Aaron could not respond straight away; he was too busy staring at the shredded reticule.
“Someone with a vicious mind, that or petty. Either way, whoever sent you this does not have a kind heart.”
“It gets worse.”
“What do you mean it gets worse?” Aaron panicked, looking up from the reticule. Emily took it from him and waved toward the book, urging him to open it up. He pulled back the pages, noting briefly that it was the tale of some grand romance. It pulled the smallest of smiles to his lips.
“You are fond of a romance, Emily?” he asked softly in a tease, relieved to see she cracked the smallest of smiles through her fear.
“Well, I suppose you know everything about me now.” She shook her head. “I like romances. Who doesn’t?”
“Everyone likes romance, Emily.” Aaron spoke softly, loving the way she blushed at his words.
“Read the letters,” she said, her smile vanishing as she waved at the book again. He pulled open the pages, finding three letters stuffed between the pages as a bookmark. Opening them wide, he found his jaw slacken with surprise.
“Who sent these?”
“They never left a name.”
“This is…” Aaron could not think of the word. It was awful, abhorrent, and needless to say invasive. He scanned each one, finding his ire growing by the minute.
Who would dare speak to her in such a way?
“This is madness, Emily. I hope you are not going to start listening to it and stay away from me?” He felt a leap of fear in his chest as he panicked. He had found Emily, only just fallen in love again. He could not bear to lose her.
“No, of course not.” She shook her head. “How could I?” She shrugged as if she was helpless in the matter. That simple act broke Aaron. He tossed the letters to the side with the book and reached for her hands, taking them both in his.
“You are scared what their threat means?”
“I know it is just a torn-up reticule, but it is a message, is it not?”
“It is.” Aaron wished he could deny it, but he could not. It was brutal indeed coupled with these letters. “Please, Emily, do not be scared. Whoever has written these letters, they will not come anywhere near you.”
“You cannot be certain of that,” she said, clearly trying to brush off her fear as she attempted a smile, and it faded quickly.
“I can. I will stay by your side, and I vow to you, no one will come near to you. No one will hurt you.”
“My Lord, you cannot be beside me all the time.” She shook her head. “What are you going to do? Set up a camp outside of my bedchamber? I think my maid and my father will have something to say about the matter.”
A smile cracked through Aaron’s flattened lips.
“I love how you can still make a jest, even at this time.”
“It is what I do!” Emily said, almost looking angered at herself about the idea.
“I love it, Emily.”
“What?” she asked, jerking her head up to meet his gaze another time.
“I love that about you,” he said simply, changing the way he was holding her hands, entwining their fingers together.
The maid on the other side of the room, cleared her throat, evidently making a signal that they should not be so close together.
“Oh, Helena, find something fascinating out of the window to look at for a minute, please,” Emily pleaded with a desperate tone. The maid offered a smile and stood to her feet, walking to the window.
“Very well, let us hope it is something very interesting to hold my interest for so long.”
Aaron took advantage of the opportunity the moment the maid’s back was turned. He moved closer to Emily, bringing her hands closer to him, holding them against his chest. Emily was breathless as she gazed up at him, her lips parted in such a way that Aaron was finding it difficult to keep his eyes off those lips. He had imagined enough times kissing Emily, taking those lips with his own. Yet the maid was clearly not going to stare out of the window for so long to give him that opportunity. He snapped his gaze back to Emily’s eyes again.
