A Laird for All Time by Angeline Fortin (room on the broom read aloud txt) 📗

his eyes alight with humor.  Given his look and those of so many others, Emmy could only assume the castle gossip had revealed to everyone just where and how she and Connor had spent the last twenty-four hours.  She willed away the heat of a blush and stared him down until he simply quirked his lips at her and winked.

“I’m sure he’ll be here shortly.  He was getting dressed when I came down.”  Emmy looked at the door again and sighed.  “I hope.”

“Did you have another fight?” Dory whispered in worry reaching out a comforting hand to Emmy.  Emmy shook her head but accepted the concern with a tight smile.

“Not so much a fight,” she said in denial, “just some adjustments now that he has recognized that I am not Heather.”  She whispered this last as she studied Dory.  “I would have thought you might have some issues with me sharing a bedroom with Connor now that it’s all out in the open at least between us four.”

Dory rolled her eyes slightly.  “As long as everyone here believes that you are wed, I will not say anything.  Besides, who am I to judge your relationship with Connor?”  She added this vaguely and Emmy shared a glance with Ian who only shrugged.  “However, I will continue to pester you on your deportment and posture whenever necessary,” Dory added with a tired smile pressing a hand to the small of her back.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less.”  Emmy reached out and rubbed her friend’s arm sympathetically.  “Maybe you should get some more rest, Dory.  You look whooped.”

“Whatever that is, it sounds appropriate,” Dory confessed.  “I do feel so poorly tonight.”

“Hang in there, sweetie,” Emmy soothed and shared another look with Ian.  He mouth was tight with worry and stress.  Fatigue and pain was starting to wear on both of them.  “Why don’t you take her back up and just relax tonight?  I’ll have Susan bring you up a tray.”

He nodded and thanked her.  Emmy gave Dory a comforting embrace before sending them on their way.  As they made their way to the door, they stopped to have words with Connor as he came in.  The laird nodded and even leaned in to give his sister-in-law a light kiss on her cheek, an act which left most everyone watching in shock.  The more congenial rapport between the two had become obvious and most of the family was awed by the changes that had come over Connor in the past several weeks.

Connor wended his way through the crowd talking briefly with a few of his relatives before making his way to her side.  He kissed her hand and greeted her formally before commenting, “Dory is not looking well this evening.”

“It has been a long couple weeks for her,” Emmy answered wondering at his aloof formality.  “Truthfully, I don’t think she has long to go.  I might have to put her on bed rest just to get a little more time out of her.”

“I’m sure whatever ye say will be for the best,” he agreed vaguely.  “I’ve sent men to find old Donell but haven’t had any luck as yet.”

“What’s wrong, Connor?” she whispered keeping a light smile on her face for the benefit of those ever curious who were watching.

“Nothing.”  Connor saw the disappointment in her eyes at his response.  Aye, they were beyond such polite veneers. He sighed and his frame visibly relaxed drawing a sigh from Emmy as well.  “Better?”

“A little?  What’s bugging you?”

“I am simply displeased with the conclusion of our conversation earlier,” he admitted truthfully.  “It seems that our perceptions of our relationship are not one and the same.”

“It’s not that I don’t love you, Connor, I do,” Emmy rushed to reassure him.

Connor met her gaze and read the honesty and intensity there.  She might speak the truth but there was something else lingering in her eyes. He took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.  “What is it then?”

“Fear, I suppose,” she admitted hesitantly then released a deep breath letting her shoulders drop.  Emmy cast him a pleading look.  “Try to look at it from my point of view, okay?  You love me and your life changes little.  You still have your home, your family and your job.  But if I embrace this - our love for all time, a future together - my life changes completely.  I lose a whole world.  And what if it doesn’t work out?  I feel like I have a lot more to lose.”

“I feel as if we have everything to gain, my wee pessimist” he retorted but held up a hand before she could respond.  “However, I will concede the point for now. Given what I have seen, I understand that ye feel there are sacrifices.  I can only hope in time that they can be outweighed by the advantages.”

              “Connor...” she started shaking her head.

“Come, let us to dinner.”  He held out his arm and smiled lightly as she took it.  “We shall start with yer one day at a time and see where it goes from there, shall we?”

Mutely, Emmy nodded letting him lead her to the dining room yet inside her heart was aquiver.  My God, he had such faith in her, she realized.  It was as if he just knew that it would come to her eventually.  It was terrifying yet at the same time, she didn’t want to let him down.  Only her mother had ever shown such faith in her.  It was wonderful and heartbreaking.

“Tell me more about the future,” he prompted in a low voice as they were served their first course.

Ahh, a diversion!  Thank God for normal, almost normal, dinner conversation.  “What do you want to know?” Emmy cast him an encouraging glance as she dug into her sautéed halibut.

“I recall when I mentioned the automobile to ye previously; ye seemed unimpressed and suggested that ye’ve seen one before.  Aye?”

She nodded, “Cars, we call them.”

He continued in a horrified tone awaiting an