“So then he must have written it long before the two of you started your courtship. Am I right?”
“Yes, but that doesn’t change the fact that he wrote it or that he chose not to tell me about it.” Emily fidgeted with her skirt. “Why would he keep something so important from me unless he meant for the publication to come as a blow?”
“I know a man who can help us get to the bottom of this,” Papa said. “Just give me the word and he’ll pay Stratton a visit.”
“I hope you’re joking,” Mama said while sending Papa a horrified look. He scowled and removed himself to the sideboard where he proceeded to pour himself a large drink. Mama gave her attention back to Emily. “Listen to me, dearest. A marriage is first and foremost built on trust and open communication. You cannot let yourself be influenced by suspicion and doubt. It’s poisonous, Emily, and only serves to ruin what might be worth saving.”
Emily crossed her arms. “He broke whatever trust we had by failing to communicate with me, Mama.”
“I’m inclined to agree,” Papa said before taking a sip of his drink.
Mama shook her head and sighed in frustration. “You’re not being helpful, Lawrence. Must I remind you that you once thought the worst of me?”
Interest heightened Emily’s alertness. Leaning forward, she met Mama’s gaze. “How do you mean?”
Mama knit her brow and waved a dismissive hand. “He thought I was having an affair with one of his friends.”
“What?” Emily turned to Papa. “When?”
“It was years ago,” Papa admitted. “Shortly after we’d married. Turned out to be nothing more than my overactive imagination playing tricks on me.”
“The point is, we talked,” Mama said, “and by doing so we worked it all out. Your father realized I wasn’t guilty and I forgave him.”
“I’m not the only one guilty of making mistakes,” Papa grumbled.
“Of course not,” Mama agreed. “I’ve made plenty of my own. All I’m trying to say is that marriage, like any relationship, takes work. Deciding Stratton’s at fault without letting him come to his own defense is unfair and unproductive. Unless there’s something else at play and this is the excuse you needed in order to end things.”
Emily flopped back against her seat. “He pretended to care about me, Mama.”
“And who’s to say he doesn’t?” Mama raised her eyebrows. “People change their opinion all the time, but in order to do so, their experience needs to change too. It’s possible spending additional time with you proved to Stratton that you’re not the person he thought you to be. Based on the sincerity I heard in his voice earlier today, I’m inclined to believe that he truly fell for you, Emily. And if he deliberately kept what he’d written from you, then I believe this to be the real reason.”
“Are you suggesting he lied out of love?”
Mama chuckled and sent Papa and knowing glance.
Papa held her gaze for a moment before eventually sighing. He turned to Emily. “How would you have reacted if you were in his position?”
Emily considered the question with care. During her six-year acquaintance with Callum, he’d vexed her to no end. She’d cursed him multiple times and had placed all blame for their calamitous run-ins with each other upon his shoulders.
However…
“I never would have written an ill word about him in the first place.”
“But let’s suppose you did. What would you do when you realized you were falling for someone you’d villainized? How would you feel?”
“I suppose I’d be embarrassed, possibly ashamed.”
“And?” Mama pressed.
“Worried. I think I’d be terribly worried about them finding out since the last thing I’d want to do is hurt them.” Emily straightened and stared at her parents. “But what if you’re wrong? What if Stratton deliberately strove to hurt me?”
“Talk to him,” Mama said. “It’s the only way for you to get to the heart of the matter and find out the truth.”
“And if he did indeed try to hurt you on purpose,” Papa said, “I’ll skewer him myself.”
“Good Lord,” Mama murmured while rolling her eyes.
Emily smiled for the first time that evening. Her parents had calmed her with their advice. They were right. Speaking to Callum and asking him to explain was the most reasonable option. And somewhere deep inside, beyond the hurt he’d caused her, she prayed he’d convince her they could be happy together. That, beyond all else, was what she longed for most of all.
