CHAPTER SONG: "A Time For Us" (also known as 'What Is a Youth?' or the Love Theme from Franco Zeffirelli's 'Romeo & Juliet', 1968) by Nino Rota
"Now arriving at Waterloo station! Please mind the doors until the train has come to a complete stop." The conductor's voice rang out to be heard above the train's shrill whistle as the wheels beneath the locomotive started to screech to a stop against the track rails.
Emmanuelle and William stood in one of the exiting compartments on the train, their luggage in hand as they awaited the train to come to a stop. Emmy couldn't help but look in wonder out the train window at the approaching station where their trip was to come to a short halt. As the locomotive slowed, she witnessed numerous people walking along the station platform, mostly women, children and other soldiers waiting to board the train themselves on their way to the front.
Her heart felt a lurch of pain at the sight of the many women embracing their male relatives, be they brothers, cousins, lovers or husbands before being separated from them for weeks or months at a time. She unconsciously reached out for Will's hand to remind herself that he was here with her and they were both going to a safe location.
Will turned to look at her as she continued looking out the window, her eyes focused on the people outside. Her other hand that wasn't holding his reached up to fix her hair that still remained down with some of her glorious mahogany strands tied into a bun at the back of her head, giving him an impression of a lovely heroine come to life from a Jane Austen novel.
Alas, Elizabeth Bennett was merely words on a page. Emmanuelle Hunterson was intelligence in beauty's mask, fire and kindness in a flesh and blood five foot one woman, ever perfect in her uncertainty and pensive attitude. He could sense her insecurity, and almost hear the words within her mind as she argued with herself about her appearance and how she would look beside him as a Corporal's lady and she wanted to look like she belonged at his side.
It both fascinated and irked him how oblivious and in denial she was of her radiance...
She had set her suitcase down at the floor by her feet as she looked at her reflection in the window and ran her fingers through her brunette hair, trying to make sure no random strands were sticking out. Emmy sighed to herself as she pushed her voluminous hair completely behind her shoulders, allowing the dark chocolate tresses to flow down her back...
"Hopeless." She muttered as she gave up and picked up her suitcase, holding herself steady as the train came to a total stop. The flustered American woman looked up at her soldier, handsome as ever in his crisp brown uniform and parade cap, like a poster boy for British war propaganda, his blue eyes locked on her with concern.
"Emmy, my darling." His scarred hand took ahold of hers and he brought it to his lips, allowing him to kiss her knuckles and fingertips with such reverence, he might as well have been presenting such a gesture to the Queen Mary. "Don't fret so. You look so beautiful; the women outside do not compare to you, I guarantee it. My heart beats with passion for only you, my angel."
William released her hand and allowed for both of his own hands to cup her face, his thumbs caressing her blossom pink cheeks as unshed tears watered her green eyes and she rapidly blinked them away. She sniffled as she looked up at her sky blue-eyed hero and she resigned herself to his words of genuine comfort. She choked out a whisper. "Thank you, Will."
He leaned down and placed a most gentle kiss on her soft rosebud lips, displaying such love for her in a second long display of chaste affection, his thumb tracing the outline of her sweet mouth. However brief their kiss was, Emmy found herself wanting more as he pulled away and the train came to a complete stop, the conductor walking past them to stand by the door and wait to allow the passengers to step outside.
"This is it, Emmanuelle. Are you ready to conquer twentieth century London, love?" William softly murmured to her as he grasped her hand, a humorous spark in his eye as he slyly referenced her being from another time.
"Hell, yes!" Emmy found herself smiling with excitement and anxiety as she squeezed Will's hand in return.
The lance corporal felt his heart bursting with amazement toward her as he looked at her smile and she gathered her courage and her readiness to face whatever lay ahead of them together. Good Lord, how badly he wanted to take her back into his stateroom and kiss her everywhere she wanted him to... do anything she said to make her smile like that forever...
How could she not know how entrancing she was...?
Both the American brunette woman and her valiant English soldier focused their attention on the opening train doors, the train smoke flying through the air as they clutched their suitcases with one hand, the other grasping onto the other's hand to stay together.
