“I’m sorry. I was overcome with seeing you and acted like some sort of hoyden,” Edith said. “I’d like a little time to think.”
“Of course,” Ralph said, trying to hide the crushing defeat he felt. “I shall leave you, but I will be staying at the Cheshire Oak inn a few miles away. Do you know it?”
Edith nodded.
“Good. Send me a message and I will return immediately. If I haven’t heard from you in three days, I’ll presume you can’t forgive my past folly and I’ll return home,” Ralph said.
He turned and picked up his hat and gloves from where he’d discarded them and nodded to Miles. He paused at the glower he received. “Don’t blame your sister for what’s happened here today and in the past. I’ve chased her and want to worship her for the rest of my days. I know you wish me to the devil, but I didn’t purposely set out to deceive you and if she says yes, your disapproval won’t stand in our way. I would like your blessing, but I don’t need it.”
“Get out,” Miles growled, his fists clenching at his side.
Chapter 26
“Why? Why after all he’s done to hurt you would you be wrapped around him like you were? Have you no self-respect?” Miles hissed once Ralph had gone.
“Of course I have!” Edith retorted, her face aflame. “Why have you suddenly set yourself so much against him? What do you know that would make you dislike him so much?”
Miles walked deeper into the room and poured himself a large measure of brandy. “I don’t know anything,” he said before taking a large gulp of the liquid.
“Then I don’t understand your objection,” Edith shrugged.
“He’s hurt you and used you. You said so yourself. Why would you forgive him? How could you trust him after that?”
“Miles, who has hurt you so much that you’d react so harshly?” Edith asked gently.
“No one! I’m just looking out for my sister. Is that so wrong?” Miles asked.
“No. And I appreciate it but only up to a point. You have to understand something about your friend,” Edith started.
“He’s no blasted friend of mine anymore.”
“Now you sound like a child!” Edith exclaimed. “You’re better than that. Lord Pensby has been mistaken in his outlook of life because of his mother’s illness. He was living his life in the way he thought was best for both of them, but recently, things have changed for him.”
“How?”
“He met me and apparently I set the cat amongst the birds,” Edith smiled.
“And he’s told you this?”
“Yes, you suspicious creature, but his mother also hinted that she thought he had feelings for me, long before anyone knew of the letters. In fact, they’d stopped at that point by his instigation actually,” Edith said.
Miles grunted.
“I’ve had plenty of time to think over his actions,” Edith said.
“And you were affected so little by them that you’ve been trying to throw yourself over every tricky fence and hedge within a ten-mile radius,” Miles said sarcastically.
“That stopped over a week ago,” Edith responded.
“When you injured your horse,” Miles pointed out.
“When I received a letter from him.”
Edith chose not to respond to the curse which Miles uttered at her words.
“I’ve been thinking of little else and no, before you ask, I didn’t respond to his communication. If you like it was a sort of test for him by me,” Edith admitted.
“How so?”
“I wanted to see how he would respond to a rebuke. It wasn’t a written one, admittedly, but I couldn’t reply to his correspondence without you finding out and I wanted to make my decisions without your input. Sorry.”
“You are too independent sometimes.”
“I’ve had to be,” Edith said matter-of-fact.
“I know.”
“Which is why it was important to come to my own conclusions.”
“From the way you were embracing him at my entrance, I presume you had already done so?”
“Yes,” Edith smiled.
“Then why the hesitation when I arrived?”
“I wanted to speak to you. This hatred of Lord Pensby can’t continue if I am to marry him. It isn’t like you, Miles. You are one of the most easy-going people I know,” Edith said.
“I used to be perhaps,” Miles admitted. He sighed. “You’re right. Life is too short to get caught up in silly feuds. I’ll be on my best behaviour the next time I see Pensby.”
Edith crossed to her brother and sat beside him. “Thank you, Miles. You are the second most important person in the world to me. It really means something to know you are happy for me.”
“I don’t need to ask who the first one is. I’ll be happy when I see him treating you well and loving you as you should be,” Miles admitted grudgingly.
“Oh, he will. I’m sure of it.”
“There is another person who’ll be ecstatic about the match,” Miles pointed out with a flicker of a smile.
“Mother!” Edith groaned. “She’s going to be a nightmare with wedding preparations. It could be enough to put me off the whole thing.”
“Don’t make jokes like that at the moment. Let me become accustomed to liking Pensby again, before you make flippant quips.”
“Sorry,” Edith smiled. “But before we tell Mother, I’d best arrange to visit my betrothed, or soon to be at least.”
“Send him a letter and ask him to call,” Miles said.
“No. I think what I have to say needs to be said on neutral ground. I’ll arrange for the carriage to be brought around.”
“You could always wait until tomorrow?” Miles suggested.
“I didn’t know you had such a cruel streak in you! Fancy leaving the poor man to suffer overnight,” Edith chided.
“It’ll do him the world of good.”
“Miles!”
“I’ll send for the carriage.”
