“Oh yes.” Iris did her best to stifle a smile. “And what did you discover?”
Edmund took a seat opposite his mother and stared into the distance thoughtfully. So many different emotions raced through him that he did not know where to begin. Everything was wonderful, though. He knew now that he felt very positive about what the future held. He had no idea exactly what would happen between him and Mary yet; he was not in a position to make any sort of decision on that front. His opinion on only being married to someone he loved dearly remained central to him, but he did want to see her again which was a start.
“She is interested,” he said with pursed lips as he gazed out the window. “Unlike anyone I have ever met before. She has clearly led a very sheltered life, but that is understandable considering she has not had both parents for quite some time.”
Iris held in a laugh. It amused her that her son thought himself so worldly when he was also sheltered, just in a different way. He kept his own world quite small; it just seemed bigger to him because it involved many countries. Iris hoped that he and Mary could bring out the best in one another. Her son was wonderful, but he did need to open up more.
“Well, that is lovely. I presume you will not be sending out any rash letters and attending any more balls anytime soon?”
While Iris did not know exactly what happened at the ball, she could tell that it had affected her son. His whole attitude changed dramatically afterwards, so obviously he did not enjoy the experience. Maybe he had seen how false the whole thing was, how awful it felt to be on display, or maybe someone had behaved terribly.
Either way, it had led to a lot of good things. Now he was considering Mary as an option, which was utterly wonderful.
“No, I shall not. Not for the time being. I am happy to see where things will go.”
Edmund left the room and walked through the house with a bounce in each step. Happiness lifted him like he was filled with air; he had never felt so positive about the future. This proved to him that he really needed to start giving people a second chance. He had not recognised how much he judged people by the first impression he got from them before. It was a ruthless attitude that had done him well in business, but clearly not in his personal life.
From now on, he would view the world in a very different way. Mary had already altered his perception of the world. Who knew what would happen next?
Chapter 10
Mary sat across from her sister chewing on her bottom lip. She had arranged to see Charlotte the day after meeting with Duke Edmund for the second time under the assumption that she would need someone to rant to and complain about him ... but now she did not know what to say.
“So, how did it go?” Charlotte narrowed her eyes curiously at her sister. She had been silent for far too long; it was starting to become strange. “You said in your letter that Walter made you speak with the Duke again. Are you surer than ever that you do not wish to follow Father’s wishes, because like I said before, you can always come and stay here ...”
“I am not sure,” Mary interrupted. She spent all night long lying awake, trying to place her feelings into some kind of box that made sense, but there was no way to decipher her emotions. All she knew was that they were different. “I do not know what I want ...”
“Is this because of the house?” Charlotte’s words grew louder in her desperation. “Because it is not worth it; I can promise you that much.”
Mary shook her head quickly; she knew her sister’s opinion on the subject. It was exactly how she felt about it too ... until recently. Very recently. “No, it is not that at all. I am not too sure how I feel. I think ...” She paused thoughtfully for a brief moment. “I do not know why, but I think I might like him.”
“You do?” Charlotte almost yelled. She forgot herself for a moment before reeling herself in. The privacy would only last so long; the last thing she wanted was for anyone else in the house to rush to the room. She lowered her voice, steeled herself, and continued speaking, “I mean, you do? You like him? How do you mean you like him?”
Mary forced herself to stop for a second before answering. She had not realised how insensitive this might sound to Charlotte. Her sister was miserable, stuck in a marriage that she did not like with a man chosen by their father. Mary sat with her, telling her that she might possibly be happy with the man that their father had chosen for her. It was not fair.
“I ... I do not know,” she ended up finishing lamely. “I am not sure what I am talking about.”
Charlotte breathed deeply as she tried her best to calm down. She recognised that expression on her sister’s face and did not like it at all. It was not her intention to make Mary feel uncomfortable sharing her own story with her. Just because she was unhappy, it did not mean that everyone else should be too.
Maybe Father did better for Mary, she thought morosely. Maybe he actually did see the mistake that he made with me.
Admittedly, that did churn bitterness in her gut. She felt that she deserved happiness too, but that did not take away from the fact that Mary could at least find comfort in her own life. Charlotte needed to find it within herself to be pleased for Mary, even if it was just to her face.
“Mary,” she said seriously while reaching out to grab her sister’s hand in what she hoped would be a comforting gesture. “I believe that you do know, and I wish that you would share it with me so I can be happy for you.”
Mary did not know what to do. On the one hand, she truly did not want to harm her sister, but on the other, she did not want to keep secrets from her either. She decided to give her a small snippet of the truth.
“I do think I could grow to like him,” she replied carefully. “Maybe he is not as bad as I first thought. I do not know exactly how I feel, but it is not as negative as I felt the first time around. Maybe he is not so arrogant.”
Charlotte nodded slowly, acceptingly. “Well, that is good news. At least if you like the Duke, then you can marry him and still keep the house. You can inherit it.”
Mary stood up and paced the room thoughtfully. “What do you think I should do if I do inherit the house?” she asked Charlotte. “I presume that the Duke will have a home of his own that he will want us to live in. Just like your husband ...”
The words fell into silence as she spun back to see her sister with her head in her hands and her shoulders shaking. It was such an odd, unexpected sight that Mary did not know what to think at first. She could not recall a time when she had ever seen Charlotte crying before which was why it took her a moment to recognise what was going on.