Just One Kiss

by Stephanie Sterling

  “Then come home?” he growled.

  “I can’t!” she cried, although she was no longer exactly sure why she couldn’t. “Not yet,” was all that she could manage to whimper, as she stared up at Edward with imploring eyes. How long was he going to wait and play these games, she wondered, panicking slightly?

  Edward sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair as he shook his head. “All right, Daff,” he murmured, the passion having drained from his voice. “Whatever you want.”

  Daphne winced. She wanted him! Every day that they were together, her guard slipped further. She tried to force herself to recall the horrors of London, and the trauma of being on her own for six whole years while people gossiped behind her back. Daphne made herself think of the friends she had lost, and the father she would never see again, but then she looked at Edward, and thought about the parts of him that she had only discovered these past few days in Coventry. The scars that he bore were just as deep, if not deeper, than hers.

  “I want to be your friend,” Daphne blurted, before she had even thought about what she was saying. She realized though, that it was exactly the right thing to say, and it was precisely what she wanted-even if Edward was looking at her oddly.

  “My friend?” he echoed. Daphne nodded her head vigorously. “Not my wife?” Edward asked, looking crestfallen. Daphne smiled at him lovingly and then closed the distance between them, wrapping him up in a hug that was soft and tender.

  “Of course that too!” she assured him ardently. “But-but can’t I be both?” she asked, raising her eyes to his hopefully. “Can’t I be your wife and your friend?” she whispered quietly, her smile growing when Edward began running the backs of his fingers over her cheek.

  He nodded slowly. “I think I’d like that,” he mused thoughtfully, answering Daphne’s shy smile with a wide grin of his own. He let the comfortable silence linger for a few minutes, but then said: “now then, about these paintings?”

  “They’re really not very good,” Daphne was quick to tell him once again, to which Edward simply cocked a disbelieving eyebrow. “I-I’m not even sure that I know where I put them…” she mumbled. She was anxious about letting Edward see her little creations, especially when he had been to all of the places that she had imagined.

  “I’m sure that you do,” he said gently, looking so wonderfully kind and interested that Daphne found herself nodding in response. If she expected Edward to let her in, if she wanted him to let her befriend him, then she supposed that she needed to do the same too.

  “You must promise not to laugh,” she made him swear, sounding so much like her younger, former self that Edward couldn’t help but crack a grin. “Edward!” she scolded.

  “I promise,” he assured her, doing his best to look solemn and serious.

  “Good,” Daphne nodded, and then she turned and reached down under her bed for her portfolio.

  Half an hour later Edward was still perusing the paintings with Daphne, praising her talent and telling her about all the real places that he had seen during his time away. Daphne was hungry to know everything and anything that he could tell her about all of the different countries in which he had been stationed.

  “Was it wonderful?” she enthused. “Seeing so many amazing things?”

  Edward cast his mind back, to the fighting and the horrors, but there were scattered moments of peace, of calm, and those were what he selected to tell Daphne about.

  “Sometimes,” he nodded, reclining on Daphne’s bed, where they had spread out some of her work to look at. “Sometimes I used to long for home though,” he confessed, and then almost wished he hadn’t because a spark of hope flashed across Daphne’s face, although she quickly hid it, and he knew that she was wondering if it was her that he had longed for – it hadn’t been, but he had been a blind stupid fool then!

  “Why?” she whispered.

  Edward shrugged his shoulders, having difficulty finding the right words. “Because it was familiar and safe.”

  “That doesn’t sound very exciting,” Daphne said, wrinkling her nose.

  “Sometimes you don’t want excitement, you just want to be were you belong,” he muttered, and then shot his wife a meaningful glance. Where did Daphne think that she belonged? And could he convince her that it was with him? She stared back at him, a small smile on her far too kissable lips, and then she reached for his hand and gave a tight squeeze.

  “I think I understand,” she said softly.

  Edward returned her smile, and dotted a kiss against the back of her hand. “May I ask a favor?” he said suddenly, cheerful and light-hearted again. He had to be careful not to push her too hard; that method didn’t seem to work after all.

