“The ‘f’s and the ‘s’. Look, they are just the same.” She pushed the letter unopened toward him. He could see just what she meant. It was the same handwriting. Something twinged inside Aaron, something about a recollection.
Have I seen this handwriting somewhere before?
“Maybe do not open it.” Aaron was more than ready to snatch the letter from her. He turned round, hoping to see a fire roaring where he could toss the letter and burn it, never having to deal with this matter again, yet Emily was too quick. She turned away and broke open the red seal. “Emily!”
She paused, her body going still as she read the letter.
“Well, it is much the same.” She attempted to jest, it was clear, though her fingers were trembling once again. “This writer clearly has a lack of imagination as they have said as much before, simply in a new way.”
“What do they say?” Aaron hurried to reach her side and peered down at the letter in her hand.
‘Lady Emily,
Break off your courtship. The Marquess of Tattershall is destined for a match finer than you. He deserves someone of beauty and greater standing, not you. A lady who pales in comparison to her family, and who hardly anyone remembers.
This is your last warning. End your courtship at once, or you will receive more than just letters and a torn-up reticule.’
“God’s wounds,” Aaron muttered. Seeing the anger written in such a way, it was hardly surprising Emily’s breath hitched. He could hear the tears even before he turned to look at her. “Emily, please –”
“I’m fine,” she said quickly, sniffing and trying to turn away, hiding her eyes from him.
“Never hide form me, Emily.” He took hold of her hands, pulling her back toward him again, at which point Helena cleared her throat another time. “Helena, forgive me, but this is important right now. Please find something else to look at out of the window.”
The chaperone sighed but nodded slowly, turning back to the window.
“Please,” Aaron muttered, turning back to Emily, and pulling her so far toward him that she fell into his arms. The warmth that spread through him with the touch was intoxicating, making him wrap his arms around the curve of her waist. “Never hide from me.”
She looked up at him, her eyes going wide, with those unshed tears still there, making the dark blue glisten.
“Whoever wrote these letters aren’t going to stop, are they?” she asked, staring at him as she chewed her lip. His eyes flicked down to her lips, feeling that same urge to kiss her again. “They do not understand why someone like you would want to court someone like me.”
“I can answer them easily enough. If we ever meet them then I will gladly shout it in their ear until they pay attention. Emily, you make me happy. Happier than I have been in goodness knows how long. So, here is what we are going to do.”
He stepped away from her, releasing her, for he feared if he kept holding her in his arms his resistance would break and he would kiss her, and this time without the interruption of the butler.
“We are going to take these.” He snatched up all the letters from where he had thrown them down and tossed them into the fire. Grabbing the tinder box off the mantelpiece, he bent down to the hearth and struck a light. “Now, we are going to get rid of them for good.” He burned them. The fire took hold quickly, making the pages curl and blacken, with the first note disappearing into ash within seconds.
“Why did you do that?” Emily asked, stepping forward and dropping to her knees, as if she was ready to claw the letters back out of the fire.
“Because you cannot live in fear of these.” He was kneeling beside her as he took her hands in his, pulling her toward him another time. “I won’t let that happen. We are going to forget about this, and the next time something like this happens, you tell me.”
“What good will it do, Aaron? They will simply keep writing.”
“No, people like this become bored eventually. This kind of thing…” He paused, gesturing into the flames. “It is simply the work of a mind who takes pleasure in other people’s misery. I am hardly going to let you be miserable now, am I?” he asked, releasing one of her hands and gently tapping her chin, urging her to look up to him.
“You really think so? You think they will stop and grow bored?”
“I am confident in it,” he said pointedly, finding it harder to remove his fingers from her face as he began to trace the curve of her cheek another time. “In the meantime, forget what those letters said. We are not letting go of each other, Emily. We cannot let that happen.”
“I do not know what I have done to deserve your kindness.” Her smile grew wider.
Aaron felt he could never be kind enough to this woman. He would do anything to make her happy, yet he also knew the answer to why he felt this way. He had already told her once that he was falling in love with her, but he had not yet told her the true depths of what he felt. Now was the time, after reading these horrid letters, and he was going to risk not hearing her say it back.
“I love you, Emily.”
Chapter Fourteen
The air was quiet as Emily stared back at Aaron, uncertain she had heard him right at all. Her lips parted in wonder, as she noticed Aaron’s smile begin to grow.
