Time After Time (71 page)

“Times?” Joanna blurted out.

Emily blushed and looked down at her hands.

“Oh, Em, you are hopeless,” she wailed and gently patted the girl’s shoulder.

• • •

Finally Emily was allowed to walk, although her ankle ached if she stayed on her feet too long. Jonathon had been away for a little over a month, and Emily found herself growing more and more restless awaiting his return. Anything that sounded like hoof beats brought her to a window at the front of the house. At night she lay in bed longing for the feel of his warm, lean body close against hers, for his gentle touch and low, sweet voice.

Unable to concentrate, she abandoned a book she had been reading. She even felt unsociable and, seeing Phillip riding up the drive instead of Jonathon one afternoon, the disappointment was almost too much to bear. She wanted to flee to her room and beg a headache, but she remained and received him in the sunlit parlor.

“Emily, you look lovely today. It is so good to see you up and about.” He took her hand and kissed it slowly, then looked up into her eyes. Emily looked away. He sat beside her on the settee. “Any news of your brother yet?” he asked.

“Nothing,” she answered.

“Emily, do you feel up to a brief walk?”

“Yes, that would be nice, Phillip.”

The chilly November air was sharp compared to the mild October they had enjoyed. Emily drew her cape closer about her.

“Are you cold, Emily?”

“I do not mind, Phillip. I was beginning to feel cooped up inside. I enjoy the outdoors, even when it is brisk.” She smiled at him, “It is so good of you to visit this invalid.”

“My pleasure,” he beamed. “Perhaps tomorrow I shall bring the carriage and we shall take a ride. Would you feel up to that?”

“Oh, yes, I would.” Her only excursion had been a trip to a village so Joanna could buy some lace to trim baby clothes. Emily had waited in the carriage while Joanna shopped, but she had enjoyed the outing and an opportunity to observe the changing countryside preparing for winter. Her spirits lifted at the thought of another excursion the next afternoon.

At supper Emily was bright and talkative with the next day’s outing to look forward to, and Jonathon and Andrew’s homecoming imminent. Joanna and David noticed her mood change, too.

“You seem quite chipper this evening, Emily,” David remarked.

“I have been invited for a carriage ride with Phillip tomorrow and…uh, my leg is feeling so much better,” she replied. Though she was looking forward to the carriage ride, she knew her spirits lifted at the thought of Jonathon’s pending return.

“Well, it is good to see you like this.” He smiled and took Joanna’s hand gently. “Joanna and I care very much about you, Em. We like to see you happy.”

Emily smiled warmly, “You have made me feel very welcome here. Brentwood Manor feels like home to me, and I know Andrew feels the same way. We were frightened when we left England, not knowing what to expect. But you have both been wonderful.”

“Do not forget to include Jonathon. He is, after all, your guardian. And he is the one who made Brentwood Manor your home,” David said.

Emily shot Joanna a glance. “Yes, Jonathon has been wonderful … to both of us.”

Joanna rose. “Well, is anyone in the mood for a game of whist?”

• • •

Phillip arrived punctually the next afternoon. After hopping down from his carriage, he bounded up the steps to the front door. He awaited Emily in the parlor, and then greeted her with a warm smile and an approving look when she entered. Emily wore a powder blue dress embroidered with pale yellow flowers, yellow lace at the neckline and at the elbow-length sleeves. Phillip helped her with her blue velvet cape, and then they walked out into the sunshine. Making her way carefully down the steps, Emily waited for Phillip to assist her into the coach.

The carriage rolled off and Emily settled back into the seat. The sun was bright, the air crisp and bracing, and Emily breathed it deeply. The carriage rolled over a muted carpet of newly fallen leaves. The sharp smells of fall, dead leaves and fresh earth, were invigorating and Emily felt refreshed.

“Comfortable?” Phillip asked.

“Mmm,” Emily murmured.

They rode in silence for a while. Occasionally Phillip would point out an interesting spot or a lovely view. He watched Emily out of the corner of his eye, enrapt with her beauty, sensing her coolness.

“Emily, what was the voyage from England like?” he asked.

“Long.” Emily laughed. He waited for her to continue. “Well, sad, I suppose. Yes, I was very sad to leave London, and I was grieving for my father. There was a terrible storm, and Andrew was almost killed. Jonathon saved his life.”