  “You may ask, my lord,” Daphne nodded, her eyes narrowing with just a flicker of suspicion.

  “Do you think that I might have one?” he asked, nodding toward the paintings. Daphne’s cheeks grew pink with delight.

  “Do you really want one?” she blushed, smiling shyly.

  “Of course!” he nodded, because he wanted something of hers, some token… “Perhaps the one of Paris?” he mused. “I should like to get it framed so that I can hang it in my study,” he said thoughtfully.

  “Edward, it’s not nearly good enough for that!” Daphne exclaimed, but Edward caught her smiling rather delightedly.

  “Nonsense,” he said dismissively. “Of course it is.” And to him it was truly perfect… because she had painted it.

  “You’re very kind,” Daphne murmured softly, with her eyes shining brightly, and a smile still on her lips.

  Edward’s brow furrowed in a slight frown. “Well, I don’t know about that,” he said gruffly, remembering everything that he had so cruelly put her through.

  “Oh but you are!” Daphne nodded her head emphatically. “I’ve always known that you were,” she added quietly. “And I knew that you’d prove me right eventually.”

  Edward didn’t know what to say to that-didn’t know if there was anything that he could say to such a remark. It made him feel impossibly good, and impossibly bad all at the same time. He had treated Daphne so terribly. She had been little more than a child when they had married. A silly girl, but so young and innocent. He had been the adult, twenty-two years old, the same age as his wife was now, and his behavior had been abysmal.

  “Edward?” Daphne’s soft, beautiful voice drew him out of his black thoughts. “What’s wrong?” she puzzled anxiously.

  “Nothing,” he said quickly, too quickly evidently, because he could see the doubt that crept into her eyes. “I was just wondering,” Edward hedged slowly, “how to get back downstairs?”

  Daphne eyes widened a little. “The same way as we came up?” she pondered, chewing her lip as she mused.

  “Anthony might have come back to the house by now,” Edward pointed out. “He could be in either room.” His wife nodded slowly, clearing having reached this conclusion on her own.

  “What are we going to do then?” she whimpered. “You don’t happen to know any secret passageways that lead into this room do you?” she asked, with a hesitant smile.

  “Unfortunately not,” Edward sighed, looking thoughtful, glancing around the chamber. His eyes came to rest on the window. He stared at it for a minute, and then crossed the room to peer outside.

  “Edward, what are you-?” Daphne began, stopping to frown as Edward threw open the window. “Edward?”

  “I thought I remembered that you had quite a lovely oak growing at the back of the house,” he smiled slowly.

  “No!” Daphne gasped, grasping what Edward intended to do. She hurried across the room, over to the window too, looking out, but catching hold of Edward’s arm. “Don’t you dare-!”

  “I really think I ought to try,” he said, surveying the scene and grinning devilishly.

  “I really think you ought not to try, my lord!” Daphne cried, trying and failing to tug him away from the window.

  “It’s not so very high,” he chuckled, th
inking that if he could manage it the tree might prove to be something of a blessing…

  “Edward! You might fall and break your neck!” Daphne whimpered, clinging to him all the tighter. Edward simply laughed and dropped a kiss to her lips.

  “What would you have us do, my dear?”

  “We could just walk downstairs and hope no one sees us?” she muttered timidly.

  “Someone will see us,” Edward argued emphatically. He captured her lips again, kissing her more thoroughly, saying goodbye…

  “Don’t go,” Daphne whispered, smoothed her hands over his chest. “You don’t have to go yet.”

  “Your brother or your mother is going to wonder where we are, Daff,” Edward panted, his body, which he had barely managed to rein under control from their last clinch, was ready to go up in flames. If he didn’t put a stop to this now then he wasn’t going to be able to, but then why should he? Daphne was his wife! Unfortunately Daphne’s thoughts didn’t appear to be running parallel to Edward’s. She stepped back, pulling herself out of his embrace.

