“I owed your father a great debt. That is why I helped you.”
“Perhaps, but you and I became friends along the way,” Emilia said.
Friendship.
Is that what he wanted from Emilia?
Emilia continued. “I can see the pain deep within your eyes and I know your heart is troubled. Let me in, Fredrick.” Her soft plea did inconvenient things to his heart.
Her words pierced through Fredrick’s defenses, and he found himself admitting, “I killed a child.”
Fredrick halfway expected Emilia to jump up and leave him after what he had just admitted. But, to his surprise, she remained where she was, watching him, listening.
“There must be more to the story,” she said. “Will you share it with me?”
Knowing he needed her strength, he gently removed her hand from his sleeve and intertwined their fingers. “We were on a mission in a small village when we started taking fire from the locals,” he shared. “They were no match for us, but when the dust settled, I was horrified to discover that I had killed a child.” He hung his head. “I later learned that his name was Timmy and he was only three and ten years old. Why he had a weapon on him, I cannot say, but I shot him, dead. And his eyes still haunt me every time I close my eyes.”
Emilia’s voice was gentle as she said, “You did nothing wrong. Timmy would have killed you, given the chance.”
“Does that make what I did right?” he asked, his voice rising.
“You were a soldier, and you were forced to make a difficult call,” she said. “No one can fault you for that.”
“I fault myself!” he exclaimed, jumping up from his seat. “I should have known better.”
Emilia rose with him. “You are many things, but a fortune teller is not one of them. How would you have known the boy’s age? All you saw was a weapon being aimed at you.”
Fredrick’s voice wavered as he admitted, “I wish it was me who died that day, not Timmy.” His eyes filled with tears at his admission.
In the next moment, Emilia wrapped her arms around him in a comforting embrace. “Don’t you dare say that,” she admonished. “You changed my life, for the better. I need you in it.”
“You would do just fine on your own.”
“That is not true,” she was quick to respond.
Fredrick returned her embrace, his chin resting on the top of her head. Despite what he had just shared, he felt something different stirring deep within him. It was something he hadn’tfelt in a long time- contentment. Having Emilia in his arms became an unexpected solace, offering a moment of peace amidst his haunted memories.
How could he not care for this woman? She had only shown him compassion as he bared his darkest secret, without a hint of judgment. He didn’t know what his heart was trying to tell him, but he knew that something had shifted between them- something that prevented them from going back to the way they were before.
The discreet clearing of the maid’s throat served as a reminder that they were not alone in the room. Reluctantly, he released Emilia, taking a step back. “I feel as if I must apologize…”
“Please don’t. I do not regret my actions and nor should you,” Emilia insisted. “But I do wish to say that you must be strong enough to realize that breaking isn’t the same as being weak.”
He pondered her for a moment before asking, “How are you so wise?”
She grinned. “I am not wise, but it is far easier to offer advice to another than to take my own.”
“I haven’t shared that story about Timmy since I returned from the Continent,” Fredrick said. “Only my comrades know what happened that fateful day.”
“I am glad that you shared it with me.”
Fredrick returned her smile. “As am I.”
They stared at one another, and Fredrick found himself entranced. He didn’t think he could look away, even if he wanted to. Her eyes were telling him a story, one that he found he very much wanted to be a part of from here on out.
Anette’s voice came from the doorway, breaking the spell that had come over Emilia and Fredrick. “Now what has you two so engrossed?”
Fredrick broke his gaze with Emilia and turned towards Anette. “We were just discussing something, weren’t we, Emilia?”