William was the first to step down onto the boarding platform of Waterloo station, placing his suitcase down by his feet so he could aid Emmy to step down carefully with her injured leg. After setting her own baggage down by his own cases, he gestured for her to place her hands on his shoulders and he lifted her up off her feet, slowly turning around to set her onto the platform to ensure she wouldn't fall and hurt herself.
Emmy could feel curious eyes on her from passerby as William set her onto the ground, but she ignored all of them, knowing they would only be here for a short time before the express to take them to Surrey would arrive for the endpoint of their journey.
"Are you alright, Emmy?" William concernedly asked her as she gathered up her luggage. "Let me know if your leg is still in pain. I can see about borrowing a wheelchair or having our kit looked after if you want me to carry you."
"Will, I'll be okay. I'm barely noticing it now. Besides, I don't wanna cause a scene, looking like a helpless damsel in distress, needing to be carried around all the time. Not that I'm ungrateful for everything you've done for me..." She trailed off, reaching up to his forehead and brushing invisible strands of his brown hair under his hat before moving her hand to his cheek.
"I understand, my love. I know you cherish your independence." William gently removed her hand from his cheek, his lips brushing the strong pulse under the skin of her wrist. "And one of the wonderful qualities about you that I've come to adore and wouldn't change at all."
Emmy smiled brightly up at her soldier, stepping on her tiptoes to kiss him in a passionate locking of lips that he returned with full force, his arms around her waist to hold her close, not caring they were in public...
They pulled apart after a few moments, softly gasping for breath and Will found himself smiling as well. Something he hadn't done while away from the front for so long... and all because of the amazing woman standing before him.
Dare he say he felt happiness again?
His train of thought again was interrupted by Emmy again reaching up for another kiss to his lips before she turned her head at the sound of another voice calling out through the air amidst the chaos of the trains' whistling and engines rumbling and people milling around them.
"Ice cream! Get your fresh and ready ice cream here!" A nearby vendor called out to the passerby around him, beckoning for customers to purchase one of his dairy made delicacies.
Emmy's deprived sweet tooth immediately took over her common sense as she grabbed up her suitcase in one hand, using the other to latch onto Will's arm and pull him toward the vendor's stand, similar to an overeager child dragging their parents over to a candy store.
"Afternoon, miss. Would the pretty lady like an ice cream?" The vendor good-naturedly asked Emmy as she locked eyes on the flavors in the large container. Will remained silent, admiring her enthusiasm at the confections at her disposal. His hands reached into his uniform pocket containing his sixpence coins in preparation to purchase a cone for her.
Hell, he'd offer to buy the whole stand if it made her as joyful as she was in that moment...
Emmy looked back to Will as he pulled out some coins, the soldier softly smiling down at her in encouragement, his heart brimming with warmth at the sight of her delightful aura, the rosy blush in her cheeks only adding to her angelic glow.
What he would give to see her as happy for the rest of her days after the hell she had endured to get to this point...
"Yes, please. I'd like a chocolate cone, thank you!" She clapped her hands in ecstasy as an uncharacteristic giggle emanated from her lips and she pressed her hands to her mouth to silence herself and keep her composure.
"Right away, miss. It'll be my pleasure to make it for you." The vendor met her eyes with a kind expression before concentrating on the cone in his hand and scooping up a selection of chocolate flavor.
Emmy felt Will standing right behind her as she leaned against his chest. His arm briefly wrapped around her collarbone and he pressed his lips to her flushed scarlet cheek in a sweet kiss of restrained romantic display considering they were in public.
"Would you like a cone as well, sir?" The vendor asked William who towered behind Emmy's short stature.
"No thank you, sir; just one for this lovely woman who possesses my heart." William felt a burst of pride swell through his body as her head turned to meet his eyes at his admitting of his affection for her for the first time back in his homeland of Britain.
"And here we are. One chocolate cone for the lady." The vendor reached over from his side of the stand and handed over the napkin wrapped cone to Emmy who carefully took it into her hand so it wouldn't spill over the ground. "That'll be one sixpence, sir."
William unwound his arm from around Emmy so he could pay the vendor for her treat. She turned to the vendor with a grateful grin on her face. "Thank you so much, sir. You should be very proud."
