Authors: Stella White
Helen held her hand to her mouth and tried not to scream in frustration when
she
saw Christopher go down on one knee in front of Emily. When she saw Emily nod, she ran back into the ball.
''Mr. Christopher has asked me to marry him,'' Emily said to Helen upon her return to the ballroom.
''I know, I saw him. And I saw you say yes.''
''Helen, please be happy for me, you should see the grumpy expression on your face.'' But Helen couldn't hide her disappointment.
*****
Emily hadn't wanted to go to the Duke of Marlborough's ball. It held unpleasant memories. It had been at this ball, a year ago, that her life had fallen apart when she'd overheard Edward talking about her in such
a despicable
way. She was no longer surprised by his behavior on that evening. On several occasions during the current season, young women had told her that
she
'd had a lucky escape, from him. When she inquired
why,
all of them told her the same thing.
That he'd become a serial womanizer, a rake, who spent no more than two weeks with each of his conquests before moving mercilessly to the next.
Christopher had eventually persuaded her to go because it was the highlight of the
season,
and because he wanted to
be seen
with her. She'd been very insistent that she didn't
want
to go, but he'd called her mean and narrow-minded, so she'd relented.
It was just like the previous year, crowded. Emily turned as many heads as she had done last time, and Christopher was just as proud of her as Edward had been.
When Emily and Christoper danced, she suddenly felt it. It was like a surgeon's lance, piercing the back of her head. As she weaved her way around the other dancers and back to Christopher, the feeling intensified making it difficult for her to concentrate.
When she looked to her left she saw him standing at the edge of the dance
floor,
his eyes fixed on
her
and a look of hurt etched across his face. She felt her heart racing and tiny drops of perspiration developing on her upper lip. Her legs felt
numb,
and she had to stop the dance.
''What's wrong, Emily?'' Christopher asked as he followed her. ''You can't just stop in the middle of a dance.''
''Christopher, I told you I didn't want to come to this ball, for God's sake, leave me alone,'' she said. He stopped and watched as she made her way to the ladies room. He went to join Helen and her group, much to Helen's delight.
When Emily emerged from the comfort of the ladies restroom, Edward was waiting for her. He took hold of her arm and pulled her into a corner where they were relatively free from view.
''Emily, what have you done to me?'' Edward asked.
What have I done to him, what a cheek, she
thought.
''I have done nothing to you, Edward. You are
a dishonorable
man and I treated you as you deserved to
be treated
.'' Emily felt her heart fluttering and her knees shaking. She could see how crushed he
was,
and it pained her. She wanted nothing more than to feel his naked body on top of hers, but he had said something
terrible,
and she could never trust him again.
''Why do you
say
I am dishonorable, please justify yourself?''
''Justify
myself
? Justify myself?'' Emily was close to rage. ''It is you who should
justify
yourself. I heard what you said to those men last year, at this
very
ball. What you said was cruel and unforgivable. You used me for your
own
indecent gratification. You will never do that to me again.''
''But Emily you left without speaking to me. You have no idea what went on in that conversation. You jumped to conclusions.''
''Conclusions?'' He stood back from her as she took hold of his jacket and twisted it. ''All I know is what I
heard,
and nothing could justify what you said, nothing.''
''But Emily, I love you, I have always loved you. I want to be with you.''
''Well you have a strange way of showing it. I hear you have turned into a womanizer. I believe there isn't a single woman in London who you haven't taken to your bed.''
He was shocked at her accusation. ''That is not true. I have seen some young ladies, but only to help me over the distress of losing you. And it didn't work, I will never get over you.''
''It's too late, Edward,'' she said. Emily wanted to cry, his impassioned pleas had made the river of desire within her flow again, and she yearned to feel him inside her. But she could never trust him
again,
and her life with Christopher would be much calmer and less fraught.
''Do you deny me because you are with someone?''
''Partly.''
''The man you were dancing with is not worthy of you. Emily, you are intelligent and a free spirit. You have the most
amazing
sense of
humor
and you are compassionate. He won't make you
happy,
he will stifle you in a swamp of domesticity. He's a gray
banker,
they are all the same.''
Helen must have told him who Christopher was. ''I will soon be his wife. Goodbye, Edward.'' Don't go, kiss him, pull him to you and kiss him, a voice said to her. But her body turned away and took her into the crowd.
*****
Christopher was at the
bank,
and his mother had gone out to a women's luncheon. Around twelve o'clock there was a loud bang at the door. Emily sat and waited for Rodgers the butler to answer it, but when the person knocked again, she remembered it was his day off, and apart from cook she was alone in the house. She put her sampler down on the sofa and went to the door.
She recognized the man standing in front of her. It was the man with the big nose and exaggerated sideburns that she'd seen at the Duke of Marlborough's ball a year ago. He was the man Edward had first spoken to before he'd spoken so badly of her.
''Miss Emily Lucas?'' he asked. She nodded. ''Splendid. I'm afraid the man I'm with is a very slow walker,'' he said as he pointed down the street.
''Father, father, oh father,'' she said as she bolted out of the door and down the street. He was frail, and she almost knocked him over in her enthusiasm.
