Chapter 36 – Emmett – Rochester

The three days we spent on the road were an unexpected pleasure. Far from being carsick, Jem was fascinated by the scenery passing us by and seemed to love being jounced to sleep in someone's arms as the car bumped along.

I taught Rosalie to drive and in the end she drove most of the way when Jem wasn't demanding milk. It seemed crazy that she was the one keeping the car on the road and yet couldn't drive it. Rosalie loved driving, and she was the one behind the wheel when we finally pulled up to a stop outside the large, gracious home of her parents.

Rosalie stared at the house for a moment, her face blank. "It looks just the same," she said with a slight inflection of surprise. "I suppose there's no reason why it wouldn't," she allowed a moment later. "But I've changed so much…"

"Come on," I said gently. "There's no point waiting and worrying…tidy up your hair and let's go and say hi."

Rosalie rapidly brushed the tangles out of her hair and pinned it neatly while I changed Jem's diaper and put a clean dress on him. Rosalie smoothed a hand across his hair, which immediately sprang back up in spikes.

"They'll love him, won't they?" she said to me, suddenly uncertain.

I swung the baby up in to the crook of my arm and wrapped the other arm around Rosalie, squeezing her tight and kissing her just behind her ear. "They'll love him," I said to her. "After all, they love you. Remember that Rosalie, they really do love you. They always wanted the best for you, but they maybe didn't know what the best rightly was."

Rosalie took a deep breath. "Right. Let's go then."

I followed her up the front walk to the elaborate front door surrounded by leadlight windows. Rosalie grasped the brass knocker, took a deep breath and knocked.

"Rosalie!"

Mrs Hale answered, and then clutched the door and trembled as though she'd seen a ghost. Her face went white, and for a moment all she did was gape as us.

"Hello Mother," Rosalie said quietly. "How are you?"

"Rosalie! My goodness, I…" Her eyes travelled upwards to look at me, and then down to Jem, who was gnawing on his fist and staring at her. "Oh, my word."

"You would remember Emmett McCarty, of course," Rosalie said. "And this is Jem." She smiled at the baby who smiled back at her adoringly.

"Oh, my goodness," Rosalie mother said again. She was still clutching the door for support, and her eyes flicked unbelievingly between Rosalie and Jem. "He's the spitting image…"

"Perhaps we could come inside?" Rosalie interrupted smoothly. "I'd rather talk inside than here on the doorstep."

"My goodness…yes, of course, come in." Mrs Hale stepped back.

I followed Rosalie across the front hallway and into the sitting room. I couldn't help but feel incredibly awkward as I sat beside her on the sofa. I'd been to the Hale's house plenty of times when I worked for Rosalie and Royce, but I'd always sat in the kitchen or waited out in the car. I had certainly never sat down with her mother to socialise.

Mrs Hale couldn't seem to take her eyes off Jem. "Rosalie…when? He's lovely! But…what did you do? Why did you never contact us? And Royce was beside himself when we didn't know where you were!"

Rosalie stiffened. "What did he say?"

"No one knew what had happened to you! It wasn't until Royce hired a private detective that we discovered you were in Tennessee. Honestly Rosalie, what were you thinking?" She shook her head, dazed. "Don't you think you owe everyone an explanation?"

Rosalie glanced at me. "That's partly why I've come back- to explain things, and try and sort it out."

"Well, that's not going to be a simple thing!" Mrs Hale fussed. "Royce is dreadfully hurt and angry Rosalie. He was quite desperate to have you back, but now…well, I just don't know…"

"I didn't come back to make up with Royce," Rosalie said flatly. "My marriage to Royce is over, Mother. You need to accept that."

"But that's impossible! You've got a child! You…"

"No!" Rosalie was shaking. "Mother, stop! You don't know what it was like! He hurt me all the time!"

Mrs Hale, wrung her hands in agitation. "What are you saying Rosalie?"

Sensing all the tension in the room, Jem opened his mouth and wailed. Mrs Hale jumped and Rosalie immediately reached across for the baby, cuddling him close and whispering into his ears. When she looked up at her mother again, she was quiet and calm.

"He hurt me Mother, for no reason other than it gave him pleasure to do so," she said softly. "He hit me when he was angry, even when I was pregnant he would hit hard enough to leave bruises. The night I left him he hit me in the face and then broke my arm."

Mrs Hale covered her eyes with her hands for a moment. "Oh Rosalie."

"I'm sorry about making you worry," Rosalie said sincerely. "I didn't mean for that to happen, but I was scared."