"You're very welcome, miss. You have a safe journey on your travels." The vendor smiled back at her before turning to William for payment.
Emmy walked a few feet away from the stand as Will gave a sixpence to the vendor and set her suitcase by her feet. Her mouth watered in anticipation of tasting heavenly ice cream for the first time in what seemed forever...
As she was about to raise the chocolate lump of dairy sweetness to her lips, she noticed an older blonde woman around in her mid-thirties and a little boy with similar hair color, around six or seven years old, standing to the side of the ice cream stand. The boy was holding onto his mother's hand and Emmy could see on her face that she was exhausted and Emmy watched as she looked at the boy staring pointedly at the stand.
"Mummy! Can we please get an ice cream? Please?" The boy asked his mother in an adorably small voice and Emmy's heart went out to the child.
"Darling, I told you. We have to save every bit your father sends us. There's barely enough food at home to last us the week." The mother went down to her knees in front of her son, her hands on his shoulders as though to comfort him. "If I had the money with me now, I'd give you one, you know that."
Emmy looked at the delectable chocolate cone in her hands and she suddenly found herself approaching the both of them. She felt William's vigilant eyes surveying her and she felt safe under his protective gaze even though there was no danger present.
"Excuse me, ma'am." She spoke to the mother who turned to meet her and she stood to her feet, pulling her boy into her side. Emmy didn't blame her for doing so, a stranger randomly coming up to them. A mother protecting her child... "I couldn't help overhear that he wanted an ice cream. I haven't eaten this yet and I'd be glad to give him mine."
Emmy held out the cone that was slowly beginning to drip over the sides, but she bundled it up into the additional napkins the vendor had given her to avoid making a mess. The little boy partially hid himself behind his mother's skirt.
"I...I appreciate it, miss, but I don't wanna take away your treat that your gentleman bought for you." The weary faced woman lovingly mussed her son's hair, who began slightly peeking out at Emmy from behind his mother.
"It's alright. It's not a big deal. A child's happiness should be a priority nowadays." The American woman smiled gently at the mother, and held out her hand. "I'm Emmanuelle. My friends call me Emmy."
The English mother hesitated a little before holding out her own hand to the younger girl. "I'm Maude. And this little one is Conrad; just turned six years old."
Emmy looked down at the boy who stood aside from behind his mother, and shared a friendly handshake with the older woman with a surprising ease. "It's very nice to meet the both of you."
"You...you're very pretty, miss." Conrad softly murmured to her, shyly glancing down at the ground to avert her eyes.
Emmy smiled at him as she knelt down to meet his level, the cone still in her grip. "Thank you, Conrad. You're a very handsome and polite young man."
Conrad lifted his gaze up to meet her eyes, a smile playing at the corner of his lips as he stood in full view of the woman becoming acquainted with his mother. His small hands reached out towards Emmy to shake her own hand as well, his eyes focused on the cone she was holding.
"Would you like to have my ice cream cone for being a nice boy? You have to promise to be good for your mom and listen to everything she says." Emmy negotiated with the child as his eyes shone with a spark of joy.
"Yes, yes please! Thank you, miss!" Conrad jumped up and down, smiling a toothy grin where Emmy could see has had lost his two front teeth recently. Before Maude or Emmy knew what happened, Conrad stepped up to the younger woman and his small arms were around her waist in a thankful embrace.
"Conrad." Maude protested before Emmy talked her down.
"It's okay. He's not hurting anything." She placed her free hand on the back of his head, gently patting his back. "He's just happy."
"I'm grateful, Miss Emmanuelle. A little kindness goes a long way nowadays. Are you sure we can't pay your husband back?" She nodded her head towards Will who stood nearby their luggage watching them and a smile graced his lips at the sight of the boy hugging her. Conrad unwound his arms from around Emmy and she bent down to him and handed him over the ice cream into his small grip, the overjoyed child instantly lapping it up with his tongue.
Emmy felt a thrilling shiver travel up her spine at the assumption of William being referred to as her husband. She opened her mouth to correct Maude, but she couldn't find the fortitude to say the words.
