Page 29 of The Hellion and the Captain (Scandals and Scores #2)

Chapter Twenty-Four

E mmaline tentatively stepped through the door of the clubs’ bathhouse a week later.

She knew that no one else in the club had any idea of what had happened – or almost happened – at the match in Berkshire, but there would still be questions.

She had disappeared after the game against Eton, appearing only at the last moment for their post-game dinner before they boarded the train to return to Manchester.

Tommy had inquired about her whereabouts after the game, and she had used the same excuse she had given her family—she had been feeling ill and had retreated to a nearby inn until she felt better.

It was partially true, as that was where Colin had led them to hide from Freddie until everyone had cleared away from the field and they had met up with the rest of the team.

Rhys had given them the rest of the week to recover, and they were finally reconvening. Only one match stood between them and the FA Championship Cup.

All they had to do was beat the Manchester Athletics.

They were a formidable team this season. They had added a few players who filled the gaps that had led to their demise last year. Emmaline had accompanied Rhys to attend one of their matches, and she had been impressed — and concerned.

But as Rhys had told her, they wouldn’t be the best if they didn’t play and beat the best.

There was a low murmur as the players prepared for the upcoming practice. Emmaline wasn’t sure if she was imagining things or if more than a casual glance was sent her way, but she sensed a strange tension in the room that she couldn’t put her finger on. It was just… there.

They filed out of the room, forming a circle around Rhys near the bench that Lily had convinced her father to place at the side of the field just beyond his mill.

“Now, men,” Rhys said, beginning his speech.

He had confided in Emmaline that he secretly was always nervous about addressing them all, but with each game and practice, he was becoming more confident that what he said truly made a difference.

“You all played well against Eton, but it was a close match. We made a few mistakes—no team is perfect—but we need to leave those behind if we’re going to beat the Athletics in the club final. ”

Men around the circle nodded their heads in agreement.

“Have we heard anything more from Victor Reeves?” Tommy asked, and all the men swung their heads toward Rhys while Emmaline’s stomach clenched.

“No,” Rhys said, but that set of his jaw told Emmaline that perhaps there was more to the story than he was letting on.

More she would insist on discovering.

Practice was gruelling, but Emmaline was proud of how much easier it had become after her training with Rhys. After practice, he called all of their attention again, but it was only a bit of a trifling matter.

“Leave your uniforms and we will have them cleaned for the next match,” Rhys said.

“Why?” Tommy asked. “We always wash them ourselves.”

“Yes, but they want us all looking our best for the final. The club committee feels that some of you haven’t been doing nearly as good a job as you should in keeping your uniforms clean.

Our colors are maroon and cream – not green,” he said with a few pointed looks, and the men smiled good-naturedly.

Emmaline dumped her uniform on the bench, hoping she would have time to change it away from the rest of the men before the next game. That could become rather awkward. She’d have to find a way around it.

Rhys waited until she was the last out, walking with her away from the practice field. Emmaline’s back itched, as though the place where his hand should be leading her was waiting for his touch, but he could hardly do so with her as Emmett, especially with the suspicion surrounding her.

“Have you heard from your brother since our game against Eton?” Rhys asked.

“Not a word, but he is due to visit this weekend with the semester coming to a close,” she said, biting her lip. “I was waiting for a letter or for my parents to comment, but nothing. Perhaps he thought that something seemed familiar, but never considered it any further.”

“Is he the type of man to let something like that go?” Rhys asked.

Emmaline sighed. “He’s an awful lot like me.”

“Then we are in trouble.”

“Most likely,” she said, cringing. “Even if he did discover my secret, he would never tell anyone beyond my family, that is. If he was insistent that I needed to give up playing football with Manchester Central, he would tell my parents, and from there, well, I suppose they could forbid me from playing. ”

“Would you listen?”

She looked up at him with a smirk. “I do not suppose I would have to, now, would I?”

“That is your choice, Emmaline,” he said. “I can’t tell you what to do.”

“And I’m glad you don’t,” she said, softening. “You respect my wishes more than anyone else ever has or ever will. I do love that about you, you know.”

He looked down at her. “Happy to hear it.”

“How did you get to be the way that you are? Someone so good, so kind, but who doesn’t like to let people in? You never talk about your family.”

Rhys let out a long, slow breath. “They are good people. My mother insisted that I get an education. My father wasn’t so keen on it. Thought that I should work with him at the mill.”

“In London?” she asked, pointing behind her.

“Yes.”

“Do they still live in the same neighborhood?”

