by Abigail Agar
“I have not forgotten anything.” Charlotte was so used to being yelled at, but when it was Mary doing the shouting, it hurt her deeply. “I am sorry; I can get rid of him if that is what you prefer …”
Mary did not feel like she had the energy to face Edmund right now, but there was a deep pull in her chest encouraging her to do so anyway. She could not stop herself from feeling intrigued by his reasons for arriving. He had obviously come to see her for something, and she did not think he would come all this way just to be horrible to her. No matter what he had done, he was not a nasty, spiteful person with his words.
“I suppose I should see him,” Mary finally agreed. “He might simply want some practical information about how all of this affects him.” She sighed loudly. “I can just tell him that he has nothing to worry about and that he can continue with his life in the same way as before.”
“Right,” Charlotte replied a little hollowly. “Yes, of course.”
“I shall just get dressed.”Mary walked over to her dresses and made a show of looking through them, “Then I will be downstairs. Maybe if you could ask Jennifer to make him a drink while he waits.”
Charlotte was slowly growing used to Mary knowing Jennifer by her first name. She thought it rather nice, actually, not that she had found the confidence to call her that herself.
“Oh, before you go.” Mary turned to look at her sister curiously. “What did you say in the letter? To His Grace, to get him here.”
Charlotte heard the warmth in her sister’s tone, and she sensed that she had been somewhat forgiven. Of course, it would not be that simple; it would take some time to fully regain Mary’s trust, but it was a positive start. “I just gave him some vague details about what happened with Walter, nothing more. Luckily, that was enough to make him come.”
“Hmmm, luckily.”Mary rolled her eyes in an overly dramatic fashion. “I think I will be the judge of that.”
***
Mary’s heart skipped a beat when she saw Edmund. Her body continued to react to him after all this time, despite the fact that she had done her best to spend the last few weeks hating him. She felt her mouth run dry, her stomach burn, and her pulse flutter.
“H … hello, Your Grace,” she stammered. “Thank you for coming to see me again.”
Edmund stood up to greet Mary, and his eyes instantly ran down her body. He liked the look she had today. It seemed that she had reverted back to the more natural version of herself, which he preferred massively. The last time he had met up with her, she had her face filled with make-up, hiding all of her most beautiful features, and she also looked like she had her waist tightened with a corset. Today she did not have any of that; she was simply herself.
For a moment, Edmund was transported back to the moment they shared at her bookcase when they finally started to realise that there was something very real to the pair of them. That moment was special, powerful, life-changing … and now that was all gone. Not only the relationship that they shared but the house in which they met. That belonged to someone else now, and Mary did not have anything from the house deal. Walter Thompson had stolen it all, and that was not right.
“Mary, I am so terribly sorry,” he started, his voice thick with emotion. “What happened to you was terrible.”
“Yes, it was.” Mary could not keep the stiffness from her tone. “And it was very unexpected too. I assumed that my father had good taste in people, that he was smart, but it seems that maybe I was wrong.”
“Right, yes.” Edmund did not know whether this also meant him or not, but he chose not to pursue it. The last thing he wanted to happen was an argument with Mary. “I would assume that he did not expect this to happen.”
“No.” Mary folded her arms across her chest. “I guess not.”
They stood in an uncomfortable silence for a while, just staring at one another. Both of them had a whole lot to say, but neither of them knew where to start. A lot of tension flowed in the air; it was so thick, it could have been cut with a knife.
“Do you …” Edmund started, needing desperately to fill the silence. “Do you have any plans? I mean, I know that things are limited now, I just wanted to …” He shook his head, internally cringing. “Urgh, I am sorry, that is a stupid question to ask after everything that you are suffering.”
Mary could not stop the small smile from spreading onto her lips at the expression on Edmund’s face. She could tell that he was really trying, and despite herself, she felt touched. It was nice to actually be cared about; it made her feel important in a way that she had not in a very long time.
“It is alright; you are correct in your assumption. I do need a plan. I guess I just have not worked out what that could be yet because … well, I have nothing. No money, no home, no marriage prospects …” Her words trailed off as she realised what a silly thing that was to say in front of him.
But Edmund was pleased that she had brought it up. It meant that he could address it too. “I will still marry you,” he said kindly. “I know that things have been difficult between us recently because of the mess with Lady Hartmon – which is not true by the way – but we can get past this. We can still … just be together.”
Mary was taken aback; she could hardly believe the words that Edmund was saying to her. “Are you serious?” she gushed. “You would still marry me now? Even though I am ruined, and I have nothing to offer you?”
Mary could feel her cheeks growing wet, but she chose not to acknowledge that. She left the tears there as she focused solely on Duke Edmund. She had not wanted to see him, but now that he was here, she could not stop looking. She was drinking every inch of him in, committing him to memory in case this was the last time she ever got to see him.
Why is it that every time I see Edmund, I feel like it will be the last time? And why do I never want it to be?
