Chapter 20: Bad Blood
David and Archie finally arrive at the Booth Estate. It is as he remembers it. They approach the door and David hesitates in knocking, he knows he is stalling but he cannot prevent his nerves from wreaking havoc.
"Do you really believe that Snow and Emma are here? Do you think we should go to the family house instead? Would Milah be here as well?" David is about to see his family for the first time in years. He is so nervous.
"Last time I spoke to August; he was taking Milah on an overdue extended honeymoon. I don't believe they will be here. I strongly believe Snow will be here because at the time Emma was considering taking vows, Milah had insisted for Snow to stay here so she wouldn't be alone. I saw Emma here before I left to Arendelle. She was here with Killian." Archie notices a change in David's demeanor.
"How well do you know this man? He married my daughter, my princess; can I trust him to make her happy?"
"David he is a good man that has made some bad choices and although I cannot in good conscience guarantee that Killian will make Emma happy. I know he will do whatever is in his power to make her happy." God, Archie hoped he was right, that Killian had taken his advice and made the right choice. If he is wrong they both would be miserable.
This time Archie is the one who raises his hand and finally that pounding of the solid oak door is heard. "David, you cannot over think this. You are finally home and are about to be reunited with your family after a very long absence. If they are not here, all that means is that you will see them again after a small delay. What difference does it make if it is seconds or hours?"
The door flies open and they are greeted with a small gasp coming from the longtime maid of the Booth's Enith. She smiles and slowly moves out of the way to allow them to enter the house.
"Please follow me; I will go and announce you both." She guided them into the living room. The room was large enough to accommodate the group.
"I have never been so nervous in my entire life, well, perhaps the day I proposed to Snow and Emma's birth." He smiles and suddenly the realization hits him that he has missed so much of his daughter's life and he is filled with shame and remorse. He hopes that she understands that all he wanted was to give her a better chance.
Milah had been wandering around the large house after her altercation with Emma and Killian. The betrayal from Killian was still fresh. He had claimed to love her and somehow ended marrying her self-righteous cousin. He no longer looked at her with love and perhaps a part of her believed him as he uttered the declaration of love for Emma. She felt her eyes sting from the tears that she was struggling to keep in. No, she would not let him go. Her feet had dragged her aimlessly for what felt like hours. Now she stood in front of Emma's old room. She grabbed the locked doorknob and slowly turned it and then she heard the click and she pushed the door open.
There has to be something useful in the room. She quickly opens empty chests and looks around frantically. Then she sees the old suitcase, oh she remembers watching Emma leave to the convent without that one. She rushes to it and opens it holding her breath. Just her luck some old clothes, but she keeps looking until she reaches the bottom and her fingertips recognize the feeling of that of an old photo. She yanks at it since it seems like it's stuck and finally frees it. Oh, this might just work.
An old photo of August that Cora had given Emma years ago. She remembers Emma being so excited to have a memento of her betrothed. She smiles wickedly as she hides the photo and rushes out of the room before she is caught. She is walking towards her bedroom since she hasn't seen her husband in a while and she doesn't want to make anyone curious to her whereabouts.
Once she is safe in her room and confirms she is alone she pulls out the old photo from its hiding place. She studies the photo carefully. August wasn't unattractive but he lacked that ruggedness Killian carries so well.
She reads the inscription, "My Only One True Love". Oh dear lord, Emma is such a sap.
I wonder how Killian will feel if he finds this in Emma's belongings. Maybe with this, she can prove to him that Emma is still in love with August.
Other than the lone photo she didn't find anything else she could use. Now all she needs is to sneak the photo into Emma's possessions and for it to be discovered, preferably by Killian. It isn't necessarily a lie; the photo is in her old luggage. She keeps reassuring herself this will work. He will soon realize that Emma is not in love with him.
Milah needs to convince everyone that she's reconsidered her position and that she accepts their marriage. She knows that it will be easy to fool everyone else and that the difficult part will be to convince Emma and Killian of her change of heart.
She knows that her cousin wouldn't deny her a second chance would she? All she needs now is the right opportunity to plant the photo and hope for the best. She is so lost in her thoughts that she almost doesn't hear the knock on the door.
