Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“Why are yer children frightened of ye?”
Archer had been taking a sip of his tea when his wife leveled the question at him, and it took everything in him not to spit the liquid out in surprise.
“What do ye mean?” he asked, swallowing the hot liquid and then turning his attention to his plate.
“The twins,” she explained, her voice matter-of-fact as she spoke to him. “Every time ye walk into a room, they dip their heads. They barely even look at ye. And they always look like they’re tryin’ to find any excuse to get out of yer presence. I want to ken why.”
Archer dropped the strip of meat he had been holding, hearing it hit his plate with a soft thunk as he looked at his wife.
Emilie’s back was straight, her hands disappearing below the table to rest on her lap. Her blue eyes were staring at him, piercing him like daggers.
Whatever game she was playin’ before, she isnae playin’ it right now.
The thought rushed through him, hitting him with its truth.
The day before, when Emilie had been talking, and she had been pretending to be dumb, her eyes had been clouded, and her voice had been deliberately pitched several notes higher.
But all of that had fallen away now. Her gaze was hard, her eyes clear as a summer’s day. And her voice?
In its natural state, it was much deeper, almost raspy, floating to him on a melody.
“It’s always been that way between us,” Archer said, shrugging one shoulder but not dropping his gaze. “I am raisin’ them to be great. They understand that, and they act accordingly.”
His eyes held hers, watching as the words washed over her.
“They’re only bairns,” Emilie argued back, her brows knitting together in concern. “It’s one thing to have them learnin’ their lessons and to expect them to do well. But it’s another thing entirely to take all the joy and play from their lives.”
Archer just stared at her. Try as he might, he couldn’t tell where this line of questioning was going. But he wasn’t going to question it. Not when Emilie’s guard seemed to be down and she was finally being her true self.
“I told ye before,” Archer said, finally turning his eyes away from her and back to his plate. “They have a playroom. And trust me, they use it. All the time. Ye’ll hear ‘em eventually, in there titterin’ about as they play with somethin’ or another.”
“And ye never play with them?”
Emilie’s voice was hard and filled with disbelief. He took a few bites of his food, allowing the question to hang in the air between them for a moment.
When Archer was ready, he glanced up at his wife again. Her posture had not changed in the slightest, and she was still watching him, just as she had been a few moments ago.
“I daenae play,” Archer growled.
Immediately, his wife began to shake her head.
“Well, that willnae do.”
Emilie pushed back her chair. Before he had a chance to question her further, his wife was beside him. She bent, grabbing hold of Archer’s hand and tugging on it.
The moment that she touched him, Archer’s skin felt like it was awash in lightning. Heat rushed through him. And, if the way color rose into the apples of her cheeks, he would swear that she felt it, too.
“What do ye mean that willnae do?” Archer asked.
She tugged on his hand again, and he was entirely too curious to figure out what it was she was trying to do to fight her off. He allowed himself to be dragged to his feet, towering over her once he stood.
Emilie’s blue eyes blinked up at him, and for the first time since he’d walked into the dining room, a smile was tugging up the corners of her mouth.
“Ye’ll see,” was the only answer she would give him.
She dropped his hand, and Archer felt the loss of her touch immediately. Emilie only threw a quick glance over her shoulder, an expectant look on her face, before she turned and strode from the room.
Archer hesitated for the briefest of moments, wondering if he truly wanted to do this.
Did he want to follow after his wife? To give in to whatever whim she was having at the moment?
The answer was a quick and resounding yes.
Whatever the reasoning, Archer did want to follow her. He wanted to understand more about why she had questioned him about his children. He wanted to experience more of her when she had dropped the facade of her brain being filled with nothing but jests.
Plain and simple, Archer wanted to take the chance to know just a little bit more about his wife.
He didn’t wait any longer. With quick, powerful strides, Archer followed after his wife.
She led him down the familiar hallways, and before long, he was able to piece together exactly where they were headed.
Emilie stopped in front of a large door that had been cracked. The sound of the tutor, Meredith, speaking drifted from just beyond it.
