“I know,” Sir Preston said. “And she could inherit it if you were dead. But because you are not dead, you will have to inherit the title or let it die.”
“Well, I don’t want that,” Myles said.
“I know that,” Sir Preston said. “I used to be a barrister, my boy, so I can tell you a few things that might help you. Regardless, I am reasonably sure you can retain the title while still giving her the land and most of the money.”
“But…” Myles said. “Getting the title requires marrying an English lady…”
“Yes,” Sir Preston said. “And what else?”
“Starting a family here,” Myles said.
“Well,” Sir Preston glanced between the two of them. “Who's to say that can’t apply to having a base here, in Britain, but travel the world and live in America?”
“Do you think?” Myles asked.
“Would you be open to me finding out?” Sir Preston asked and Myles nodded.
“Yes,” he said. “Yes, I would. Thank you.”
“Catherine…” Lady Emily said, noticing her friend was upset.
“I think I will retire for the evening,” Catherine said, and stood up to leave as well.
“Oh, please don’t…” Lady Emily said but it was too late. Catherine also left the room, leaving them alone with the baroness and the baron.
“Oh my,” Lady Emily said, turning to the remaining people in the room. “I am afraid this has not gone as planned.”
“Give her time,” the baroness said. “Everything will be all right.”
“What will be all right?” said a voice. They all spun around to see Edward standing there, with a perplexed smile on his face.
“Edward!” Lady Emily said. “When did you get here?”
“Apparently, not soon enough,” Edward said. “I walked in the door just as Catherine ran out, and she would not listen. She took a carriage, and on the way up, I saw Lord Reginald leaving as well. Was there some exciting fight that I missed?”
“Sort of,” Lady Emily said. “How are you feeling?”
“Much better,” Edward said and took a seat beside Sir Preston. “Sir.”
“Hello, Edward,” Sir Preston said. “Your timing, as always, is impeccable.”
“Of course,” Edward said, as he looked out at the table full of food. “Baron. Baroness. I hope you don’t mind me coming in like this.”
“Of course not,” the baron said, still looking perplexed. “You are always welcome, Edward.”
“So what exactly happened?” Edward asked.
“I decided to accept only half my inheritance,” Myles said. “And Catherine thought...we were courting. And then I proposed to Lady Emily, and she accepted, whether I get my title or not.”
“Oh,” Edward said, as he put the pieces together. “Yes, I understand why everyone was angry then.”
Lady Emily smirked.
“You always know what to say, Edward,” she said, and he smiled.
“I try,” he replied. “What are we going to do about it? We can’t have Catherine angry forever.”
“I think that you should be the person to fix it,” Lady Emily said, and Edward raised his eyebrow.
“Me?” he asked. “Why ever so?”
“Oh my,” the baroness said. “Even I know that you have the heart for Catherine.”
“Do I?” Edward smiled. “Is it that obvious?”
“Oh, this is perfect,” Lady Emily said. “And just what she needs right now.”
“Well, you are assuming that she is interested in me,” Edward said. “And that’s not necessarily the case.”
“Oh, it’s the case,” the baroness replied. Everyone turned to her, in surprise “You didn’t know that?”
“No,” Edward and Lady Emily replied at the same time.
“Well, yes,” the baroness said. “She has been considering you for quite a while, but she wasn’t sure that you were interested.”
“I’m not sure how she didn’t see that,” Lady Emily said. “And she never admitted it to me.”
“She realized it, here in London,” the baroness replied. “And she lamented choosing between Myles and Edward. But, since it seemed that you, Edward, were not interested, and Myles was…”
“Oh,” Edward said, and looked to Lady Emily. She held up her hands.
“I didn’t know,” she said. “But I admit...in the past, I have been...selfish, and not paid attention to Catherine’s feelings. I always talked about myself…and I apologize for that.”
“No need to apologize,” Edward said. “I should go and see her…” he paused. “I should eat, and then go and see her.”
“Please let me know what she says,” Lady Emily said. “I do not want to be at odds with my best friend. I need her at my wedding.”
“Well, this has certainly been an exciting evening,” the baron said. “Should we continue the dinner?”