  “You’re right, I know you’re right, I’m sorry,” she apologized breathlessly. “We can’t afford to let them catch us.”

  Edward took a few very deep breaths, trying to cool the fire racing through his blood. “Does this mean I now have your permission to climb out of the window?” he grinned wryly, although Edward rather thought he would need a few more minutes before he was in a fit state to go clambering down a tree.

  Daphne looked torn. “I really think-” she began, looking at the door with longing. “If I went out ahead and made sure the coast was clear.”

  “No, Daff,” Edward said, so firmly he didn’t brook opposition.

  “But Edward-”

  “I’ll be fine,” he promised, kissing his wife on the cheek, not trusting himself to claim her lips and then be able to release her again. “But I will be back,” he added with a wicked grin. Daphne’s lips parted in a curious, delightful little circle and then she gave a terrified squeal as her husband climbed out of the window.

  I must really want her back, Edward thought to himself, as he tried not to look down at the ground as he carefully climbed down the oak tree, really want her back. He was twenty-eight years old climbing out of his wife’s bedroom window. Edward almost laughed aloud. It was ludicrous. At least he hoped that it proved to Daphne the lengths to which he was willing to go to win her back.

  Chapter 30

  Daphne held her breath until Edward was safely down on the ground. Her heart felt ready to punch its way right out of her chest! She couldn’t believe he was doing this. A secret part of her was absolutely thrilled that he was!

  “Are you all right?” Daphne tried to shout and whisper at the same.

  She wasn’t sure if Edward heard her, but he smiled brilliantly, causing Daphne’s heart further palpitations, and waved goodbye. She smiled dreamily, watching her husband until he was entirely out of sight, and even after that she lingered at the window for several more minutes before turning away.

  She walked back to her bed, looking over the paintings that Edward had so highly praised, feeling a delighted blush stain her cheeks at just the memory of his admiration. She carefully selected the cityscape of Paris, laying it aside for Edward to collect the next time that he called—or should she have it sent over to Packwood House?

  Daphne was just pondering this question when there was a booming knock on her door before it was flung wide open.

  “Where is he?” Anthony bellowed, striding into the room, although he did falter and seem perplexed to find Daphne sitting on her bed all alone.

  Daphne did her best to look innocent. “Who?”

  “Coventry! Who else would I mean?” he snarled.

  “Edward’s gone,” Daphne said sweetly. Anthony scowled. He looked like he dearly wanted to search the room. “You didn’t think I’d allow him up here did you, Anthony?” Daphne was rather pleased by how scandalized she sounded. Her brother grunted something, but then stormed back out of the room, much to Daphne’s amusement.

  Daphne spent much of the remainder of the day upstairs in her room, thinking about Edward, thinking about the things she had done with Edward, thinking about what Edward was doing now. She was almost embarrassed by how completely he dominated her thoughts.

  He seemed to be making such a conscious effort to change though. She didn’t know how much longer she was going to be able to resist his persuasions to return to him. She wasn’t even entirely sure why she wanted to continue resisting… but for the fear that once she went back everything would slip back to how it had been before.

  Daphne wasn’t sure how she would cope with that, not now, not after seeing this new side to her husband. A side that was tender and caring, and interested in her as a person. She wanted to trust that he had truly changed for the better, but Edward had betrayed her once before.

  Dinner that evening was an awkward affair. Mrs. Hargreaves was clearly dying to know what had come to pass between her daughter and the Earl, but Anthony had all but forbidden the mention of Edward’s name in his presence. Daphne wasn’t entirely sorry about this, it had to be said; there wasn’t exactly very much about her husband’s visit that she could have told her mother after all.

  Anthony announced instead that he was required to return to London the following morning. He told them that an anonymous businessman had expressed an interest in making a large investment in the shipping company of which he held major shares for the family. The board was meeting to discuss the offer and so his presence was needed in the city.

  “Will you be gone long?” Daphne asked, wondering how she could get word to Edward.

  “No,” Anthony barked, as if he had guessed her thoughts. “A few days at most,” he muttered.

