Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
“You’re telling me that you, Minnie Draper, snuck out of your house through a window, met Tommy Ward, and ran away to Gretna Green where you were secretly married?”
Emmaline stared at Minnie with eyes so wide that Minnie would have laughed had the topic of conversation not been the complete overhaul of her life.
“Yes, that about sums it up.”
Emmaline leaned across the hard wooden bleacher and placed her hand on Minnie’s knee.
“My goodness, Minnie. I have never been prouder of you.”
They started laughing, Minnie and her three friends, as they sat in the stands and watched Manchester Central take to the field to play in the first game of their FA Cup bid. They were the returning champions, so they had a lot to prove this season, as they tried to defend their title.
Minnie had to rein in her laughter, as it was bordering on hysterical, and she sensed the knowing looks her friends were sending her way.
“It is something you would do, isn’t it, Emmaline?” Lily said, and Emmaline nodded as she stared out over the field wistfully.
“Do you miss it?” Minnie asked her friend. “Do you wish you were out there with them?”
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t,” Emmaline said with a sigh. “But I’m still playing football, and that’s what matters most.”
“Even though none of us can come close to matching your talent,” Ada said from beside her. Of all of them, Ada had been most committed to Emmaline’s women’s football club, which was just beginning to find its footing.
“I can still hardly believe that you played with the men,” Minnie said, shaking her head.
“Look at us now, married to three of them,” Lily said, before sliding her gaze over Ada’s way. “Do you have your eye on any of them, Ada?”
“Of course not,” Ada said, even though her cheeks reddened slightly, nearly matching the burnished auburn of her hair. “I am all but promised to David.”
“Yes, but should not something have come of that already?” Emmaline asked, even though Lily gave her a disparaging look as most of them tried not to bring it up to Ada, for they were aware of how it bothered her that David had not actually made good on his promise to wed her.
“Soon enough,” Ada said, although she bit her lip and kept her gaze on the match as it began, Rhys losing the coin toss as always.
“Rhys needs to let someone else take the toss,” Emmaline murmured, although her gaze on her husband was loving.
“Well, Tommy seems to have been the lucky one lately,” Lily said with a soft laugh, and suddenly Minnie found all eyes on her once again.
“You never mentioned the wedding night,” Emmaline said smoothly, her lips curling into a smile.
“Nothing happened,” Minnie said quickly.
“I fell asleep.” She twisted her hands in her dress.
“Then last night, he was downstairs working late to try to catch up after missing two days of work. By the time he came to bed, I was sleeping once more. I am not sure anything ever will happen. Tommy and I wed to save me from a worse fate, but that does not mean there is actually anything romantic between us.”
Emmaline scoffed at that. “You cannot be serious, Min. The man has watched you with his tongue hanging out of his mouth ever since he met you. You must know that.”
“Perhaps there was an infatuation, yes,” she admitted. “But now that we are actually married, I do not think that he feels for me what he thought he did. He was likely drawn in by my looks and then disappointed when he discovered who I actually was.”
“That cannot be true,” Ada said stubbornly, crossing her arms over her chest. “I don’t think there is anyone who has come to know you, Minnie, and hasn’t fallen more in love with you.”
“There’s a first for everything.”
“Give it time,” Lily said softly. “You’ll discover if you truly feel anything for one another.”
“I am worried that he will regret this soon enough,” Minnie said. “Then what do I do?”
“You take it one day at a time,” Lily said. “It’s what you do in any marriage, whether there is love there or not.”
“Now, I would like to know more about what drew you to marry Tommy with such haste that you ran away from not only your family and from us, risking breaking a law,” Emmaline said, her lips pursing and her nose crinkling.
Her grandfather was one of Minnie’s father’s business partners, so she would have an interest in any business concerns that befell Minnie’s father.
“My father lost money in gambling debts and other financial losses that I do not truly understand,” Minnie said.
“It was a large amount — enough to ruin him. Enough that he was willing to sell me off to pay off his debts. I suppose he thought if he couldn’t afford my dowry anymore, what did it matter? ”
“Oh, it matters quite a bit,” Emmaline said, her face darkening in anger as she crossed her arms over her chest. “How could he be certain of who you ended up with?”
“From what Tommy said, he did try to have final approval.”
Emmaline snorted in disbelief. “Now what?”
“Now,” Minnie said with a sigh, “I try to keep my marriage intact as my father tries to find a way to annul it.”
“I suppose it is possible, considering how you were married,” Lily said. “But Tommy talked to Colin, and he agreed that if it comes to that, he will represent him.”
“We are fortunate that your husband is a solicitor,” Minnie said.
“It does come in handy,” Lily agreed before wincing as Manchester was scored on.
“Get your heads in the game, lads!” Emmaline yelled out, surging to her feet before looking at the rest of them. “This conversation will have to be on hold for a moment,” she said. “The boys need us. Get ready to cheer. And cheer enthusiastically.”