“Jonathon’s quite a man.”

“Yes, he is.”

“I wonder that he never married,” Phillip said looking at Emily. She was silent.

“Why do you suppose that is?” Phillip persisted.

“I do not presume to know Jonathon’s mind, Phillip. I am sure he has his reasons.”

Phillip slowed the carriage down. “What was it like being together on the ship all that time?”

Emily looked at Phillip angrily. “Just what are you suggesting, Phillip?”

He looked out at the trees, then at Emily. “I am sorry, Emily, I did not mean to suggest anything. It is just that … Well, I wondered how you feel about him. He is a very handsome, rugged man, one I am sure women fall in love with easily.” The carriage had stopped. The forest sounds filled the silence between them.

“Perhaps you had better take me back, Phillip.”

“Wait, Emily. Please let me explain.” He took her hands in his. “Emily, I have come to see you almost every day. When I leave you, my soul aches to return to you. I see your face and hear your voice waking and sleeping. I long to reach out and hold you in my arms; crush you to me. The feel of your hand against my lips thrills me through my whole being, and I am driven to the brink when I think what the touch of your lips would do to me. Emily, I want you to be my wife.”

In spite of her anticipating this, Emily sat rigid in shock. Phillip took her in his arms and gently kissed her lips. She felt him shaking as he released her, and she looked into his blue-gray eyes that were half shocked at his own boldness and half-delighted at finally having kissed her. Although his kiss was tender, it did not send shivers of delight through her as Jonathon’s mere look did.

“Phillip — ” she began.

“No, Emily, do not answer yet. Think about it carefully. I still have to wait for Jonathon to return and ask for your hand properly.”

Emily’s head reeled as she thought of the possibilities in that encounter.

• • •

Shortly after Phillip and Emily had left, another carriage arrived at Brentwood Manor and out spilled Andrew and Jonathon.

“We are home!” Jonathon called.

Joanna ran from the house and Dulcie ran out another door to fetch David. Jonathon grinned at his sister and swept her into his arms, but kept one eye on the door, the whole time awaiting another.

“What a lovely greeting, Jonathon!” she laughed. “Did you miss me so much?” After she hugged Andrew, the three walked into the house together.

“Where is Emily?” Jonathon asked nonchalantly.

“She went for a carriage ride with Phillip,” Joanna answered pouring wine into four goblets. Jonathon’s face fell, but he recovered quickly. David entered and greeted them both heartily. They toasted a successful voyage and Jonathon filled them in on events while he was away. As his eyes frequently wandered to the front windows, Joanna hid a smile in her wine glass. A half-hour passed, Jonathon pacing the room. David rose to return to work, and Joanna put the glasses on a tray and carried them out. Andrew left to see to his unpacking, and Jonathon continued to pace.

Alone in the room, Jonathon leaned his forearm against the marble mantle and stared at the fire for a long time. The exuberance he had felt upon arriving was replaced with disappointment. Where the devil was she? His arms ached to hold her, to feel her warmth, to smell the sweet scent of jasmine that she always wore. To feel that silken skin beneath his hands and the passion that stirred in her small, slender body. He shook his head to change his train of thought. Keep that up and he would take her right in the foyer. Throughout the trip from Massachusetts his mind had been full of the possibilities their reunion presented. The carriage ride from the port had been almost unbearable. And she was out riding with Phillip.

After what seemed an eternity he heard horses’ hooves and hastened to the window. Phillip was drawing the carriage up to the house and beside him sat Emily. Jonathon watched as Phillip hopped down and went around to help Emily alight. They spoke briefly and Phillip bent and kissed Emily’s cheek tenderly. She gave him a small smile, and he helped her make her way carefully up the steps. Once at the top, they were out of Jonathon’s view. He wondered if Phillip were kissing her again, perhaps more passionately than before. He wondered how Emily would respond to Phillip’s kiss, and his disappointment at Emily’s absence upon his return slowly turned to anger. He stood lost in thought until he heard the front door close and Emily’s footsteps in the hall. Turning slowly, he faced her as she entered the room.

“Jonathon!” It was a question as much as a statement, for her initial impulse upon seeing him was to run to his arms. The look on his face stopped her.

“Good day, Emily.”