"Oh, I just don't know what to think. Royce has always been such a gentleman," Mrs Hale said, sounding almost bewildered. "You were so happy with him!"

"I wasn't happy," Rosalie said steadily. "Mother, please try and understand. He hurt me and I didn't know what to do. I knew everyone would be so disappointed with me…but it was too much. I couldn't keep living like that. Something had to change."

"But to run away!" Mrs Hale exclaimed tragically. "Rosalie, you have no idea of the scandal!"

Rosalie rolled her eyes impatiently, and then passed Jem to me. "I'm going to go and get some tea," she said through gritted teeth.

Jem wailed as Rosalie left, and I rocked him and made faces at him, to no avail. Mrs Hale watched, and after a moment she said hesitantly, "How old is he?"

"Two months," I answered.

Rosalie came back in. "Joanna is going to bring something in in a moment," she announced as she sat down beside me and took the crying baby. "Come on then little bear," she murmured, unbuttoning her dress to feed him.

"Rosalie!" Mrs Hale was obviously scandalised. "Not in front of…" Helplessly she nodded in my direction.

"It doesn't matter, it's nothing Emmett hasn't seen before," Rosalie said impatiently.

"So you really are…" Mrs Hale paled. "Good heavens Rosalie!" She seemed more horrified by the idea of Rosalie and I together than she had been by the idea that Royce had hit her.

Joanna came in with a tray holding some afternoon tea. She left it on the table and since Rosalie was occupied with Jem and her mother seemed in need of a rest from the shock of Rosalie breastfeeding in front of me, I went and poured tea, fumbling with the delicate china as I passed it out.

"I want to marry your daughter," I said eventually in to the silence. "Rosalie came home to Tennessee with me to get away from Royce, but I've always behaved honourably towards her. We've come back here to try and straighten everything out."

Rosalie smiled at me, and reached across to gently touch my hand. "Emmett and I are in love, and he wants to marry me and be a father to Jem," she told her mother. "We've come back because I need to divorce Royce. I wanted to see you and Father too, to show you Jem and let you know that I'm doing well."

"Doing well…" Mrs Hale repeated faintly.

"I'm happy," Rosalie said simply. "I hope you can understand that and be happy for me."

"But a divorce!"

"It's the only option if I want to marry again, which I do," Rosalie said imperturbably. She adeptly detached Jem from her breast and covered herself up, patting his back briskly. "But you haven't said what you think of the baby! He's your first grandchild."

Mrs Hale shook her head. "I simply wasn't expecting this today! But of course, the baby…he's lovely." Her face softened as she looked at Jem lolling over Rosalie's forearm with a milk-drunk look of bliss. "Perhaps I could hold him?"

Rosalie's face lit up and she hurried across the room to place Jem in her mother's arms. "He was born two months ago," she told her.

"And it all went well?" I could just about see Rosalie's mother melting as Jem lay in her arms and regarded her seriously.

"It did," Rosalie said softly. She knelt by her mother and touched a finger to Jem's lips. "I had him at home and it was very quick; he was nine pounds."

"He's a dear little thing Rosalie…so big and strong! And you call him Jem?"

"James Emmett McCarty," Rosalie answered.

Mrs Hale actually winced.

"I'm just going to go outside for a cigarette," I said untruthfully, ignoring Rosalie's look of surprise. Without waiting for anyone to say anything I jumped to my feet and let myself out onto the front porch. There were roses growing alongside it and as I took in several deep breaths I caught their heavy scent. It made me think of Rosalie, and I hoped that she'd be able to maintain the fragile peace between her and her mother.

It was only a short time later that Rosalie came out, finding me sitting on one of the porch chairs, half asleep.

"I'm sorry about all that," she said directly.

I shrugged. "It's not a big deal. It's kind of what I expected, really…I just thought you might do better without me sitting there like a lump."

Rosalie sighed and leaned against the house. "Well, on the plus side she thinks Jem is adorable."

"On the downside she nearly had a heart attack when you told her his name," I countered.

Rosalie giggled. "I liked your excuse for getting out of there – I don't blame you for wanting to escape. But I told her again, very strongly, that I love you. I also said that you and your family have been taking care of me for the past few months, and that I'm grateful for that and that she should be grateful that I had somewhere to turn."

"So what now?"

"Father will be home from work soon, so we'll have to go through the whole explanation again. But Mother has said we can stay here for the moment. Mother has been better than I was afraid of. She hasn't been nice to you, but she hasn't been rude either. And while she's cross that I seemingly don't understand the scandal I left behind me, she also seems to have accepted the reason why I left." Rosalie crossed her arms and added, "I do understand that I left a scandal and that I embarrassed her with my disgraceful behaviour but the thing is, I simply don't care."