Lance Corporal Will Schofield...her husband... Could she ever imagine such a thing?
Before she could deliberate any further, she met Maude's questioning gaze and smiled most graciously. "That's not necessary, please. Just think of it a gesture of decency in this crazy world. You've got a nice little boy here, and he'll grow into a good man, I'm sure."
"He's a handful, that's for sure. But it's a blessing every minute since he was born." Maude leaned closer to lower her voice and she spoke again. "And I just found out we might be repeating that journey again."
Maude glanced down to her still flat stomach, placing a palm adoringly on her abdomen.
"That's wonderful! Congratulations." She whispered to keep her voice down.
Emmy turned to see Will double checking their luggage and he looked up as though sensing her glancing at him. He smiled at her with such love in his eyes, she couldn't help but blush like a schoolgirl, so unlike how she was in the era of 2020.
"The way he looks at you is how all women dream of their men-folk looking at them." Maude looked between Will and Emmy with a wistful glaze to her eyes. "That's how my Ben looked at me after we met and still does."
At her words, Emmy turned again to look at Will, who was talking to who seemed to be a fellow soldier from what she could judge by the uniform. Behind him, she could see numerous other soldiers in similar uniform to his readying to board the express, most of them just teenagers to young adults close to high school age. Her heart went out to them...
Her thoughts went to Joseph and she found herself suddenly missing him... Emmy made a note to herself to write him as soon as they got settled tonight in Surrey.
"I should probably get going. Our train to Surrey should be here soon." Emmy shook hands again with Maude which she returned with a friendly grip. She looked down at the little boy finishing his ice cream, his lips covered in chocolate. "It was lovely to meet you, Conrad. You look after your mom, okay?"
"Yes, I will, Miss Emmy. And thank you for the ice cream." He began munching on the cone itself as he thanked her and she couldn't help but smile at the sight of him so happy.
"You're very welcome, young man. And it was so nice to meet you, Maude." Emmy squeezed Maude's hands in a friendly departure, the older woman smiling brightly in return as the younger woman turned away and started to walk towards Will with an extra skip to her step, as though the pain in her leg had completely healed.
And about time too...
"Both of you have safe travels!" Maude called to Emmy, the brunette woman turning once more to smile and wave back at the mother and son before they turned away and walked in the opposite direction toward the platform exit.
William gathered up both his and Emmy's suitcases with his good hand, his scarred hand reaching out to take Emmy's hand, his fingertips intertwining with her own previously injured digits of her ring finger and pinky. He held her hand up to his lips and he kissed both of her disfigured fingers, his cerulean eyes glowing with the truest love for the petite woman standing before him.
He silently wondered if she was growing tired of him constantly kissing her hands, but he couldn't find the words to ask her. She would've said something by then if she was...
The romantic in him longed to throw aside the luggage and lift her into his arms and kiss her with enough passion to make the various couples around them locked in their own embraces be driven to distraction, but he knew Emmy would be embarrassed at such a display of affection around so many strangers.
So he settled with releasing her hand from his grasp and raising his own hand to stroke her blossom pink cheek. Tenderness and compassion radiating from her mere presence... His nose brushed hers, his forehead leaning down to her own as he lost himself in the green forest of her eyes. His fingertips caressed the roundness of her cheek, down to her jaw-line and her chin. His whisper breathed coolly against her face like a comforting breeze. "My Emmy...words cannot express my amazement at your kindness... your goodness toward others."
"I wasn't always that kind back where I'm from, if I'm to be honest, Will. But it's always felt good when I've had the chance to help other people." Emmy found herself confessing to him before she could before she could stop herself. "I was a pretty bitter person before I came here considering...everything that's happened."
She felt terrible for casting a cloud of foreboding on the romantic moment between them. She had to open her stupid mouth and ruin everything!
Will leaned back from her, still keeping his hand gently upon her face as though to comfort her. Not finding the right words at the moment, he set the baggage down at his side and took her into his arms in a protective embrace, sensing that her memories were overwhelming his sweet Emmanuelle. He heard her sniffle as she leaned her head against his chest. His scarred hand stroked along her hair, his fingers reveling in the long chocolate waterfall waving in tendrils down her back. He kissed the top of her head as he listened to her inhale the aroma of his pinewood cologne and faint tobacco ash permeating his uniform.
