Angel’s Promise by Aleatha Romig

Emma

“Open the door,” Rett said with a tilt of his chin as he retrieved his phone from his inside suit pocket.

Instead of doing as he said, I stilled, trying to read his expression as he looked down at the screen. Dread twisted my stomach as my pulse sounded in my ears. “It’s not too late, is it?” I was asking about Kyle and Liam.

“No.” His head shook as he sent a text message.

I wanted more information than one word, but I knew I wouldn’t be getting it now. No was enough. Kyle and Liam would make it another day. Stopping at the double doors, I turned back as Rett slipped his phone into the breast pocket of his tuxedo jacket. “When you saved me...”

“Emma, Kyle lied. You know that in your heart. You know I wouldn’t...” His head shook. “You know that isn’t possible. Look inside your heart.”

My heart.

Seeing Kyle and Liam, looking at Rett, I wondered what my heart believed and what my mind believed. Liam had been the last man I’d given my heart to. He was also the first. I shared more than my heart with him. We were young and I’d believed that we were in love, sneaking around so Kyle and Greyson wouldn’t know. After all, Liam was the oldest, and I was the little sister.

Sister.

Kyle said our mother when he referred to Jezebel.

My heart was as confused as my head.

“Emma,” Rett was now beside me. His palms came to my cheeks and his lips brushed my forehead. “Tell me that you trust me.”

“I want to, Rett.”

“Then open the door. Sign your name and be my wife. We’ll work the rest out.” His tone lowered. “They will both live another day because of you. One day, I won’t spare them. His men took you. They...” The cords in his neck grew taut. “The people responsible at all levels for that will pay. Just not today.”

“I have so many unanswered questions.”

“Do you trust me? I trust you with my name and to sleep beside me.”

Swallowing, I nodded. “At this moment, yes.”

Reaching for the doorknobs, I made the decision to believe the handsome man at my side. Liam had left me when I needed him. Kyle lied about being dead. As I stared up into Rett’s dark gaze, I knew I wanted to trust him, to believe him, to fulfill my promise to him.

When I opened the doors, Judge McBride, Ian, and Miss Guidry were front and center. “I apologize for the delay,” I said as I motioned for them to join Rett and me. “I’m ready to sign the certificate.”

“Praise be,” Miss Guidry exclaimed as she clasped her hands together.

The judge, our witnesses, and the man about to be my husband followed me to the antique console table as I reached for the pen. Rett’s other men continued to enter, taking their respective places. I stared down at the document. Under the title of bride read my name, the one I’d always used: Emma Leigh O’Brien. Gripping the pen, I hesitated. “Do I sign my maiden name?”

“Once you sign as Emma Ramses, your marriage is official,” Judge McBride said.

For a moment I considered what I’d said earlier to Rett, that maybe I wouldn’t change my name. It took only a glance at the man watching me with his intense stare to know that the battle to retain O’Brien or take on North wasn’t one I was willing to fight at this juncture. There were too many other matters at hand.

As I formed the letters, the swirl at the top of my E and an eloquent L, I realized I’d never written the name Ramses. It was an odd thought, but one that hit me, nonetheless. I forced my hand to keep moving, spelling out my new last name.

When I was younger, much like other girls my age, I would doodle names, such as mine with other last names. I’d spent many years imagining that I’d leave O’Brien behind and become Ingalls. Never before this moment had I considered that my name would change to something altogether different.

Placing the pen next to the document, Judge McBride came forward and added his signature as the officiant. He turned to the room. “Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Ramses.” He looked to Rett. “I will file this first thing in the morning with the court; however, not to worry” —he removed his phone from his inner coat pocket and clicked a picture of the document— “for I’ll send this via email to my secretary, and as of” —he read the time stamp— “this evening at 8:14 p.m., you are officially and legally married.” He folded the certificate and placed it in his inside breast pocket.

Rett offered the judge his hand. “Thank you, Raymond. The dinner offer still stands.”

The judge shook his head. “I believe you’ve had enough visitors for one night.”

With my hand in my husband’s, we escorted the judge to the front door. “Thank you again,” I said as he stepped through the threshold onto the front steps.

“It was very nice to meet you, Mrs. Ramses.”

Hearing my new title from his lips caused my cheeks to rise. Despite the turmoil, Rett and I were married.

“Everett, could I have a word?” the judge asked.

Rett released my hand. “I’ll be a minute.” He stepped out onto the front steps, closing the large doors behind them.

When I turned back to the foyer, I stood for a moment staring at my surroundings. I’d lived in this home for over a month, and yet I was seeing much of it for the first time. My gaze went up the grand staircase to the stained-glass window at the landing. There were so many unanswered questions swirling through my mind as I stared at the Ramses family crest. It was as Miss Guidry appeared that I realized we were alone. Rett’s men had disappeared.

Where did they go?

“Mrs. Ramses,” Miss Guidry said with a smile, refocusing my attention. “Mr. Ramses asked for your dinner to be served in the courtyard.”

“Will you and Ian join us?” I wasn’t sure what prompted the question, but since they’d both been involved in the wedding, it seemed appropriate.

“Oh no, ma’am, that wouldn’t be right. Tonight is about celebrating.”

