Read Online Evermore by C. J. Archer - Free Book Online Page B

looked to Celia who tilted her chin at him. "I'm not
leaving London just yet."
    "You said you were sailing within a few
days!" Celia blurted out. "Well. Another broken promise."
    He drew in a long breath and let it out
slowly. "At least I haven't lied."
    "You've refused to answer questions about
your last seventeen years and refused to tell us why you did not
write. An omission is as good as a lie."
    "As I told you yesterday," Louis said through
a clenched jaw, "the timing of my departure depends on one matter
in particular and in which way it's resolved. I had hoped for a
quick resolution, I admit, but I've discovered that it's not going
to be quick at all. Now that I have learned about Emily, I will not
be leaving in a hurry. My business is in my partner's hands and I
trust him completely."
    "You must be good friends," I said, more to
ease the tension than anything else.
    "We are." His voice softened. "I saved his
life and he's been the best of friends to me ever since."
    "You saved a man's life? How very noble of
you."
    He dismissed my gushing comment with a shake
of his head. "Until next time, daughter." He bowed at me then at
Cara then fronted up to Celia. My sister didn't meet his gaze. "I
will return soon. It would be nice if we could be polite to each
other, Celia, but I understand if you cannot. It's clear you can't
bear the sight of me."
    She stormed off but stopped at the doorway
when she realized he wasn't following. "The front door is this way,
Mr. Moreau."
    He was leaving and I hadn't asked him all the
things I'd wanted to. Why had he come back after all this time? Why
hadn’t he contacted Mama when he was settled in New South Wales?
Why had he left in the first place? I knew he'd applied for the
government assistance scheme to move to that far-off land and been
accepted, but why apply at all? Was he that unhappy here in
England?
    "It's because of Mama, isn't it?" I said, the
words tumbling out before I could stop them. "That's why you
left."
    "Pardon?" Celia said, straining toward us
without moving her feet. "What did you say, Emily?"
    Louis stared at me.
    "My mother didn't love you enough, did she?
You must have seen how much she loved Papa—I mean, the man she
married. He may have died, but she still loved him deeply. That's
why you left. Because you knew she'd never love you enough. You had
to get away in order to forget her."
    He glanced at Celia. She looked startled at
the attention at first, then her face hardened. "I don't know how
much your mother loved me," he said softly. "She was very...closed
on the matter of her heart."
    "What are you saying?" Celia said, striding
up to us. "Mr. Moreau, I've asked you to leave."
    "Will you not call me Louis?"
    "It wouldn't be proper."
    He gave a grudging laugh. "Always fixated on
propriety, aren't you?"
    "Not always," Celia said levelly.
    His nostrils flared. He said nothing for what
seemed an eternity. My sister looked away first and he finally
turned to me. "Emily, I would dearly like to get to know you better
while I'm here. You too, Cara. I've never had a sister or daughter
before."
    "You don't have a family in New South Wales?"
I asked.
    "I live in Victoria now, a colony to the
south of New South Wales. And no, I don't have a family anywhere.
Except here, that is."
    I waited for more. Indeed, we all three
waited, but he didn't tell us why he'd spent seventeen years alone
when he could have wed or fathered more children. Or come home to
England. Louis bowed again and without another word, strode out of
the drawing room. Neither Cara, Celia nor I followed him out, and I
heard Lucy chatting to him in the hall before the front door opened
and shut.
    Celia was the first to speak. "Well." She sat
down and picked up her embroidery basket. "At least that's done.
Now we can all get on with our lives." She hummed a tune as she
worked her needle, but her shaking hand gave away her true state of
mind. She was as disturbed by Louis' visit as I was.
    ***
    I wanted to tell