“They do,” he confirmed. “I needed to get away. Start a new life for myself. Even though I had the education I needed to work at a job that could provide me a good income, I kept getting pulled back to the neighborhood, to the same people who wanted to take anything I had earned away from me. So, I left. I started playing football here, found a job at the bank, and worked my way up as I proved myself.”

“Do you ever see your family?”

“Now and again,” he said. “They come to watch football matches if we ever play in London. I’ve asked them to come here, even sent money home to them, but,” he shrugged his shoulders, “they’re happy with the familiar.”

“I suppose I can understand that, although I can imagine you must miss them terribly. ”

“Most days,” he agreed.

“That’s why you are so lonely,” she said, tilting her head to look up at him. “This football club is your family now.”

“They are,” he agreed, his jaw tightening. “Which is why I am most frustrated when anyone threatens them.”

“Like Reeves.”

“Yes.”

“What did you do about that, Rhys?”

He glanced over at her, but his expression didn’t reveal anything. “What do you mean?”

“When he was mentioned in the bathhouse, I saw that look on your face. We haven’t heard any more from him because you stopped it. But how?”

“It’s nothing, Emmaline. Let me handle it.”

She stopped walking, rounding in front of him and placing her hands on her hips. “You better tell me, or I will find another way to discover your actions. A way that you won’t be nearly as happy about.”

He sighed, running a hand over his beard.

“Fine. I had a discussion with the captain of the Athletics.”

“And?”

“And I told him that Reeves was becoming overly obsessed with our club and that if he didn’t back off, the rivalry wouldn’t be so friendly anymore.”

“He agreed?”

Emmaline had a hard time believing that. A captain was true to his teammates. She knew that as her own captain was a shining example of it.

“He knows what Reeves is like and agreed to talk to him. It must have worked. At least, I hope it did.”

Emmaline bit her lip. “We still think this is all worth it?”

“If this is what you want to do, Emmaline, then I am here with you. Every step of the way. ”

She slid her hand down next to her leg and briefly touched her pinky to his. She was certain that no one else would even notice, but it was enough of a connection to sate her need to touch him and have her skin rest against his.

He glanced at her, the fire in his eyes telling her he felt the same, but there wasn’t much they could do about it now.

Not when suspicion was still coming at her from far too many places.

“Are we still on for the women’s football practice tonight?”

“Of course,” he said. “When do you speak to the club committee?”

“Lily has secured an audience for me through her father for next weekend.”

“Right before the championship?”

“That’s right,” she said, even if talk of it had her nerves fluttering all over again.

“You can do this, Emmaline,” he said. “I believe in you.”

“And that,” she said with a small smile, “is what matters to me the most.”

Emmaline’s parents were still suspiciously eyeing her, but she thought she had managed to evade them for now. She had asked all about Freddie’s match against Manchester Central, commiserating with them over Freddie’s loss.

“Are you going to the Manchester Central game on the weekend?” she asked.

“The championship? I think so,” her father mused, although he didn’t look up from his book.

“I assume you are, Emmaline, although you haven’t been nearly as interested in the club as you used to be,” her mother noted .

“I’ve been so busy with the women’s team that it has been difficult,” she said, although that was only a half-truth, for no matter how busy she became, she would always have time for Manchester Central.

“Of course,” her mother murmured. “You have been committed to your cause, Emmaline. If you need anything from me, please let me know, and I will be happy to help you.”

“Thank you, Mother,” she said. “Once I approach the club committee, if you could put in a good word for me with anyone you know who sits upon it, I would appreciate it.”

“By then, we will be made a mockery of,” her father mumbled, until he caught Emmaline’s pursed lips. “But it is worth it if you follow your passion, Emmaline.”

Emmaline couldn’t help but smile. As a baron, her father was held to the expectations of his title, yes, but he had already gone against what was expected of him when he had married the daughter of a shipping magnate.

Her mother loved to tell the story of the first society event her family had been invited to.

Emmaline’s father had asked her to dance before he had known who she was, and he fell in love with her within minutes.

He was so smitten that he hadn’t cared after that who she was or where she came from.

He had spent the rest of his life making sure that she was happy and could pursue whatever dreams she tried to achieve.

Her dreams centered around making it possible for women to do as they pleased rather than being relegated to the roles expected of them – dreams that began when she had been told that there was no room for her to work in a company such as her father’s.

In one week, Emmaline would present her idea and play in the FA Cup final. She rubbed her temples as her stomach turned over again. Emmaline had always felt that she could conquer anything that came her way, but it was beginning to feel like it was all coming her way simultaneously .

But then, after it was all done, if she and Rhys could truly be together?

It would all be worth it.