She glanced at the window, then at him.

“When did you arrive?” she asked.

“Shortly after you left with Phillip.”

Emily winced. She had been waiting for this moment for weeks, but it was not as she had imagined it so many times. Instead of taking her in his arms, Jonathon stood rigidly, looking at her strangely, a frown on his face.

“Well, did you have a pleasant ride?” he asked flatly.

“It was nice to get out for a bit, yes,” Emily replied removing her cape and turning to a chair to lay it on. “Jonathon …” she said turning back to him, “I …” She stopped, his cold, flinty stare freezing her approach, suspicion clouding his face. “I need to lie down for a while,” she said and left the room.

• • •

Emily lay across her bed, one arm flung over her tear-stained face, confused and angry. Rather than Jonathon’s arrival helping solve her problems, it seemed to complicate things even more. At least she had been assured a few days earlier that she was not with child; that was one less complication, although she felt strangely disappointed.

Her head whirled with the events of the day. All her high hopes had been crushed; her eagerly anticipated ride turned into a nightmare. How could she refuse Phillip’s proposal without hurting him deeply? Jonathon obviously had seen them arrive, but
what
had he seen? Phillip’s kiss had been brotherly. Could Jonathon be jealous?

Or, could Mrs. Dennings have been right? Had their times together been mere play for Jonathon before he moved on to his next conquest? As he had done to Deidre? Emily felt sick. She buried her face in her pillow giving vent to her broken heart. Finally, she lay in silence, drained and tired. Although the afternoon sun was low on the horizon, she did not rise to light the lamp. She stared at the canopy over her bed and tried to sort out her mind and come to some sensible solutions. Her heart stopped at a tap on her door.

“Who is it?” she called.

“Andrew.”

“Come in, Drew,” she answered, sitting up. He poked his head in and glanced around at the darkness. Emily lit the lamp beside her bed and laughed at her brother’s rumpled clothes and tousled hair. Yawning, he padded across the floor in his stockinged feet and gave her a hug.

“I started unpacking and sat down on the bed. The next thing I knew, it was dark outside! Jonathon is quite the taskmaster!”

“It keeps you out of mischief.” Emily smiled and kissed his cheek. They visited awhile, talking of his voyage. Andrew was almost as good a storyteller as his father had been, and his animated tale kept Emily entertained until Dulcie came to announce supper.

Emily looked down at herself. She was as rumpled as Andrew. They looked at each other and laughed.

“I shall be back in ten minutes to escort you,” Andrew challenged.

“I shall be ready!”

Splashing some water in the basin, Emily washed her face. She pinched some color into her cheeks and took a comb to her golden-streaked hair. Hurriedly, she changed into a fresh dress and checked her appearance in the mirror. With a minute to spare before Andrew arrived, she thought about seeing Jonathon again at supper, and her heart began to hammer.

The candles lent a golden glow to the dining room reflecting off the crystal and china. David, Joanna, and Jonathon were seated and speaking excitedly when Andrew and Emily entered. She caught Jonathon’s eye, but could not read what was there. He and David rose as Andrew seated her.

Emily’s heart pounded so hard she was certain everyone at the table could hear it. She picked at her food, hardly eating anything since her stomach was full of butterflies. She looked up and caught Jonathon staring at her, a bemused look on his face. Then he turned to answer David’s question.

The men talked about the voyage and the plantation throughout the meal. Joanna offered comments occasionally, but for the most part, the women were quiet. It was torture for Emily to sit so near Jonathon and neither talk to him nor understand what he was thinking. The meal dragged on until Joanna finally excused herself and Emily while the men lingered over brandy and cigars. As the women rose and left, Jonathon’s eyes never left Emily’s back.

Picking up some embroidery, Joanna sat in the chair across from Emily. She looked at the younger girl who was staring into the fire. Dulcie entered with a tea tray and set it down on a table beside Joanna.

“How was your ride with Phillip today?” Joanna asked, pouring the tea.

Emily accepted the cup from Joanna and sighed.

“He asked me to marry him,” Emily answered dully. “He was waiting for Jonathon to return so he could ask for my hand.”

“Oh, dear!” Joanna stopped stirring her tea.

They sat in silence for a while, each lost in her thoughts. Joanna finished her tea and picked up the baby gown she was working on.