by Joyce Alec
“Thank you,” she said, stepping back into the ballroom.
No one noticed her appearance, but the cool metal against her skin reminded her of the brooch and her first kiss in the alcove. She was lost, unfortunately, with James. He had somehow wormed his way into her life, into her heart, and he had taken hold of her. Edith was looking forward to ending this game with him and accepting his proposal. It was time to put all his hard work to rest and solidify their future together.
Edith smiled as she made her way back to her parents, wishing she could tell them of what was to happen in the next few days. Perhaps she would have an engagement to announce for Christmas.
If James proposed to her again.
9
James smiled widely as he escorted Edith into the menagerie, the pungent smell of bird droppings heavy in the air. Today was the day. Today he would ask Edith to marry him, and he was hopeful—confident, even—she would say yes.
Yet his heart was heavy with worry and dread. After the ball the previous night, he had gone home to the study and brooded in silence, wondering if he should tell her of his father’s demands. What if she found out in another way? What if his father mentioned it to her or her parents? James did not wish to keep any secrets from her. He had come to care for Edith.
“Oh, how lovely!” Edith replied as they approached the first cage. “I do believe these are mockingbirds.”
“Calling birds,” James answered, distracted somewhat by his worry. “Four calling birds.”
“You are correct,” she beamed, walking onward, her arm latched onto his. James wanted to pull her back, to enjoy this moment with her before he was forced to tell her the truth. Would she still believe that he cared for her, that he wanted to marry her, after he did? He hoped so.
Another cage came into view, and James recognized it instantly. He had to give a large sum of money to the building to allow the hens to be placed there, the curator looking at him oddly when he had explained his request.
But they had obliged, and Edith laughed as she saw the hens resting in their makeshift home. “You truly arranged for hens to be here?”
“Money, along with my father’s title, allows for a great deal,” James responded, watching as she stooped to look at the three hens. “It would not be complete without them.”
Edith turned to him, and he was struck by her beauty, by the sheer happiness in her eyes. He had never been so careful and nervous around a woman like her before, but he wanted nothing more than to shield her from the world, from anything that would cause her harm, and make her happy for the rest of her days.
“I cannot believe this,” she said with a shake of her head, straightening. “You, my lord, are a marvel.”
“Wait until you see the rest,” he said with a half-smile, clasping his hands behind his back.
She gave him a smile in return as she moved to the next cage, where two doves sat cooing to each other. The doves had been relatively easy to obtain, as the city was full of them.
“Two turtle doves,” Edith stated.
“Two doves,” James corrected, not sure what about doves were turtle-like in nature. “It was the closest I could get.”
“They are lovely,” she answered, looking for the last cage. “I thought there would be at least one more.”
James reached down and picked up a pear tree in a small pot that was on the floor near the turtle dove cage. A lovely necklace with a ruby heart was gently nestled on the branch on top. “I could not find a partridge in this cold weather,” he said, “so instead, I wish to offer you my heart.”
Edith turned to look at him, and her eyes widened in what James could only assume was a loss for words. “Oh, James.”
He set down the pot, the need to tell her of his situation weighing heavily on his mind and his heart. “Before I ask for your hand in marriage again, I must tell you something.”
She looked startled and wary, but clasped her hands behind her back. “Please, do tell.”
He raked a hand through his hair, his throat drying with nerves. “I must tell you I was put on notice by my father. You see, he is worried about the future of my family name, and he has been wishing for me to take a wife. I… he gave me until Christmas to do so.”
Edith’s expression was unreadable. “So, you had to find any wife.”
James immediately started to shake his head. “If I wanted any wife, I could have found one sooner than now. Society has not produced a woman that I wished to have until I met you, Edith. The restrictions set forth by my father do not change the feelings I have for you.”
Edith gave him a little nod, and James could feel himself losing control. “So,” she started, “if you had not been given this dictation from your father, would you be doing this now?”
James swallowed, not liking the answer that came immediately to his mind. “No,” he said softly. “Well, not at first, but the more I began getting to know you, the more I can say with complete certainty that you are the only woman I will ever want to marry.”
Her shoulders slumped for a moment, and James felt pain like he had never felt before.
“I truly wish to marry you, Edith,” he tried again. “I care about you, and I do hope that our affection will grow to love.”
Edith simply stared at him, and he could see the hurt in her gaze, the regret in her expression. This was wrong. All of this was wrong, but he could not go into this marriage without her knowing the truth.
The thought of losing her to ease his conscience was more than he could bear.
“Well,” she said after a moment, her voice trembling slightly. “I have to admit, James, you had me fooled. While I believe you are not after my dowry, I cannot believe you did not tell me the truth before—”
She did not finish her sentence, but James knew what she was thinking. He felt the same way.
“Give me a chance to show you I am not attempting to meet my father’s demands,” he tried. “Please.”
Her mouth formed a tight line and she brushed past him, collecting her maid, who had waited at the door, before exiting the small building. James looked down at the pear tree and the necklace, wishing to throw the thing out of the window. He should not have told her. That would be what his father would say, but he did not care. He would rather her know the truth than find out later, when it was too late for either of them to do anything about it.
It still did not mean that he cared any less for her. No, he cared for her far more than he had realized until she had walked out of that door and out of his life.
