.”
“No,” Reeves said. “I’m going to insist this time, Bridget. You’ve never been wrong about what she needed. I acknowledge that. But I do know my daughter, and I know she’ll have nothing but regrets if she doesn’t bid you farewell properly. I can’t let her live with those feelings. Not when I have the power to prevent it.”
Bridget nodded. For once, she seemed willing to take what he had said as actual good thinking rather than arguing with him.It’s just a shame she developed that skill now, right at the very end of our time together,he thought.
“Do you have all your things?” he asked Bridget.
She nodded, holding up the bag she had brought with her in one hand and the collection of books he’d given her in the other. “Everything.”
He could see the strand of silver hanging around her neck. She was still wearing the necklace, then. So, she wasn’t so perturbed by the kiss that she had decided not to wear his gift. That bolstered him somewhat, though he couldn’t help wondering if she were going to take it off once the two of them had parted ways.
He cleared his throat. “I hope you have a safe journey back,” he said. “I know I said letters weren’t a good idea, but if you want to send one to let me know you’ve arrived safely…”
“You’ll know that by the return of your carriage,” she reminded him, her voice tight. “You don’t need me to tell you.”
“Right.” He put his hands in his pockets awkwardly—there seemed to be nothing more to say. But this felt unfinished, somehow. It was as if there were something he wanted to communicate to her, something he wanted to make sure she understood, but he couldn’t find the words for it. All he could do was stand there and hope they’d come.
And time was fast running out.
The maid returned. She had a firm hand on Emma’s shoulder and was propelling her forward. Emma wasn’t exactly fighting. She was allowing herself to be pushed along. But she looked to Reeves as though she would rather be anywhere else.
“Emma,” he said, “Bridget is about to go back to the orphanage. Don’t you want to thank her for everything she’s done for you before she goes?”
Emma shook her head vigorously.
Bridget bent down. “I’m awfully glad you and I got the chance to know one another, Emma,” she said softly. “I’ll miss you.” She held out her arms, inviting the girl in for a hug.
But Emma dug in her heels and refused to move.
“Are you angry with me?” Bridget asked her softly.
And Emma found her voice.
“Yes,” she said, her tone loud and clear, ringing through the empty foyer. “Ihateyou.”
“Emma!” Reeves was shocked. “We don’t speak to people that way. And certainly not to Bridget. She’s been so good to you.”
“No,” Emma said, tears coming to her eyes. “If she were good to me, she wouldn’tleave. She would stay with us.”
“Emma, you know I have to go back to the orphanage,” Bridget said. “The children there are depending on me.”
“You like those children more than me,” Emma said. “You want to go back to them instead of staying here with me.”
“Oh, Emma…”
But Emma turned and sprinted away, apparently unwilling to say anything else.
