by Laura Beers
“I will never sell my land,” Mr. Rawlings asserted.
“I assumed as much,” Edmund huffed, “which is why we need to learn to deal with each other as neighbors.”
A wistful expression came to Mr. Rawlings’s face as he admitted, “I loved Alice.”
“I don’t want to hear this,” he snapped.
“You need to, though,” Mr. Rawlings said as he came to sit down in front of the desk. “I think it would do us both some good to clear the air.”
Edmund clenched his jaw, but he didn’t say anything in response.
“Alice and I struck up a friendship in the woodlands, but it wasn’t long before I fancied myself in love with her,” Mr. Rawlings shared. “I made the mistake of thinking she returned my affections.”
“But I saw you kissing in the woods.”
Mr. Rawlings nodded. “On that fateful morning, Alice came to me and informed me that she was pregnant with your child,” he explained. “I begged her to leave you. I said we could raise the child together. But she refused. She informed me that she was going to try to make your marriage work, for the sake of your child.”
Swiping at his tear-filled eyes, Mr. Rawlings continued. “I tried everything to convince her, including kissing her, but her mind had been made up. She chose you.”
“I had no idea.”
Mr. Rawlings met his gaze. “I have hated you ever since, and I vowed to make your life miserable.”
“I must admit that the feeling has been mutual.”
A hint of a smile came to Rawlings’s lips. “I can only imagine,” he said. “Was Alice able to convince you to have a true marriage?”
With a slight shake of his head, Edmund replied, “Regretfully, I never trusted her after I saw you kissing in the woods, and, for a time, I even suspected my daughter was yours.”
“That is impossible,” Mr. Rawlings asserted. “We never were intimate.”
“I must admit that I am relieved to hear that.”
Mr. Rawlings rose from his chair. “I can’t promise that I will ever become friends with you, but I would like us to be cordial to one another.”
Rising, Edmund came around his desk and held out his hand. “I would like that, as well.”
Mr. Rawlings shook his hand. “I wish you luck with Miss Blackmore,” he said.
“Thank you.” Edmund released his hand and stepped back. “And I wish you luck in your endeavors. Please inform your parents that my solicitor will be contacting them shortly.”
With a tip of his head, Mr. Rawlings departed from the room, and Edmund stared at his retreating figure, feeling as though a great burden had been lifted off his shoulders. Amelia had been right about forgiving Mr. Rawlings and moving on. He felt lighter somehow. Freer.
Edmund sat down at his chair in stunned disbelief. Alice had chosen him in the end. That felt good to hear, to know. His wife hadn’t betrayed him like he had thought. Sadly, he had wasted so much time being filled with anger and hate, and it was all for naught.
It was time for him to move forward, to start anew. And hopefully he could convince Amelia to be a part of his new life.
15
The afternoon sun was bright and clear, and Amelia watched in amusement as Sybil’s wide eyes admired a butterfly fluttering from flower to flower.
“Papa,” Sybil said in a hushed voice, waving him over, “come look at the butterfly.”
Edmund smiled tenderly at his daughter. “I can see it from the footpath.”
“I bet you can’t see its wings,” Sybil challenged. “They have spots on them.”
With an amused side glance at Amelia, he remarked, “I don’t think I have ever seen a butterfly’s wings with spots on them.”
Sybil gasped as another butterfly landed on a flower in front of her. “There are two butterflies now!” she exclaimed as she leaned closer to the flower.
“Don’t get too close, or you will scare them off,” Edmund warned.
“Do you think I could keep the butterfly as a pet?” Sybil asked, speaking over her shoulder.
The duchess spoke up from next to her son. “Butterflies don’t make very good pets, my dear.”
“Why not?” Sybil asked.
“Because they aren’t meant to be cooped up in a jar,” Ellen explained. “They are meant to be free and unconstrained.”
“Oh,” Sybil replied with a slight pout. “I suppose that makes sense.”
Amelia turned her attention towards the duchess. “I noticed that your limp is hardly discernable,” she observed.
“I have recovered nicely from our mishap,” Ellen replied.
“That you have,” Edmund agreed, “and I am pleased that you decided to join us on our walk today.”
The duchess smiled. “It is such a lovely day for a walk.”
“That it is,” Edmund replied.
Sybil leaped up suddenly, skipping off across the lawn.
Ellen chuckled. “I wish I had Sybil’s energy.”
“As do I,” Edmund agreed. “She is nearly impossible to keep up with.”
“You were the same way as a child,” his mother shared. “Everything interested you, but nothing held your attention for too long.”
Sybil dropped down onto the grass and shouted, “Grandmother! Come quick.”
“If you will excuse me, I have been summoned,” she said with laughter in her voice.
As the duchess walked away, Amelia decided it was the perfect opportunity to ask Edmund about what happened with Rawlings and his steward this morning.
“How did your meeting with Rawlings go?” she inquired.
“It went better than expected.”
“It did?”
Glancing over at her, Edmund replied, “You were right about forgiving him and moving on.”
