Page 9 of The Hellion and the Captain
“We shall have to go look,” Lily said. “Let’s head up to the attic. He has some trunks of his old things up there.”
“Perfect.”
Emmaline followed Lily out of the room and up the stairs. “I have another favor to ask.”
Lily looked over her shoulder with a brow raised. “Yes?”
“Please do not say anything about this to Colin.”
“Oh, Emmaline.”
“I know. You tell him everything, you love him, all of that. But Lily, if he finds out, he will not want me to play.”
“He won’t, but not because he has any objection to women playing. He would not want to see you get hurt.”
“Football is not wrestling.”
“Sometimes it might as well be. You know that as well as I.”
“Be that as it may, if I must be built with such strong shoulders and hips, I might as well put them to good use.”
Lily stopped at the top of the attic stairs, finally turning around to look at Emmaline.
“I will make you a deal.”
“Let’s hear it.”
“I will not tell Colin what you are doing, even though it is against my better judgment, for I believe it would help to have someone watching out for you.”
“But?”
“If he ever asks me directly, I will not lie to him.”
Emmaline paused, tapping her finger against her lip as she stared at Lily, who stared back at her in supplication. Emmaline knew she was putting her in a difficult position, even though she had been friends with Lily for years before she had even met Colin.
But if this was all Lily asked of her, she could see no reason to refuse.
“Of course,” she finally said. “Now, where is that trunk?”
Lily led her across the room to a wooden chest in the corner. She lifted the lid, revealing a mountain of clothing within.
“Take your pick,” she said, waving her hand before them.
They spent the next couple of hours rifling through the clothing within two trunks, finding a few pairs of trousers and shirts that Colin must have worn in his youth.
Emmaline held them up in front of her, frowning. “I think they are still a tad too big.”
“We can alter them,” Lily said. “Mrs. O’Connor will help.”
“You want to tell her?” Emmaline said, wrinkling her nose. “I know how much you trust her, but the more people who know about this, the greater the chance of the secret emerging.”
“I understand what you are saying, but who else do you know who could alter clothing? The only other person would be Colin’s sister, and we certainly cannot ask her as there is a good chance she would say something to Colin,” Lily pointed out. “You would have to leave this part of the city to find a seamstress elsewhere. Someone who would keep your secret.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Emmaline admitted. She held up an entire outfit in front of her. “Just picture this one as me, my hair tucked into a cap, my freckles covered with makeup, my brows darkened, stubble over my chin. You would never recognize me!”
“I would always recognize you, Emmaline.”
“Well, you would be part of a select group of people,” she conceded. “Likely you and my mother, to be exact.”
