Page 118 of The Importance of Being Emma
I waited until he’d gone, then shook Emma gently by the shoulder. ‘Wake up, beautiful.’
She opened her eyes, blinked, then closed them again. ‘Too bright,’ she said sleepily.
‘I know. Believe me, this isn’t the way I’d have preferred to wake you up. Listen, Father and Saffron are back, I’m just going downstairs for a quick word.’ I leaned over and cupped her breast, teasing her nipple with my thumb.
Her lips curved in a smile. ‘Keep doing that and you won’t make it out of this room, sunshine.’
I laughed. ‘Is that a promise?’
She opened her eyes and gazed into mine. ‘When are you going back to India?’
‘You haven’t answered my question.’
‘That’s because you need to answer mine first. If you’re going to India soon,’ — she reached up and kissed me full on the mouth — ‘I want to make every minute count. If not, we’ve got all the time in the world.’
I let out a long breath. ‘I don’t know, I need to talk to Father.’
It took no more than a few minutes to pull on some clothes and go to the study. Father was pacing the floor, taking long gulps from a glass of whisky. He may not have been the archetypal headmaster, but I certainly felt like a naughty schoolboy.
‘Shut the door,’ he said tersely. As soon as I’d done so, he came up to me and wagged his finger in my face. ‘For Christ’s sake, I hope you know what you’re doing. She’s barely more than a child.’
‘She’s twenty-three, she’s a grown woman by most people’s standards.’
‘But you’re thirty-five, it’s — it’s indecent.’
I crossed to the drinks cabinet and poured myself a whisky. ‘I’d have agreed with you when she was a teenager. But now she’s in her twenties it’s not at all indecent — in my mind, at least. And it certainly doesn’t seem to bother her.’ I sipped the amber liquid thoughtfully. ‘Remind me, Saffron’s how many years younger than you? Ten, is it? Or eleven?’
He clicked his tongue. ‘That’s different, we’re both much older and it’s a marriage, we’ve made a commitment to each other. For all I know, you’ve had your bit of fun at Emma’s expense and you’re off to India on the first plane tomorrow.’
I raised my eyebrows. ‘Is that your only objection, that I’m not serious about her?’
He walked over to his desk and fiddled with an engraved gold paperweight, my mother’s last gift to him. After a moment, he turned to me with a rueful smile. ‘Your mother and I had it all planned out, years ago. Age-wise, we paired you off with Izzy—’
‘God forbid.’
‘And John with Emma. Not that we expected any of it to happen, it was just a nice little “what if?” scenario.’ He gave a wistful sigh. ‘As time went on, and John married Izzy, I realised age wasn’t the key factor at all. You and Emma were a far better match for each other, same sense of humour, same intellectual ability and so on. But it was still a pipe dream, I never thought for one moment—’ He stopped and frowned. ‘I’ve watched Emma grow up, she’s like my own daughter. I don’t want to see her get hurt.’
‘What makes you think she’s going to get hurt?’ I said abruptly.
‘You’re going back to India, aren’t you?’
Suddenly, it was all crystal clear. ‘Not without her, I’m not going anywhere without her.’
‘But she can’t just leave Henry like that, or her job at Highbury Foods.’
‘No, she can’t. At least, not for long.’ I hesitated. ‘I want to make a go of things with her, spend lots of time together over the next few weeks, and then — who knows? So, if I sort out my replacement in India, how would you feel about me coming back here?’
His face brightened. ‘Bloody brilliant! I wasn’t going to tell you just yet, but Henry wants to discuss a possible merger between Highbury Foods and Donwell Organics.’
My eyes narrowed. ‘A merger? But we’re like chalk and cheese.’
‘I know, but needs must, it’s a cut-throat world out there. It’ll mean a lot of work, but it’s manageable if you’re here as opposedto in India. And if you’re thinking of settling down,’ he added, with a meaningful look, ‘I couldn’t wish for a better daughter-in-law than Emma.’
* * *
~~EMMA~~
I’d just had a shower and was drying myself in the bathroom, when Mark came back. He stood in the doorway, folded his arms and tried to look grumpy.
