Chapter 25.
Victoria and Jarrod returned from town to find the house empty and quiet.
Victoria remarked that she couldn't imagine where Nick and Emily might have gone to in such weather. Jarrod responded that he saw Blackie in her stall but hadn't thought to look for Coco.
Victoria asked Silas if he knew where Nick and Emily were and he answered that he did not. It was the truth; he did not know. However, he did not share that he had heard shouting, name calling, and doors slamming. The man kept this particular worry to himself and left the room so Victoria wouldn't be able to read it on his face.
Jarrod sifted through the mail brought in from town, then sat down with the newspaper, and Victoria settled into the loveseat to finish her book. The only sounds were the ticking of the grandfather clock, the wind pelting rain against the glass doors, and the occasional hiss and crackle from the fire in the fireplace.
Some time later, the quiet rhythm was broken by the sound of the front door opening. Victoria looked up and there she saw Nick, then Emily, enter. Both were drenched and cold.
She dropped her book on the table in front of and started forward, out of her seat, exclaiming, "Nick! – Emily!"
They looked somber and serious but there was something else in their faces, too. Nick stood a few steps behind Emily and as Victoria drew near, he gently pushed Emily forward to Victoria's outstretched arms.
Victoria put her arm around Emily, casting an admonishing look at Nick, and, walking Emily toward the staircase, said, "Come, let's get you upstairs and into some dry clothes."
Silas had entered from the kitchen and Victoria asked him to please bring hot tea to her room. He might have returned to the kitchen immediately but Nick had taken off his wet hat and jacket and was tossing them on the table. Swiftly, Silas removed them, clucking something about water stains, and he put the hat and jacket on the coat rack before disappearing to make tea. Nick ignored him as his attentions were focused on the women climbing the stairs.
"Nick?" Jarrod asked, now standing close and holding out a glass of whisky. Nick took the glass and drained it.
"You, uh, want to talk about it?" Jarrod asked.
"Not now," Nick replied, and he bounded up the stairs to his room.
Victoria brought Emily to her own room and lit a large fire in its fireplace. There, on the hearth, Victoria helped Emily remove her gloves, bonnet, and coat and draped them over nearby furniture.
Hot tea arrived at the door and Victoria brought the tray in before continuing to help Emily. Boots and stockings were removed and Emily's dress, its skirt, collar, and sleeve cuffs soaked through, was peeled off and tossed onto the floor. After that, her riding breeches, and several petticoats, all heavy with wet mud, were removed and left on the floor atop the dress. Emily was undressed to her corset, pantaloons, and chemise. Victoria opened a drawer in one of the dressers and brought out a thick wool blanket which she wrapped around Emily and sat her down in a large chair in front of the fire. Then she poured the tea.
Emily had said nothing except to tell Victoria that Nick was not to blame for her being out in the storm. Victoria was almost afraid to know what had happened and a hundred different possibilities came to her mind, few of them good.
She sat on a low table behind Emily's chair and started to take down her hair, wet on the top of her head, damp in some places, and bone dry underneath. It was longer and curlier than Victoria had imagined.
"How on earth do you get a brush through this?" she asked.
Emily laughed a little and said, "I don't," then demonstrated how she combed it out with outstretched fingers. The strategy worked.
Emily was reviving from whatever trauma had occurred and Victoria took the opening and, now seated facing the young woman, asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"
"I'm not really sure I can explain it," Emily said, and sat quiet for a moment trying to find the words to convey the sea change that had occurred inside of her. She looked at Victoria and told her how she and Nick had argued and how she had come to realize some truths about herself. She explained how she had grown comfortable in her widowhood and used it to justify her fear of change. She told Victoria that Nick had asked to her to marry him and that she had said yes.
Victoria had not expected this outcome and Emily could see on her face, first the surprise and then the delight at the news. Victoria held Emily in a long embrace and said she could not be more pleased about it. She meant it.
Victoria then gathered up the pile of wet, muddy clothes and said, "I'll be back in a moment. We'll get you dressed and then have some dinner."
She slipped down the back stairs and deposited Emily's clothes in a room off the kitchen where laundry was washed. Walking back through the main house, she stopped as she passed Jarrod in the parlor. Jarrod had worried and wondered what had happened and looked at his mother, expecting an answer to the mystery.
"I don't know the entire story," she said, thoughtfully, "But I believe I'm getting another daughter soon. Oh, and dinner shortly," and she walked towards the staircase, leaving Jarrod even more puzzled.
As she climbed the stairs, she met Nick coming down. He was now clean, and warm, and dry, and he looked happy. They stopped mid-way on the staircase and Victoria addressed him, her smile telling him that she knew Emily had said yes.
"Nick, what, what did - I mean, how – what happened?"
He smiled triumphantly at his mother, pointed his finger for emphasis, and said, "I pushed!" and then continued down the stairs and into the parlor.