AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She smiled wryly. “Which time?”
“There was more than once?” He chuckled.
“I would ride astride whenever I could convince the grooms to forego the sidesaddle,” she explained, “which was quite often.”
“That does not surprise me.”
She grew nostalgic at that memory. “What I wouldn’t give to have my father here to scold me one more time.”
“I apologize for—”
Speaking over him, she replied, “You did nothing wrong. The more I speak about them, the better I feel.”
“In that case,” he began, then hesitated before asking, “can you tell me what happened the day they died?”
Emmeline lowered her gaze to her horse, and her voice became strained. “It is not a day that I like to revisit.”
“If you would prefer not to, I understand.”
“No, it is time that I shared the events of that day with someone,” she said, bringing her gaze back up, “and I would like it to be you.”
Oliver nodded his understanding, his eyes holding sympathy.
With a shaky breath, she said, “My father had business in Town, and my mother decided to join him to do some shopping. I would have gone, but I was not feeling up to it that morning.” She hesitated. “Three days later, my uncle arrived at our country estate and informed us that my parents were killed by highwaymen.”
She adjusted the reins in her hand as she continued. “They were attacked about an hour outside of London, and the highwaymen left no survivors.”
“They killed the driver and footmen?”
“Yes, they were merciless,” she replied. “The constable believes my father tried to fight back, based on the wounds on his hands, which may have aggravated the highwaymen.”
“How terrible.”
“My whole life turned upside down that day. I went from being a carefree maiden to a grieving orphan.”
With compassion in his voice, he asked, “Were your aunt and uncle unkind to you?”
“Not intentionally, but I always felt like an afterthought to them,” she admitted. “They were always focused on Charlotte and ensuring that she married well.”
“I’m sorry you felt that way.”
“Charlotte was not only my cousin, but my dear friend, as well.” She sighed. “I suppose their deaths have tainted me in a way.”
“May I ask how?”
“I have learned that everything that has been given to me can be taken away in a moment. Frankly, I now expect bad things to befall me, and if they don’t, I am genuinely surprised.”
Oliver considered her for a moment, then said, “That is a sad way to live.”
“I disagree,” she replied. “It makes me grateful for what I do have in my life.”
“Which is?”
She smiled. “You.”
“Me?”
“I must admit that I’m pleased you traveled all the way to Lockhart Manor to bring me home,” she said.
