“I did not wish to speak of it considering it caused us to have such a fall out before, but yes, of course. I still wish for you to get married ... unless you are considering giving Mary Roberts another try? Have you reconsidered how you feel about her yet?”
Edmund did not want to admit it, but the more that time had passed, the more he could think only about her beauty rather than the things he did not like about her. He was not going to tell his mother this for fear of being accused of being shallow. He did not want Iris to think that after all of his convictions of only marrying the one that he loved, he was now thinking of a woman’s beauty over everything else.
“I do not think so,” he replied with an air of nonchalance. He jutted out his chin and kept his eyes away from his mother. He did not want her to see right through him. She knew him so well that she probably could anyway.
“Have you sent word to the man who is in control of her father’s estate, letting her know of your wishes?”
As Edmund shook his head, Iris knew with utter certainty that there was still a chance. Her son did everything by the book; he always made sure that his paperwork was filed on time. If he had not yet sent that letter out, there had to be a reason for it. Maybe he was thinking about Mary more than he let on.
After Edmund came home raging about his meeting with her, and he confessed to listening to all the rumours and gossip about her, Iris did some digging of her own. In all honesty, Iris had not managed to find out a lot about Mary or her sister. They seemed to be very quiet and mysterious. Two qualities that would probably lead to them being gossiped about negatively. Iris had lived long enough not to believe too much herself. She preferred to reserve judgement to discover her own opinions.
She would not tell Edmund, but secretly she was holding out hope she was the one that her son would end up with.
“Well, you must do it soon, especially if there is an inheritance hanging on it, and you do not wish to see her again. I presume she will need to make other arrangements. It is not fair to leave your decision unknown.”
For some reason, the idea of Mary making other arrangements caused a tight knot to form in Edmund’s chest.
What is wrong with me? he asked silently. Why do I care? If I do not wish to marry her, then I should let her be with someone else.
“I will send out a letter next week,” he said determinedly, more to himself than his mother. “Next week, after I have been to at least one of these events.” He held up the invitations although of course she already knew what he was talking about. “Then I can hopefully get back to doing what I do best without any interference.”
“Good, yes of course.” Iris held up her hands in a surrendering gesture. “You know that I only wish the best for you, that is all.”
Edmund did know that. He felt terrible for the way that he had been acting towards her when all she wanted to do was help. “You know I love you, Mother,” he said a little stiffly. “And I am grateful. You know what I am like. I am just set in my own ways. I want what I want.”
“I know, Edmund, and I respect that about you. I just want you to open yourself up a little more. You are a wonderful man. You will make someone a wonderful husband, and I am sure you will be a great father to any children you have. I just want you to have it all.”
Edmund thought about his own father at that moment in a way that he had not in a very long time. He wondered if he would be close to his father if he were still alive; he wondered if he would be there to give him some advice. Would his life be different if he had not lost his father? Would he be more open to letting love in without putting too much pressure on himself and the women that he met?
It was then he realised that he was affected by the loss of his father just as Mary was. He had also been told during his search for information about the Roberts girls that their mother was no longer around either. That had to be very hard, no parents at all. He gave his mother a grateful look, glad that she was still around.
“I will go into it with open eyes; I promise you,” he told her in a moment with his guards down. “I know it is important to you that I am happy.”
“And fulfilled,” Iris jumped in. “I know that you are happy with your business. I know that overseas trade keeps you excited, but there is more to life. I just do not want you to forget that.”
As Edmund walked away, his mind was all over the place. Again, without even trying, his mother had made him think about things in an entirely different way. Or maybe she did know exactly what she was doing; perhaps she chose her words very carefully to ensure that he was sent into a tailspin. Either way, Edmund had the very strong feeling that everything was going to change. He did not know if this was a good or bad thing, but it seemed that he was about to find out...
Chapter 6
As Walter sat across from Mary at the same table where he had revealed her father’s plans to her, he tapped his fingers together in a gesture which Mary was starting to believe indicated annoyance. Her heart raced merrily in her chest as she tried to work out exactly how she felt about that.
On the one hand, she had made it clear to Walter that she was not sure about this marriage arrangement at all, which was very brave of her. On the other hand, now she was about to face the consequences of that, and she had no idea what they might be.
She wished Charlotte were with her. With her sister by her side, she would be able to feel much stronger about everything, but of course, her poor sister had her own problems to deal with.
“What are you trying to say to me, Mary?” he asked sternly. “That you are not sure about the Duke or that you do not wish to marry him at all?”
I do not want to marry him, please do not make me marry that rude, arrogant man.
That was what she wanted to say, but it was not what she said aloud. She could clearly see that Walter had already grown irritated by her and did not want to make it worse.
“I am trying to tell you that I do not think he wishes to marry me,” she said, trying a different tactic. “He has not sent word that he wishes to meet again, has he? It has been almost a week. I would presume that I would know by now.” She kept her eyes wide and innocent, trying her best to disguise her glee. “You have not?”
“Things might not move that quickly,” Walter shot back. “He might well be considering his options just as much as you are. This will be a surprise to him just as it has been to you.”
“Oh, I know.” Mary stifled a smile. “I can understand that ... I just think it might be time to discuss the finer details to my father’s request. Did he set a time limit? Did he request that I marry someone else if I do not find the Duke appropriate? The last time we had a meeting regarding this, I did not feel as if I got all the information.”