She goes to open the door.
"Mrs. Booth, your uncle and Mr. Hopper have arrived and are waiting in the living room."
"Thank you, Enith, is that all?"
"Yes, ma'am that is all."
"Enith, wait, who else have you, shared the news with so far?"
"You are the first one that I have shared the news with. I have yet to give the news to anyone else. I'm on my way to tell Mr. Booth, Mrs. Cora, and Mrs. Nolan and finally the Joneses. It would be a lot faster if I could find either of your incompetent helpers to assist."
Milah rolls her eyes. "I gave them the rest of the day off. You do realize that we were traveling for a long period and it can be quite exhausting."
Enith just stares at her and clenches her fists.
"Perhaps this bit of information might make the task easier for you. Last I saw my aunt she was on her way to talk to my lovely mother-in-law. I have no idea on the whereabouts of my husband or cousin. Now hurry and go."
Enith smiles tightly and leaves the room as she mumbles a thank you. Milah follows closely behind and is on her way to the living room while Enith continues with her news delivery.
In Cora's room, Snow is talking and pleading to her old friend. "Cora, please help me reach out to my daughter."
"If this is about you being against the wedding, that ship has sailed, and there's a pirate on it."
"No, I accept her decision. It is not like we can have the marriage annulled."
Cora stares at her longtime friend. "Snow, how do you want me to help?"
"Milah and I were talking about maybe visiting her, in her new home. I'm a horrible mother, I don't even know, where my daughter lives." She looks at Cora with remorse in her eyes. "It should have been me, the one that helped her."
"Snow, you raised an amazing daughter. I know she will forgive you."
"Do you truly think this man is good to her?"
Cora thinks about the question bestowed upon her. "I hope so." She answers as sincerely as she can because although she wants Jones out of the estate, she does care for Emma. Sure she had no problem encouraging the marriage seeing as it would help her agenda but deep down she knows Emma is special. After all, she had in fact groomed her to be the perfect wife for her son but that idea had been destroyed once August met Milah.
Cora goes to write down the address for Snow. She is curious about Milah's sudden turnaround but she will investigate later.
Snow looks around the room as she waits and notices an open chest with old papers flooding out so she decides to tidy them a bit. She gets closer as she notices Cora is still scribbling and at the top, she notices a legal document. She squints to make sense of the writing. She picks up the paper and she recognizes some words, son, Killian, and Brennan's signature.
Cora turns to hand Snow the paper and notices her friend looking over a paper and snaps.
"What the hell are you doing? Are you going through my property?" She yanks the paper away from her and crumples it in her fist in her rage.
"I was trying to organize the chest a little, the papers were coming out. I didn't mean to overstep..."
Cora throws the paper at Snow as she raises her voice. "Of course you didn't, now get out!"
"Cora is Jones Brennan's son?"
"How dare you say such a thing!"
"Cora I saw it with my own eyes."
"No, of course not, no, he wanted to adopt him." She knows it is a lie because Brennan did, in fact, adopt Killian and gave him his last name. The fact that Killian didn't keep the last name still baffles her, instead, he took his mother's maiden name.
"Cora I'm not blind, he looks so much like Brennan."
Enith can hear the end of the heated conversation between Cora and Snow. She knocks lightly, afraid of how the interruption might be received.
"Come in." Cora is still looking at Snow like she wishes she could rip out her heart and crush it.
"Sorry to interrupt but Mr. Nolan and Mr. Hopper are in the living room waiting for you all." Enith glances between the two.
They both look at each other and Snow is the first out, followed by Cora. The crumpled paper falls to the floor, forgotten. Enith stops as they leave the room, picks up the discarded paper and stuffs it in her apron. Finally, she starts to follow behind them having no idea the importance of the document she saved.
Emma and Killian disappear to his room in the Estate, the farthest from the rest of the bedrooms. They enter and find a seat to get ready to have the impending uncomfortable conversation.
"My love, I know I owe you an explanation."
"Do you still have feelings for Milah?"
