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William had witnessed the horror of Emma being harassed and attacked by Lord Niall, with whom he had unfortunately spoken on more than one occasion.
Lord Niall was notorious for being an insensitive brute who objectified women and discarded them as soon as he was done. William was quite impressed at the force with which Emma had slapped her attacker – twice – that had made the man stumble backward. But he still wished to ensure she was unharmed.
He was uncertain whether she would accept his assistance or not, but it did not matter. It made him want to call the other man out, watching the woman he loved be attacked in such a vulgar manner. But Emma had surprised him with her aggressive display of anger towards the miscreant.
William had assumed Emma could take care of herself. She was more than capable of speaking her mind and handling any given situation that was thrown at her, but it did not mean that she should have to.
Or it did not mean he wished her to. She deserved a man who stood up for her in such situations, a man who would prevent her from being in those situations in the first place.
William rushed across the street, in the direction he saw Emma storm off, and called out her name. Emma, however, did not turn towards him, and he did not blame her in the least.
“Emma!” William called out one more time in desperation.
At the mention of her name, Emma spun around, but as soon as she saw William approach, she sighed, her shoulders slumping considerably.
“What do you want?” Emma asked.
“I simply wish to see if you were harmed,” William said.
“I am perfectly fine,” Emma scoffed.
“If you are as perfectly fine as you claim to be, why are there tear stains on your cheeks?” William asked.
“That is none of your business, my lord,” Emma muttered.
“In actual fact, it is, my lady.”
“And how do you figure that?” Emma inquired with a furrowed brow.
“Every moment since the first time we—”
“Please, stop,” she interrupted and raised her hands at him, silently begging him to stop speaking.
“Allow me to speak, Emma, even if it is only this once,” William persisted, pressing the palms of his hands together.
Emma crossed her arms over her chest and glanced defiantly at him. But she didn’t say anything more, so her silence gave him the freedom to speak.
“Everything that has happened has been because of me, and I am sorry that it has affected you so greatly, I wish that there was something I could do to make things right,” William explained sincerely, his heart aching in his chest.
“Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do, my lord. My reputation is ruined, I have lost all my friends. People whisper whenever I am present, and their judgmental stares have made me reluctant to leave the confines of my parents’ home. I had hoped things would settle down and people would forget the tales that have circulated about me, but they have not. I find myself being harassed and attacked by men who think I am a light-skirted woman, which I am certainly not,” Emma answered.
“Of course, you are not!” William agreed.
“I have grown tired of being a walking target for men who think they can take advantage of me. I have grown tired of people whispering and not wishing to have anything to do with me, while those same people have done precisely the same thing. I simply do not have the strength to deal with such hypocrisy any longer,” Emma muttered wearily.
Pain struck him across the chest, seeing her so sad. So... defeated.
“It pains me to see you this way, Emma.”
Emma scoffed and shook her head. “You have an odd way of showing it. A proposal out of pity, a week’s absence, and then suddenly my lord wishes to swoop in and come to my aid. Again, completely uncalled for.”
“I only wish to ensure you are all right, and no harm had come to you,” William answered, beginning to become rather impatient.
“I am perfectly fine,” Emma muttered and lowered her gaze. She winced slightly as she closed her hand into a fist, and William noticed the reddened skin on her palm.
“Can I take you home?” William offered and Emma glared at him. “It is most certainly the least I can do.”
“The least you can do is leave me be. Have I not made myself perfectly clear that I do not wish for you to come anywhere near me?” Emma hissed.
“I only wish to help.”
“It is not your duty to help me or rescue me. You are not my savior. There is absolutely no reason for you to go above and beyond to assist me,” Emma pointed out.
“You and I both know very well there is a reason, my lady. Quite a few, in fact,” William answered, and reached for her arm.
“No, there is most certainly not. Perhaps you have conjured those reasons up. I am not aware of any of them,” Emma glared down at William’s hand grasping her arm.