Emilie threw a glance over her shoulder, no doubt making sure that Archer really had followed her, before turning and putting her hand on the door. She did not spare him any additional explanation as she pushed it open.
“Good afternoon,” she breezed, walking in the middle of his children’s lessons.
Meredith’s words cut off mid-sentence, turning her attention toward the door.
“Can I help ye, me Laird?” she asked hesitantly, dipping her head a bit respectfully in his direction.
But it was Emilie, not Archer, that answered.
“Thank ye so much for showin’ up today,” she said, her voice filled with friendliness as she drew the other woman’s attention directly to her. “But we’ll be takin’ the twins out for some learnin’ outside. Ye’ll be dismissed for the rest of the day, with full pay for the session.”
Meredith’s eyes left Emilie long enough to flick over her shoulder and land on Archer.
His skin chafed against the sensation of being told what to do, of his staff being dismissed without his approval. But the feeling wasn’t nearly as strong as the curiosity at what Emilie was up to that was bubbling inside him.
Archer gave Meredith a nod, a silent confirmation that what his wife was saying was true. The tutor dipped her gaze again, turning to the twins and giving them a bright smile.
“It appears our lessons are done for the day,” Meredith said, giving them a broad smile. “Yer faither will be takin’ over from here.”
The twins shared a look, like they so often did. It was something Archer had noticed about them when they were incredibly young, their ability to have a conversation without a single word ever passing between them.
They were doing that now, talking without words. And he couldn’t help but wonder what they were thinking.
Whatever Emilie has in her mind, remember to keep yer distance.
The reminder went through him like ice, and he hid his hands behind his back and clenched them into fists. He would give in to this curiosity surrounding him about his wife and see this day through.
But he must be careful not to get too close. He was already toeing a line he typically didn’t dare get close to. So, Archer would keep himself in check as they went about on whatever excursion his wife now had planned.
Meredith began packing her things, and slowly, hesitantly, the twins turned their attention to where Archer and Emilie still stood.
It was Louis who spoke first, which was no surprise to Archer. The boy was always the more friendly of the two, the more extroverted.
“What will we be doin’?” The boy asked softly, standing from the small desk and wringing his hands before him.
Aurora’s gray eyes flicked constantly between her brother and her father, as if waiting for any perceived danger so that she might step in front of him.
Archer’s stomach bottomed out at the sight, as it was an expression he knew all too well.
Had he not constantly done the same thing to his mother? When he was young, had he not always looked for the soonest opportunity to jump between his father’s fists and his mother’s body?
But he had never once raised his hands against his children. Archer had kept enough space between them to ensure that.
It was one of the reasons why Archer had always kept them at arm’s length. To make sure that whatever darkness rested within him, deposited from being his father’s son, did not fester and turn him into the man he had spent his entire life despising.
“We’re goin’ out into the forest,” Emilie chimed cheerily, bringing Archer out of his internal spiral.
“What will we be doin’ there?”
It was Aurora who asked, climbing out of her chair to come stand beside her brother.
“Learnin’,” Emilie said, turning her reassuring smile on the young girl. “And most importantly, we’ll be havin’ fun. As a family.”
His wife paused for a moment, glancing over her shoulder at him. She angled herself perfectly so that the children could not see her expression and gave Archer a pointed glance.
“Isnae that right, husband?”
Emilie’s tone implied exactly what she wanted him to say. But still, Archer paused.
Is this what I want? Curiosity or nae, goin’ out there with them, spendin’ time with them—it could all put me closer to them than ever before.
Images of Archer’s father flashed before his mind. A rage-filled face, a clenched fist coming to him, his mother’s screams.
Archer banished the thoughts, looking past his wife to his children just beyond. They were eyeing him.
There was weariness in the lines of their faces, which was to be expected. But there was something else there, too. Something that he hadn’t seen in his children’s faces while they were looking at him, ever in their entire lives.
Hope.
So, against his own judgment, Archer nodded his head, looking at his children instead of his wife.
“Aye,” he said a bit gruffly, “that’s right.”