For the Love of Emma by Lucy Gordon

Author:Lucy Gordon [Gordon, Lucy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

THE doctor cleared Emma for joining the Brownies, as long as Briony was there to ensure that she didn’t do too much. Faced with Emma’s delight, Carlyle reluctantly backed down. Thereafter, each Wednesday evening Emma attended Brownies for an hour and came home in the seventh heaven. She learned a series of knots, which she explained to Carlyle until he declared he could do them in his sleep, and she went round the house singing campfire songs until the adults put cotton wool in their ears. Everyone was happy.

Joyce telephoned several times a week, and Briony enjoyed these calls. She’d quickly developed a real affection for her outspoken mother-in-law.

Near the end of November, Carlyle threw a small party for Briony to meet his friends. “I should call them acquaintances, myself,” Joyce said when Briony told her. “He seldom gets close enough to people to make real friendships.”

“That’s how it seems to me,” Briony agreed. “I wondered if he’d just drawn back into himself since Emma grew so ill.”

“He has, but he was always a bit that way. I wish you the best of luck in the lion’s den. Watch out for Deirdre Raye. She’s recently divorced, and she’d convinced herself that Carlyle was only waiting for her to be free to pop the question. Nonsense, of course. He’d have asked her long ago if he’d wanted her. She’s been in the States, and probably didn’t even hear about the wedding until she came back. She’ll be as angry as a snake.”

Being direct by nature, Briony told Carlyle about this conversation as they went to bed that night, making a joke of it. He looked surprised.

“I should think my tactless mother has got the wrong end of the stick. Deirdre’s divorce had nothing to do with me, and I’m sure she’s never thought of me in that way.”

“You weren’t going to ‘pop the question’ then?”

“Certainly not. For one thing, Emma doesn’t like her. I can’t think why, because Deirdre’s always gone out of her way to be nice to her, but when Emma takes one of her unreasonable dislikes you can’t budge her.”

“So Deirdre’s out on Emma’s say-so,” Briony mused.

“Deirdre was never in,” Carlyle said, looking faintly annoyed.

“According to Joyce, she thinks she was. Sure you didn’t give her cause?”

“I’ve flirted with her at parties, but only in the way we all do. It’s a kind of meaningless routine.”

“Well, if you don’t want your drink spiked with arsenic, don’t flirt with her at this party,” Briony advised him darkly.

“I wasn’t going to,” he said. “Emma would hate it.”

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