"I didn't love my husband. My family had money and he had a title. My father arranged the whole thing. It was a very good match."
"For everyone but you."
"So it would appear," she responded with a sardonic chuckle. "But in my time, this was how it was done. Marriage wasn't about love, or happiness, or anything like that. It was more of a business deal, really. "
"No one married for love in the 19th century?"
"No, the idea of marriage was quite different in my times as compared to yours. But I've been wondering if it's such a bad difference," she continued at Matt's quizzical glance, "To me, marriage says something about the concepts of love and permanency. In my time, love and marriage were often mutually exclusive, but marriage remained permanent, sticking true to the vow 'til death do us part'. But in this time, marriage is supposedly for love, yet it's almost never permanent. Maybe the two, permanency and love, that is, really aren't compatible. It would explain a lot about why marriage was the way it was in past centuries, considering it was an arrangement to benefit the future of the two parties. I married Henry for stability, he married me for an heir, and there were no illusions to it being anything more than convenient. "
"So cynical…may I ask why?" Matt questioned with a frown.
"Well, I've never experienced love personally, other than what I felt for my family members. I've heard about it, and it all seems very far-fetched to me. Henry never evoked the kind of feelings Lenore always told me about, and she always did have a tendency to exaggerate."
"Who is Lenore?"
Emily's eyes closed and a fond smile appeared on her face, "Lenore was my handmaiden, who hopefully did end up marrying for love, because it was all she ever spoke about. She wasn't much older than me during her courtship, and she would come bustling in to help me dress, late as always, with a blush on her face and a guilty smile, prepared to divulge all the details of her latest secret tryst with her beau Jon. She told me that when he got close to her she could scarcely breathe and that every time he kissed her, it felt as if lightening was spreading from her lips to her toes. I find that hard to believe, that's all."
Emily opened her eyes to find that Matt had come dangerously close to her during her musings. His intense look made her falter, and she wondered why her heart was beating a little faster than it had a moment ago.
"What if I told you it was real? I haven't lied to you yet, would you believe me?" he spoke, his low voice making her insides squirm quite confusingly.
"It's not that I don't exactly believe in love, Matthew, I just don't see it as an option for me. Especially for me, as I've got that whole 'lost in time' scenario to deal with. It'd take a lot of convincing for me to fall in love." Emily replied briskly, smoothing her dress.
Something flashed in his eyes at her words. She couldn't tell the exact emotion but his gaze dropped before he turned and stepped away a few paces.
"Well then it's a good thing you're going to be here for a while, isn't it?" Matt muttered, clearly not intending for her to hear.
She chose not ask about his strange statement, biting her lip thoughtfully. As soon as it had started, the tension was gone, as Matt spun back around and held out a hand.
"I have to be somewhere, would you like to come?"
She accepted his hand, glad to be free of the unexpectedly unsettling conversation and followed him.