10
Edith wrapped the throw around her shoulders and stared out into the snow, her heart heavy. It had been a day since she had walked out on James, a day since her heart was broken by the one man she had thought was safe.
But he had been no different than the rest. He had lied to her, used her to meet his father’s demands, and she was not sure she could forgive him.
“Are you still moping around?”
Edith looked up to see Margaret enter the room, her arms full of books to return to the family’s library. “I am not moping.”
Margaret snorted as she set the books on the desk, turning to eye her sister. “I have to admit, Edith, I never thought a man could capture your attention as James did, only to have you turn him down in the end.”
“I did not turn him down,” she sniffed, warming her hands near the fire. “He lied to me.”
Margaret clucked her tongue in disagreement. “I do not think so. He was being honest with you. Did he not do some wonderful, thoughtful things for you? Did he not tell you that he cared about you? Any other man would have allowed you to never find out, yet he told you. That has to count for something.”
Edith blew out a breath. Her sister, once again, was right. Though she was upset about being a pawn, James had told her the truth before the proposal, giving her time to digest it. He had not forced his proposal on her.
He had been trying to show the character of the man she thought he was, and
she had coldly walked out on him just because her feelings were temporarily injured.
That hurt did not compare to the heaviness she felt in her heart, knowing that she might not see James again, that their time together was over. “I am a fool,” She lamented.
“A fool that can fix everything,” Margaret argued as she placed the books on the shelf. “Today, I mean. Today, Edith.”
Edith gave her sister a grateful smile as she hurried out of the library, summoning for the coach.
It took quite some time to get to the Linfield residence due to the snow, and the cold slammed into Edith as she exited the coach, wrapped only in the throw she had taken from her room. Knocking on the door, she was admitted by a stunned butler. “My lady?” he asked.
“I must see Lord Linfield,” she stated, reveling in the warmth of the interior. “Please.”
The butler showed her to a study, where James stood by the fire, a glass in his hands.
“Edith?” he asked, surprise evident on his face as she walked through the door. “Whatever are you doing here?”
She swallowed, knowing that this was the moment that would change their lives, and their future, forever. “Ask me again.”
He put his glass down on the desk and walked toward her, concern on his features. “Are you all right?”
Edith clenched her hands together. “Ask me again, James.”
James stopped and regarded her solemnly before reaching into his pocket and producing the lovely necklace that he had shown her the day before.
Edith watched through a thin veil of tears as he walked behind her and placed the necklace around her neck. His hot breath tickled the skin on her nape as he secured the red heart-shaped ruby around her neck.
“I wish for you to be my wife, Edith,” James said. “I wish to make you happy for all your days and give you nothing less than what you deserve. Twelve days, two weeks, however long it has been, has only made my feelings for you grow, and I wish to continue to nurture those feelings for the rest of my days. Please say that you will be my wife.”
Tears fell to Edith’s cheeks. “Yes,” she answered, “I will be your wife.”
James turned her around to face him as he looked lovingly into her eyes. Gathering her into his arms, he whispered, “I am such a fool.” He held her more tightly as her face rested on his chest. “I should have told you from the beginning.”
“No,” she said, pulling back to look into his eyes once more. “I was a fool to allow something so trivial to come between us.”
He wiped her cheeks gently, a tender smile on his face. “Thank you for coming. Thank you for—”
She pressed her finger to his lips, silencing him further before replacing it with her own lips. She wanted them to put the hurt behind them, to move toward their future.
“What is this about?”
They jumped apart as a tall gentleman walked into the study, his eyes on James. “What are you doing? Let go of that young lady immediately, James!”
“I am kissing my future wife,” James replied, pulling Edith close to his side. “Meet your new daughter-in-law and the future duchess, Father. May I present, Lady Edith Gillett.”
Edith watched as the duke looked at her before breaking out into laughter, winking at his son. “I knew you could do it with just a little push, James. And, may I say, she is just lovely.”
Edith smiled at the duke as he addressed her. “Welcome to the family, my dear.”
“Thank you, Your Grace,” she smiled again as she curtsied.
The duke grabbed her hand and said, “I know that any young lady that James has chosen is worthy of our name, and I am very much looking forward to getting to know you better. However, for now, you must excuse me, as I must take my leave. I imagine that the two of you have much to discuss.”
“And I am looking forward to getting to know you, Your Grace,” Edith replied.
The duke kissed her hand, and then gave James a firm hug before he left the room.
With a sigh, she turned back to James. “We must go back to my parents’ home now. I am certain they will want to hear the news before the rest of London is discussing the engagement.”
“And it seems we have done this out of order,” James added with a chuckle. “I do hope that your father will accept my apologies, since I did not ask for his permission before I proposed.”
Edith wrapped her hand around his. “You must not worry about my father. He will be delighted.”
She started to walk away before he grabbed her hand, pulling her back against him. “So,” he said, a grin on his face now. “I must ask you a question.”
She laughed, this new, wonderful feeling spreading throughout her veins as she thought of a life with this man, a life full of love and happiness. “What else could you possibly ask me?”
His grin widened broadly. “Did I impress you?”
Edith laughed once more as she placed her hand on his cheek, her new necklace twinkling in the firelight. “Yes,” she said breathlessly. “You did impress me greatly.”
“I thought so,” he said before he kissed her on her lips.
The End
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