Honor or Emily

cthia wrote:I never got the impression Hamish ever wanted to leave Emily. He loved her, text made that clear. I don't think he would have wanted to leave her even if she had rejected Honor.

I don't think anyone doubts that Hamish loved Emily and wanted to stay with her. The problem is that he loves Honor and wants to be with her too. And what he'd do if he wasn't allowed to have both.

Emily in [i]War of Honor[i] explains that while he would partake of the courtesans, he didn't love them and would always return to his wife.

She appears to infer that if he did find somebody new that he loved, it would be game over for her.

It possible that she thought that if she didn't allow the affair/marriage, Hamish would have left her and she'd end up spending the rest of her life alone.

cthia wrote:I never got the impression Hamish ever wanted to leave Emily. He loved her, text made that clear. I don't think he would have wanted to leave her even if she had rejected Honor.

MC1560 wrote:I don't think anyone doubts that Hamish loved Emily and wanted to stay with her. The problem is that he loves Honor and wants to be with her too. And what he'd do if he wasn't allowed to have both.

Emily in War of Honor explains that while he would partake of the courtesans, he didn't love them and would always return to his wife.

She appears to infer that if he did find somebody new that he loved, it would be game over for her.

It possible that she thought that if she didn't allow the affair/marriage, Hamish would have left her and she'd end up spending the rest of her life alone.

You are free to believe that it could be "game over" for her. Also you can make whatever you want of the fact that the physical relationship between Honor and Hamish only began at her instigation. I chose to believe that Emily's relationship with Samantha caused her recognition of the pain everyone was experiencing and then her acceptance of a plural relationship.