Winter's End (22 page)

“Really?” Deanna
Boyd, sat upright, unbelievingly. “Was cousin Gertrude invited?”

“Cousin Gertrude?”
repeated Emma, puzzled.

“Yes, Ethel’s
favourite cousin Gertrude. Was she here at the wedding? Although it goes
without saying that she would be, since she is Ethel’s cousin. I, on the other
hand, am poor Arthur’s only closest living relative,” she sobbed into her
handkerchief. “To be treated in this manner. For all my efforts of looking out
for my dear cousin Arthur’s interests.”

“If it helps, Mrs.
Boyd, I haven’t met cousin Gertrude,” Emma tried, hoping that the impertinent Mrs.
Boyd would calm down.

Deanna Boyd, raised
her head, dabbing her eyes. “What?” she asked surprised.

“I didn’t see her at
the wedding,” Emma said.

“Is this true,
Ethel?” she asked, turning to her.

Ethel glared. “Yes,
Gertie
wasn’t at the wedding.” But she failed to mention
that unlike Deanna Boyd, cousin
Gertie
was lovingly
pursued and begged to come. She would have been at the wedding too, had she not
broken her ankle in a fall a week prior to it.

“Why, really Ethel,”
Deanna replied in a reprimanding tone. “To not invite me is one thing. But you
didn’t invite someone as close as cousin Gertrude? You must be losing your
insanity by the age. Certainly, that’s just lack of manners.”

Ethel glowered, a
sharp retort at the tip of her tongue. But when she noticed Emma’s threatening
glance, she closed her mouth, biting back her much desired response. Instead
she chose to sulk, determined to not engage any further with her rather
ignoramus relative.

“Will Chris be
returning to America, then,
 
Emma?”
Deanna asked curiously. “He has a wonderful career going for him. Much more
lucrative than the family business. I hope he returns to doing that. He has such
incredible potential as an actor.”

Emma gave a quick
glance at Ethel, who was choosing to remain silent with obvious difficulty.
“I’m sure Chris will do what he thinks is right for him,” said Emma.

Deanna straightened herself
up. “Well, I do hope that you will go with him. The women in America are just
so scandalously provocative. Mark my words Emma, if you’re not there, they will
not hesitate to seduce your new husband into their beds. Besides it is
inadvisable for a newly married couple such as yourself and Chris to live in
opposite parts of the world. I’m sure you must have read of that dreadful story
in the newspaper today. And I really am terribly sorry that you have to hear of
something such as that in the early days of your marriage. But you must be
strong, Emma. You must understand that this Ashley Taylor girl has been with
Chris for three years. A long relationship in my opinion. And yet she was more
shocked than anyone else of Chris’ marriage. Judging from that, I believe Chris
must not have ended his relationship with her at all. And she is still there in
America waiting for him to return. If you don’t go with him, she will certainly
use all her seductive ways to win him back. And she is a model, don’t you
forget that. A notch up than us ordinary women. Oh and these celebrities do
have an awful reputation for nasty divorces. You can’t blame them really with
all the promiscuity that surrounds them. It is only human to give into
temptation if there isn’t any one to look out for you, isn’t it?”

Emma reddened as she
tried to stifle her rising anger. “Thank you Mrs. Boyd for being so overtly
concerned for both Chris and I. But really, you mustn’t bother yourself over
such trivial matters. I don’t know if Chris intends to pursue his career in
Hollywood or if he’d rather take over the family business. To be honest, he’s
never discussed it with me. But whatever decision he does make, I am more than
happy to support it. As for me, moving with him to America, that is a decision
that solely Chris and I will make. And it helps if others try not to influence
it in any way. What I have learnt of my husband in the short term that I know
him, is that he will do what it takes to keep his family together. He will not
risk to hurt his loved ones with petty scandals. Whether he has ended his
relationship with Ashley Taylor or not, isn’t my business. What is my business
is that he does not continue with it. I trust my husband implicitly, Mrs. Boyd.
I trust that he will make the choices that is right for this family. I hope,
though, you will continue to support both Chris and I as you have been doing the
Kinnaird family for the many previous years, regardless of the decisions we
make. Thank you for understanding the need for us to make our own decisions,
even if they may be poor choices, and giving us the space to learn from our
errors and grow from them. Now if you will politely excuse me, there are
certain things that I’ve just remembered I should follow up on.”

