Gothick

Chapter Thirty-Three

The flight back to Nördlingen passed quicker than from it. Adrenaline rushed through Emma's body so she no longer felt the cold. Thoughts flooded Emma's mind, making her head pulse. By the time the two landed in front of Würde Manor, Emma was shaking with contained rage.

She climbed the stairs and threw open the doors. She couldn't hear Leon's footsteps, but she could feel his presence close behind. The foyer was still lit. Emma checked the grandfather clock standing in the corner. Twelve-thirty.

No more had she shut the entrance than the dining room door opened. Dominick popped out of the doorway, eyes sunken and stubble darkening his cheeks. His waistcoat was unbuttoned, revealing a crooked tie and untucked shirt. His eyes widened when he spotted Emma, before his brows arched downward.

"Where have you been?!" He said, waving his arms. "It's been a day? You went out there without even telling—" His eyes fell on Leon behind her. "Oh." Dominick's face tightened, and his lip curled into a sneer. "I see you have another caller."

"I know," Emma said, fighting to keep her voice steady. Her fists were so tight that they hurt. "I know everything."

Dominick's face fell.

"Everything?" Dominick said, his brows arched. "What are you talking abo—"

"My death," Emma interrupted, her voice rising an octave. "I know about my death, Dominick. I know who I am."

Dominick took a step back. His face turned white, and his expression twisted as though he were about to be sick.

"I don't know what you mean," he said, turning around and walking briskly back to the dining room. Emma stood motionless, her expression between disbelief and disgust. She stormed after him, but it was as though she wasn't in control of her body anymore. The pulsing in her head escalated to outright drumming.

"You don't know what I mean?" Emma shrieked. Dominick froze in mid-step, his back hunched as though expecting a blow from behind. "How dare you feign ignorance and try to run away. I had a life, Würde! Do you even know what that word means, when you slink off to hide from the world like a coward? I was to have a husband and a family, and you ripped all of that from me!"

"I did nothing of the sort!" Dominick said, face flushed and pouring himself a drink from the liquor cabinet. Whiskey sloshed out from the decanter, and Dominick's shaking hand causing the amber liquor to fly about onto the polished, wood surface. "Anyway, this is not the hour to discuss this—"

"This is the perfect time to discuss this!" Emma said. "Why have you tried to keep everything hidden from me? Even when I asked, you told me nothing."

Emma's head throbbed. She watched him, waiting for an answer. Dominick ignored her, instead taking his drink and sitting at his place at the dining table. He was about to take a sip when Emma pounded a fist on the table. Dominick jumped, causing half of his drink to splash onto his trousers.

"I will not be ignored!" Emma screamed, barely feeling the ache in her hand. "I want answers now, Dominick!"

"You seem to have gotten them by yourself!" Dominick replied. "And you seem in no short supply of men! That knight, this man here, not to mention that sailor back in England! You never needed me for anything!"

Emma couldn't breathe. It was as though all the wind were knocked out of her, and her mind scrambled to process what was just said. Dominick seemed to recoil, slinking into a corner and refusing to look at her. His sipped his whiskey through pursed lips. It took several minutes before Emma could find her voice again.

"Did you murder me because I didn't fancy you?"

Dominick raised his head, affronted.

"Don't be ridiculous!"

"Then answer me!" Emma said. "You answer my questions now, Dominick Würde. After all you've done, you owe me this one thing—"

"After what I've done?!" Dominick said, his face and neck growing red. "Where would you be, had it not been for me? Dead. You wouldn't even be here to accuse me, you ungrateful wench. You would be in the ground—a feast for the maggots and worms! What about all that you've done? Play with the hearts of men, and then toss them aside? How many other men did you toy with before I came down the line? I wonder, had you not died, how long were you going to string the sailor along before you disposed of him too?"

Emma couldn't speak. Dominick's words struck her so that she wasn't sure what to say. She just stood there, eyes wide and mouth agape. The two stared at each other for several seconds. Emma barely sensed Leon approach her side.

"Enough," Leon said. His voice was low, yet it rang through the air with a quiet sharpness that made Dominick stiffen. "Emma, come with me. It's clear your time here is done."

Emma nodded.

Dominick's face softened. His dark eyes gazed down, and his body slumped.

"Emma..."

"My name is Emily," she snapped. "And Leon's right. I don't belong here. Never did."

She turned and followed Leon out of the dining room. Dominick called after her. She half expected for him to chase her, but he only stood there. His voice becoming fainter and fainter until she shut the front door behind her.