Tommy couldn’t help but look over at the stands as the roar surged forward.
In the center of the fans who had stood and cheered loudly for them were four women, the rainbow of their gowns standing out among the muted colors worn by the gentlemen watching.
He was both proud of having Minnie as his wife in the stands and concerned that he couldn’t be next to her to protect her. The crowds could become raucous.
“How do you do it?” he asked Colin as he ran by. “Have Lily so close yet not be by her side?”
“I have a man watching her,” he called over his shoulder as he ran away. “And he’ll watch over your wife too!”
Well, that was a relief, even if Tommy didn’t like the idea of another man watching over Minnie, for he couldn’t think of a man alive, save his friends who were in love with other women, who could look at Minnie and not be instantly drawn toward her.
He had spoken to his teammates before the game, filling them in on what had happened.
Besides Colin, Rhys, and Jonny, most of them were completely flabbergasted. Never one to keep much close to his chest, Tommy had also told them about Minnie’s father and the troubles he had found himself in with Blackwood.
“I’ve heard of him,” Mickey said. “I think he supported Lord Montgomery when he attempted to bring down Manchester Central.”
“But what interest would he have in seeing the demise of a football club?”
“It was more Lord Harcourt’s mill he wanted to see brought down. Not the club.”
“For what reason?”
“He is trying to take over the entire underbelly of Manchester,” Mickey said. “One business at a time.”
“So, you think he is trying to take down the shipping business?”
“I think he is trying to make it so that the businesses rely on him for protection. So he gets a cut of all of it.”
Tommy wiped a hand over his forehead. “This is not for a blacksmith to figure out.”
Colin looked at him wryly. “It is now.”
“We’ll work on that later — together,” Rhys promised, clapping his hands together. “But right now, we have to win a game if we want a chance at defending this cup.”
They all nodded in agreement, gathering around him as he went through their strategy against Old Etonians.
They weren’t happy about facing such a tough team at the beginning of their cup bid, but all they could do was play as hard as they could with the hand they had been dealt.
They had a target on their backs with their success over the past two seasons, however.
Tommy tried to forget it all as he took to the field, but it was hard with his wife in the stands and the metal band around his finger.
He knew he likely should have removed it to play, but he didn’t seem to have the will to take it off, even for a couple of hours.
Tommy's heart raced as he sprinted down the pitch, the roar of the crowd pulsing in his ears. He could feel Minnie's eyes on him from the stands, the weight of her gaze mingling with the pressure of defending their title.
The Etonians were putting up a fierce fight, their forwards relentless in their attacks.
Tommy's mind kept drifting to his conversation with Mickey about Blackwood's plot to take over Manchester's underworld.
How much danger was Minnie in now because of her father's debts?
Especially now that she had married to escape her fate.
He shook his head, trying to focus on the game.
He would have time to worry about all of that later.
The ball soared toward him, and he leapt to head it, but his timing was off. It glanced off his temple, and the Etonian striker seized possession, darting past Tommy with alarming speed. Tommy swore under his breath and gave chase, his legs burning as he pushed himself to catch up.
Colin appeared at his side, panting heavily. "Get your head in the game, Tom!" he shouted over the din. "We need you!"
Tommy gritted his teeth and surged forward, determined to make up for his lapse. He managed to dispossess the striker with a well-timed low tackle, the impact jarring his bones. Ignoring the ache, he scrambled to his feet and booted the ball up the pitch to Rhys.
The captain trapped it deftly and charged toward the Old Etonian’s goal, dodging defenders left and right. Tommy sprinted to keep up, his heart in his throat as Rhys drew back his foot and unleashed a blistering shot. The Etonian keeper dove...
But the ball sailed past his fingertips and through the goalposts. The Manchester faithful erupted in ecstatic cheers, and Tommy found himself engulfed in a mass of jubilant teammates.
"That's how we do it, lads!" Rhys bellowed, pumping his fist.
The equalizer seemed to light a fire under Manchester Central. They pressed forward with renewed energy, stringing together crisp passes and daring runs. Tommy's worries faded into the background as he lost himself in the flow of the game, the familiar rhythm of his feet against the grass.
With mere minutes remaining, Jonny lofted a perfect cross into the box. Tommy leapt above the scrum of defenders, every muscle straining as he connected with the ball. It rocketed past the keeper's outstretched hands, and the crowd exploded.
2-1 Manchester Central.
The final whistle blew, and Tommy sank to his knees in exhaustion and elation. They had done it – found victory when it seemed like all was lost.
As his teammates thumped his back and ruffled his hair, Tommy searched the crowd until he found Minnie's face. She was on her feet, clapping and cheering, her eyes shining with pride and something else he couldn't quite name.
He loved the thrill of winning a game, especially a close match.
But winning with a woman like Minnie in the stands, cheering him on?
That was another feeling entirely.
And one that he had no intention of giving up anytime soon.