He is surprised by the straight to the point inquiry. "I do, but not the kind that would inspire me to want to be with her. I could never want another, now that I know the meaning of true love. My sweet love, without her self-serving actions we would not be here together. For that, I will forever be grateful for her selfishness."
"That is all, nothing more?"
"I wish she would truly fall in love with her husband. I will never be the man I used to be. I love you and my future is with you. I regret my earlier infractions. I will never be proud of the man I once was. Love, I do have one question for you, how will you explain the change in your relationship with Milah?"
"I don't know. I cannot exactly tell my parents everything she has done. You are right about one thing, without her we wouldn't be here. I just hope that I can be as good at lying as she is." She reaches out for his hand and he eagerly gives it to her.
"Killian, I know you are not too sure about having Tink live with us. I saw first-hand how unhappy she is at the convent. We could give her the choice to live with us or stay at the convent with some restrictions."
He is so nervous he has to tell her about his former interaction with Tink. "Emma love, there is a story I need to tell you. Now, if after hearing this you have no problem with Tink coming to live with us, we will go rescue her."
She looks at him intently, he is nervous; she knows Tink is extremely fond of him, she may even have a crush on him. "Okay, what is it?"
"Well, when Tink and I first met we had a dalliance. I know that she still has feelings for me, I have tried to discourage her but I have failed. I know she has some unrealistic expectations. Emma, I love her, but not the way she wants me to."
"Oh, I suppose that is not a big surprise."
Killian looks at her and if he is honest he is a little hurt. "Emma?"
"I suppose I should clarify, on her first day at the convent she talked about you with a dreamy look on her face."
He looks uncomfortable as he scratches behind his ear. "Love, I just don't want to put you in an uncomfortable position. I know your heart is in the right place and you care for her but I would never dream of imposing her presence on you."
"Killian, if I recall correctly, it was my idea, not yours. I made the suggestion, not you."
"I have no problem with her staying with us for a while, I wouldn't have made the offer if it was."
"If you are sure, we will go get her. Just a bit of warning, she can be a handful at times."
"She is like a little sister to you, isn't she?"
"Yes, even with our history, I just don't want any tension between you and I. Emma, I swear that you are the only one who matters to me."
"I know. I admit, Milah's words did upset me but I believe that you love me."
"Good. I hate to say this at this time but Archie may have heard a not so flattering conversation between Smee and me."
Emma is becoming exasperated. "Killian, how many things are you keeping from me?"
"It was only a misunderstanding I did not correct but if he repeated any of it to your father, I fear I may not make the best first impression. I may have felt that way at first but just know that the more time we spent talking and getting to know each other, it helped me forget the dastardly plan."
"You do realize you haven't yet won my mother over, therefore it will be the same with him. You will see. They communicate just by looking at each other."
"Well, then that kind of connection is all I strive for in our future."
She cannot help but dread the news he is about to provide and she tries to be strong and offers him an encouraging smile. "What did Archie hear?"
"Emma."
"Look, I would rather be prepared. I know Archie loves you and if he felt that repeating what you said to my father would affect you negatively, he will not repeat anything... but it would be better not to be caught off guard."
"This was said only for Smee's benefit. I may have insinuated that the only reason I was marrying you was a ruse to cover up my true intentions-"
"The plan you and Milah had concocted."
"Archie overheard and warned me against marrying you if that was my true intention."
"Yet you still married me."
"Aye, I just couldn't walk away and the thought of you doing so frightened me. I was unable to admit the reason at the time, but now I know I cannot lose you."
"Killian, there can no longer be any secrets or any more surprises between us."
"I know love, and I truly cannot think of anything else."
Emma glances around the room. "Did you pack everything before the wedding? Or did you leave anything behind?"
"I will check to make sure."
"I want to go talk to my mother and check my room one last time just in case."
They are interrupted by a sudden knock and Emma gets up to open it.
"Mr. Hopper and Mr. Nolan have arrived and are waiting in the living room."
"Thank you, Enith."
"Love, your father has finally arrived. Now you can relax."
"I am happy, but I'm nervous. Do you think my mother already talked to him?"
"I don't know my love but he loves you. If anyone should be nervous, it should be me."
