His Innocent Rose (Hinley Manor Book 1)

Chapter 63: Barfield

Em exhaled, "You wish to save yourself then. So why bother to sermon me? Why not leave and work for another family?"

"I have reasons of my own. Reasons you have no right of knowing."

"Fine. Then we are done here." She turned to leave but the old woman grabbed her arm.

"Saturday at three. That is when your wedding will commence." She dug into her pocket and pulled out a small pouch. "There is a ship leaving that same morning, board that and leave."

"Why would I do that? And why should I heed your warning?"

"Because there is no other way to break the engagement. They will have you wed! Its the only way they can stop all the gossips surrounding them. I know you heard what the people has to say about them. So you need not be stupid to even find out if its worth the chance. The countess will make sure you will regret it."

Em felt the woman's hands shake as she held unto her. She reached out and patted it. "If this is your money, take it back. I have no need of it. But I shall consider the information about the ship."

"You-"

There a knock on the door. "Emelia? Its Gideon. My carriage is outside, I'll drive you home."

"I shall meet you downstairs." She called out.

"Alright. I shall wait." He replied and walked away.

"Perhaps you should consider boarding the ship, Mrs. Garth. If they scare you so much, maybe you should save yourself now. Before its too late."

"You have no idea what horrors I have been through, while serving this family." She closed her eyes and tried not to shake. "For years I endured a lot. They are evil, a whole lot of them. Mostly her." Mrs. Garth's entire body was shivering from fear, which means, she was telling the truth: Em needed to get away from the Hanselworth's.

She touched the old woman's shoulders and tried to calm her down, "I believe you, Mrs. Garth. And I appreciate you helping me. I have a plan but I would need some time to make it happen."

"Time is not what you have."

"I know." She murmured. "I know."
***

On the way back, Gideon said a few words before they decided to sit in silence. The sound of the wheels against the road and the horses' steps droned out. It would seem that both of them were in deep thoughts.

It wasn't until Fairclough was on sight when he broke the silence, "Emelia? There is something I wish to tell. Before we..." he paused and looked down, "before we wed."

Her heart skipped a beat. Was he going to confess? Will he tell her about Sophia?

"W-what is it?" She asked.

"It is something I have done when I was quite young. A reckless mistake, I would call it." He sighed. "But I do not wish to upset you."

"Would you rather wait? No. Do not answer that." It was her turn to exhale. "I cannot promise not to be upset but if you can be honest with me now, I would truly appreciate it."

He smiled sadly, "Then I better start...you see I....I was previously a rake. A rather terrible one, if you asked my peers. I was newly appointed a knight and women were literally falling in line for me." His eyes looked at her eyes then veered away. "I did not chase the skirts but rather the skirts chased me. And I did not turn down a single one. There had been noble ladies, daughters of the rich businessmen and even very pretty commoners. I took them all in, whenever and wherever I could. They never complained."

Em clutched her skirts. His story was disgusting. He was literally telling her that he had whored himself to women.

"Was it worth it?" She asked.