I shrugged. “Of course, like everything else in New Orleans, I’m not certain of the percentage of fact in many of those old stories.”
“Do you remember your grandparents?” Emma asked. “I never have had any of my own.”
I patted her hand and nodded. “I do. They passed before I became a teenager.”
“So you all lived here together?”
“And Miss Guidry as well as other members of the household staff.”
“Sounds cozy.”
“This is a big house. Many of the staff still live here or in the building on this property, behind this house.”
Emma looked all around. “It’s odd I never thought about it.”
“You’re never alone.”
She shivered. “I think that feels a bit” —her head tilted— “creepy.”
“No one enters this house who isn’t vetted. Anyone with responsibility is fully loyal to Ramses. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
When we finally reached the back of the house, the sun was setting, and we came to the conservatory.
Rett
Emma’s gaze went up to the glass ceiling as her smile grew. “This room is absolutely magnificent.”
I tried to see it as she was seeing it, with the wonder that came from lack of familiarity. It wasn’t something that came naturally to me. After all, I’d been born into this house. And yet as I followed her line of vision, I saw the colorful evening sky, the shades of purple and pink through the glass. “I suppose it is.”
Emma’s hand remained on my arm until we reached the dining table I’d had placed in here, complete with the silver vase and single red rose.
Once we were both seated, I sat back and took in the view I found the most magnificent, my stunning wife.
“You’re looking at me like that again,” Emma said with a blush of pink filling her cheeks.
“What islike that?”
“I sometimes feel like you’re seeing me, all of me, as if my dress were gone.”
It was my turn to smile. “Oh, Emma, I do love that image, but if I’m again honest with you—”
“It’s all I want you to be.”
I nodded. “I’m looking at you with wonder at your presence.” I grinned. “I guess that word has plural meanings.”
She tilted her head.
“You see,” I went on, “your presence as in you’re here. There was a time earlier today that I wasn’t confident we would be here or anywhere this soon.”
Her neck straightened. “I had the same concern.”
“And also your presence as in there is a presence about you. You’re simply regal without trying.”
Before we could continue, Miss Guidry entered with a rolling cart and our meal. By the time she finally left, Emma and I both had plates and glasses before us with multiple courses present. Sipping my ice water, I watched as Emma took a bite of her salad and lifted her napkin to her lips.
Conversation came as we ate and drank.
The fear I’d refused to acknowledge—that things would be awkward between us—wasn’t realized. It wasn’t until our plates were taken away, coffee was served, and we were left alone that I broached the subject I’d been wondering about since I left the third-floor suite. I reached across the table and covered her hand with mine. “There’s no doubt that you’re far more forgiving than I. And while I am grateful that you are, will you tell me why?”