"Come on, I'll protect you. Let's get this over with." She holds out her hand for him to take and go on their way.
August stands in the center of his office, contemplating and thoroughly lost in his thoughts. He still cannot believe Emma has married Killian. Sure, he had believed them to be a good match, but the truth was he never thought it could become a reality.
He realizes that the more time he gets to spend in Emma's presence the more his thoughts get jumbled. She is smart and kind. She has so many amazing qualities, not that he regrets his marriage but it makes him wonder about what-ifs. He finds that it truly bothers him, the thought of them having a relationship prior to the wedding. Perhaps his mother is right. He will need to deal with his feelings.
"Come in," he says when a soft knock sounds at his door.
"Sir, Mr. Nolan, and Mr. Hopper are waiting in the living room. You are the last one I've made the announcement to."
"I better hurry then." He smiles and heads for the door.
"It's alright old friend. You are about to see your family." Archie smiles and pats his friend on the back as they wait for everyone to arrive.
"Uncle David?"
"Milah, is it truly you?" He quickly gets to his feet to greet her and is stopped by a gasp and turns to meet his wife's eye.
"David you are finally home."
He rushes over and hugs her so tight.
Cora watches the display of affection between the two. She herself had never loved her husband and he knew it. A marriage of convenience is so much better in her opinion. Love is a weakness.
Then another voice is heard. "Father, is it really you?"
David turns to the melodic sound of his daughter's voice. A voice he longed to hear and there she stands holding hands with a dark-haired man he assumes is the husband.
"Emma sweetheart, I have missed you so much."
Killian releases her hand and gently pushes her in the direction of her parents still holding each other as they make room for her to join them.
Milah is just staring at the picture perfect image in front of her. She truly never felt like a part of the family. August decides to approach his wife and hold her hand. He tries to imitate the movement Killian did with Emma to encourage his wife towards her family, only to feel her stiffen and let go of his hand.
Snow slowly disentangles herself from the warm embrace to call out to Milah to join them.
Emma stiffens for a second but realizes they have no idea of the dubious character of her cousin. Snow and David call out to her, "Milah sweetheart, come joins us."
The whole group in the room looks around to see the door close and Milah is gone.
Cora clears her throat. "It is lovely to see you again David. Mr. Hopper always a pleasure."
To that comment, Killian raises an eyebrow. He knows for a fact that to her it is not a pleasure to have Archie or him in her home for that matter. However, he cannot help but feel overjoyed to see his wife in the long hearty embrace of her family, more specifically, her father whom he knows she has missed and longed to be with. He scans the room and finds a comforting presence in Archie, he smiles at his friend.
"Is it true?"
Killian turns his eyes towards the culprit, August. "I apologize I have no idea of what you speak of?"
"There seems to be a rumor going around about you and Emma. Is it true that there was an illicit relationship between you two while she was betrothed to me?"
"I don't see how that is relevant considering she is my wife and you married her cousin."
"She was still betrothed to me and I know I married Milah, but I did not pursue her until after my engagement had been called off."
"Why does it matter now? You said it yourself, you married the woman you love."
He knows if he is to tell him the truth, Emma will never forgive him. Milah deserves to be revealed for the conniving wench she is, but he will respect his wife's wishes.
"I want to know if I was wrong about her."
"Excuse me? The only thing you did wrong was not seeing her worth. She is truly an amazing woman. There is no truth to the rumors. I befriended her and we fell in love. Our tale is nothing like the one painted by those who spew out vile lies. It would appear you have taken those words as truth. I imagine that I have no need to tender my resignation with the way you are speaking to me."
August stares at him. "I had not considered ending your employment but if you believe that it is for the best, I will not object. Yet, you have eluded my question. I would love an answer."
Killian is getting angry and he can feel his temper rising; his jaw clenches as he fights to maintain his self-control, he'd love nothing more than to punch the man in front of him. "I would suggest you choose your next words regarding my wife very carefully." He gets closer to August with a predatory stance.
"Am I interrupting?" Killian hears the soothing voice of his beloved and instantly calms down. He glances at her and smiles.