She rose from her
chair, shaking with seething anger and strode gracefully as she could out of
the parlour leaving behind a flustered Mrs. Boyd and a sly grinning Ethel.

Outside, she almost
bumped into Chris who was standing at the corner. She gave him an angry glare
before stomping off towards the library.

*****

Chris found her in
the library at her computer. He had been standing long enough at the parlour to
hear her passionate defence of him and her marriage. There was something about
the way she stood up for him that uncoiled a sense of desire for her,
stiffening a knot in his stomach.

When he strode into
the room, she refused to acknowledge him, focusing intensely on her computer
screen. He dallied about her, shuffling through books.

“You like romance,”
he said.

“Huh?” she said,
looking up at him.

He was holding one of
her romance novels.

“You seem to be a fan
of Amelia Priestley,” he said, flipping through the pages. “I’ve never read her
though.”

She didn’t say
anything, returning to her work.

“Can I talk to you?”
he tried.

“What about?”

“About Ashley
Taylor.”

She glowered. “It’s
none of my business,” she answered, sharply.

“I know you read the
news.”

“I don’t want to
know,” she said, standing up from her chair.

A nerve pulsed at his
temples. “Why not?”

“Because this isn’t a
real marriage,” she snapped, trying to walk around him.

He grabbed her by the
arm and swung her ruthlessly to him. “Will you stop throwing that in my face? I
know this isn’t a real marriage. But shouldn’t you at least show some interest
in what goes on in my life.”

“I don’t want to
know,” she flared, writhing out of his grip. “Give me one good reason why I
should.”

He stared at her, flaming
with rage, unable to answer her.

Her eyes brimmed with
tears. “See, even you can’t tell me why I should care.”

She left the room,
leaving him all alone to ponder over a reason as to why she should give a damn
about him.

*****

He didn’t come down
to the kitchen that evening. She was thankful he didn’t, though she couldn’t
help herself from expecting that he might change his mind.

Theodore ambled into
the kitchen. “Has Nancy retired for the evening, Miss?” he asked.

“She said she will
clean up later. She received a call from her family,” she replied.

Theodore nodded. He
paused briefly.“Mr. Cameron won’t be eating in tonight, Miss. Just so you know
in case you’re cooking for him as well. Said he was going into
Portree
and he won’t be back until tomorrow.”

“Thanks Theodore,”
Emma said, quietly.

She julienned a
carrot as the butler boiled himself some water for a cup of tea.

“Theodore,” she said.
“Did you ever marry?”

“No,” he answered,
shaking his head. “Came close to it almost once. But never took the plunge.”

“You did not love
her?”

He paused again. “In
fact, I loved her very much,” he added after a little while.

“But then why didn’t
you?”

He sat at the table,
his cup of tea steaming, releasing a fresh citrusy aroma into the room. “I was
stubborn,” he put frankly. “Too proud to compromise. One day, we fought real
bad and she left and never came back.”

“I’m sorry,” she said.

