Torchlight

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Emilia was alone in her room, sitting in her window seat overlooking the estate's vast gardens. It was always beautiful this time of year, and in the quiet of early evening, all the chaos of the day faded into a gentle memory.

The last few days had been filled with a flurry of activity. There had been numerous trips to the dressmaker's establishment for Cassandra's wedding finery, trousseau, as well as her own gown as she was Cassandra's bridesmaid. Apart from that, there were all the arrangements for the grand reception that would be held at Winterley Court. Even though Cassandra and Emmanuel had not wanted anything too elaborate, Diana just didn't understand the concept of small.

Emilia smiled as she remembered how Diana had railroaded Cassandra into inviting 100 more guests than what was initially decided.

Oh well, Emilia thought, a woman only married once.

And she had never seen any woman more happy Cassandra. These days she seemed to be walking on air. Happy as Emilia was for her best friend, she could not help feeling just a little envious as well. She wished suddenly that she too could find her own place in the world.

That sentiment brought all the thoughts she had been trying to bury back to the forefront. Jasper. Emilia let out a depressed sigh. Since his announcement that he, and subsequently his family, was leaving for France, she had hardly laid eyes on him. Whenever she and Cassandra dropped by, he was mysteriously absent.

Emilia had even plucked up the courage to ask Elizabeth once where he was, hoping that she sounded casual and disinterested, but she suspected that the tremor in her voice and the knowing look in the other woman's eyes might have meant she wasn't fooling anyone. According to Elizabeth he was attending to business. At that point, Emilia's eyes had dropped to her lap when she saw the sympathy in the other woman's eyes.

Emilia could not deny the swirling mess her emotions were in, or how as a result of that confusion, she had handled things with Jasper really badly.

Do I... love him? Everything inside Emilia seemed to unfurl for a moment as she basked in the warm glow of excitement and unwavering terror at the same time. This realisation, although wondrous, was coupled with trepidation. How on earth could Jasper and I ever be able to make a situation like this work? He is a vampire and I am mortal. He could not un-become what he was and she did not know if she was ready to become like him - or even if she wanted that at all.

All she knew for certain was that she could not stand the horrible tension between them any longer. She needed to see him, to make him understand somehow, so that she would no longer see that bleak look in his eyes whenever she stepped into the room.

Emilia had no idea what she was going to say as she sat in her carriage heading to Konstantin House. As she reached her destination she realised that she did not even know if anyone was home because she had not informed anyone of her visit.

Standing in the parlour as she waited for Elizabeth, Emilia's stomach was in knots. Should I have asked for Jasper directly?

"Lady Emilia." She swirled around at the sound of Jasper's voice. For an instant she was rendered speechless as her greedy eyes feasted on him - all the way from his unruly golden crown to the polished tips of his boots. It felt like ages since she had seen him. And now there he was, as handsome as ever, standing before her without a whiff of emotion evident in his eyes or his body language.

Emilia's heart squeezed tightly in her chest as she licked her lips, thinking of the best way to say what she needed to.

"Beth and Mick are not here. They had committed to attending Lady Knightley's soirée. I am sorry you travelled all this way in vain. I will have the butler escort you out." Without so much as meeting her eyes, he started to turn toward the door after delivering his news.