by Abigail Agar
“So, Your Grace, what do you think?”
All of a sudden, Edmund realised that Walter had asked him a direct question and that he was being rude by not answering him. He shook his head slightly, trying to rid his brain of the constant stream of thoughts that raced through his mind, and he turned his head to look at Walter.
Just as he parted his lips to ask Walter to repeat himself, another voice broke through his thoughts, grabbing his attention in a completely new direction.
“Good morning, Your Grace,” a soft, female voice sent bolts of emotion darting into his heart. “It is lovely to see you again.”
His heart skipped a beat as he turned to see Mary. Her long blonde hair fell freely past her shoulders. It looked much nicer hanging loose than it did tied up. Not that he did not like it that way, he simply preferred this more natural look. It was also obvious from her face that she had not painted it. This made her blue eyes sparkle more brightly, her skin appear fresher, and her whole face look more youthful and beautiful.
She is stunning, he thought as his eyes travelled down her body. I already knew that, but now I can really see it.
His eyes fell on the pale blue dress that cinched in at the waist tightly. Edmund did not know too much about the female form, but he was aware that a shape like that could only be created with a very tight fitting corset. As a fashion, he felt it was barbaric, but it was the trend to have that real hour-glass figure.
Edmund felt certain that Mary would look lovely even without the corset under her dress. She had a true, natural beauty that was incredibly rare. The last time he was at her house, he hardly bothered to notice her. Now, he could hardly notice anything else.
Compared to the Victoria’s of the world, Mary is truly incredible. She is so different. I have to admit, I like that about her.
She extended her hand, and he took it. As he leaned forward to press his lips against it, and he kissed her skin, there was no denying the flurry of excitement that flowed through his stomach. This time, he had come into Mary’s home with a much more open mind and heart, and that way was paying off.
Mary might have looked more natural to the outside world, but her mask was tied to her face just as tightly. She knew that she had to keep on smiling, that she needed to continue being charming, that she had to actually give this man a chance this time. She wanted to be smarter this time, to be more considerate. Everything that Daisy had told her flowed through her mind.
I am doing this for you, Daisy, she thought. I am giving Duke Smith another chance because of everything that you have said to me. And also because I do not want to lose your home and job.
As his lips connected with the sensitive skin on the back of her hand, her pulse raced faster. She felt her stomach turn over completely in an unexpected way, then butterflies started flapping their wings inside there. It was such a shock that she almost snatched her hand away; it took all of her restraint to keep it there.
Edmund’s eyes glanced up to meet hers, and a smile inadvertently spread across her lips. She had not noticed it before, but there was kindness behind that green; a true, sweet friendliness. When his lips turned up into a smile, dimples popped in his cheeks which made him seem even kinder.
Maybe you were right, Daisy, she decided as her eyes almost popped out of her head. Maybe there is more to the Duke than meets the eye.
“It is truly lovely to see you too,” he murmured, almost under his breath. “I am grateful that you allowed me to come again.”
She extended an arm, indicating towards the seats for him to sit. Before Edmund could take a step forward, Walter pushed past him to sit down first, wanting to remind the pair that he was the chaperone of the meeting. For a moment then, he felt pushed out which would not do. He had put a lot of time and energy into upholding this clause in William Roberts’ will. He needed the credit he deserved for that.
“Now, Your Grace, please tell me more about what is happening with your business.”
Edmund gave Walter some information about his international shipping company, but he did not go into full detail this time. There was something halting him from showing off, and he had a feeling it came from the blonde-haired, blue-eyed distraction in front of him. She sat with her hands in her lap, a smile playing on her lips and sweetness to her gaze. Edmund was not even sure that she was listening to him again, but it hardly mattered.
Maybe the eye roll that came last time was my fault. Maybe I brought it upon myself by being so boring.
“So, Mary,” he finally stopped himself from droning on before he caused yet another look of disdain. “Have you travelled much? I know a lot about the world from my work, but I am sad to say that I have not actually been to many places.”
Mary grinned at his self-deprecating comment. It was much nicer to hear about the things that he wanted to do and had not yet done, than all the things he was amazing at. “I am afraid to say that my eighteen years of life have only been spent in London.”
“Would you like to go to other places?”
Mary pondered this for a moment. She had not ever thought about travelling far; it was not anything that had ever occurred to her. Travel was not common, even among the wealthiest of people, but now that Edmund had mentioned it, she figured it would be nice to see more of the world … or even the country. London was such a small place in the grand scale of things.
“Maybe I would,” she finally answered cheerfully. “Maybe there are other places I would like to see.”
Walter flicked his eyes between the pair, wondering what was happening. This was so different from the last time he had sat in a room with Lady Mary Roberts and Duke Edmund Smith. The frostiness had gone, so had the tension. It felt so much easier. He did not quite know what to make of it; he was not sure that this was going as he planned.