“Of course. That does not matter to me. I have never wanted to marry you for that.” Edmund was a little incredulous; he assumed that he had never given that impression across at all. “I have always wanted to marry you for you. That is why I regret even going to the ball with Lady Hartmon there … that should never have happened.”
“But that would ruin you …”
“I am already ruined.”
Mary was silenced. She did not know how to take this. On the one hand, it would solve absolutely everything. She would have somewhere to live, financial security, and a husband, but on the other, she was not sure if she could do it. Maybe it was childish of her to still worry about what happened with Victoria with everything else that was going on, but she could not totally shake her pride off.
“That is so kind of you, Your Grace. I do not know how to thank you enough.”
“You could say yes,” Edmund said with a small smile. He started to feel like this was not going well at all. “I know this is complex, but it could be wonderful. Before things got all mixed up, we were good together.”
“We were,” Mary whispered. “We were.”
Her brain span as she imagined what her future could actually look like with Edmund in it. She had not planned for this; she had spent a lot of time planning the opposite, but now with him in front of her, she did not know what to say.
“Mary, please.” Edmund decided to try a different tactic and to just lay it all bare. After everything that they had been through, it felt good, to be honest. “I want to be married to you; I have wanted you to be my wife for a very long time. I still want that. Is that not what you want to?”
His genuine honesty affected Mary. She felt it race through her system. “Yes,” she whispered, getting swept up in the moment. “Yes, I do.”
Edmund’s heart lifted. He could finally see a light at the end of the long tunnel that he had been stuck in for far too long. “You do? So you want to get married?”
Mary glanced from side to side, checking that no one was listening to her. Then she leaned in closer to Edmund so that she could whisper to him. He was intrigued, so he pushed his ear forwa
rd to meet her lips.
“I am scared to leave this house,” she admitted to him. “I do not ever wish this information to get out, so I hope you understand that I am trusting you here.” Edmund nodded a little fearfully. “Lord Jones has got a terrible temper, and I fear it is getting worse every single day. I am scared for Charlotte and her unborn child.”
Edmund could not disagree with this; he had seen the bruise, and he could recognise exactly what was going on here. He could also understand why Mary did not want to leave that situation. “I see,” he murmured sadly.
“I am sorry. I really appreciate you being so kind to me and offering to marry me.” Mary pursed her lips tightly together. She hated what she had to say, Edmund could see that by the way her hands squeezed tightly together. “But I am truly scared for Charlotte. I cannot think of doing anything until I know that she is safe. I know she has sent for you, so it probably looks like I am overreacting …”
“No, not at all.” the Duke had to agree; he knew that she was right. “I understand completely. Maybe … maybe this is something that we can revisit at a later date.”
“I do not wish you to wait for me; that is not fair.” Of course it was what she wanted, but she could not expect it. It would not be fair for her to ask Edmund to take himself off the market for her when she did not know when she would be free. This was everything that she had been wanting, but now that it was put in front of her, she realised this was where her priorities lay. She had spent too long wallowing in misery when she needed to remember that Charlotte needed her, “I just have to sort this, then …”
“Yes.” Edmund pushed himself into a standing position. “Then …”
Chapter 24
By the time Edmund reached his home, he felt utterly hopeless. This was a situation that continued to grow increasingly complex with every passing second. Every time he thought that he and Mary could find a way to make it work, something else got in the way. First Victoria, now Charlotte … there was a never-ending string of issues.
He wanted to solve them all. He wished that he could find a way to make Victoria tell the truth; he wished that he could get Charlotte away from her horrible husband … but there was only one problem of Mary’s that he actually thought that he could help with. It would just take him a little persuading when it came to his mother, but he hoped that would not be too much of a problem.
“How did it go?”
He found Iris waiting in the hallway when he stepped back into his home as if she had been waiting there the whole time. That took him aback. He knew that she wanted things to get back on track with him and Mary, but he did not know how important it was to her.
“It … erm, it went,” he answered vaguely. “Actually, it is good that you are here. There is a lot that I want to talk with you about. Do you mind if we take a seat?”
“Yes. Sure. Let us …” Iris felt uneasy. She did not know what any of this meant, but it did not sound positive. “Yes, let us sit.”
They walked through into the living room and took their respective seats. Iris perched her backside on the edge of the chair and leaned her elbows onto her knees where she waited for her son to start telling her the truth.
“It is not good. Things with Mary are bad because of the house. She is terribly upset.”
“Oh, I am sure that she is,” Iris agreed. “That must have been truly devastating for her. I do not know how she is even holding herself together. Does she even know what she is going to do now?”
“Actually …” Edmund let out a little laugh. “She is not too concerned about herself. I am sure she is worried about what she is going to do, but it is not her main focus. She is too busy being worried about everybody else.”
“Is there anything you can do to help?”