''Emily. Oh, it's so good to see you,'' He put his arm around
her,
and she helped him up the garden step and into the house. She shouted to the cook to bring some tea and sat her father in the most comfortable chair in the drawing room.
''I cannot believe it's you, father.'' His eyes were less swollen than the last time she had seen him, and his lips had recovered but he had lost more
weight,
and he looked like a bag of bones.
''How did you manage to get out of that terrible place?'' she asked.
''May I introduce myself,'' the other man said. ''I am the Bishop of Denningsborough. Do you know a man called Edward Dirksen?''
''Yes, I do,'' Emily said.
''Well if it weren't for Mr. Dirksen, your father would still be in that horrible place.''
''I don't understand,'' Emily said, looking at her father and then the Bishop.
''Mr. Dirksen is a very active member of a group in the church that looks after the needy.''
''Yes, I know, he mentioned some church group he
was involved
with.''
''Well, via that organization, Mr. Dirksen has campaigned tirelessly for your father's release.''
''Are you alright?'' her father asked, as Emily's complexion turned white.
''In the prison with your
father
was a vicar by the name of Peter Wright. He too got into trouble
financially,
and they ended up in the same cell.'' The Bishop stopped speaking when
the cook
arrived with the tea. She placed a cup and saucer in front of each of them and the
tea pot
close to Emily. ''I visited Reverend Wright very often,'' the Bishop continued, ''and in the process got to know your father. It came to my attention via the church organization that Mr. Dirsken was trying to secure your
father
's release. I met Mr. Dirksen on two occasions. We talked about the best way to go about getting your
father
and Revered Wright freed.''
Emily was struggling to keep up with developments. Edward had done all
this,
and he'd never told her, even when they'd spoken at the last ball. Why hadn't he said something?
''During one of my visits, Reverend Wright told me your father had
been badly beaten
by some men who came to the prison. The same men who had stolen all your
father
's money, his former accountants.''
Emily looked at her father who nodded.
''Unfortunately, these men also threatened your life, Emily.''
''What?'' Emily gasped. She was about to pour the tea but stopped as her hands began to tremble.
''They told your father that if he talked to the police about them, they would harm you.'' The Bishop stroked his sideburns and fiddled with a large ring on his little finger. ''Those same men turned up at the Duke of Marlborough's ball last year. Luckily I was able to warn Mr.
Dirksen,
and he threw them off your track by telling them that you weren't Emily Lucas.''
''He told them I was just a woman from a local village and that he barely knew me,'' Emily said, completing the Bishop's story. ''I need to go out now. Will you come with me?'' she asked.
''To where,'' her father asked.
''To Cobham Hall.''
*****
Emily
jumped
out of the coach before it had come to a halt and ran to the door. The door knocker shook on its base as she hammered with it. The butler looked startled when Emily ran past him without saying anything. ''Edward, Edward,'' she shouted frantically running from room to room.
''Mr. Edward is outside in the garden,'' the
butler
pointed out.
She ran to the back door and out into the
garden
. Again she shouted his name. Edward stopped reading the newspaper and looked across the terrace. When he saw
Emily,
he jumped to his feet. ''I'm here.''
''Oh, Edward,'' she shouted as she ran to him.
''Edward, I'm so sorry, I have been terrible to you.
Please forgive me. You must take me back. I don't want to live without you.'' She reached him and flung her arms around his neck.
''Calm yourself, Emily,'' he said.
''But how can I be calm after what I have done to you. I am a terrible person.''
''No, you are not. You are
an adorable
woman who I love very much, but thought I'd lost.''
''Will you ever forgive me? The Bishop and my father have told me how hard you have been working to secure my father's release. I will be forever in your debt.''
''The last time I spoke to you, you were engaged to another man,'' he reminded her.
''I want you, not him. The engagements off, as of this moment.''
He kissed her. ''In that case, why not get engaged to me instead?''
''Yes, yes, oh yes please,'' Emily said, ecstatically.
''Mr. Dirksen, thank you for all you have done to secure my release, I will be forever in your debt,'' Emily's father said when he and the Bishop had caught up.
''Not at all, sir. I am pleased you are now a free man.''
''But how exactly did you secure his release?'' Emily said still slightly confused. ''
My father was convicted by a court
, how did you get the decision reversed?''
''That was easy. You remember your
father
built a large extension onto this house?'' Emily nodded. ''I still have all the paperwork including a letter from Mr. Benjamin Harvie the accountant that your father employed at the time,'' Edward spoke slowly and deliberately. ''In the letter, Mr. Harvie informed me that I should pay the invoice for the work done into a different bank account than the one I had
originally
been given
. As the letter was from a firm of professional accountants working on behalf of your father, I duly did as he requested.''
''And?'' Emily interrupted eagerly.
''It was a
very large
amount, I believe it was the
largest
job your father had ever done.'' Emily's
father
nodded. ''When I heard what had happened to your
father
, I went to the authorities and told them how much I had paid and asked them to investigate.'' Edward looked to see if Emily was still following. She was nodding
keenly
so he continued. ''They found that the account was in the name of Mr. Harvie himself, not his company. They also had no record of Mr. Harvie ever having declared this
amount,
and many other amounts which had flowed into his account, to the taxman. Mr. Harvie was arrested for tax evasion two days ago, and your father duly released.''