*
The more the wheels turned as the vehicle moved along the roads, the more Edith became jittery. Trying to work out what she would say only made her worse, so instead, she sat, chewing the bottom of her lip as she was driven to the Cheshire Oak.
The inn was bustling when she arrived, but a footman was soon directed to find out if Ralph was in and if he had a private parlour. Within a few minutes she was led by the innkeeper and followed by the footman, to the downstairs parlour.
Ralph jumped up, his face looking equally full of hope and doubt. The innkeeper retreated, but the footman looked to remain with Edith.
“That will be all,” Edith instructed. “You can wait with the carriage. If I need you I shall send word.”
“But his Lordship…” the loyal servant started.
“Can be a trifle demanding, I know,” Edith said. “Don’t worry. There won’t be any repercussions for you.”
“Yes, m’lady,” came the meek response, and the door was closed as the servant left.
“Your brother will curse me to the devil when he knows you’ve allowed yourself to be in here unprotected,” Ralph said.
“We did exactly the same when the same foolish brother decided to fight with a highwayman and I came to no harm then, I’m sure I’ll be fine,” Edith said, removing her bonnet and gloves and acting far calmer than she felt.
“I suppose so,” Ralph acknowledged. “Am I to hope you bring good news?”
“Miles isn’t going to kill you, if that’s what you mean,” Edith said.
Ralph’s lips twitched. “You aren’t going to make this easy, are you?”
“No.”
“I thought seeing you so soon was too good to be true.”
“I’d like to ask you some questions first, if you’ve no objections?” Edith said, but her voice contained a laugh.
“Of course. Please be seated.”
“I’d rather stand.”
“As you wish.”
“What state are your finances in?” Edith a
sked.
“I am increasing my family’s wealth, not decreasing it,” Ralph blinked in response.
“I suppose that’s through the gambling winnings you take,” Edith said airily. “At least it seems you can’t be accused of being a fortune hunter.”
“No.”
“Do you want children?”
“Yes. Lots, especially if they are like their mother.”
Edith swallowed. “Will you insist on going to London for the season every year?”
“No. The love of my life would prefer to rusticate and so would I.”
“What about embarrassing relatives?”
“My mother is an acquired taste, but she does improve on getting to know her.”
Edith laughed. “You brute! You knew full well I was referring to my own mother.”
“I was being serious, you haven’t spent long enough in my mother’s company to know her faults.”
“Mine will probably want to visit.”
Ralph took a step towards Edith. When she didn’t move away from him, he took another and another until he was standing directly in front of her. “If I have you as my wife, nothing else will matter. Not relatives who frustrate us, people who talk about us, none of it will affect me because I’ll have you.”
“You really should write poetry, you have a way with words.”
“I tried writing letters, but there was too much which could go wrong. I’m going to rely on the spoken word in future,” Ralph said. “Do we have a future, Edith?”
“My mother will be appalling whilst we plan the wedding. Are you sure you want to do this? I can promise you, your patience will be tested,” Edith said, needing to point out all the issues he was going to be faced with.
“Ah, I have something for you,” Ralph said, pulling the paper out of his pocket. “If you ever say yes to my proposal, which I have to point out that you haven’t done so yet. But if you do, then there is this which might help solve all our problems.”
Edith took the paper and after reading it, looked at Ralph in surprise. “A special licence?”
Wrapping his arms around Edith and drawing her to him, he kissed her nose. “If you want a large, fancy wedding planned by your mother, that’s what we’ll have. I say that most willingly. If you ask me what I want, that would be to marry you as soon as we can find a minister. Then we can send an express to your mother, telling her the deed is done, place a notice in The Times, and then I’ll take you home.”
“The Times? In the Advertisement Section?” Edith asked.
“Of course. Where else? But it’s your choice. No pressure for either way. I’ll still get to have you as my wife. That’s all I really want.”
“The special licence is perfect, as long as Miles will be there,” Edith said, smiling.
“Of course. You do need him to walk you down the aisle after all. Is that a yes, then?”
“I suppose it is,” Edith shrugged, which turned into a laugh as she was swung off her feet and spun around.
“Thank goodness for that!” Ralph said, finally placing her on the floor. “I’d run out of ideas of what to do next if you refused me. All I’d come up with was taking on a farm on your estate and becoming a farmer who followed you around every day.”
“As much as I’d like that, I’d prefer to have you by my side as my husband,” Edith said. All other words were lost as Ralph kissed her without restraint.
*
My darling Miss S,
This is our wedding day and although it has been moments since we were together, it already feels too long.
I will thank the gods, my stars, and a four-leaf clover I once found, for being able to have you beside me as we vow to spend the rest of our lives together.
You have not only made me the happiest of men, but I now can look forward to a bright future, instead of the dark, lonely one I had anticipated. To say you have changed my life is an understatement. Thank you, my darling.
Every day I promise to prove to you how much you mean to me, how beautiful I think you are, how much you make me laugh. I never want to make you unhappy but I’m sure there will be times when you will curse me. Know this though, I shall never, even in our darkest moments, ever stop loving you.