“I am glad to hear that you took my advice.”
A smile came to his lips. “If I hadn’t, then I would have no doubt you would have pestered me until I followed it.”
“Perhaps.”
His smile faltered. “I did learn that my steward was setting those fires to force people to sell their land. He had misconstrued my words to justify his unscrupulous methods.”
“That is awful.”
“I agree, which is why I am in the process of making restitution to them.”
Amelia smiled approvingly. “That is admirable of you.”
“I also intend to return Rawlings’s parents’ land to them.”
“I bet that pleased Rawlings immensely,” Amelia said, turning to face him.
“It did,” he replied. “He informed me that I wasn’t as terrible as he had led himself to believe.”
“That is a start.”
Edmund nodded. “I daresay we won’t ever be friends, but we both hope to be cordial to one another.” He grew silent before saying, “He also spoke to me about Alice.”
“How was that received?”
“Surprisingly well,” he admitted, his eyes growing reflective. “Rawlings tried to convince Alice to run away with him, but she wouldn’t go. She chose to stay with me because of our baby.”
“That must have made you happy to hear.”
“It did. Alice’s memory was tainted in my mind because of her betrayal, but now I am starting to see her in a different light.”
“That is wonderful news,” Amelia said sincerely, “especially for Lady Sybil’s sake.”
“It is,” he replied. “For so long, I have been filled with anger and hatred, but that has all dissipated now. I feel as if I am a new man.”
“I am happy to hear that.”
“And it is all because of you.”
Amelia shook her head. “No, it is because of you. You made the change, not me.”
“I would like to speak to you about something important tonight after dinner,” Edmund said, watching her closely.
“Do you intend to dismiss me again?” she joked.
He didn’t smile as she hoped he would. “No, quite the opposite, in fact,” he remarked,
his voice growing husky.
Edmund was watching her with an intensity she could scarcely understand, and she found herself blushing profusely. She attempted to think of something to say, anything, but she couldn’t seem to formulate any thoughts. Not with him looking at her like that.
Fortunately, their private interlude was interrupted by Sybil yelling, “Papa!”
Shifting his gaze towards his daughter, Edmund said, “It would appear that Sybil is eager to show me something.”
“You’d better go,” she encouraged.
Edmund looked as if he wanted to say something more, but instead he bobbed his head. “I will be back shortly.”
As she watched Edmund walk the short distance towards his daughter, she barely noticed that the duchess had come to stand next to her.
“You two appear to be getting rather close,” Ellen commented.
“We are,” Amelia admitted. “Which is why it is time to tell him the truth about why I am here.”
“Must you?”
Amelia turned towards the duchess in surprise. “Why do you say that?”
Frowning, Ellen responded, “I worry that he will react poorly to the news.”
“Regardless, I can’t keep lying to him,” Amelia insisted. “He deserves to know the truth.”
“And if that truth drives him away?”
Amelia felt a stabbing pain in her heart at that question, knowing there was some validity to it. “Then that is my answer.”
“To what?”
She took a deep breath before admitting, “I care for Edmund, and I know that he feels the same. He asked to speak to me about something important after dinner.”
The duchess clasped her hands together. “Hallelujah!” she exclaimed. “I couldn’t have planned this better if I tried.”
“I daresay that you have managed to make yourself plenty scarce.”
“That is true, and it worked splendidly,” Ellen admitted. “It became apparent early on that you two were meant for one another.”
Amelia watched as Edmund stood next to his daughter, who was animatedly telling him something. “Edmund is a good man, with a kind heart.”
“That he is, but it was you who reminded him of that,” Ellen asserted. “I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t come along when you did.”
“Eventually, Edmund would have figured out that Sybil was his daughter.”
“Yes, but how much time would have been wasted before that happened?”
A smile came to her lips as Edmund crouched down and picked up a white, fluffy dandelion. He extended it towards Sybil and let her blow on it. How she adored this man. He was quickly filling a void in her heart, a void she hadn’t even known existed until now.
“I believe you two could be very happy together,” Ellen observed as she followed her gaze.
“That is assuming he will forgive me for deceiving him.”
“He will.”
Shifting her gaze towards the duchess, she asked, “How can you be so sure?”
Ellen smirked. “Because he would be a fool not to.”
“My sisters will be terribly disappointed in me,” Amelia shared. “I was supposed to befriend the duke, not fall for him.”
“I would imagine your sisters would be happy for you.”
Their conversation stilled when Edmund and Sybil approached them. “Papa is going to take me to the stream so I can pet a frog!” the little girl exclaimed as she came to a stop in front of her. “Isn’t that exciting?”
“I should warn you that frogs are rather slimy,” Amelia said.
Sybil bobbed her head vehemently. “I would imagine so.”
“Would you care to join us?” Edmund asked.
Amelia smiled up at him. “I would like that very much.”
“Your boots might get muddy,” Edmund cautioned.
Her smile grew. “Now you’ve just sold me on the adventure.”
