Once Bound Always Bound

Chapter 6

Alistair was taken back by Emmeline's question. No one has ever cared enough to inquire about Alistair and his complicated relationship with his father. Yet, here was a sweet and innocent woman, asking him the very question that he wished many others would have taken the time to ask him.

"Is this some sort of sick trick that you are trying to pull on me; to try and gain my trust so that way you can betray me later on," Alistair asked trying to keep control over his anger.

Emmeline gently placed a hand on Alistair's cheek in a reassuring manner. "I would never do anything to betray your trust. I know I wasn't too happy when I found out about you wanting me to be your next wife. But I can't help but feel sorry for the way that your father speaks to you. Has your father always treated you in this manner before your mother's death?"

"When my mother was alive, my father barely paid any attention to me. He was always focused on finding ways to increase his wealth. But after my mother's death, my father had blamed me. He said that my mother died because I was practicing dark magic, which robbed my mother of her life; and that she died disappointed in me that I would go down such a dark path," Alistair said.

"Do you practice dark magic," Emmeline asked.

"Of course not my sweet. Why would I practice black magic? If I do something like that, I run the risk of losing you as my wife. I don't want to run the risk of my father saying that he was right about me, being a disappointment, and that I'm not good enough to marry you. I'm trying my best to correct the error of my ways for my first four wives, not being good enough to take on the Crump last name," Alistair said.

"And what makes you think that I am worthy of taking on the last name of Crump? What gives you the impression that I am worthy," Emmeline asked while staring into Alistair's beautiful blue eyes.

"I can tell that you are nothing like the other three women that I was married to. All they were worried about was gaining the Crump fortune. They made it clear that was all they wanted when they would always go out on their little shopping sprees, getting only the best of the best if you will. Not once did they care about whether or not, if I was interested in going with them. Which always annoyed my father beyond belief. It always annoyed my father that all of my ex-wives would go and spend all of the hard-earned money that he worked so hard to make. But I know that by marrying you, it would make up for all the other marriages that were nothing but failures," Alistair said.

"They weren't failures. They were lessons that you learned from. I will go through with this marriage as long as I don't suffer from the same fate as all of your other wives. Treat me right and I will be a good wife to you," Emmeline promised.

"You have nothing to worry about. I will keep you safe and I will cherish you the way that you deserve. I only ask that you trust me and don't question me, should something appear off," Alistair said.

"I will keep to my own business and won't question you and all that you do in the privacy of your study," Emmeline said.

Alistair smiled at Emmeline. "I am making the right choice marrying you. I also have no intention of letting you go my sweet."

Parker sat in the pub at his usual table having a drink, waiting to hear the sound of his sister's voice entering the pub, calling out his name to help her find him.

Parker was growing annoyed that his sister was keeping him waiting longer than he normally does, when she comes to meet him.

I will wait another five minutes. If I don't see her walk through that door, I will make my way to the house where she told me that she was living. Even though I warned her not to go and mess around with that Crump guy. I told her something was off about him. I told her that there was something dark about him. Just hearing his name is enough to send chills down anyone's spine who hears his name. But Margaret is always a headstrong woman who was determined to gain wealth without having to work hard for it. She also refused to settle for a man of our status. Anne always had her eye on the only child of the Crump family, Parker thought to himself before being broken out of his thoughts when Margaret's personal maid, Odelia sat down across from him.