His genuine honesty affected Mary. She felt it race through her system. “Yes,” she whispered, getting swept up in the moment. “Yes, I do.”
Edmund’s heart lifted. He could finally see a light at the end of the long tunnel that he had been stuck in for far too long. “You do? So you want to get married?”
Mary glanced from side to side, checking that no one was listening to her. Then she leaned in closer to Edmund so that she could whisper to him. He was intrigued, so he pushed his ear forward to meet her lips.
“I am scared to leave this house,” she admitted to him. “I do not ever wish this information to get out, so I hope you understand that I am trusting you here.” Edmund nodded a little fearfully. “Lord Jones has got a terrible temper, and I fear it is getting worse every single day. I am scared for Charlotte and her unborn child.”
Edmund could not disagree with this; he had seen the bruise, and he could recognise exactly what was going on here. He could also understand why Mary did not want to leave that situation. “I see,” he murmured sadly.
“I am sorry. I really appreciate you being so kind to me and offering to marry me.” Mary pursed her lips tightly together. She hated what she had to say, Edmund could see that by the way her hands squeezed tightly together. “But I am truly scared for Charlotte. I cannot think of doing anything until I know that she is safe. I know she has sent for you, so it probably looks like I am overreacting ...”
“No, not at all.” the Duke had to agree; he knew that she was right. “I understand completely. Maybe ... maybe this is something that we can revisit at a later date.”
“I do not wish you to wait for me; that is not fair.” Of course it was what she wanted, but she could not expect it. It would not be fair for her to ask Edmund to take himself off the market for her when she did not know when she would be free. This was everything that she had been wanting, but now that it was put in front of her, she realised this was where her priorities lay. She had spent too long wallowing in misery when she needed to remember that Charlotte needed her, “I just have to sort this, then ...”
“Yes.” Edmund pushed himself into a standing position. “Then ...”
Chapter 24
By the time Edmund reached his home, he felt utterly hopeless. This was a situation that continued to grow increasingly complex with every passing second. Every time he thought that he and Mary could find a way to make it work, something else got in the way. First Victoria, now Charlotte ... there was a never-ending string of issues.
He wanted to solve them all. He wished that he could find a way to make Victoria tell the truth; he wished that he could get Charlotte away from her horrible husband ... but there was only one problem of Mary’s that he actually thought that he could help with. It would just take him a little persuading when it came to his mother, but he hoped that would not be too much of a problem.
“How did it go?”
He found Iris waiting in the hallway when he stepped back into his home as if she had been waiting there the whole time. That took him aback. He knew that she wanted things to get back on track with him and Mary, but he did not know how important it was to her.
“It ... erm, it went,” he answered vaguely. “Actually, it is good that you are here. There is a lot that I want to talk with you about. Do you mind if we take a seat?”
“Yes. Sure. Let us ...” Iris felt uneasy. She did not know what any of this meant, but it did not sound positive. “Yes, let us sit.”
They walked through into the living room and took their respective seats. Iris perched her backside on the edge of the chair and leaned her elbows onto her knees where she waited for her son to start telling her the truth.
“It is not good. Things with Mary are bad because of the house. She is terribly upset.”
“Oh, I am sure that she is,” Iris agreed. “That must have been truly devastating for her. I do not know how she is even holding herself together. Does she even know what she is going to do now?”
“Actually …” Edmund let out a little laugh. “She is not too concerned about herself. I am sure she is worried about what she is going to do, but it is not her main focus. She is too busy being worried about everybody else.”
“Is there anything you can do to help?”
Edmund knew his mother would ask this because of her kind heart, which is exactly why he brought it up. He stared intently at Iris, trying to work out whether she would be agreeable to her or not. Her expression was closed off; she was not giving anything away which meant he just had to go for it.
“There is a girl, a maid that used to work at her house. Daisy. It was her friend, and she is very upset about where she is going to work now. The house has been sold, and as far as she is aware, Daisy is out of a job, and she is afraid for her future.”
“I see,” Iris drawled. She did not like to admit it to anyone, but she was starting to grow weary of doing so much herself. She had been trying for a very long time, but there was a big chance that this had all happened at exactly the right moment. “Well, I suppose she could come and work here. We could use some help, could we not?”
The tight knot loosened in Edmund’s chest; that was one of the biggest problems solved. Now Mary could come and visit her friend; she would know that she was alright and being looked after.
“That would be wonderful, Mother. Thank you very much.”
Iris leaned back in her chair and stared at her son. He was not done; she could see that. “What else, Edmund? There is more. You have to tell me what is going on.”
“I know that I do not need to say this to you, Mother, I know that I can trust you with anything, but I need you to keep this a secret. What I tell you next must stay between you and me.”
“You insult me,” Iris squealed, a little miffed. “You know I will not break your trust. I might listen to gossip, but I never spread it myself. I never even believe it wholly. Everything that comes from the mouth of someone else is never the whole truth.”
“Right, I see. Well ...” Edmund paused. “This is not something that I heard directly from the person, but I did get it from her sister, and I saw evidence to back it up. Mary’s sister is pregnant.” His heart hammered as he thought about this horrible situation again. “She is having a baby with a man who beats her.”
“What do you mean by evidence?” Iris’ tone suddenly turned stern. “What did you see? Did you see him do anything?”
“I did not,” Edmund admitted. “And Mary has not, but Charlotte has told her. When I was there today, I saw a bruise on Lady Jones’ cheek. She had attempted to cover it up with make-up, but I got a glimpse of it anyway. There is something very unpleasant going on in that household.”