Chapter Nine - Parts Two and Three

THE FIRST SECTION:


Meanwhile, Richard’s coach came to a violent halt at the front door of Emily’s home. With mud streaked all over his suit from the hurry over, he jumped down from his perch and rushed into the house demanding to see his daughter. A servant motioned for him to follow and the two of them hurried up the stairs to where Emily remained sleeping. By the time Richard entered the room, however, Emily managed to wake up and sort out her appearance well enough to fool her father.

“Are you all right my dear,” he said as he entered the room. He walked to a startled Emily and hugged her. “I was worried that something might have happened to you last night.”

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Emily hugged her father and then moved away. She wondered if her father had found out about the previous evening, and if he had then how or who had told him? It soon became clear that he was speaking of the incident at Edward’s home and not the one between her and Coleman.

“I’m fine father,” she said happily. “I was not there. It was Sarah who was startled.”

“So why did Coleman say it was you?” Richard asked.

This question slightly annoyed Emily, not because he had asked it but it told her that Coleman had already been trying to put ideas into her father’s head. She was angry at Coleman for this and set out to put her father’s mind at ease, “I was with her for a time, on the porch. But I left her to back inside. I was ready to leave…to go home.”

“But what happened?” he asked again.

“I don’t really know,” she said as she stepped toward her father. “Apparently some man was hanging around the porch and he ran off when I left. Maybe he never intended to scare Sarah.”

“You think he thought you both left then?” Richard summarized.

Emily agreed. She had managed to put her father’s concerns at ease and that made her feel better than when he had first arrived. But she could tell that there was something else on his mind; something that was bothering him. The room was still rather dark from her sleep, and Emily purposefully kept her distance. While she had cleaned up before he entered the room, she did not want him to see her clearly at that time. At the front of her mind was her confrontation with Coleman a few hours earlier. It was unclear to her if she showed any physical signs. In fact, she actually wanted her father to leave so she could fix herself up and regain the composure she felt she could lose at any moment.

“Has anyone come to the house today Emily?” Richard asked. His voice was shaky.

Emily thought for a moment and looked at one of her servants who shook her head in a negative manner. “Who would come here?” she asked.

“I do not know,” Richard said. He moved to window and peeled back one of the drapes. A flash of light lit up the room and Emily’s heart skipped. “But it could be a dangerous environment around here.”

“Why? It is not like that man last night would come here,” Emily said. “I doubt he knew who I was.”

“That may or may not be true,” Richard said. “But considering what is going on today, I would rather be more safe than sorry.”

Emily tilted her head in confusion, which in turn confused her father who continued, “Do you have any idea what is going on out there?”

Emily went to the window and saw exactly what Richard, Coleman and the rest of the men were watching earlier. The sight horrified her and she let out a small scream. “Oh father,” she said, “what on earth is going on?”

“Your husband is what,” replied Richard. “He’s gotten control of Montgomery. Probably helped to plan this whole thing.”

“But why?” Emily asked. She wanted to step into the light to see the riots, but stepped back into the dark.

“I don’t know,” he said. “Supposedly to stop some burglar. And Coleman thought that burglar was the one who scared Sarah last night and that the city was all of a sudden under some violent threat. Has to be one of the most daft conclusions I have ever heard of.”

“You think Coleman did this?” Emily asked.

“If not him alone, then at least in part,” Richard confirmed. “He certainly is not unhappy about today’s events.”

“But can you do anything about it,” Emily continued to ask her father.

“I’m trying, but I do not know what can be done,” he answered. “We shall see. Good Lord, have you been crying?” Richard took three steps toward his daughter and tried to look her face over.

“And why is it so dark in here?” he asked. “Shouldn’t the curtains be pulled at this point in the morning?”

A nervous servant waited for her instructions but then proceeded to open the curtains when Emily did not object.

“You have been crying,” Richard said. “What on earth for? Is there something you are not telling me?”

Emily looked away and had to think quickly. “I’m,” she started, “I am just upset at what I saw. I am worried about you.”

“Don’t worry about me my dear,” Richard said. “I will all right. You need to take care of yourself first. You will be around a lot longer than I will.”

Emily nodded and bowed her head. She was unsure if she had sold her father on her condition. Either way, she was glad when he went in a different direction because she did not think that she could come up with anything else to say about her crying.

“Emily,” Richard said as he took her hand. He sat down and brought her in his arms on the stool beside him. “I need you to help me now though.”

“Whatever I can do to help father, of course,” she said. Emily asked the servants to leave the room. When they were finally gone, she turned to her father and asked, “What do you need? You do not need to ask me. Just tell me.”

Richard looked at his daughter wearily and asked, “I need you to tell me everything you know about your husband…about Coleman.”

Emily’s eyes shot wide open, at first out of surprise but then she could hardly contain her excitement. “Oh father, I know nothing of his affairs,” she teased.

“But I need to know all you have to offer,” Richard said. He moved to a chair across from her and sat down. He then proceeded to ask Emily questions, which she dutifully answered. While her night may have been one to forget, her day was beginning to look much more promising.

*******

The fighting in the street had turned to a slow burning ember in the street by late afternoon. Willie saw two of the bullies, among many others; being hauled off to jail by the constable’s men and most had ceased fighting. With little action to occupy him, Willie decided to go to the bedroom to see what was going on there.

Without saying much, his sisters followed him, but were careful to let him lead the way. When the group reached the door, Willie paused. He was unsure if he wanted to go into the room. His mother had specifically told him to stay where he was, and it seemed that this order was less of a stern one than a plea of some sorts. But his sisters prodded him to open the door and encouraged him to go inside. Finally, he did. His mother and David did not notice him standing in the doorway at first, so he continued to stand there and look about. There were red sheets, soiled with blood, all around and his father’s limp body rested on the bed. He could see that David’s face was bruised but not as much as he expected it to be. His mother’s back was turned to him and so he could not see her expression. Her back also blocked his view of his father’s face. Willie moved a step to the left to see if he could see around his mother. From there he was able to see the top of his father’s head, and it was bloodied and red. But his head was also moving. Willie managed a smile. But as he stepped closer to the bed, his mother turned around and saw the children standing there. She immediately jumped up and began yelling at the children, trying to usher them out of the room. When she did move, Willie was able to catch a glimpse of his father’s face; it was as blue as a mussel shell and would have been more so if not for the lumps of black and streaks of red that ran across his face. A tear ran down Willie’s cheek, and he started to sniff his running nose. Christopher noticed this and looked at William and smiled. There was little comfort in Willie from that smile, but he exited the room knowing his father was alive.