“Let me ring for a fresh tea tray.” Going to ring the bell, Emma smiled as Lord Yeatman sat down on the couch, giving her room to sit beside him. “You cannot know how glad my heart is at seeing you again.”
“I am filled with nothing short of relief and joy to see you so well,” came the reply as he grasped her hand, clearly entirely unconcerned about Martha’s presence and what she might think. “The ordeal you endured was a great one.”
Emma swallowed the knot which had formed in her throat and gave him a small yet wobbly smile.
“I am quite well, I assure you. And there has been no difficulty as regards my standing or anything like that. Even my own mother is unaware of it.”
This last part was spoken in hushed tones and though Martha frowned in Emma’s direction, Emma chose to give no explanation.
“I have just come from speaking with Lord Wellbridge,” Lord Yeatman replied, his voice not as quiet as Emma had hoped. “I spoke firmly with him and made it quite clear–”
“You… you have spoken to Lord Wellbridge about Emma?”
Emma glanced at her sister and then back to Lord Yeatman. She lifted her shoulders in a half shrug and then looked again at Martha.
“Martha, I did hope to speak to you about something specific though it would have occurred at a later time, rather than this afternoon. I know that you are expecting other gentlemen callers but mayhap to speak of this now would be wise.”
Martha’s eyes darted from Emma to Lord Yeatman and then back again.
“I do not know what you mean. There can only be one reason as to why you would have gone to speak to Lord Wellbridge about Emma.”
Emma frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“You need not hide it from me!” Martha got up suddenly, throwing up her hands as she began to stride up and down the room, in short, quick steps. “I understand it all. I know of it all!”
“Know what?” Emma’s frown grew deeper as she looked again at Lord Yeatman, though the way his eyes flickered told her that he understood more than she did at this present moment. “The reason Lord Yeatman went to speak with Lord Wellbridge is because of something rather serious which took place, Martha. Though, before I begin to explain, I should like your promise that you will not speak of it to Mother or Father. It is best for everyone that they remain unaware.”
“But not best for me?” Much to Emma’s astonishment, tears began to fall from Martha’s eyes, splashing onto her cheeks, which were now deep red. “Do you not understand that I am already fully aware of this and it has caused me a great deal of pain?” Martha cried, dashing one hand over her eyes to chase away further tears. “I have watched Lord Wellbridge, I have seen everything, and I have found myself broken because of it.” Emma blinked furiously, only for clear understanding to washover her. Her eyes flared and she put one hand to her mouth, hiding the gasp of horror. Martha nodded, then shook her head and dropped back into the chair. “I have been aware that Lord Wellbridge’s interest lay with you,” she said, brokenly, “but I have not been able to help my heart. I have found myself eager for his company, determined to have it, to be good enough to gain it and yet, instead of that, Lord Wellbridge has continually been drawn back towards you.”
“You… you knew of that?” Emma barely noticed the tea tray set down by the maid, waving one hand vaguely to dismiss the maid without hesitation. “EvenIdid not know of that, Martha!”
Her sister let out a hard laugh.
“I can hardly believe that,” she said, harshly. “No doubt you saw his interest, but youalsosaw how our mother and even our father encouragedmetowards him. You were able to do nothing other than continue in your attentions toward him, hopeful that his interest would grow despite the attempts of our mother to push him toward me. Is that not so?”
Emma shook her head no, her sister’s eyes narrowing in clear disbelief.
“It is as your sister says, Miss Fairley.” Lord Yeatman’s voice was gentle but held a steadiness to it which Emma appreciated. “She did not know. Yesterday afternoon, when Lord Wellbridge asked to speak to her, she presumed it was aboutyourconnection to him. She has spoken to me of Lord Wellbridge often, but it has always been in relation to you.”
Martha said nothing as Emma reached for the tea pot, finding herself eager to do something rather than simply thinking about what her sister was saying. There came nothing but silence for the next few minutes, aside from the chinking of the China teapot on the teacups, though Emma’s mind was whirring with confusing thoughts. Her sister had always known, had always believed, that Lord Wellbridge was interested inEmma’s company, rather than her own, and yet had never said a single word? That did not make sense to Emma’s mind, for surely if Martha had been as eager for Lord Wellbridge’s attentions as Emma had believed, she would have spoken to Emma about her concerns!
“I had no knowledge of Lord Wellbridge’s interest until yesterday, Martha.” Picking up Martha’s teacup, Emma set it down in front of her sister and then looked down, straight into her eyes. “Do you understand? I have not ever even considered him!”
Martha lifted her gaze and looked back into Emma’s face. There were no tears in her eyes anymore, but her face was still flushed. She did not know whether or not Martha believed her, for the expression on her face was inscrutable.
“You said that you did not know of his interest until yesterday afternoon,” Martha said slowly, as Emma turned to pour the tea for both herself and Lord Yeatman. “What does that mean?”
Picking up her teacup, Emma sat back down and, taking a sip of her tea, set her cup down again before she continued. Seeing how Martha had reacted to the mention of Lord Wellbridge and what she had said thus far, Emma’s mind was whispering at her to be cautious and careful.
“You care for Lord Wellbridge, do you not?” Emma began, though with the silence that followed, it quickly became clear that Martha was not about to answer. “I speak the truth when I tell you that I did not know of his interest until it was much too late.”
“What happened?” Martha’s voice was crisp and clear but also devoid of emotion. “How did you become aware of it?”
“Because,” Emma said, choosing each word individually, “yesterday afternoon, he asked me to walk with him for a short while, though we would remain not far from Lord Yeatman andour mother. However, he asked me to sit in his carriage so that we might have a private conversation. I believed it was about you and, given that you are my sister, and given that you had been waiting for such a long time for his courtship, I agreed – albeit cautiously. What shocked me to my very core, however, was that once I sat in his carriage, he climbed in, pulled the door closed, and rapped on the roof so that we were both driven away together.” Martha’s face slowly began to drain of color. “Thereafter, he spoke to me about his supposed feelings,” Emma continued, quietly. “I could not believe what I was hearing.” Her sister closed her eyes, her chest heaving. “Lord Yeatman came to save me. If he had not, I believe that I would, very likely, have been forced into a marriage that I did not want, to a gentleman I did not care for. I am telling you this not because I want to injure you, Martha, but because I do notwantyou to be injured by him. This has truly shocked me, Martha. I was entirely unaware of his feelings and, in truth, even if Ihadbeen aware of them, I would not have permitted him to pursue me.”
“I… I do not believe you.”
