In Bleak Midwinter

Chapter Thirty-One

Later that evening...

Emily gently kissed Charlie's forehead as she tucked him into the bed beside his cousin Jack. Both the young boys had worn themselves out with the havoc they imposed earlier that evening in the Shelby household. Jack had fallen asleep simultaneously as his head matched with the silk pillow, leaving his elder cousin to have Emily's undivided attention all to himself.

Emily waited until her son was sound asleep before closing the bedroom door gently and making her way back downstairs. Prior to placing the boys to bed, John and Mary had already retired to their room to settle the twins, giving Emily the freedom to spend the evening alone with Tommy.

As she gracefully stalked the corridors searching for her husband, Emily noticed the eerie quietness that loitered; Tommy was not resting in the drawing room where the two usually met and cradled one another until the evening fire burnt out. She thought maybe he was tending to Ruby, but that thought was quickly dismissed with the acknowledgement that the two would have passed one another at some point within the house, or even the noise would have drawn Emily's attention to where Tommy was. She waited momentarily, pouring herself an overly generous glass of whiskey before deciding to look for her husband elsewhere. With every few steps she took, she sipped at the drink before following the noise of a door closing at the other end of the house.

By this point, Emily reached the bottom of the staircase again, meeting John, who was coming from the direction of Tommy's office, and where the noise resided. She finished the glass of whiskey and stared at her brother-in-law.

"Evening Emily" John remarked gently as he attempted to continue towards the stairs.
"I thought you had retired to bed with Mary hours ago? Is everything okay?" Emily curiously asked.
"Oh, I just had to talk to Tommy briefly. Everything's fine" John responded. "I think Tom is coming to bed now, best come and wait for him up here Em" he added as he walked up the grand staircase.
Emily's eyes suspiciously trailed as John got higher up the staircase before she turned to face the direction of the office.
"Right... I'll come up in a second" she noted, deciding to go look for her husband.

As she approached the door, she hesitantly went to knock but her sudden vision of scepticism forced her to promptly swing the door open unannounced. Tommy, who was sat at the desk, quickly looked up at the disturbance in shock to see his wife's disappointed gaze.

"I'm coming up to bed now, darling. I will meet you up there" he smiled before looking back down at his desk.
"What are you doing?" Emily asked inquisitively.
Tommy cleared his throat unanimously before rubbing his forehead and gesturing as he spoke. "Nothing of importance. Look I'm finished now. We can go up together?"
"Why was John in here then? Must have been important business?"
"Emily, you need not to concern yourself with things that aren't important" he repeated, this time getting frustrated with her inquisition. Tommy got up and switched the table lamp out before approaching his wife. He kissed her cheek as he stood before her. "I will let you know if it is something to be concerned about" added in a manner of promise.
Emily briefly sighed before kissing him back. "Okay, but I don't want you to shut me out. It worries me when you go all quiet and mysterious".
"Duly noted" he smirked, taking her hand and guiding her up to the bedroom.

---------------

The sound of Ruby's sweet cries woke both Tommy and Emily later that night. Tommy arose to the occasion but was stopped by Emily who added that the little girl probably needed feeding. The two conversed briefly before Tommy gave in and closed his eyes again. Emily got up, covering her bare, naked skin with the white night-gown which Tommy had torn passionately from her body just hours prior.

She made her way gently down the hall and into her daughters room, cradling and soothing the tiny baby until she fell asleep once more; all whilst Emily thought dubiously about what business Tommy and John were exclusively negotiating in the office earlier that evening. She bit her lip nervously at the thought of breaking into the office and finding out for herself what was going on; a plan that given every second, was becoming a likely option for her, and before she knew it, she was creeping down the stairs.