Yours always and with a heart full of love
Mr S
Edith dabbed her eyes and tucked the letter in her reticule. It would be added to the others later, but she didn’t have time to put it in a safe place at the moment.
Miles came around the corner of the church. “You look very pretty, Edith. He’s a lucky man,” he said in a choked voice. “Are you ready?”
Edith smiled at her brother. Kissing his cheek, she placed her hand on his arm. “I’m ready,” she said as they walked through the door to the chapel.
Epilogue
Notice in The Times Advertisement Section:-
Lady Edith Longdon (Miss S) married Lord Pensby (Mr S) on the third day of the month in a quiet ceremony near the bride’s home. Brought together by this column, they have kindly given permission that their names be revealed to encourage all the other lonely hearts’ readers, that you will one day also find your fellow lonely heart. This newspaper wishes them all the very best for their future happiness.
Ralph wrote letters to Edith regularly throughout their marriage. She treasured each and every one. They were to have six lively, healthy children, who filled Lymewood with enough noise to make up for lost time. Ralph very often was the one suggesting the noisiest games.
Lady Pensby moved into the Dower House without incident and became a very precious granny. Lady Longdon chose to set up home in London and rarely travelled to see her daughter and son-in-law, although she spoke about them often.
Miles forgot his antagonism towards Ralph very soon after the marriage when the evidence of his sister’s happiness was plain to see by everyone coming into contact with the pair. He eventually would spend a lot of time with the couple, but in the first instance – well, he had his own story to finish…
About this book.
I love the films You’ve Got Mail and The Shop Around the Corner. They are funny, sweet and lovely movies. I think they portray how much can be conveyed via letters and how we can connect to people in a different way to face-to-face interactions. I love getting newsy emails and letters.
I then discovered Lonely Hearts’ Columns go back as far as the 1600s and were very popular. When I found that out, it was inevitable that a story about an advertisement and writing letters would appear at some point!
It was going to be a standalone story, but very often as I write, characters develop who need their own story and that’s what happened with Miles and Susan. They’re now going to have their own adventure.
With regards to the epilepsy Lady Pensby suffered from, it was a condition which was linked to being possessed by a devil, or as a form of punishment by the gods for hundreds of years. By the Georgian era, it was at last recognised as an illness. You won’t be surprised to know the solutions were pretty grim and mostly unsuccessful. The drug I mentioned being used by Napoleon’s troops was actually hashish and was banned by Napoleon because it made his troops less able to fight! Cannabis was used historically as an herbal remedy for epilepsy, so I thought I could pinch Napoleon’s soldiers’ discovery to help Lady Pensby. Chinese herbs were also used, but it was only in the Victorian period that major advances started to occur.
I hope you enjoyed Edith and Ralph’s journey as much as I enjoyed writing and researching it! If you could leave a review, I’d be really grateful – they help enormously to independent authors. Thanks as always for your support. Audrey
Read on for a taste of the next in the series – Miss King’s Rescue…….
Chapter 1
London, 1816
Dear Lord Longdon,
Please forgive my writing to you, but I do not feel there is anyone else I can express my concerns to.
You see, I think I’m being followed.
Your sister told me every
thing about what happened with Mr. Sage and Mr. Malone. As her best friend, I can assure you of my silence with regard to the details. I am just so relieved that she is no longer in danger from Mr. Sage and that no forced elopement took place.
I would normally write to Edith about my concerns, but she is on her wedding trip, and I cannot in all conscience disrupt that. I would not normally have contacted you, only I genuinely feel my safety is at risk. Please be assured that I am not one prone to dramatics or hysterics; in fact, I pride myself on being completely the opposite.
For the last sennight, I have noticed that whenever I have stepped outside there has been a man in the shadows near my home. I did not recognise him at first; he is very unkempt and dishevelled. One night, though, I foolishly approached him and asked him what he wanted. I was accompanied by a servant, so was not taking too much of a risk, but I felt great alarm when I realised who it was: Mr. Malone.
He asked if I could spare some pennies, and I admit I gave him all that I had in my reticule – recognising him had shaken me so much. He acted as if we had never met before, until I was walking away and he muttered, “I’ll see you again soon. Very soon.”
His words, I confess, unsettled me, and although I have ensured that a male servant is with me whenever I leave home, he is still there. All of the time.
I am afraid and embarrassed to admit that if I confessed any of my concerns to my stepmother, she would not take them seriously. My father is very much influenced by her, so there is no point seeking assistance from them. The only other family I have at home is my half-brother, and he is still in the schoolroom, so you see my dilemma? I hope you understand, for I feel unsafe and cannot think of anyone else to turn to for assistance.
I can only think that my fortune is his motivation for targeting me. To what end, whether it is purely to obtain money from me in larger amounts, I do not know. I cannot quite allow myself to dwell on any other reason, but it does niggle at the back of my mind. Why he is no longer in society I presume has to do with what happened to Edith, but, believe me, he looks as if he has fallen on very hard times; strange, when it was only weeks ago that he was in the finest ballrooms in London. I would have supposed he had the funds to set up somewhere away from your family.
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