Her gaze met his, attempting to decipher the changes time might have etched on his face, and yet, there was a strange familiarity in the way he stood before her. Emmanuel’s chuckle resonated in the air, a soft nervousness coloring his demeanor as he ventured into the delicate territory of explaining his return.
As Emmanuel chuckled softly and spoke of his unexpected return from Spain and the prospect of marriage, Dorothea sensed a layer of unease beneath his lighthearted demeanor. His words hinted at a deeper story, one that he seemed hesitant to share fully. Despite his attempt to brush it off casually, Dorothea couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to his return to England than met the eye. ”So I assume you’d be joining our social season?”
She simply couldn’t help but feel a pang of uncertainty.
An uncertainty that seemed to have melted away for even the tiniest moment as he wrapped his arms around her,
“I’m home.”
His words echoed in her mind, a sentiment that danced on the border between familiarity and the uncharted territory of a changed reality. His feelings for her, seemingly undiminished by distance and time, brought forth a mixture of emotions. There was a part of her that missed the connection they once had, a sentiment tucked away in the corners of her heart.
”Time, mystical time
Cuttin’ me open, then healin’ me fine
Were there clues I didn’t see?
And isn’t it just so pretty to think
All along there was some
Invisible string
Tying you to me?”
But amidst the flurry of emotions, Dorothea couldn’t shake the shadow of doubt that lingered. Was she ready to open her heart to him again? Did she even want that life?
Yet, the realization of James’s absence abruptly shifted the tone of their encounter. Emmanuel’s words of condolence hovered in the air, and as he expressed his sympathy, “Thank you, but there’s really no need for that” she replied, although in her she couldn’t help but appreciate the genuine concern in his eyes.
Dorothea’s eyes softened with a hint of surprise as Emmanuel mentioned the Lavenders. It was a subtle revelation that he had not only recognized her basket but also bid on it with a certain purpose. She found herself curious, an unspoken questionn lingering in her gaze. “How did you know?” she inquired, her voice carrying a quiet intensity. The connection between the Lavenders and her, a personal affinity he seemed to have remembered, It was a question she couldn’t help but ask, a silent acknowledgment of the connection between them, woven through shared memories and unspoken sentiments.
”A string that pulled me
Out of all the wrong arms right into that dive bar
Something wrapped all of my past mistakes in barbed wire
Chains around my demons, wool to brave the seasons
One single thread of gold tied me to you”
@raviola Emmanuel