Edmund had never offered for someone before, and he found himself growing increasingly nervous. Would Amelia be receptive to his offer of marriage? He hoped so. He wouldn’t be able to stand it if he saw her day in and day out, knowing that she wasn’t his.
Amelia looked especially lovely this evening. She was dressed in a primrose muslin gown, and her hair was piled high on top of her head. Her beauty may have caught his eye, but it was her genuineness, her gentleness, her smile, and confidence that had won his heart.
His mother’s voice broke through his musings. “Edmund? Are you well?”
Realizing that he had been caught staring at Amelia, he quickly turned his gaze towards his mother. “I’m afraid I was woolgathering.”
“That is a terrible habit to have,” his mother teased.
He chuckled awkwardly. “I suppose it is.”
As the servants removed the dessert plates, Edmund turned towards Amelia, not wanting to wait another moment to speak to her. “Would you care to step out on the veranda for a moment?” he asked, holding his breath.
She smiled at him. “Yes, I would like that very much.”
Edmund pushed back his chair, rose, and went to assist Amelia in rising. He didn’t release her hand but pulled it into the crook of his arm.
As they walked out of the dining room, he asked, “Will you be warm enough or would you like me to wait while you retrieve your shawl?”
“I don’t think a shawl is necessary on a night like this one.”
They continued to walk towards the rear of the manor in silence, which he was most grateful for. He kept rehearsing what he intended to say to her the moment they were alone.
The footman opened the door and allowed them to exit onto the veranda. He released her hand and turned to face her.
“You look lovely tonight,” Edmund complimented.
Even in the moonlight, he could see her blush. “Thank you,” came her soft reply. “That is kind of you to say.”
Edmund reached for her hand and brought it up to his lips. “I would like to ask you something, Amelia.”
An undeniably sad look came to her eyes, causing him to pause his speech. “What is it?” He lowered her hand but didn’t release it.
“I have to tell you something first,” she responded, “and I hope that it won’t change anything between us.”
“It won’t,” he asserted.
“I pray that is the case.” She let out a shuddering breath. “I am not who you think I am.”
Edmund released her hand. “No?” he asked hesitantly. “What do you mean by that?”
Amelia offered him a timid smile. “I am a matchmaker,” she admitted, “and your mother hired me to find you a suitable bride.”
“Pardon?” He had not been expecting that.
“My sisters and I are matchmakers in Town,” she explained. “I came to Harrowden Hall under the guise of your mother’s companion so I could befriend you and find you a brilliant match.”
He took a step back. “You did what?!”
“I was supposed to be here for a few days, only long enough to learn more about you, but that was before I got to know the real you.”
Edmund ran a hand through his hair, finding the familiar anger burning inside of him. “You deceived me.”
“I did, and I am sorry.”
“Is that supposed to make it right?”
Amelia lowered her gaze to the lapels of his black jacket. “No, but I am hoping you will forgive me.”
Edmund scoffed. “You are asking for forgiveness now?”
“I care for you, Edmund,” she rushed out, bringing her gaze up to meet his. “More than I should, and—”
He cut her off. “You lied to me,” he asserted. “I can’t believe anything that you are saying.”
Hurt flashed across her features, but it did not soften his stance. “I am still the same person,” Amelia insisted.
“Frankly, I don’t even know who you are.”
Taking a step closer to him, she said, “Everything else that I told you was the truth.”
He turned back around to face her. “Have you completed your job to your satisfaction?” he asked dryly.
“Edmund, you must understand—”
He put up his hand to still her words. “Have you completed your job?” he repeated.
She paused. “I have.”
“Then I want you to depart from Harrowden Hall,” he said. “You are no longer welcome here.”
Clasping her hands in front of her, Amelia pleaded, “Please don’t make me go. I want to stay… with you.”
Edmund took a step closer to her. “You lied to me,” he growled. “You have kept this ruse up for too long for me to ever trust you again.”
Amelia winced. “You must understand that I never imagined that it would work out this way.”
“How did you think it would work out?” he huffed.
“I never anticipated I would come to hold you in such high regard.”
“It matters not,” Edmund said with a shake of his head. “What’s done is done.”
“Please,” Amelia murmured, “don’t do this.”
Some of his anger dissipated at her soft plea, but he still refused to yield. “You should have been forthright and honest from the beginning.”
“Your mother didn’t think you would be receptive to having a matchmaker in your home,” Amelia explained. “That is the reason for the ruse.”
He clenched his jaw, knowing that she spoke the truth. “Is that supposed to make it right between us?”
“No, but I wanted you to know the reasoning behind it.”
“I trusted you, completely,” he said, shifting his gaze away from hers. “And you were deceiving me the whole time.”
Tears came to her eyes. “I’m sorry.”
Edmund glanced up at the nursery window. “Sybil will be devastated when you leave.”
A tear slipped out of her eye and she reached up to wipe it away. “I will miss her, as well,” she admitted. “May I say goodbye to her?”
“You may.”
“Thank you.”
Edmund let out a deep sigh. “This is not how I imagined my night would end.”
