Chapter Seventeen
The doors opened and the guards brought Emmett with them. When he saw Althea still hugging her father, he released the breath he wasn't aware he'd been holding. He'd been outside and heard yelling, but couldn't make out what was being said.
"Emmett Von Braun, Your Majesty."
"Leave us," Richard ordered his men.
"But…"
"I said, leave us. Now!"
Both men bowed their heads humbly and ducked out of the room, closing the doors behind them.
"Von Braun…Emmett," Richard said as he stepped forward.
Emmett bowed. "It's nice to see you again, Your Majesty."
Richard extended his hand, which Emmett shook. "Please, sit," he said as he gestured to a chair next to his and Althea's.
"My daughter tells me you two are wed."
"Yes, Your Majesty, that is true," Emmett said with a nod.
"When did this happen? And where have you been all this time?" He asked both of them.
"We've been in America, Father. That is where I lived with Greg and then I reunited with Emmett just this year."
"How did that come about?"
Emmett cleared his throat. "I was a professor at the college where Dr. House was a physician, but then I moved away and we lost touch for some time, Your Majesty, and…"
Richard put his hand up to stop him. "Please, you may call me Richard. Do go on."
"Very well then, Richard, your daughter sought me out and paid me a visit after things with her and Greg were no longer working out, in hopes that I'd be able to help her get back home. And as you know, it is very difficult to say no to her," he said with a sly wink to Althea, who blushed. Richard caught the exchange and chuckled.
"Interesting. And how long ago did you two wed?"
"Just a few months ago, Father. It was, as some would say, a whirlwind romance."
"I see. Well, this calls for a celebration of epic proportions. We will introduce Emmett at court and celebrate Christmas at the same time. It will be quite the thing."
"I'm sure it will, Father," Althea laughed at his exuberance. It had been a long time since she'd seen her father, and even longer since she'd seen him so happy. She hugged him again. "I missed you so much."
"And I you, dear daughter. Your chambers are just as you left them. Emmett is more than welcome to remain with you there. Unless you'd like your own chambers, Emmett?"
"I would like to stay with the Princess if that pleases Your Majesty."
Richard nodded as he patted Emmett heartily on the back. "It would please me much, Emmett. I hope the two of you will stay at the castle, but I'll understand if the two of you would like your own little lovenest. I'm sure that could be arranged."
"I wouldn't think to impose…"
"It would be no imposition, Emmett, I assure you. I'll see what I can do. In the meantime, why don't we get you both settled and then meet again for supper. You two are now the guests of honor. I will see to that."
"Is Charlotte still at court?" Althea asked.
"She has since remarried and they live out in the country. He owns his own land and a large farm. She is very happy there."
"I'm so glad to hear it."
"She will be here for Christmas. You can see her then."
They were shown to Althea's room and Emmett whistled when he saw it. "Wow. This room is huge."
"Yes it is."
"It's as big as the lab I was using."
Althea threw herself into his arms and hugged him. "See? I told you everything would be fine, Emmett."
"You did. I shouldn't have doubted you."
"My father looks so good, too."
"Yes he does look well."
She smiled up at him and he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"I can't believe I'm actually here," she said. "All thanks to you." She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his head down to kiss him with a passion that surprised them both.
XXX
After they'd freshened up, they came down to the dining hall for dinner and Richard welcomed them. "There's the blushing bride."
Althea and Emmett both blushed and Richard laughed. "Father…we've been wed for some time now," she reminded him.
"That may be true but you're still blushing," he chuckled as Emmett and Althea were seated across from each other near the head of the table where Richard sat.
"I hope Althea's quarters are suitable," Richard asked Emmett.
"Yes, thank you, Your Maj…Richard," he quickly corrected himself at Richard's arched eyebrow.
"Good man. Let's eat, shall we? And then you can tell me about this country in which you've been spending the last several years. And why your way of speaking seems to have changed entirely."
"I'm sure it will resurface the more time she spends here," Emmett assured him. "When you're surrounded with people who have different dialects, you tend to pick up on those ones over time. Now that she's back, so will be her way of speaking."
Richard nodded and once the wine was poured, he stood. "Ladies, gentleman, I wish to propose a toast to my beautiful daughter, Althea."
Everyone cheered and listened on. "Who has come back from a far away country, and found love with a good man, Emmett Von Braun, whom some of you may remember as the Blacksmith."
A few people nodded and murmured amongst each other. "That said, you will all welcome him at court and show him the same respect you would show myself and my daughter, Althea. May you two continue to be as happy as you are right now. Here, here!"
Everyone else raised their glasses, and drank.
"That said, let's eat!"
Halfway through dinner, Emmett felt Althea's hand on his knee and he reached down to find that she was trying to pass him a note, which he took and shoved into his pocket.
"They're going to have to grease the doorways to get me out of here," Emmett said to Althea when they were finished eating.
"I wish. I'm just glad you didn't tie my corset too tight or I'd be busting at the seams. I can't wait to get this ridiculous thing off," she added with a sexy smile. Emmett took the hint and when nobody was looking, unfolded the note, which read:
Meet me in the "lab" at nine O'clock
He glanced over at her, and she was looking at him expectantly, to which he gave her a wink and a nod.