Emma stares between the two. She gives Killian a pointed look. "I'm sorry to interrupt but I was hoping to introduce my husband to my father."
August is the first to answer. "No, of course not; you are never a bother. I will go and find my wife and make sure she is alright."
"Thank you. It is nice to see you again." She smiles and turns to face her husband, only to find him brooding. She reaches for his hand and holds on to it.
August looks at the scene unfold in front of him and finally storms out.
"Killian, what was that about? You looked like you wanted to kill him," she tells him as she slowly guides him to where her parents are talking to Archie.
"He is a bloody git. I will never understand what you saw in him."
"We will talk about the little talk that you two had at home."
"My love, I would rather forget the whole thing but if you insist." He knows his wife is stubborn and if she wants to know what happened he will share the tale.
"Father, this is Killian Jones, my husband."
Without warning, a punch lands on Killian's face and he stumbles back at the power infused within the hit. Emma quickly stands between the two."Father, why would you do that?"
"He should have waited for my arrival to ask for your hand. You both should have waited. Emma, you ignored your mother's pleas. How am I supposed to ignore that?"
"It was my choice. Isn't that what you wanted for me?"
Archie is now standing next to Killian in solidarity.
She is angry and letting her father know exactly her feelings on the matter. "Father, perhaps you are right but I'm happier than I ever thought possible. I was a fool to think that mattered more than protocol. We love each other."
Her mother speaks. "David maybe we need to get to know him. Emma is right, her happiness is all that should matter."
"Snow, I know you well enough to conclude that you weren't too happy with the idea."
"That is in the past now. I hate being at odds with Emma and this should be a happy time for the whole family. We are finally together after a very long time apart."
"If we are to do this, I want to have a one on one chat with my new son-in-law."
Archie puts his hand on Killian's shoulder encouraging him forward.
"I have no problem with that," Killian responds as he gazes into his wife's eyes and finds reassurance.
Cora is seated in her chair enjoying the show the group has inadvertently played for her viewing pleasure. Enith stands next to Cora, always loyal. Sadly Cora has no idea that her faithful maid has the letter that has caused her so much grief. "Enith, come with me. Perhaps it is about time we allowed some privacy to our guests."
"Yes, ma'am, of course, it would be for the best." She follows Cora out of the room. Sadly, Cora has no idea that her faithful maid has the letter that has caused her so much grief.
Emma holds out her hand for her mother. "Mom, would it be all right if we go to your room while Killian and father speak?"
Snow smiles in agreement. "Yes, you could help me pack to be ready to go back home."
With those words, they both look over to their loves and walk out. "I just hope that father is not too hard on him. I'm too young to be widowed."
"Emma, your father would never…" Snow realizes her daughter is trying to lighten the mood in lieu of the darkness that has befallen them because of the disagreement due to Emma's choice in a spouse.
"David, Killian, I believe it is time for me to go home," Archie excuses himself as the room grows emptier and emptier. "Killian," he approaches the young man and holds him in a tight hug as he wishes, "congratulations," then whispers, "I believe you two will be extremely happy. Please, do not aggravate your father-in-law. Think of Emma."
Killian nods in agreement "Archie, I believe we have a conversation to finish, the last time we spoke there were some things said which, I need to clarify-"
"It is not necessary. I will see you soon," Archie assures his friend.
"David, I will leave you two to your conversation." With those final words, Archie leaves the two alone.
"I suppose it is too late to ask of your intentions towards my daughter. However, I will warn you that I do know of your reputation, both in business and with women."
"I'm sure that words will not be enough to convince you of my honorable feelings towards your daughter. I will endeavor to prove it."
David eyes him carefully. "I suppose only time will tell. I do feel it is my duty to say the following though, if you hurt my daughter, I will ensure your painful and untimely death."
"I understand your duty as her father is to protect her and I hope you are willing to share the task. I would gladly give my life protecting her and her heart."
"I'm not asking for your help, pirate."