“Yes,” Sir Preston agreed. “I will make sure to talk to some people, Myles, and figure out what we need to do. Do you think that Louisa will be disappointed?”
“I think…” Myles paused. “I think Louisa will understand that is what needs to be done. To be honest, she didn’t want the title as much as she just wanted to be able to survive. And I couldn’t bear to see her starving and cold. In America, we help our neighbours”
“We do not help our neighbours as much as we should,” Lady Emily said, as they finally settled down to consider eating. “I hope you are still agreeable to working on causes and charities?”
“Yes,” Myles said. “I think we were planning some great things, and we should continue with that.”
“Then I cannot wait for the future,” Lady Emily said.
After supper, when they had retired to the parlour, Lady Emily took her father aside.
“You will officially give your permission, won’t you?” she asked him. “Even if Myles does not get a title?”
Her father looked at her with a sigh.
“Are you happy, Emmie?” he asked her. “Are you really and truly going to be happy with him?”
“Yes,” she replied, with her eyes bright. “Yes, I really will be happy with him.”
“Then I will give my permission,” he said. “But you know that this society is old-fashioned, and we must play by the rules that have been laid out by the generations before us.”
“I understand,” she replied. “I just want to marry him as soon as possible.”
“Are you sure that you want to move to America?” he asked. “It is so far away and so different.”
“I know,” she replied. “But you know that I have always wanted adventure, Father.”
“That is true,” he said, with a smile. “Adventure runs through your blood, and I know that you could not live without it. I will just miss you very much.”
“I will miss you too,” she said to him, and they embraced “But perhaps you could come to visit?”
“Why?” he asked, with a small smile. “Will you not come to visit me?”
“Of course I will,” she replied. “This is my home, Father. I will miss it, I am sure.”
He beamed at her.
“And you know that in America there is less of a class system. Everyone works hard, and everyone pitches in.”
“I know,” she said. “And I look forward to doing that. I have never worked, I know, Father, but I have always dreamed about building something for myself. That is not to criticize what you have built for me. That is just…”
“You want to make your own name,” he said. “I understand that. I understand looking at your future and wanting to secure it. America will be very different, but I think that you will be very well suited for it.”
“Thank you,” she said. “Although...I don’t think I could go anywhere until I know that Catherine has forgiven me.”
“She will forgive you,” Sir Preston assured her. “It’s just a matter of time. You and Catherine have been friends since you were children.”
�
�I know,” she said and looked across the room at Myles, who was talking to the baron. “I just hope this doesn’t come between us.”
“Come, let’s talk about something happy,” he said. “Where do you want your wedding to be?”
“At the cathedral, of course,” Lady Emily said. “I have thought about being married there since I was a little girl.”
Sir Preston looked away from a moment and she could see emotion overcome him.
“Your mother and I were married there,” he said.
“Yes, I know,” Lady Emily replied. “I know. And I want to walk down the same aisle that Mother did. It will make me feel closer to her.” She had wanted it the first time she had married, but Lord Hambleton had other plans.
Sir Preston touched her arm, gently.
“She would be honoured,” he said. “So that is a wonderful thing to hear. I’m sure that can be arranged.”
“And I hope that Catherine will be my maid of honour,” she said. “Edward, I’m sure, can speak to her and she will listen. I cannot believe I missed her feelings on the matter, all this time. I must have been blind. I’ve been a horrible friend.”
“I do not think that at all,” Sir Preston said. “In your interactions with Catherine, you have been strong and wise. But, if you feel that way, all you can do is correct your behaviour going forward. You cannot fix the sins of the past, Emmie.”
“I know,” she said, as she looked across the room to Myles. No matter how she felt about the past, she knew that Myles would make the future wonderful.
“Go and talk to him,” Sir Preston said.
“Thank you,” she said. “I will make you proud, Father.”
“You already do,” he replied, as she gave him a kiss on the cheek and then headed across the room to Myles. He turned to her with a smile, and Lady Emily felt like she was the only woman in the world.
“Hello,” Myles said. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too,” she said, even though they had been apart for only a few moments. She took his arm and they continued talking to the baron. Lady Emily hoped that Edward, who had made his way to Catherine’s lodgings, was making progress. She had taken lodgings with a cousin, in order to visit with family, and Edward had asked for the address before taking a carriage to see her.