“I have not been anywhere either,” he interjected unnecessarily as if all he wanted was the attention on him. “Except to the countryside, of course. I have been there a lot. On business mostly, so I guess I have not seen too much of it, but that hardly matters, does it? It is all about going to these places …”
But Mary and Edmund were barely listening to the gentleman. They were staring intently at one another, trying to make out their own feelings. Neither of them was sure what had changed and why. They had gone from utter disdain to something completely different, something that they could not even define just yet. They needed time to figure out what that meant for the both of them …
***
Edmund was like a whole new man when he returned to the room where his mother had sat, waiting anxiously for him. He had been gone much longer than expected, which Iris knew was either a really good thing or an utterly terrible one. Judging by the overly happy expression on his face, it was the former.
Thank goodness, she thought as relief flooded her. Iris was not sure why, but she had a gut instinct that this was the right thing to do, that Mary would turn out to be the one for her son. She felt glad to learn that her gut might be right.
“How did it go?” she asked innocently enough as she took a sip of her tea. It was hard for her to contain her excitement, but Iris just about managed it.“Different to last time?”
“Oh yes, very different,” Edmund gushed, unable to contain himself in the way that his mother was. “You were right to send me again; that was a good decision. I do believe nerves hindered us the first time around, and now I have been given the opportunity to get to see a different side to Mary.”
“Oh yes.” Iris did her best to stifle a smile. “And what did you discover?”
Edmund took a seat opposite his mother and stared into the distance thoughtfully. So many different emotions raced through him that he did not know where to begin. Everything was wonderful, though. He knew now that he felt very positive about what the future held. He had no idea exactly what would happen between him and Mary yet; he was not in a position to make any sort of decision on that front. His opinion on only being married to someone he loved dearly remai
ned central to him, but he did want to see her again which was a start.
“She is interested,” he said with pursed lips as he gazed out the window. “Unlike anyone I have ever met before. She has clearly led a very sheltered life, but that is understandable considering she has not had both parents for quite some time.”
Iris held in a laugh. It amused her that her son thought himself so worldly when he was also sheltered, just in a different way. He kept his own world quite small; it just seemed bigger to him because it involved many countries. Iris hoped that he and Mary could bring out the best in one another. Her son was wonderful, but he did need to open up more.
“Well, that is lovely. I presume you will not be sending out any rash letters and attending any more balls anytime soon?”
While Iris did not know exactly what happened at the ball, she could tell that it had affected her son. His whole attitude changed dramatically afterwards, so obviously he did not enjoy the experience. Maybe he had seen how false the whole thing was, how awful it felt to be on display, or maybe someone had behaved terribly.
Either way, it had led to a lot of good things. Now he was considering Mary as an option, which was utterly wonderful.
“No, I shall not. Not for the time being. I am happy to see where things will go.”
Edmund left the room and walked through the house with a bounce in each step. Happiness lifted him like he was filled with air; he had never felt so positive about the future. This proved to him that he really needed to start giving people a second chance. He had not recognised how much he judged people by the first impression he got from them before. It was a ruthless attitude that had done him well in business, but clearly not in his personal life.
From now on, he would view the world in a very different way. Mary had already altered his perception of the world. Who knew what would happen next?
Chapter 10
Mary sat across from her sister chewing on her bottom lip. She had arranged to see Charlotte the day after meeting with Duke Edmund for the second time under the assumption that she would need someone to rant to and complain about him … but now she did not know what to say.
“So, how did it go?” Charlotte narrowed her eyes curiously at her sister. She had been silent for far too long; it was starting to become strange. “You said in your letter that Walter made you speak with the Duke again. Are you surer than ever that you do not wish to follow Father’s wishes, because like I said before, you can always come and stay here …”
“I am not sure,” Mary interrupted. She spent all night long lying awake, trying to place her feelings into some kind of box that made sense, but there was no way to decipher her emotions. All she knew was that they were different. “I do not know what I want …”
“Is this because of the house?” Charlotte’s words grew louder in her desperation. “Because it is not worth it; I can promise you that much.”
Mary shook her head quickly; she knew her sister’s opinion on the subject. It was exactly how she felt about it too … until recently. Very recently. “No, it is not that at all. I am not too sure how I feel. I think …” She paused thoughtfully for a brief moment. “I do not know why, but I think I might like him.”
“You do?” Charlotte almost yelled. She forgot herself for a moment before reeling herself in. The privacy would only last so long; the last thing she wanted was for anyone else in the house to rush to the room. She lowered her voice, steeled herself, and continued speaking, “I mean, you do? You like him? How do you mean you like him?”
Mary forced herself to stop for a second before answering. She had not realised how insensitive this might sound to Charlotte. Her sister was miserable, stuck in a marriage that she did not like with a man chosen by their father. Mary sat with her, telling her that she might possibly be happy with the man that their father had chosen for her. It was not fair.
“I … I do not know,” she ended up finishing lamely. “I am not sure what I am talking about.”