After dessert, Althea seemed very tired and couldn't stop yawning. "I'm afraid I must retire for the night, Father."
"I dare say, my darling Althea, you look quite pale. Are you unwell?" Richard asked her, looking worried.
"Oh, I'm fine. It's just been a long time since I've eaten so much, and it was a long journey to get here."
"Of course. It is indeed late. We will talk tomorrow."
After saying goodnight, Richard talked Emmett into one more glass of wine. Since he had a bit of time before meeting Althea, he agreed.
XXX
Emmett made his way outside to the large shack he used as his lab years before but it was quiet.
"Althea?" he whispered. "Are you in here?"
He closed the doors behind him and when he heard the deadbolt, he turned around to see Althea standing there holding a candlestick. "Shhh…"
"Why are we here?" he asked her as he stepped toward her.
"I was feeling…nostalgic," she whispered as she put the candlestick down on the table. "This room holds a special memory for me, Emmett."
He knew why, but wanted to hear her say it. "Oh?"
"Mmhmm," she stepped closer and placed her hands on his chest. "I believe we were standing in this very spot…there was music…and we were dancing, holding each other close."
"Dancing is a very loose term for what actually went down…"
Althea smiled up at him. "Ah-ha! So you do remember."
"Of course. How could I forget a kiss like that?"
Her hands slid up around his neck, her fingers burying in his white silky hair as they kissed softly and his lips moved down to her throat.
"Yesssss," she sighed as she leaned against him, her legs suddenly feeling weak. "That was my first real kiss."
"I know. And I'm sure I've said this before, but it took everything in me not to clear off that table and take you right then."
Althea gave him a sexy smile. "What's stopping you now?"
"Absolutely nothing," Emmett said, and with one wide sweep of his arm, cleared the table, picked her up and sat her down on the edge as his mouth came down hard on hers.
She groaned as she began unbuttoning his pants while he hastily untied her corset and tugged it away, tossing it on the floor. It was hot, and sexy and intense as he took her right there on the table, their lips never parting except for Emmett stopping to devour her neck, gently grazing her sensitive skin with his teeth.
"Yes!" she cried out as she braced her hand on the edge of the table and held onto him.
Emmett was on the home stretch and his mouth found hers once again as they both came to their own incredible ending. "Oh my God…" she groaned as he collapsed against her for a few minutes. "That was better than any fantasy I could come up with."
"That makes two of us," Emmett chuckled and stood up, helping her get the corset back on. Once they were put together enough to return to the castle, they quietly made their way back to her room.
"It's amazing how nobody is obese after eating all that food every day," Emmett said as he climbed into bed next to Althea.
She giggled. "I know. I felt like I gained ten pounds as soon as they brought out the food." She leaned over and gave him a long kiss before settling in. "G'night."
"G'night."
XXX
A few months went by and while everything was going well, both Althea and Emmett noticed the rapid decline in Richard's health. He quickly tired, spent a lot of time in bed and would cough so hard it was difficult to catch his breath.
"I don't know what to do for him," Althea told Emmett as they walked in the woods together one afternoon. "Could we not…oh I don't know…"
"What?"
"Could we not bring House here to examine him? If anyone could figure out what was wrong, he could."
"You want me to bring him here and risk him being executed on sight?" Emmett reminded her. "You heard what your father said the first day we came here."
"I know but this is major."
"And so is changing history."
"But what if it's something so minor that could be treated with modern day medicine?"
"Althea," Emmett sighed. He had grown quite fond of Richard and hated the thought of him dying over something that could easily be cured. "What you're asking…it's incredibly risky. He's supposed to pass away this year. And what if House does treat him? Then what? Are you wanting to stay here? Indefinitely?"
"Not indefinitely, of course. Just as long as he's here. Can't you give me that much?"
"We've already been here a lot longer than we planned," he pointed out.
She looked so sad, he broke down and lost his resolve. "Let me think of something."
Althea threw her arms around him and peppered his face with kisses. "Oh, Emmett! You really are an amazing man…"
He laughed. "Stop trying to butter me up."
"But you like it when I do that," she grinned. "I know you'll think of something. You're brilliant."
"Flattery will get you everywhere."
"I know it," she smiled up at him. "I trust you."
"That's what worries me."
"You know, House and I talked about it once."
"Talked about what?"
"What would happen if my father was ill and needed help, if he'd accept it from House. And he said when that day came, what did I think my father would want? A total prick to save his life, or someone to just hold his hand while he died."
"And what did he say?"
"House said he'd want the prick."
Emmett nodded. "Maybe you could somehow…suggest that House could help him. See how he reacts. If he completely puts his foot down and says no, you'll have your answer."
"I suppose it's worth a try."
"I know nothing about medicine but my guess is that it's some kind of bacterial infection that could be cured with antibiotics."
"I'll talk to him tonight."
It was late when Althea came to bed, and Emmett was already asleep but he awoke when he heard her come in.
"How did it go?"
"He said he'd spare House's life if House could help him."
"Wow. You were certainly gone awhile."
"Convincing him was the easy part. Making him promise not to hurt House was the challenge. But I think he realized how unreasonable he'd been back then and relented."
"Very well then. Tomorrow night I'll go and get House."
Althea snuggled up to Emmett and kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Emmett. You don't know what this means to me."
