Chapter 12 - A RETURN TO SANCTUARY
When they returned to the Beacon Hill estate,
the snow was still falling in thick,
silent flakes.
Mrs.
Gable met them at the grand double doors with a warm look of relief.
“The young lady is still sleeping peacefully upstairs in the blue guest suite,
” Mrs.
Gable reported softly.
Emma let out a long breath she didn't realize she had been holding.
“Thank God,
” Emma murmured,
sinking into a plush velvet chair in the hallway.
Nathaniel walked over to the liquor cabinet,
pouring two glasses of amber whiskey before handing one to Emma.
“Drink this,
” Nathaniel instructed gently.
“You need to calm your nerves.
”
Emma took a small sip,
the burning liquid warming her throat and steadying her shaking hands.
“I never imagined my birthday would look like this,
” Nathaniel said,
sitting down in the chair across from her.
“Neither did I,
” Emma smiled faintly.
“Most of my birthdays involve cheap boxed wine and burnt cupcakes.
”
“That ends tonight,
” Nathaniel said with absolute finality.
“From now on,
whatever you and Maisie need,
you have.
”
“I don't need your money,
Nathaniel,
” Emma said,
using his first name for the very first time.
“I know you don't,
” Nathaniel replied quietly.
“That’s why I’m offering you something money can't buy.
”
“What’s that?”
“Protection,
loyalty,
and a place where you never have to fight the world alone again.
”
Emma looked into his eyes,
seeing the quiet sincerity of a man who had conquered empires but had never known true love.
“Why me?” Emma asked softly.
“In a city full of socialites and powerful women,
why fixate on a broke single mother from South Boston?”
“Because you didn't look at my suit,
or my bank account,
or my reputation,
” Nathaniel answered without hesitation.
“You saw a lonely man on his birthday,
May you like
and you told your daughter to share her chair.
”