This evening was almost perfect, and Lady Emily hoped that it would be made perfect by making up with Catherine soon.
Lady Emily knew that she couldn’t go back to London until she and Catherine reconciled. She couldn’t bring herself, however, to be the one to go and see Catherine. She knew that she had hurt Catherine, and it was up to Catherine, to determine whether or not she wanted to reconcile. Lady Emily stayed at the baroness with her father, and spent time walking in the garden, or going into town with Myles.
However, despite the fact that she was happy to plan her wedding with Myles, she was constantly thinking about Catherine. She had written her half a dozen letters that she wasn’t able to send, and she had wandered close to her lodgings and then wandered away. Edward had said that he had talked to her, but he was being mysterious, and Lady Emily was frustrated that he was keeping silent on the issue.
When Catherine showed up in the garden, Lady Emily almost shrieked in surprise.
“Catherine,” she said. “Oh Catherine, I thought you would never come.”
Catherine did not rush forward, as they usually did when they saw each other after a few days. She stayed at the door and she met Lady Emily’s eyes.
“Catherine, I’m so sorry,” Lady Emily said, when she saw that Catherine was not moving. “I’m sorry. I know you had feelings for Myles, and I am sorry he didn’t choose you. I am also sorry I was a terrible friend and didn’t make you feel comfortable enough to talk about your feelings for Edward. I knew that he fancied you and I kept it secret because he wanted it to be organic...but if I had just paid attention to you...if I had just listened, then we wouldn’t have this problem now. I’m so sorry.”
“Lady Emily,” Catherine said, when her friend took a breath. “Please.”
Lady Emily fell silent.
“It is unfortunate,” Catherine said, quietly, “that the last few months have unfolded this way. I suppose I could have been clearer as to my feelings, but…”
Lady Emily didn’t say anything, although she wanted to beg Catherine to forgive her on her knees. The two women fell silent and Catherine met her eyes.
“But it doesn’t matter now,” Catherine said, at last.
“It doesn’t matter?” she asked. “Why not?”
“Because Edward has proposed to me,” Catherine said, softly. “And I have accepted.”
Lady Emily fell silent again, mostly in shock.
“You did?” she said. “He did?”
She had been waiting for this moment forever yet was still stunned by it. She searched Catherine’s face for the answer that she needed.
“And you are...happy about this outcome?”
At last, Catherine smiled.
“Yes,” she said. “Yes. I never dared to dream such a possibility, but now that he has proposed, I am so happy.”
“Oh Catherine,” Lady Emily said. She couldn’t help but rush forward and embrace her friend. “I am so happy for you.”
“And I am happy for you,” Catherine said, and they spun around the garden in excitement “Oh, Emmie, we took such a roundabout way to get here, but here we are, both getting married.”
“And to men we never thought we would,” Lady Emily replied. “Can you imagine? If someone had told our former selves this, a year ago, we would never have believed them.”
“Indeed,” she said. “And now we can do all the things together that we always wanted. We can get our gowns fitted together, and we can have our children grow up together.”
“Oh yes,” Lady Emily replied, as they finally sat down on the bench in the garden. “I hadn’t even thought about our children. But now, having children together and having them grow up together sounds like the most marvellous thing in the world. And they will be as close as you and I, even if we are in America.”
“They will be like sisters,” Catherine said. “For I consider you my sister.”
“And you are my sister,” Lady Emily said. “Tell me, how did he ask?”
“Well, it wasn’t right away,” Catherine said. “As you know, I was very confused, and I was very hurt. Edward came to me, and we talked. Mostly, we talked about everything under the sun, and we talked for hours and hours every day. When he proposed to me, in the parlour, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world. I accepted without thinking about it twice, and then realized it was what I wanted all along.”
“Oh, that is so lovely,” Lady Emily said. “Even better than my proposal.”
“I think both our proposals came about in a way that we didn’t expect, but perfect for us,” Catherine said. “How is Myles doing with the title?”
A Lady's Taste For Temptation (Historical Regency Romance) Page 28