  “You don’t have to rush back, Anthony,” Mrs. Hargreaves said sweetly. “I’m sure that Daphne and I can manage on our own for a while if you have other business to attend to in London.”

  Daphne watched as Anthony scowled at their mother. “I’m sure that won’t be necessary,” he grumbled. “I’ll be back before the end of the week.”

  A few days without her brother’s overbearing, over protective presence was still something however, Daphne reasoned sensibly. Now, if only she could ensure that Edward would call on her again while Anthony was away!

  Daphne really needn’t have worried. Anthony hadn’t left Dunnely House for more than half an hour before the butler announced that they had a visitor, a gentleman caller, the Earl of Coventry. Daphne couldn’t help it-she was positively beaming with delight when Edward was shown through to the sitting room where she had been idly reading.

  “My lord,” she curtsied.

  “My lady,” he smiled widely, kissing the back of his wife’s hand. “I wondered if I might borrow you today?”

  “Borrow me?” Daphne echoed him, although the notion brought a light flush to her cheeks.

  Edward nodded. “I was thinking of having some improvements made at Packwood. As it’s really our house, I wanted to know what you thought of them before going ahead with any of the renovations.”

  Daphne felt something warm and wonderful spread through her body, starting in her chest and then radiating out until she was tingling all over with a blissful sense of happiness.

  “Well, you happen to be in luck,” Daphne smiled brightly. “Anthony returned to London this morning, so there’s no odious older brother for you to sneak me away from today.”

  “Really?” Edward grinned, not looking half as surprised as Daphne would have expected. “What a remarkable stroke of luck.”

  “Indeed, my lord,” Daphne said slowly, looking at her husband a little suspiciously. But perhaps he had seen Anthony’s coach leaving somehow? That would make sense. She smiled again. “We should tell my mother though,” Daphne nodded, and then sighed and rolled her eyes. “No doubt she’ll be delighted.”

  “Oh?” Edward cocked an interested eyebrow. “And why is that?”

  Daphne l
icked her lips hesitantly. “My mother-my mother takes a somewhat different view of our situation than Anthony does.”

  Edward’s grin suddenly widened.“Is that so?” he breathed thoughtfully. “Well now, that is interesting.”

  Not really, Daphne wanted to whimper, but she couldn’t tell Edward how horrid her mother could be to her. It was just too embarrassing. Lady Margaret’s disapproval and censure she could understand, even if it was horribly unpleasant to endure, but the fact that her own mother had turned on her? That was just unbearable.

  “I think mother is in her sitting room,” Daphne murmured quietly.

  Edward frowned slightly at her hesitance. “You do want to come back to Packwood with me, don’t you, Daff?” he asked quickly.

  “Oh-of course!” Daphne said instantly. “Come, the sitting room is this way,” she said, leading Edward out into the hall. They walked in silence through the corridors until reaching the sitting room, where Daphne hesitated for a moment, knocked and then entered.

  “Daphne is that-oh!” Mrs. Hargreaves started in surprise as the doorway of her cozy sitting room was filled by the imposing presence of her son-in-law. “Lord Coventry,” she gasped.

  Edward dipped his head in a bow, while Daphne frowned, she didn’t think that she had ever heard her mother sound so flustered before. “Edward has invited me over to Packwood, Mother,” she said coolly. Mrs. Hargreaves eyes widened as her eyebrows lifted.

  “You are of course welcome to join us, Mrs. Hargreaves,” Edward smiled charmingly. Daphne felt a flicker of panic, but her mother smiled conspiratorially and declined Edward’s polite offer.

  “I’ll see you later then, Mother?” Daphne said hesitantly.

  “Yes, yes,” Mrs. Hargreaves replied, waving them out the door. “Don’t hurry back on my account, dear. I can manage quite well on my own. Goodbye, my lord,” she said brightly, her eyes glittering with calculations that Daphne didn’t even want to think about.

  “I’m so sorry about that,” Daphne sighed, once she and Edward were alone again.