Charlotte breathed deeply as she tried her best to calm down. She recognised that expression on her sister’s face and did not like it at all. It was not her intention to make Mary feel uncomfortable sharing her own story with her. Just because she was unhappy, it did not mean that everyone else should be too.
Maybe Father did better for Mary, she thought morosely. Maybe he actually did see the mistake that he made with me.
Admittedly, that did churn bitterness in her gut. She felt that she deserved happiness too, but that did not take away from the fact that Mary could at least find comfort in her own life. Charlotte needed to find it within herself to be pleased for Mary, even if it was just to her face.
“Mary,” she said seriously while reaching out to grab her sister’s hand in what she hoped would be a comforting gesture. “I believe that you do know, and I wish that you would share it with me so I can be happy for you.”
Mary did not know what to do. On the one hand, she truly did not want to harm her sister, but on the other, she did not want to keep secrets from her either. She decided to give her a small snippet of the truth.
“I do think I could grow to like him,” she replied carefully. “Maybe he is not as bad as I first thought. I do not know exactly how I feel, but it is not as negative as I felt the first time around. Maybe he is not so arrogant.”
Charlotte nodded slowly, acceptingly. “Well, that is good news. At least if you like the Duke, then you can marry him and still keep the house. You can inherit it.”
Mary stood up and paced the room thoughtfully. “What do you think I should do if I do inherit the house?” she asked Charlotte. “I presume that the Duke will have a home of his own that he will want us to live in. Just like your husband …”
The words fell into silence as she spun back to see her sister with her head in her hands and her shoulders shaking. It was such an odd, unexpected sight that Mary did not know what to think at first. She could not recall a time when she had ever seen Charlotte crying before which was why it took her a moment to recognise what was going on.
As soon as she did, she snapped into action. She raced to Charlotte’s side and threw an arm over her shoulder. It felt a little uncomfortable as if she was acting in a far too emotional way, but she kept it there regardless.
“What is happening, Charlotte?” she asked anxiously. “Please, tell me what is going on. What has you so upset?”
Charlotte pulled her face up from her hands to look at Mary. With the tears streaming down her face, smudging her make-up on the way down, she knew that she looked a fright, but right now, that was the least of her worries. Charlotte had been living in a hopeless, endless pit of despair for far too long, shouldering the weight of the world upon her. She had not shared her worries for fear of making her situation feel too real, but now she had no choice. She had to share, or she would burst in two.
“I … I …” Still it was hard for her to break the habit and actually speak. “I …”
Mary thought back to the bruises she had seen on her sister’s arm the last time they were together, and she gulped loudly. She wanted to help Charlotte more than anything in the whole world, but how would she help her to escape a cruel and abusive husband? That was utterly unheard of.
“You … what … Charlotte?” Despite the rapid rate that her heart was racing and the dryness of her mouth, Mary spoke, needing to know the truth immediately before her wild imagination got the better of her.
“I am having a baby.”
Charlotte burst into tears; she sobbed so hard her entire body shook violently under the pressure of it all. She had suspected that was the case for a while, and as time went on, there was no way she could deny it anymore. She was having her husband’s baby, and she felt utterly terrified about that.
“A baby?” Mary gasped. “You are having a baby?”
Charlotte sobbed even harder. Somehow, hearing Mary say it made it all the more terrifying. The unusual sensation in her stomach, the life growing in there, it was not
going anywhere. She could not escape it.
“I am,” she eventually continued pitifully. “And I am scared.”
She shook her head, and Mary thought for one second she caught a glimpse of another bruise on her sister’s neck. She could not just ask her if she could see it because she knew Charlotte would only speak of it if she wanted to, but she felt certain that it was there all the same.
“I am scared that I shall die,” Charlotte continued, only spiking Mary’s fear further. Was her husband so violent that she was scared he would hit her? “Just like Mother.”
Oh … of course.
Mary did not know how to take that; it completely stunned her. It was harder for Charlotte than it was her to lose their mother because she was a little older. Maybe she could not exactly remember her too much, but there was a sensation that surrounded her that reminded her of what it was like to be loved unconditionally by the woman who birthed her.
Would she feel the same way when her child came into the world?
“Yes,” Mary said breathily. “Our mother died while she was giving birth to me. Of course you are scared.” She glanced down at her sister with tears welling in the back of her eyes. “Why did you not tell me about all of this? I feel silly now, talking about my problems when you are going through so much yourself.”
Charlotte shook her head sadly. “No, it is nice to think about something else. This has consumed me for so long now; I like a distraction.”
Mary sat back down and clung to Charlotte as if she was scared that she would float away. How could she have been in such a panicked state about whether to marry the Duke or not when all the while her sister was scared that she would not live anymore. Did that make Mary selfish? She could not be sure …
“What do you think you will do?” she asked Charlotte in a small, scared voice. “What can you do?”