“Was he handsome?” Nieve asked, and Emilie diverted her gaze.
Again, she responded with nothing but honesty.
“I think he was,” she murmured.
“Why did he want an annulment?” Kayla fired again, and this time, Emilie’s eyes snapped up.
She stared at her friend, all the breath having left her entirely.
“That’s enough questions for tonight,” Laura said, waving her hands to shoo the girls to get to their beds.
Emilie shot her a grateful look. She walked to the small dresser by her old bed, pulling open one of the drawers. One of her old nightgowns was still nestled inside.
I havenae even been gone long enough for them to get rid of me things. So, how have I been gone long enough to feel like an entirely different person?
Emilie changed quietly, listening to the sounds of the other girls nestling into their beds. When she turned around and climbed into her own, she found Laura lying on her side and staring at her.
She cuddled down into her blankets, hoping that Laura would look away. But her friend did not.
Instead, Laura’s shrewd brown eyes shifted as if sensing the sadness within Emilie.
Wordlessly, Laura reached out a hand, offering it for Emilie to take. She did it without giving it much thought, finding comfort in the act of taking her friend’s hands and allowing them to dangle between them.
“Ye’re goin’ to be all right,” Laura whispered, low enough that only Emilie could hear her. “It may nae feel like it now. But ye’ll be fine. Just give it a little bit of time.”
Emilie blinked rapidly, trying to clear the tears that had suddenly sprung into her eyes. The hole in her heart began to ache, but she was still grateful for her friend’s words.
She gave Laura’s hand a grateful squeeze and then let go before rolling onto her side. Someone snuffed out the lanterns that had lit the room, throwing them into darkness.
Emilie lay in that bed for she didn’t know how long. Long enough that she heard everyone’s breath even out as they drifted off to sleep. But still, sleep evaded her.
She missed Archer. She missed the comfort of him lying in bed beside her and the warmth that would float over to her beneath the blankets.
And Emilie missed the twins. She missed Louis’ kindness and the eagerness with which he approached everything he did. And she missed Aurora’s tenacity, always forcing Emilie to think three steps ahead of everything; otherwise, Aurora would be displeased.
Emilie had tried so hard to keep it together since arriving at the abbey. But finally, for the first time since coming back, she allowed herself to cry.
Tears fell from her eyes, falling down her cheeks and cascading to her pillow. Emilie sent up prayer after prayer.
She prayed for God to take the pain away, and also for him to never take it from her, as it was a reminder of the life she had lived for the last couple of weeks. She prayed for the twins to be happy, but also that they would never miss her.
And most of all, Emilie prayed for Archer. She prayed for him to return. For him to wish her away from this abbey and back to Castle McGregor, silent sobs wracked her body long into the night.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
“Is that all ye have?” Archer taunted, dodging yet another punch from the man across the ring.
Balfour, the soldier that Archer was currently sparring with, laughed.
“Ye ken that it’s nae,” he called back, rushing forward and sending a flurry of blows.
Archer dodged them all expertly, the rage that had been bubbling within him since Emilie left the night before making him faster and more vicious than ever.
During the final blow that Balfour threw, Archer saw it. His opening. His left elbow had been raised a little too high, causing his ribs to be unguarded.
Archer’s fist flew forward, connecting with Balfour’s stomach in an easy swing. The breath left the man in an audible whoosh, and the soldier doubled over.
Archer wasted no time at all. He threw another punch, and then another. Raining them down onto Balfour with a ferocious roar, one that tore out of the very deepest corners of his being.