I reached across and touched her arm, and a sudden, vivid smile lit up her beautiful angel face. I was reminded once again of the first time I saw her and the way it had changed the world for me.

"Do you have any idea how freeing it is to not care?" she demanded. "To know that there's gossip and speculation and disapproval and yet not care what people are thinking?" She laughed joyously and swooped down to plant a quick kiss on my lips. "I care about you," she said, low and passionately. "I care about what you think."

I groaned and brought her closer for another kiss, harder and more ardent. "I love you."

"Come inside," Rosalie said a little breathlessly. "Mother has promised to be nicer to you. And kissing on the porch like this…I might not care anymore, but Mother certainly does and I think I've given her enough to cope with today."

Mrs Hale was pacing in the living room, Jem now relaxed and asleep in her arms. I noticed that he was gripping her pearl necklace in his little fist, but that even though he was asleep she hadn't peeled his fingers away.

"He's a darling little baby," she told Rosalie. "Just went right to sleep…but how have you been managing? Surely you had a baby nurse?"

Rosalie looked amused, I suppose at the idea of the luxury of a baby nurse and the reality of what it was like. "No Mother," she said cheerfully. "There wasn't money for anything like that. But I managed just fine with Emmett's mother and his sisters to help me. They all love the baby."

"Oh dear," Mrs Hale shot me an uncomfortable look. "Do you have a …a big family then, McCarty?...Emmett."

"Ten of us all together ma'am," I said, a little awkwardly. "But just six of us at home still. The girls are sixteen and eleven and five years old, and they love helping Rosalie with the baby."

"Well, I suppose your mother has plenty of experience then!" Mrs Hale shook her head. "You must have a very large house for so many."

"It's big enough," Rosalie said with a laugh, and I loved her just a little bit more.

We heard the front door open and the heavy footfalls of her father. Not sure what to expect I braced myself, but all Mr Hale did when he reached the living room door was stare blankly.

"Hello Father," Rosalie said.

"Princess?" He looked at Rosalie incredulously. "You've come back?"

"In a manner of speaking," Rosalie answered. "I've come back to try and sort things out." She took Jem gently out of her mother's arms and carried him across to her father. "I thought you might like to meet your grandson."

Like his wife had, Mr Hale softened in the face of the baby. "Ah Rosalie honey…doesn't he look just like his father, though! Royce will be so pleased."

For a moment I wanted to hit him. Jem was my son, not Royce's, and I hated the way everyone here seemed bent on reminding me otherwise.

Rosalie stiffened. "I haven't come back for Royce. And Jem is mine."

Mr Hale frowned helplessly. "But Princess…you're married! You don't just walk away! I know you've been away for a while, but I'm sure you and Royce can…"

"No," Rosalie said bluntly. "We can't. I've already explained this to Mother, but I didn't come back in order to try and fix anything with Royce. He was abusive when we were married and I don't want to live like that anymore. I've been living with Emmett and his family, and I'm going to marry him as soon as I can arrange a divorce from Royce."

Mr Hale glared at me. "You? Who are you to want to marry my daughter?"

"I'm Emmett McCarty sir," I said. "And I do want to marry Rosalie."

He rolled his eyes. "You want my daughter to divorce the heir to the biggest fortune in the city, and marry you? Her former chauffeur?"

I looked at him steadily. "I don't have money sir, that's true. But I've got a family who is helping us out and I'm willing to work hard to take care of my responsibilities. Rosalie won't be rich with me, but she will always be safe and loved, which isn't something you could say she had with Royce."

"It's what I want, Father," Rosalie said simply. "Emmett is a better man than Royce in all the ways that matter…I won't be treated the way Royce treated me again. Someone who says they love you shouldn't hurt you."

"Aww Rosalie, honey…we only ever wanted the best for you," Mr Hale said. "We really thought you'd be happy with Royce! Surely, if he's willing to change, you can make things work?"

Rosalie shook her head. "It went too far for that, Father. When I say no more, I mean it…I'm going to go and see Royce tomorrow and ask him for a divorce. I really hope you and Mother can accept that things have changed."

"I can't say I like it, Princess," her father said honestly. "But I don't like the idea of someone hurting you either. I'm willing to sit down with you and…Emmett and talk about things. But first, you'd better give me that baby and let me get to know my grandson a little."