The Crowns Curse

Chapter 5

                            Emma

Emma woke up to the sun shining in her eyes. Kristine forgot to close the curtains again? She got up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She moved to get up to call for her abigail, but noticed she was already in the doorway. 

“Sorry, Miss. Did I scare you?” Kristine asked. 

“No, Kristine. You forgot to close the curtains last night, and I awoke due to the brightness of the sun this morning.” Emma stood up and her abigail started to dress her for the day. 

“Sorry, Miss.”

Once Emma was dressed, she followed her abigail down the stairs. 

“Miss Barns, there is someone at the door for you.” the butler said as she crossed paths with him. 

“Who is it?” Emma asked. 

“Mr. Xander Brooke.” The butler nodded his head, then left. 

Xander? What was Xander doing here? She walked towards the door and the butler opened it for her. “Thank you, Mr. Halle.” 

Xander bowed when he saw her. “M'lady,” he grinned. “Would you like to go for a morning ride?” he asked. He offered her his arm. 

“Why, yes. I would love to go for a morning ride with you.” Emma smiled. She accepted his offer, and threaded her arm through his. 

“How are you this fine morning, Emma?” Xander asked, handing her up into the one horse, open top carriage. 

“Good. How has your morning been?” She asked. 

“Same as always.” he sighed. 

“And what is ‘the same as always?’” Emma had to hold in a giggle. 

“Trying to convince Kayson to leave his house. He never wants to leave in the morning, I eventually convince him to follow me around, but he never really enjoys it.” he explained, climbing into the carriage. 

“Why does he hate going out so much? He seemed very upset about last night.” she asked. She had noticed how out of place he seemed to feel, he even stormed out of her house during the ball. What happened to make him so upset? He had said that he lost his job, but she felt that wasn't the whole story. She looked up at Xander. 

“I don't know why. He’s never really explained why he hates going out into society. I think it's because he feels out of place? Like he doesn't belong?” Xander had a look of pondering on his face. 

“Maybe you should talk to him. Maybe he doesnt like going out into society because of something that happened.” She suggested. 

“Yeah, over tea and hot cakes.” Xander said sarcastically. 

They drove past the nearest park. 

“Hey, that's a good idea!” Emma smiled. 

“What?” Xander looked at her. 

“I would like to invite you and Mr. Wood to tea this afternoon. Around 1.” she said. She tried to remain seated as excitement washed over her. 

“That's a great idea, Emma.” Xander grabbed her hand. 

Her heart didn't flutter the way it used to when she was in his company. When Emma first met Xander, she couldn’t control her thoughts, all she could think about was him. But after taking hold of Mr. Wood’s hand, her thoughts kept being drawn to that moment when she led him to her favorite bench.  What had he done to her? Yes, she still loved Xander. He was nice and a pure joy to be around, but there was something about being in Mr. Wood’s company that made her heart and her mind disagreed. She pushed that thought away though, focusing on the topic at hand.