“No, no,” she said as she wiped a stray tear away. “I do not wish you to come and stay here. Not when you have so much to decide yourself.”
“Do you mean with the Duke? Because that truly does not matter ...”
“Yes,” Charlotte insisted with more strength to her words now. “Yes, it very much does matter. You have to work out what you want to do with your future. I and my problems are not going anywhere.”
Mary could tell that this was just an excuse, so she nodded and agreed with Charlotte. “That is fine; I shall do whatever you require. However, I shall be here more often so I can help you with whatever it is that you need.”
The girls held onto one another for a little longer, staring at each other as they tried to adjust to all the changes that life was suddenly throwing at them. Charlotte was still very unsure about how she felt when it came to her pregnancy, cementing her in the life that she hated. Mary did not know whether she was supposed to be happy, excited, or very scared. Everything was very confusing, and not knowing about where her life would take her next was slightly unpleasant. It could either be very good, or very bad. Maybe everything was so confusing for a reason. Hopefully, it would all become clear soon enough.
“Shall we have some more tea?” Charlotte asked thickly through the tears. “I believe I would like to sit with you some more as I calm down.”
“I would love that,” Mary agreed. “Whatever you need. Please just know that I am almost here. Whatever I can do, I shall do.”
Mary did not know what she could offer; she was not someone with any sort of power. She did not even have enough money to help her sister escape. All she might potentially end up with was the house ...
Maybe I should marry the Duke, she suddenly thought as a spark of inspiration, her heart racing quickly. Then I can inherit the house and give it to Charlotte to escape. Maybe that is what all of this is leading to ...
Chapter 11
Mary smiled at Edmund across the room where he sat chewing on the food that the cook had prepared for their third meeting. As she had waited for him to arrive, Mary felt unable to control the excitement that bubbled up inside of her. She found herself actually looking forward to seeing the Duke again, which was highly unexpected. It had been almost two weeks since they previously spent time together, and she had missed him.
Maybe this was the right thing to do, and not just for Daisy and Charlotte, but for herself too. Maybe this was where her future happiness lay. She could not explain it, even to herself, but she felt that there was something in the air between her and Duke Edmund. Something strong and powerful.
“I noticed your bookshelf earlier,” he said with a smile on his lips. “There are some very interesting reads on there.”
“You read?” Mary could not stop the shock from pouring out of her mouth. The only other businessman she had known well was her father, and he never had the time to sit down with a book. “I cannot believe it.”
“Do I not look intelligent enough to read?” he teased her, showing a playful side of himself that he had not realised was there. “I cannot believe that you would say such a hurtful thing.”
Mary blushed and giggled girlishly. Her eyes darted downwards, but then she looked back up at him through her eyelashes, admiring his strong and powerful looks. She had always thought him attractive looking, but now that she knew him a little better, that feeling was even stronger.
“I did not mean it like that; I simply presumed that you were too busy with all of your work.”
“Well, I have managed to read Frankenstein during everything that I need to do.”
Mary’s heart stopped dead in her chest; that was her all-time favourite book. Her father often made comments about it not being the sort of literature that she should be reading, but she much preferred it to the sappy, romantic books other girls her age liked.
“Yes, that is a wonderful read,” she said happily. “One that I have devoured more than once.” She pushed herself to her feet and took a couple of steps towards Edmund, doing something braver than she ever thought she would. Something about the confusing feelings she had racing through her veins made her much less shy. “Would you like to go and look at the bookshelf? See if there are any other books that we both share a love of?”
Edmund could hardly believe it; Mary was absolutely perfect! He had never met anyone who liked Frankenstein as much as he did. Of course, he wanted to see what other books they both enjoyed. The more he discovered that they had in common, the surer he started to feel.
Maybe his mother was right, and love was not something that hit you in the face. Maybe it was one of those things that crept up slowly and unexpectedly.
“I would love that.” He rose too, before glancing down at Walter. If there was one thing he was sure of, it was that they needed some time without him. “You should stay here, Mr Thompson, and enjoy your wine. We should not be more than ten minutes, I am certain.”
Walter felt completely taken aback. He had lost all control of this meeting a long time ago, but this was something else. He was supposed to be a chaperone for the Duke and Mary; he was not supposed to leave them alone, but was there much use to him following them towards the bookshelf to listen to a terribly boring conversation about literature?
No, he felt that he would rather remain in his chair where he could relax for a moment. There was not any real trouble that they could get up to in that time anyway.
“Sure, I shall remain here.”
Edmund and Mary started to walk. They moved slowly and deliberately at first but picked up the pace as they left the room. Stifling a laugh, Mary found herself almost running in a desperate attempt to get away from Walter.
“Goodness me, he is a boring man,” Edmund said with a chuckle. “All he wants to talk about is business.”
Mary bit down on her bottom lip as she tried to decide whether or not to say the first thing that popped into her brain. On a whim, she chose to throw caution to the wind and just go for it. “I thought that about you when I first met you.”
Edmund turned to face Mary head on. He was a little taken aback by that remark; he was not expecting it at all. It was not common for Ladies to be honest with their feelings in such a way, but then again, he was far more used to his mother than any other woman. She often told him how it was.
He decided that he should do the same. After all, why not? Maybe that was what love was based upon, the ability to be honest with one another. “I see, is that why you rolled your eyes at me?”
Mary clapped her hand over her mouth as horror struck her; she could not believe it! An icy lump formed in her stomach as she tried to imagine what that must have looked like. He must have assumed her to be so rude. There she was, thinking him a horrible and arrogant man, and she had acted in an awfully uncouth manner.