Page 40 of Scarlett

When her eyes met his, there was a mixture of shock and hope that tore at him. He pulled her closer and kissed her lips. “I am not worthy of you.”

Emmett tracked each movement as she pulled her hair up and pinned it into place. Her eyes met his in the mirror. “I apologize for that spectacle I made of myself. Esther and I were just having a little fun.”

“I rather enjoyed it.” Emmett looked to the bed where several of the dresses were discarded. “Do you think she’d let you have the one you tried on?”

When she burst out laughing, it was a wonderful sound. One he hoped to hear often.

It wasas if a dam broke between them. Scarlett talked all through out dinner, answering questions from Elias and Esther. When they invited them to remain for the night, she looked to him with expectation.

“We’ll stay,” Emmett finally said while mentally assessing how things would be at the clinic.

“You work very hard and deserve time to rest.” Scarlett joined him on the porch after supper. “It’s the first time we’ve been anywhere since I arrived.”

“I’m glad to see you and Esther get along as well as you do with Aurora. Family is important.”

Scarlett lowered to sit on the rocker next to his. “It’s also nice how close you and your brothers are.”

“They’re all I have since leaving Boston. I didn’t want them to come with me at first, but they refused to remain behind. So I finally relented and purchased passage for three.”

“Aurora told me Marcus and Tobias Hamilton’s mother took you in and fed you.”

Emmett nodded. “Yes, she was a kind woman. The entire family treated us like we belonged. Which is why we remain very close to them.”

“Can I ask why you left Boston?”

The reason seems inconsequential now, so many years later. The realization dawned that when considering the reason he didn’t feel the shocking tightness around his chest made Emmett inhale sharply.

“My father and mother were constantly at odds. It made for a lonely childhood for my brothers and I. The household staff raised us. Gertie, the cook, gave us chores, taught us basic life lessons, and fed us as well.”

Emmett hesitated. “When my father took the woman I was engaged to as a lover and later married her, I needed to get away from it all. Not just the betrayal, but the entire charade society is back east.”

“Oh my goodness,” Scarlett whispered. “That is horrible. So do any of you keep in touch your parents?”

“Only Elias keeps in contact with Boston. He and mother correspond. She is well. My father is still married to that woman, and remains the same.”

Scarlett stood and came to stand next to him. “I was the love child of an affair. Something I am not proud of. That people cheat is something I don’t understand. In the end so many people get hurt by it.”

Needing her closer, Emmett wrapped an arm around his wife and brought her against his side. He placed a kiss to the top of her head. “It’s not your fault. I do think consequences are not something people consider when entering such an arrangement.”

When she pushed her face into his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist, Emmett didn’t wish the moment to ever end. He hugged her. “Are you alright?”

“Yes. Very much so,” she replied, her voice muffled by his clothes. “This is the first time I’ve felt so close to you.”

Arms around her, he looked up at the star filled sky. Would he be able to allow this woman past every barricade he’d erected over the years? If anyone could not only destroy his barriers, but also his heart, it was Scarlett.

Later that night, they lay in bed, both quiet. It was the same room Esther kept all the clothing in and although the bed was a bit too small, he didn’t mind it one bit.

He turned to Scarlett. “Why did you come here and marry a total stranger? Were you running from something? Someone?”

“No.” Her voice was groggy. “I had no choice. No home or anywhere to live except perhaps if one of my father’s family took me in. I planned to find work and a place to live when I overheard Lady Price speaking to someone about her mail order bride services.”

“So you didn’t plan this for a long time then?”

It was endearing when she covered her face with both hands. “It sounded so romantic. I was not realistic at all in my expectations.”

“I wasn’t either. You far exceeded mine.”

She lifted her face to look at him. The moonlight streaming through the window lighted on her beautiful features. “You unsettle me when you pay me such lavish compliments. It’s such a contrast to the way you’ve acted since I arrived.”

He’d always admired people who were upfront and didn’t mince words. Another quality to admire in Scarlett was that although obviously shy, she would gather the courage to speak her mind when necessary.

“I will do my best to do better.”

“We’ll see,” she replied in a haughty tone. “We will see.”

Emmett couldn’t help but chuckle. “You can plan on keeping me accountable wife.”