I let out a long breath. “Is it? Did we do the right thing?”

Miss Guidry reached for my hands as her hazel gaze came my way. “Mrs. Ramses—”

“Emma,” I interrupted.

“Miss Emma,” she said with a nod, “you must believe in your heart you did what was right, always believe that.”

It didn’t go unnoticed that Rett and Miss Guidry both mentioned my heart when Rett and I had specifically stated this wasn’t about love.

“Being Mrs. Ramses,” she continued, “comes with responsibilities. Miss Marilyn didn’t fully understand the weight of her responsibility. I believe that was because Mr. Abraham chose to keep things to himself. Mr. Ramses, your Mr. Ramses...”

My Mr. Ramses.

“...didn’t marry a woman like Miss Marilyn.”

“Is that bad?”

“No, child, it’s the answer to prayers.” Miss Guidry squeezed my fingers as she looked down at the rings and back up. “Times were different back then. Mr. Abraham had Mr. Boudreau to carry some of the load that is New Orleans. Their relationship wasn’t always contentious.” She shook her head and peered back up. “I’ve watched Mr. Ramses through the years, how he now carries that same burden alone. Don’t think that he’ll include you in his plans, but that’s no never mind. You are included. You are here for a reason.” She grinned. “The spirits are rejoicing. You see, you are the combination of your momma and your father.”

Rett had said that I was the daughter of a king and a whore.

“I want to meet her.”

Miss Guidry stood taller—her whole five feet nothing—as her smile faded. “She wants that, Miss Emma. She does, never doubt that. But first, I’d be right pleased and so would Miss Marilyn if you’d concentrate on him.” She lifted her chin toward the front doors. Rett’s silhouette showed through the leaded glass. “He needs you more than you know, more than he knows. Prayers from the spirits brought you here to us and to him. Not only those of Miss Marilyn, but Miss Delphine also. You see, it took them some time to find common ground, but in you, they have it. You are the answer to their prayers, and they know you won’t let them down.”

“Miss Delphine?” I questioned, having never heard the name before.

“She would be Mr. Ramses’s grandmother.”

“Miss Marilyn’s mother?”

“No, her mother-in-law.”

I nodded, remembering Miss Guidry mentioning her earlier, just not by her first name.

“I don’t understand what they want from me.”

“They want what they aren’t able to accomplish. They believe in your promise.”

“My promise?”

Miss Guidry grinned, small lines appearing at the edge of her hazel eyes. “Miss Emma, they have entrusted you with their most cherished treasure.”

I looked down at my hand as my mind went through the different pieces of jewelry that had come my way over the last month: the rings on my fingers, diamonds in my ears, and the ruby and diamond necklace.

She lifted my hands. “No, Miss Emma. Their treasure isn’t a piece of jewelry, money in the bank, or even this home. What they treasure above everything is now yours to keep safe.”

The door to our side clicked as the doorknob moved.

“Do you mean Rett?”

Miss Guidry nodded.

“And what does my mother want?” I asked.

Before Miss Guidry could answer, the door opened and Rett entered, his brown orbs moving from me to Miss Guidry and back. Instead of addressing our conversation, he offered his arm to me. “Dinner, Mrs. Ramses.”

Miss Guidry released my hands as I laid one on Rett’s arm and together we walked beyond the staircase back out to the courtyard. Two of the men who had disappeared earlier, reappeared at the threshold, opening the doors as we stepped back under the lights and stars. As we continued along the pebblestone walkway, I asked, “Are there guards at each entrance?”

Rett patted my hand. “Neither Kyle nor his men will ever enter this house again. You can take my word. I promised you that you would be safe. You are.”

I was.

Was I also captive?

It wasn’t a thought I wanted to entertain on the evening of my wedding, but it was there.

As Rett pulled back the chair at the table near the fountain, he lowered his lips to my ear. “You’re striking tonight, the most beautiful of brides.”

His compliment returned warmth to my skin as I tucked the long skirt around me and sat. His next statement made me grin.

“I can’t wait to get you out of that dress.”

He took the seat across from me.

“Is everything all right with the judge?” I asked.

Rett shook his head. “That isn’t your concern.”

I looked from side to side and leaned forward. “We’re alone, Rett. You promised.”

“Yes, my dear, everything is all right. I assured him that nothing he witnessed was factual. He asked if tomorrow he’d be questioned regarding the unexpected meeting.”

“Why—?”

The word barely left my lips before I knew the answer: Kyle and Liam.

“And you said...?”

“I told him the same as I promised you, Emma. They will live to see tomorrow.”

We turned at the sound of doors opening and a cart coming our direction. Ian and Miss Guidry were both present, complete with a silver ice bucket and a bottle of champagne. Once two glasses were poured, Rett lifted his to mine. “To fulfilling promises.”

That shouldn’t be a daunting toast, but I couldn’t help but think about the conversation I’d only recently had with the older lady still at our side. My gaze went to her and back to Rett as I too lifted my glass.

As the bubbling liquid glistened under the lights of the courtyard, I realized that the toast Rett had offered wasn’t only for me. The handsome man staring now, focused solely on me, also had made promises.

Our glasses clinked. “To promises.”