Edmund knew his mother would ask this because of her kind heart, which is exactly why he brought it up. He stared intently at Iris, trying to work out whether she would be agreeable to her or not. Her expression was closed off; she was not giving anything away which meant he just had to go for it.
“There is a girl, a maid that used to work at her house. Daisy. It was her friend, and she is very upset about where she is going to work now. The house has been sold, and as far as she is aware, Daisy is out of a job, and she is afraid for her future.”
“I see,” Iris drawled. She did not like to admit it to anyone, but she was starting to grow weary of doing so much herself. She had been trying for a very long time, but there was a big chance that this had all happened at exactly the right moment. “Well, I suppose she could come and work here. We could use some help, could we not?”
The tight knot loosened in Edmund’s chest; that was one of the biggest problems solved. Now Mary could come and visit her friend; she would know that she was alright and being looked after.
“That would be wonderful, Mother. Thank you very much.”
Iris leaned back in her chair and stared at her son. He was not done; she could see that. “What else, Edmund? There is more. You have to tell me what is going on.”
“I know that I do not need to say this to you, Mother, I know that I can trust you with anything, but I need you to keep this a secret. What I tell you next must stay between you and me.”
“You insult me,” Iris squealed, a little miffed. “You know I will not break your trust. I might listen to gossip, but I never spread it myself. I never even believe it wholly. Everything that comes from the mouth of someone else is never the whole truth.”
“Right, I see. Well …” Edmund paused. “This is not something that I heard directly from the person, but I did get it from her sister, and I saw evidence to back it up. Mary’s sister is pregnant.” His heart hammered as he thought about this horrible situation again. “She is having a baby with a man who beats her.”
“What do you mean by evidence?” Iris’ tone suddenly turned stern. “What did you see? Did you see him do anything?”
“I did not,” Edmund admitted. “And Mary has not, but Charlotte has told her. When I was there today, I saw a bruise on Lady Jones’ cheek. She had attempted to cover it up with make-up, but I got a glimpse of it anyway. There is something very unpleasant going on in that household.”
“You need to get her out,” Iris gasped. “You need to get them both out of there.”
“I know.” Edmund’s head fell into his hands as that sense of hopelessness overcame him again. “But how can I? How can I rescue them both? Understandably because of what her sister is going through, Mary says that she does not want to marry me at the moment because she cannot leave her sister there in that house alone. But how can I take them both away from it? Lord Jones does not seem like the sort of man who will let his wife go easily.”
When Iris did not answer him, Edmund knew that he was in the middle of a question with no answer. Iris Smith always knew exactly what to do, so the fact that she did not now spoke volumes.
“You do need to get both girls out,” she said quietly instead. “I am not sure how you will do it, but I know that you are resourceful enough to find a way.”
“I do not think you get it,” Edmund said quite a lot louder this time. “I do not think you understand what that will mean. I will have to leave London. To keep the girls safe, I shall have to leave the city and take them far away. It will take me away from you and the life that we have here.”
Iris sighed loudly. “I know that, and I might not like it, but this is important. You would probably want your own space when you got married anyway, so this will only be like that. I should expect you to move on. Plus if I am going to get some help around the house now, then I shall be fine.”
Edmund leaned close enough so that he could reach out to grab his mother’s hand. He knew that this was something he needed to do, but that did not mean that he liked it either. “Will you be lonely? What if I have to go so far that I do not get to see you very often?”
“I have my friends; I have my own life, and I shall be just fine.”
Edmund nod
ded and agreed. He did not yet have a plan in mind and was not sure how to make this happen, but at least he had considered the complications when it came to this plan. To rescue Charlotte, he would have to take her very far away from that horrible husband of hers. He did not know much about Lord Jones; this was not someone that he had worked with during his career, but he now did not like him one bit. He found him cowardly and disgusting. The sort of man who put his hands on a woman – a pregnant woman at that – was a pig. He did not deserve his wife or his child.
This needed to happen.
“Thank you, Mother. You have been very kind.” Edmund stood up and took a step back. “Now I need to go to my office to make some plans. I do not know what I am going to do yet, but somehow I am going to save the Roberts girls. Mr Walter Thompson made a mess of their lives, but I am going to fix it somehow.”
“You are a good man, Edmund.” Iris smiled at him proudly. “And I know that somehow you will do this.”
***
Daisy felt strange in her new job; she did not quite know where to position herself most of the time. It was not her mistress – Iris was a wonderful woman who did everything that she could to make her feel comfortable, but it was still hard for Daisy to feel settled. Everything was different; she did not yet understand the routines of the house fully, and she also missed her previous employer.
Mostly, she felt like she was betraying Lady Mary Roberts by working for the man who had let her down in so many ways. She struggled with the fact that he had upset her, and now she had to work for him, but the pay was too good to give up. She could not live without a roof over her head, and this was the best place for her to survive. She hoped that Mary would understand that, but she was not convinced that she would.