He nodded as he took
a sip. “I was only thirteen when Mr. Arthur Kinnaird plucked me from the
streets. My mother died when I was only six. Hardly knew her. My father was a
drunk and never cared what became of me. I was passed from relative to relative
to friends to neighbours until nobody really wanted another scruffy orphan
anymore. That’s when Mr. Kinnaird found me and brought me into this house.” His
eyes roamed the old walls. “Practically grew up here. This is the only home
I’ve ever known.” He grew quiet, thinking. “When I first came here, this house
bustled with noise. It teemed with servants. Then slowly people began either
dying or leaving. One by one. And one day, it was quiet. There was just me and
Nancy.” He took in a deep breath. “Her name was Rebecca. I fell in love with
her the moment she stepped into this kitchen. We needed a maid and she happened
to be one.” He chuckled. “Oh she was a lively one. She had the brightest blue
eyes you’d ever find. We’d meet each night at the stables after everyone had
finished their chores. She’d always save something special for me like a
blueberry cake or an apple pie.” His eyes fell to the table. “Unfortunately, my
troublesome past destroyed my trust in anyone. I had so much anger inside of
me, I didn’t even know it. It’s like the old proverb ‘you hurt the one you love
the most’. You see, there were many women who came into my life before Rebecca
but I didn't love them like I did her. She was different. She was special. When
you find that love, your soul just knows it. It recognises it long before the
eyes does. Mine did when I saw Rebecca. But what I didn’t know was how to care
for that love. I kept hurting her. I didn’t trust myself that I could love her
well. I was all she wanted. I kept seeing the lack in me but she, however, saw
me differently. And that was my frustration. I just couldn’t see what she saw.
One day, we had a terrible argument. I can’t even remember what it was about.
Must have been something really petty. And then she left. Like the rest of
them.”

“Did you ever see her
again?” Emma asked, slowly.

“No,” he said. “I
heard she met a nice young man and moved to America.”

“I’m sorry,” said
Emma.

He shook his head.
“Don’t be. I have decided to take away from it the most important lesson it
could possibly teach me.”

“What is that?”

“Don’t settle to love
anyone else than what your heart truly deserves. Because when you do find it,
you stop searching for that love anymore.” He watched her carefully. “I found
my Rebecca. I don’t need another. I’m content and peaceful to wherever life
leads me.”

*****

Theodore’s words
stayed with Emma long after he left. Will she ever find her Rebecca?

She ate with the
children, cleaned up and then strolled towards the parlour. Ethel was there,
her eyes closed, her head resting on the back of her favourite chair.

Emma looked at the
clock and noticed that it was past ten. Ethel usually went to bed at nine.

“Ethel,” said Emma,
touching her elbow, softly. “Do you want me to call Nancy to take you up to
your bedroom?”

Her tired eyes opened
and she shook her head. “Not now lass. May be later.”

“Okay. Whenever
you’re ready, just let me know. I’ll be right here.”

Emma paced slowly to
the windows that overlooked the driveway. She leant against the frames. The
darkness hovered over the driveway, broken by the small door lamps. In the far
distance, specks of light moved, the only signs indicative of the highway.

“He isn’t coming
back,” said Ethel. “Not tonight.”

Emma’s eyes lowered,
sadly.

“He’s hurt lass,”
Ethel said. “He does that whenever he’s hurt. He runs away. Unfortunately,
that’s all he knows. As a child, he was tormented in school. They called him
‘devil spawn’. They told him to stay away from them in case he brought the
Kinnaird curse upon them. Children can be wicked sometimes.” She let out a
tired sigh. “The first time he ran away, he was eleven. Theodore found him in a
tentative deer hunter’s shelter in the hills. Good old Theodore. He always knew
where the boy was or how he was feeling. I don’t know what I’d do without
Theodore.

One day, when
Christopher was thirteen, he brought home a friend. Ethan Wells. Lovely child.
They did everything together. They even fell for the same girl when they were
seventeen. Her name was Leah. They met her in London but it was Christopher she
was attracted to. He was so very happy. They started corresponding through
letters. He used to even take special visits to see her whenever he could. And
when he moved to start university in London, they were seriously dating, in
love and planning a whole new course for their lives. Well, at least Christopher
was. And then one day, he found her in bed with Ethan. She had been shagging
him ever since he had arrived in London but it was clear that it was
Christopher’s money she wanted. Christopher, the sole heir of the Kinnaird
Estate. I suppose it was really a curse in some strange way. He never could
love or trust anyone since.”