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Emma’s face contorted in a frown, and she looked away, but not before he caught sight of the tears in her eyes.
“Emma? Are ye well?”
She shook her head. “No. I…I’m so sorry to be draggin’ ye through this. Askin’ ye to put your life on ’old so Nicholas and I can…When we don’t e’en know if…” She stopped, shaking her head.
August’s heart reached out to her, and he would help her. But this rain was doing neither of them any good. He shouldn’t have stopped Miss May from going home, either, forcing her to remain in such weather.
Although it was her favorite.
He set aside his thoughts and focused on Emma, offering her his arm. “Come. Allow me to walk ye ’ome and out o’ this rain. We can speak along the way.”
Emma nodded, sliding her hand around his arm as she spoke of the latest crisis unfolding around her. “Father fought with Mr. Cuff again last night.”
August winced. “What ’appened?”
Emma nodded. “They ’appened to meet at the Sugar Loaf. Both of ’em refused to leave and were pulled into a scuffle. I…I do fear this’ll set us back weeks. We can’t tell ’em ’bout Nicholas and I until matters be calmer ’tween ’em. But that means that ye…”
She looked up at him with sorrowful eyes. Instantly, August chided his selfish behavior from before. Time was on his side concerning Miss May. He would be able to befriend her and get to know her further in a few weeks—when his friends weren’t in need of his services.
“Do not worry yourself o’er me, friend,” he said, resting his hand on hers. “I be ’appy to ’elp both of ye for as long as ye need.”
She nodded, though worry still creased her brow. “Thank ye, dear friend. Nicholas and I be so grateful. And I know your efforts be helpin’. Mother asks after ye a great deal and ne’er mentions Nicholas. No one seems aware that we were on the mainland, either.”
“That be a relief.” Journeying together had been a risky endeavor, but the couple had needed some semblance of normalcy in their lives.
“I be prayin’ fervently every night that this may end soon,” Emma continued. “So we can move on. So ye can, too. Then you’ll be free to pursue your own future.” She paused. “With the people ye wish to ’ave a future with.”
August wasn’t sure he wished to rise to her baiting. Obviously, she’d seen something between Miss May and himself, whether on the mainland or only moments ago. He wished he could let Emma know about his newfound feelings for his supervisor’s daughter, but things were still too uncertain.
“Can I do anythin’ for ye, August?” Emma asked. “After all ye’ve done for Nicholas and me, be there any way I can pay it back?”
Nicholas was about to wave aside the offer that came every time she thanked August for his help, but he paused. “Actually, there do be somethin’.”
Emma’s brow raised in surprise, but she nodded with fervor. “Tell me.”
August looked around them as they neared the other houses—Emma’s house at the opposite end of the Mount than his and Miss May’s. The rain had lessened to a degree, and a handful of people began to mosey about the grounds.
Stopping, he faced his friend. “I wonder if ye might be willin’ to befriend Miss May.”
Emma tipped her head to the side, clearly surprised at his request.
“I know it might seem strange, but…”
Emma shook her head. “No, not strange at all. I’d be ’appy to. I only wonder…” She hesitated.
“Go on.”
“Well, I do wonder if she be wantin’ friends.”
August pulled back. Everyone wanted friends. It was part of human nature. Wasn’t it?
“I’ve attempted to befriend ’er before,” Emma continued. “She likes keepin’ to ’erself, as far as I be aware.”
August nodded. While he appreciated his friend’s insight, that was not his experience with the Miss May from last night or even that afternoon. She’d appeared more than pleased to speak with him both days.
And there was still that moment he couldn’t shake from his mind. The crack in her voice and the vulnerable look to her eye when she had thanked him for being kind to her.
That, more than anything, told him to trust his instinct.
