“I do hope that will not be anytime soon,” William inquired hopefully.
“Do not fret, my lord,” she smiled. “Our little Seymour is still safely inside, and will be for a while.”
William nodded slowly.
“Are you well, William? Your facial expression is rather morose.”
“I am as well as can be expected, but I do not wish to worry you with my foolish troubles,” William insisted.
The duchess scoffed and muttered, “You deserve one another.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“William, you and Emma truly deserve one another,” Kitty repeated. “She stated the same thing to me earlier.”
“You were with Emma?” William’s heart began to pound in his chest.
“Indeed. I was assisting her with her packing.”
William cleared his throat and stepped forward. “When is she to leave Somerset?”
“She is set to leave early tomorrow morning. She is to take the train to Edinburgh,” Kitty answered and cocked her head at William, “but you did not hear that from me.”
“Of course not,” William nodded. “How is she?”
“Conflicted, despite saying she is not. She is the kind of woman who will remain strong until she cannot be strong any longer.”
“What happens then?” he asked.
“I am yet to find out, but it can only be unsettling,” she answered. “Emma has been a good friend of mine for many years, and there was never a time when she could not withstand a situation that was thrown in her path.”
“But?”
“But she is also only a woman, with feelings and emotions. She cannot be strong all the time, and simply needs to feel as though she belongs.”
William couldn’t stand it, and burst out, “She does belong! Here, with me. With all of us.”
Kitty stared at him and blinked slowly as though she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Have you told her this?”
“I was under the impression she was already aware,” William said.
“You mean when you proposed to her out of pity and to silence your own guilt?” Kitty asked and crossed her arms.
He raised his brow and shook his head. “My proposal was never out of pity or to silence the guilt within myself, and if that was the impression you or Emma had been under, then I must inform you that it is not the case. I am in love with Emma, and I wished to marry her for that sole reason. I desire to give her the life she has always wanted.”
He smiled sadly and lowered his gaze. “But she does not want either me or the life I wish to have with her. Once again, I am not good enough.”
“Or perhaps you are good enough for Emma, but you deem yourself not worthy in your own eyes. You must first learn to love yourself before you can truly love another.”
William’s jaw clenched at the accuracy of her wards and he glanced down.
Kitty took a few steps towards the door, then turned back. “She is in love with you, William, and it terrifies her because you are not the kind of man she would usually fall in love with. Whether that is a good or bad thing, is yet to be determined.”
He looked back up, meeting his sister-in-law’s eagle-like gaze. “I am not who she needs, Kitty. She made that perfectly clear.”
“Or perhaps it was merely a test for her to see whether you would fight for her,” she said. “I am turning in for the evening. Have a pleasant sleep, my lord.”
“And you, Your Grace,” William answered respectfully.
He spent a while in the dining hall, staring out the large window that overlooked the back garden, soon realizing that he would lose the most important person to him in the entire world if he did not do something.
And he could not allow that to happen.
It was at dawn when William left Woodlock Manor in his coach. Words rumbling through his mind as he gazed out the window at the scenery passing him by. He had ordered his coachman to take him straight to the train station where Emma was scheduled to board the train to Edinburgh.
He had not a clue what he would say to Emma, but he had come to the realization that the truth was better than any flowery words. Only the truth would make Emma change her mind. Or, at least, that was what William hoped.
Although the journey to the train station was brief, it felt as though he had been confined to his coach for far too long. When it finally came to a stop, William could clearly hear voices coming from the station.
He opened the door and quickly climbed out. There weren’t many people around the platforms, and the tracks were completely empty, not a train in sight.
This was good news. The train had not arrived yet, and he would still be able to speak with Emma before it disembarked. Perhaps he would even be able to convince her not to leave.
As William stepped through the doors of the small station, he glanced around but did not see her. A sinking feeling rose inside him. Had the duchess given him the wrong time and day when Emma was set to leave?
No. Impossible. Kitty was not a heartless woman.
Familiar laughter tickled his ears and he continued through the station. When he stepped outside onto the wooden platform, he noticed a small group of people, the duchess amongst them, as well as Emma, looking truly beautiful.
Her smile, although appearing happy, seemed to have hidden undertones of sadness, which was understandable. Somerset was not a happy place for Emma at the moment, regardless if it was her home or not.
He slowly approached the small group and cleared his throat. “My lady.”
Emma looked directly at him, her smile fading. Then a middle-aged man stepped forward defensively, whom he assumed was Emma’s father.
“Lord Seymour. I suggest you leave at once,” the Earl demanded, his eyes filled with anger.
“My lord, I merely wish to speak with Emma for a moment,” William answered.
“Under no