"I never said you were, all I'm saying is that I agree and I hope you believe I'm sincere. To prove my honesty, I have a confession before we end this conversation. First, I need to apologize for taking the liberty of marrying your beautiful daughter without your permission and I regret that it is not the last of my transgressions against you and your beloved family. I aim to become the man your daughter believes me to be."
David waves him to continue and he clearly cannot hide his dislike for his son-in-law's words.
"As you know, my past actions are not to be proud of. I was a very successful scoundrel and thief."
David notices he is struggling with the words, so he finishes the story for him.
"You were responsible for the attack on my business in Arendelle. Liam denies your involvement adamantly."
"I never asked my brother for my freedom. I think he let me go because he wanted to aid me at least once. We have been kept apart for too long and he feels guilty. To answer your question, yes, I admit I was the one that was planning the heist. As you know, we didn't even make it to your building. We were stopped before we set foot inside your business."
"Does my daughter know of your past?"
"Aye, I have not kept any sordid detail of my past from her. She believes I truly want to become a better man and I do. I would do anything for her."
"I'm willing to try to embrace you as my son-in-law because it is clear you make my daughter happy. I also choose to forget about your previous transgressions and that includes the one you had planned against me. Just a word of advice, don't think I'm taking my eyes off you for a second."
Killian nods in agreement.
"Now let's go find them."
Emma helps her mother pack her belonging to finally leave the estate and go home with her father. She cannot help but feel overjoyed by the outcome. The only concern she has is the conversation between her father and husband. She is trying to distract herself as she maintains her focus on her mother. Her mother is extremely happy and keeps talking about getting together every Sunday for lunch. Of course, those family gatherings include her cousin and her husband.
Dealing with Milah is going to be harder than she thought. Then there is the tension-filled conversation Killian and August were involved in earlier that leads her to believe Milah may not be the only one that could cause trouble.
"Is everything okay Emma?"
"Yes, I'm just wondering about the little talk father is having with Killian."
"I'm sure they will come to retrieve us in no time."
A few minutes later a light knock on the door is heard by both women. Each couple retires to their homes once they leave a message for the remainder estate occupants instead of interrupting anyone at the late hour.
Milah watches as the couples depart, each in their assigned carriage. She hates that she is confined to a marriage to a man she doesn't love. She's certain Emma has stolen her lover using trickery. She decides it is time to try to get some rest.
"Milah, where have you been?"
"I was walking around trying to wrap my mind around all that has happened."
"I have been looking for you. I wanted to make sure you were alright." He looks at her with love and sometimes she wishes she could give him her heart.
"Why would you be concerned with my well-being?"
"You walked out of the living room during your family's warm moment."
"I left because I have never felt like a part of the family."
"Sweetheart, they love you."
"Do they really love me? I guarantee you that if they had to make a choice between Emma and myself they would pick her every time."
"That would be an impossible situation for anyone to endure."
"You are just lucky you are an only child. You never had to compete for your parents' attention."
"I have been fortunate but I would have loved to have a brother. My father was very fond of Killian and I suppose in some ways I see him as the brother I never had."
"Is that the reason you are not happy Emma married him?"
"I'm happy if they are. I was just surprised by the rapidness of their courtship."
"It did happen rather fast. I guess the rumors are true. My cousin is not pure or innocent like she has convinced everyone she is."
"I asked Killian about that and he leads me to believe they could have been an exaggeration on some people's minds."
"Of course you two would defend fair Emma's honor."
"Milah, please don't get upset."
"August, I just want to rest and perhaps tomorrow will be a better day."
She just looks away and keeps her gaze out the window. He gives up on helping her find comfort.
"Goodnight my love." He quickly changes and lies down.
She turns to face the bed once his snores fill the room. Joining him she tries to find rest, but she is restless and cannot sleep.
She decides to take a walk around the house. No one should be awake at this time. The house feels cold and empty.
Not far from her son's bedroom Cora is lost in thought. The letter was there and now has disappeared. She has to find it and finally destroy it. She cannot ask about it without making the contents of the letter an interesting read. That is a risk she will not take.
Snow is her immediate problem. She seemed to accept her explanation, but for how long? She needs to find a way to keep her quiet about her findings. The recent events seem to be bringing out bad blood between the families.