They stood together locked in each other's arms, the chaos of the train station fading into oblivion around them... In that moment, nothing mattered except making sure the other was alright.
Then, a piercing whistle and rumble of an approaching engine shattered their bubble around the American woman and her Lance Corporal and he carefully clasped his large hands onto her shoulders as though to gain her attention. The voice of a high pitched male station train announcer rang out around them. "Afternoon express to Surrey, all aboard! Have your tickets ready!"
"The train's here, my love. We need to get going." Will bent down and grabbed up both of their suitcases with his good hand, briefly stroking her cheek again with his scarred palm. "We'll be home soon."
A shiver of bliss flowed through Emmy's bloodstream at the mention of the word "home"...
Could it be she truly belonged here with him? Had she truly found her destiny in her soldier's arms?
She would find out when she met Molly, Cecelia and Giselle Schofield-Satterthwaite, Will's older sister and two nieces, respectively. How she hoped they would like her...
Will took her hand within his own again and he placed another kiss to her knuckles as he led her to where they would wait for the oncoming train to stop and they would board...
And her new journey on the home front began...
.
.
Later That Night
Lieutenant Joseph Blake was having another damned dream the night before he was due to leave for home. He found himself both surprised and disappointed that this dream wasn't the one he'd had before about absconding with Emmanuelle Hunterson on the eve of her wedding by persuading her to elope with him instead of marrying Will Schofield.
Rather than finding himself in her dressing room as she wore her wedding gown, guiltily drinking in the heavenly vision of her, he was somewhere else. He was in the entryway lobby of the local Surrey village church, the sky outside pitch black of night, the rumble of ominous thunder in the air...
The whole lobby was dark except for a stream of golden light coming through the cracked open door. No sound after the peal of thunder except a haunting chorale organ wailing out a few single notes in a dirge. Joseph dared to open the door and the room nearly blinded him with the candlelight surrounding the area where the preacher's podium usually stood at the altar, except there was a white flat platform raised above the floor past all the pews.
There had to be over a hundred candles illuminating the entire room in their brilliance despite there being no other occupants within his sight. But Joseph wasn't able to appreciate the luminescence of the room when he focused on the raised platform centered in front of the empty pews.
The organ chorale faded into silence and the rain pattered on the roof and the thunder crashed outside.
Joseph took steps closer to the platform sided with candelabras and encircled with smaller candles, when he recognized the platform was actually a white bed, covered with pure cloud ivory linen sheets and matching pillows. Numerous flowers consisting of variously colored roses and poppies surrounded the bed...
Instead of a wedding, this was a funeral vigil...
And on the bed was a petite female form, motionless as death, clad in a lace dress to emphasize her purity and perfection, dark chocolate of her hair splayed on the pillowcase ...
The lieutenant was past the halfway point of the pews when he found the strength to speak.
"What the hell is this?" Joseph asked, not knowing if he'd receive a response in his own dream.
"This is her wake, Joe..." Tom's voice glumly explained, the words disembodied in the empty air, but the older man could hear the tears in his brother's voice. "She came back again from 2020 to settle into her new life here...and the time travel...it cost Emmy her life. It killed her ..."
"What in God's name?!" Joseph found himself seething at Thomas' words and he walked fully up to the altar where he could clearly see her body lying on the cot. Tears of anger and agonizing grief formed in his eyes... "Emmy..."
His normally dignified voice gasped out her name in a choked whisper that sounded loud enough to echo around the chamber walls. He saw her body in a more up close angle, right at her bedside...
He couldn't breathe...move...think...
Was this how Romeo felt when he found his beloved Juliet in her tomb?
Joseph knew the sight before him couldn't be described with enough justified accuracy by even the great Shakespeare... she even put Snow White and Sleeping Beauty to shame...
So beautiful even in death...
So peaceful as though she was only slumbering and floating into dreams of innocent fantasy...
