Evermore (Emily Chambers Spirit Medium Trilogy #3)(18)

"That doesn't mean I want to marry him."

"Not yet perhaps, but one day." His voice drifted off to a tired whisper. "I must go. Sleep well."

He left and my bedroom seemed darker with the loss of him. I lay down and must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew Cara was at my bedside, shaking me. "Emily, come quickly! Louis is here."





CHAPTER 5





"Louis!" I sat up with a start. "So early?"

"It's late," Cara said. "You overslept."

I glanced at the clock on the mantelpiece. It was ten o'clock. I sprang out of bed and threw off my nightgown.

"He arrived unannounced and won't leave." Cara's eyes shone and I suspected she was quite thrilled by this piece of news. "Celia is very cross. She keeps asking him to leave, but he refuses and says she has to hear him out first. Come quick, Emily, or you'll miss him."

Celia would be furious, but I didn't care. It was time I met my father. Time he was made aware of my existence. Celia would have to come to terms with it.

"Help me dress," I said.

Miraculously, I was ready in five minutes, although my hair was not. There was no time to arrange it. "Come, Cara," I said. "Hold my hand."

Despite the reassurance her presence gave me, I had to pause at the top of the stairs to catch my breath and settle my nerves. Cara squeezed my hand. In my fluster, I'd forgotten that Louis probably didn’t know about her either, and she must be wondering what reaction he'd have when he found out. It would be an uncertain time for her too.

We held hands and entered the drawing room together. Celia sat on the sofa. A tall man stood near the fireplace, his back to us. He had short, black hair, and the skin on the back of his neck was browner than mine.

My father.

I gave an involuntary gasp and both Celia and Louis turned. My sister glared at me for a brief moment then her gaze faltered and she looked down at the clasped hands in her lap. Her knuckles were white. Louis simply stared. First at me, then at Cara, then back at me.

Celia sniffed but did not introduce us. It would seem she had thrown her manners out the door when he arrived.

Cara stepped forward and performed a small curtsey as Celia had taught her. "I am Miss Cara Moreau," she said in a bold voice. "Your sister."

"Sister!" His eyes widened. "I have a sister?"

"Half-sister."

"Ah. Fran?ois' child." He bowed and when he straightened, there was a small smile on his lips. "Good morning, Miss Moreau. Or perhaps I should call you Cara since we are brother and sister. You didn't tell me you'd contacted my relations, Celia."

The informal use of her first name drew another little gasp from me. Celia did not look up.

"And you must be another sister," he said to me, bowing again. "I'm pleased to meet you. I wish my father had told me of your existence. I would have liked to know I had family."

"I am not your sister." My heart smashed against my ribs and my mouth suddenly went dry. I had imagined this moment many times, and in my imagination I had been confident, charming and certain of what I would say. Now I could barely find my voice. "My name is Emily Chambers. I'm your daughter."

He staggered. His jaw dropped open as if it were on a loose hinge. "My...daughter?" He looked me up and down, his mouth still open, his brow deeply furrowed. "Emily." Slowly, slowly, his brow cleared, but his eyes clouded. "I have a daughter. A child," he murmured. Then he shook his head and smiled sheepishly. "Hardly a child. You must be seventeen?"

I nodded. I didn't trust my voice, not yet. My heart still beat furiously, but now that the first awkward moment was over, my nerves calmed a little. He hadn't walked out and hadn't denied that he was my father. And he'd smiled.

"My sister has been a great comfort to me since our mother died," Celia said. She took my hand and drew me down so hard onto the sofa, I thought my shoulder would wrench out of its socket. "I would have been all alone without her companionship."

His gaze settled on Celia and her grip tightened on my hand. There was something between them. Something unsettling. I had the very distinct feeling she didn't like him.

"Your mother?" He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. I thought he was going to ask us not to mention the woman he'd apparently loved enough to beget a child on, but he did not. He grunted as if he'd come to a decision, then said, "May I ask why you never told me about Emily?"

Celia stiffened. "If we'd known where to send letters, we would have. But you did not write to us when you arrived in New South Wales as promised."

Louis didn't deny it and my heart constricted. So it was true. Part of me had hoped there'd been a mistake, but it seemed Louis hadn't wanted to remain in touch once he arrived in the colony of New South Wales, despite the assurances he'd given Mama before he left.

"You didn't mention her yesterday," Louis said. "Or my sister. Does she live here? The old man is crazy. I don't want her near him."

"It's a little late to worry about your family," Celia snapped.

I squeezed her hand, but she snatched it away and smoothed down her skirts.

"I live here now," Cara said. "They've been very good to me. I'm learning how to be a proper lady."