“I promise,” Emilie repeated, giving the girl a soft smile. And Emilie watched as some of the shutters that Aurora seemed to have crafted around herself seemed to fall away.
Slowly, the young girl removed her hands from her face and dropped them to her side. She studied Emilie for a moment longer before finally moving to join her brother at the chest.
The sound of things shifting within the chest filled the air, the twins bowing their heads together as they murmured amongst themselves about what they wanted to select from within it.
I wonder if it’ll be like this the entire time that I’m here, with me constantly havin’ to win Aurora over all over again every time we interact.
Emilie tried to banish the thought, especially since as soon as it crossed her mind, it started to sour her mood. But it was also something that she knew she would do.
Even if it took until the very moment her marriage was annulled and Emilie was on her way back to the abbey, she would keep trying to win Aurora over. She would keep trying to get the little girl to trust her.
Emilie readjusted herself on the low sofa, rearranging the skirts of her dress a little more comfortably around her. She glanced back at her book, her eyes beginning to skim over the words.
Try as she might, the actual meaning of the words would not seep into her mind.
Behind her, the twins were murmuring. Apparently, all it took for them to learn how to whisper was for them to realize that they weren’t, in fact, alone.
However, snippets of what they were saying were drifting over to her.
“…but chess would be easier…”
“…it would just be us….”
“…maybe Emilie could…”
Emilie shut her book, the sound of the pages snapping together echoing a bit louder than she anticipated, grabbing the twins’ attention. Out of the corner of her eye, Emilie saw them shift.
She felt the pressure of their stares and swiveled over the back of the couch to meet them.
“What could Emilie maybe do?” she asked, giving them an encouraging grin.
“Play blocks with us,” Louis chimed. “I want to play blocks. But Aurora wants to play chess, and chess is borin’.”
Aurora glared at her brother. “Chess is sophisticated and is good for the mind.”
It took all the self-control that Emilie had not to laugh. When Aurora had spoken, she had sounded so much like her father that it had been comical. And the air of superiority she’d taken on it had made her seem decades older than she actually was.
“Chess is great for the mind,” Emilie said, humor still lacing her tone. “Whoever taught ye that was right.”
Emilie had a feeling who it was that had taught her that. Archer was so strict about his children having a good education and being of sharp wit that she had no doubt that it had been something their father had bestowed upon the girl.
I wonder if he’d like to play chess with me.
The thought flicked through her mind of its own accord, and Emilie stamped down on it immediately. It would not do for her to begin thinking wistfully of her husband.
She could not be friends with him. She could not play games with him. At least, she couldn’t play any games with him that weren’t along the lines of ‘annoy the life right out of him until he no longer wants to be married to her’.
“But three people cannae play chess,” Louis protested, glaring at his sister.
“Ye could play chess over here,” Emilie said, pointing to the low table a few feet in front of her. “And I could just watch. It’s all right, I daenae have to play.”
“See, Louis,” Aurora chided. “Emilie doesnae want to play.”
Immediately, Emilie shook her head.
“It is nae that I daenae want to,” she quickly explained. “I love chess. It’s me favorite game. But Louis is right that only two canplay at a time. And I daenae want to take over and have one of ye have to sit out.”
Aurora grumbled something unintelligible, but Louis began nodding, agreeing quickly to play the game with his sister. They extracted the board from the chest, as well as a large wooden box that Emilie knew contained the pieces.