Emmanuelle Hunterson lay on the bed, dressed in a plainly patterned white frock, stitched at the hem along her neckline with shapes of hearts. Her dainty hands placed on her stomach with her fingers entangled with his brother's rings along with one scarlet poppy and one blood red rose in her grasp. Her luscious tresses nearly covered both sides around her head, sprinkled with multiple colored flower petals. A wreath of cherry blossom that had meant to crown her bridal veil was placed along the top of her brow. On her bosom lay William's St Christopher medallion he had gifted to her. The lower half of her body was covered with an equally white sheet up to her waist.
This wasn't supposed to happen! She was meant to live... He could survive seeing her marry another man, exchange vows with the honorable Will Schofield as he stood by their side as the best man.
Not this...anything but this...
The normally stoic lieutenant found himself speaking to her, his heart breaking at her unresponsive state. "Most precious lady... my most treasured friend... how I hoped one day to bring you to my home and show you my mum's cherry orchard. You would love it. I can imagine the white petals raining down on your head like snowflakes... catching in your hair. Â All that splendor wouldn't hold a candle to your shining smile and musical laughter."
His hand tenderly reached out to the softness of her liquid chocolate hair before he withdrew it, his fingers itching to run through the touch of sheer heaven combined with the decoration of the blossom petals were it not for the veil placed over Emmanuelle.
Joseph attempted to choke back his coming sobs as he noticed that Tom's voice was absent from his subconscious, his entire body shaking with the effort to uphold his dignity for the woman he cherished in his aching heart. She deserved everything...
She needed to live...to marry whoever made her happy and fulfilled, even if it wasn't him.
Blinking back tears that flowed down his face anyway, Joseph reached out a shivering hand and delicately removed the thin gossamer veil that shielded her from dust and bugs. A veil that should've been for her dressed as a beaming beauteous bride...
Her bosom remained still with no drawing breath in her lungs, her eyelids closed in silent serenity, never to open again to grace him with those sparkling orbs of evergreen life... To glare at him with irritated stubbornness as she berated him like how she had back at the hospital. Her cheeks were still flushed with the blush of crimson as though her blood hadn't congealed in her veins, her candy pink lips resembling the sweetness of a budding flower about to bloom...
He would hear all the profanity words in the English language aimed at him if she was the one to shout them...
Joseph dared to reach out his trembling hand and trace along the gentle curve of her cheek...and his fingertips along the shape of her lips... awaiting a kiss...
But Joseph knew it was impossible. A simple kiss could not revive one back from the dead...
His next words hung on his lips, dangling and teasing on his tongue as he leaned over her beautiful inert form. A tear fell from each of his eyes and they splashed onto her closed eyelids...
"I love you, Emmanuelle." The forbidden words he vowed never to speak aloud. A reversed curse to break the spell...
One of his hands cradled both of Emmy's on her lap over the flowers and his other hand petted her silken hair surrounding her head. Not even the morbid cloud of death could make her beauty waste away...
He dared to lean down toward her lips and his eyes closed for the fateful touch to express his love...
He didn't see her eyelids twitching with movement...
His croaked voice broken from his sobs formed the words he whispered as a prelude to his final goodbye to her. "Thus with a kiss, I die."
Joseph's eyes shot open...and he bit back a scream of frustration and fear at the realization that the woman he loved was no longer within his reach until he realized it was only a dream.
He had no idea what was causing these dreams about Emmanuelle... As much as he missed her, he would sell his soul if it meant he wouldn't see her lying deceased in a coffin.
Her time traveling, he recalled Tom's words. The time traveling had killed her...
He had no doubt she wanted to return home despite her love for Will Schofield, but if the picture of her in a marriage ceremony gown was to predict anything...
He had lost Tom, his mother most likely didn't have much time left anymore with her sickly health... all he cared about after them was Emmanuelle...and if he had to witness a funeral for her rather than a wedding, he knew there would be no punishment in Hell suitable enough for the pain he would feel.
He prayed with all his soul that he would see her again soon in Surrey if anything to reassure himself that she was alive and healthy and protected from harm...
Her safety was his purpose. Her friendship was his salvation. Her love was his unspoken dream never to be reality.