“Are you always this stubborn? I offer my assistance not out of guilt, but out of—”
“I do not require your assistance,” Emma huffed, and managed to break free from his grasp. “I am fully capable of caring for myself.”
“And what a fine job you did,” William muttered.
“Why do you insist on intruding in my life in such a manner? Was it not humiliating enough when I refused to marry you, or are you simply a martyr for rejection?” Emma inquired angrily, her face flushing red.
“You can publicly humiliate me, my lady, and I would still offer my assistance to you,” William answered.
“You don’t know what you’re saying,” Emma scoffed. “It is most certainly a good thing I will not be around to see it first-hand.”
“What does that mean?” William inquired, suddenly filled with even more concern.
Emma’s gaze grew shuttered. “I should not have said a word.”
“Tell me,” William insisted.
“It is not your place to demand things of me. I am in control of my life and my decisions, and leaving Somerset is the best thing I can do for myself,” Emma said and turned away.
“You are leaving? For good?” William managed to sputter, though the panic rose up inside him and he stepped towards Emma.
“Perhaps. I am not certain when I will return,” Emma answered.
“When will you leave?”
“Soon.”
Her evasive answers frustrated William immensely, but still he asked, “Where are you going?”
“I am certainly not telling you that. I do not wish to be followed, or have someone sent out to spy on me. I simply wish to be alone,” Emma said.
“But you’re meant to be here,” William insisted, a lump forming in his throat. “With me.”
Emma’s eyes began filling up with tears, and she lowered her gaze. “I must go, William. Take care.”
With her eyes cast downward, she turned away and made her way down the pathway, where her father’s coach and the coachman waited for her.
He watched as the coachman assisted her in climbing into the vehicle and as it moved away, his heart sank into his chest. A fiery and rather peculiar ache erupted in his heart as the coach disappeared from sight.
He couldn’t breathe.
“My lord,” he heard a voice behind him. He slowly turned around, unable to respond accordingly as Carson Wallace approached him. “You are as pale as a sheet. Is everything all right?”
“She is leaving,” William whispered, still in shock.
“To whom are you referring, Will?” Carson asked.
“Emma. She is leaving Somerset, perhaps for good, and there is not a single thing I can do or say that will make her stay,” William whispered and raked his fingers through his hair.
“I heard.”
“From whom?”
“From the lady herself,” Mr. Wallace answered. “Earlier, she was in the apothecary purchasing oil of amber. We spoke briefly and she informed me that her father was permitting her to visit Edinburgh.”
“Edinburgh? That is a very long journey.” William sighed.
“Indeed,” Carson agreed with a sigh. “William, may I give you a bit of advice—as a friend?”
“It would be most welcome, since I have not an inkling what to do to make her stay,” he answered.
“Perhaps it is not your place to ask her to stay. It seems as though it is something Lady Emma has been wishing to do for a long while, and now, amid all this chaos, is the perfect time to go,” Carson answered.
“But it means that she would leave,” he said, still shocked by the day’s events.
“Perhaps you should not ask her to stay, but go with her,” Carson pointed out.
His words made William ponder for a few moments, but the more he thought about it, the more absurd it seemed to him.
Emma would most certainly never allow him to accompany her, despite his heart desperately wishing otherwise. She would surely be safe if he was in Edinburgh with her, and he knew of many places to visit.
Places he had visited alone, and knew would be perfect to share with Emma. However, William was well aware Emma had once again had made it perfectly clear she did not wish him to come anywhere near her.
“I cannot do such a thing,” William finally answered and turned to his friend. “I have overstepped my bounds with Emma too often. She deserves to spend time away from Somerset, as well as from me. I have been the cause of all the terrible things that have come over her, and I merely wish for her to be happy.”
“Even if that means that she carries on without you?” Carson asked and stared at William as though he were daft.
He glanced in the direction Emma’s coach had disappeared and sighed, his heart heavy. “Especially then.”
“You are a selfless martyr,” Carson pointed out, inclining his head in a semi-nod.
William snorted at the irony, then nodded. “As are you.”