Page 27 of The Hellion and the Captain (Scandals and Scores #2)
Emmaline entered the breakfast room the next morning with a smile, buoyed by the memory of beating Liverpool, followed by a night with her friends, one in which she had the opportunity to be herself, as Emmaline, and then of course, nothing could top her time spent with Rhys afterward.
Rhys. She sighed. Who would have known that such a gruff exterior could hide the most loving, protective man beneath?
Even the threats from Victor Reeves couldn’t dampen her spirits. What was he going to do? He couldn’t prove anything, and they were being so careful that he wasn’t going to find any evidence of wrongdoing.
She hummed to herself as she dreamily said good morning to her parents and her brother.
Freddie had returned home for the weekend, as he had begun to court a woman from Manchester.
Emmaline didn’t know her well, but then again, she had been rather too preoccupied to participate in any family gatherings or social events.
She filled her breakfast plate from the sideboard, took the offered coffee – never tea for her – from the footman and sat at the table.
It wasn’t until she took her first bite of eggs that she realized everyone else was silent. When she lifted her head, it was only to meet curious gazes from the rest of them.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, looking from one to the other.
Her mother looked disappointed, her brother angry, and even her father, a dreamy, ponderous fellow, seemed concerned.
“Where have you been, Emmaline?” her father asked.
Emmaline placed her utensils down, realizing that this was going to be a serious sort of conversation.
“I was in my bedroom?” she said as a question, for she had no idea why that would have been cause for concern.
“Not this morning,” her mother said curtly, taking charge of the situation. “Where have you been for the past few months?”
“Here?” she said, looking around at them. “Have you not seen me?” she tried to chuckle, hoping some humor might diffuse the situation, but she was to be disappointed.
“You’ve been here to eat and sleep, Emmaline, but for not much else,” her mother said in that no-nonsense way of hers, the persona she took on when she was in her meetings, speaking with those who could create change, trying to make them see reason.
“I cannot recall the last social engagement you’ve attended.
You are always crying off, claiming you are off to see Lily.
You miss dinner some nights, and whenever I have sought you out, you have either gone out onto the grounds somewhere or left for an event with your friends.
I appreciate you having some freedom, especially as you are reaching an age of…
maturity, but I am afraid that I have been far too lenient. ”
“People talk, Emmaline,” her brother blurted, and she turned her attention to him. Her mother was right on all accounts, of course. Emmaline just hadn’t realized that she would ever actually notice. But for her brother to comment on that, when he wasn’t even around…
“What could they possibly have to say?” she asked.
“You are always out without a chaperone, and people have seen you go to that tavern with Lily and her husband and men from the football club,” Freddie said. “What do you think they say?”
“No one questions you on where you go every night, Freddie,” she lashed out.
“I am a man!” he said, rising slightly in his chair, and Emmaline turned quickly to her mother.
“Is this not what you fight for?” she challenged her. “This is the very behaviour that you tell everyone else is unacceptable – for men and women to be treated so unequally.”
“In a way, yes,” her mother sighed. “I understand where you are both coming from. It isn’t fair that you should have to follow different rules, Emmaline, but at the same time, I do not want to see you spend your life alone, and I’m afraid that’s just what this might come to.”
“What if there was a man out there who didn’t care about whether I followed the rules or expectations? Who saw me as more equal than any of you could ever imagine?”
Her mother straightened, her gaze homing in on Emmaline. “Is there someone in your life, Emmaline?”
She shrugged one shoulder. “Perhaps. But I am not ready to share any further.”
“Is that where you have been lately?” her father said, leaning forward. “Out with this… man?”
“Not in the way you are thinking,” she half-lied. She was with Rhys most of the time, that was true. But she could hardly tell her family it was because she was playing with him on Manchester Central.
She tapped her fingers on the table, realizing she had to give them something. They were not the type of parents who would lock her away in her room or forbid her from going anywhere, but they could also begin to scrutinize her more than she would like.
“Very well,” she said, deciding to give them something, and she turned her attention to her brother. “Freddie, I told you that I wanted to start a women’s football club.”
“You did,” he said. “And I told you that was a bad idea.”
“Emmaline, we’ve been over this,” her mother interjected. “To associate with some of the women who?—”
Emmaline held up a finger. “First of all, Mother, if you are all for equality, then I should be able to play football with whomever I want. However, I realize that most people would feel the same way as you, so I have started a club for women of a similar upbringing, who are also not allowed to join another team.”
Her father finally spoke up, his speech slow and methodical, as it always was. “And just how do you propose to do that?”
“I have been training the team. That is where I have been many nights.”
Some of them, anyway.
“Once we are ready to play, I have a proposal to bring forward to Manchester Central’s club committee. Perhaps they would approve and sponsor a women’s team as well as the men’s team.”
“Oh, Emmaline,” her mother said, her face falling, and Emmaline straightened her spine.
“I am fighting for change because I have learned from the best how to do so,” she said, holding her mother’s gaze.
Finally, her mother nodded slowly. “I appreciate that, Emmaline, and while I might not agree that this is the best use of your time, I can respect what you are doing,” she said.
“I suppose in all my work, I’ve always thought about other women and other women’s children.
Perhaps it is about time I considered my own as well. ”
Emmaline reached across the table and placed her hand over her mother’s.
“Thank you, Mother. I appreciate that.”
She smiled warmly at her before she looked around at the rest of them. Freddie still eyed her with concern, but that only made her smile more at him.
They didn’t speak of it again through the rest of breakfast, which had Emmaline slightly on edge. She knew her scheme was rather untoward, but weren’t most things her family did? As much as she appreciated that they were accepting of her choice, it would have been nice if they had been interested.
But that could come.
She had the support of her friends, even if she knew that Lily’s days of participating as a team member were ending as she looked increasingly uncomfortable with each practice.
Ada had taken to the sport enthusiastically, while Minnie had some interest, if only because she was bored with the rest of her life.
And then there was Rhys. Rhys, who provided his unwavering support. Rhys, who had looked out for her as a member of Manchester Central even though he had initially felt it was a terrible idea. Rhys, who stood there beside her and helped her grow her dream.
He was who she wanted to tell her family about.
For he was her today and her tomorrow.
But she also knew that they had both worked so hard on building Manchester Central to where it was now, that for her to leave and give up that dream would disappoint not only the rest of their club and the club supporters, but also Rhys and her dreams.
Her plans were set. Beat Eton without anyone realizing who she was. Win the Cup.
Then, they could begin a new life. Together.