“I ...” Daisy felt embarrassed as she had to admit this, even if it was not her fault. “I do not know how.”
Edmund felt very silly as he realised that of course, this was the case. Daisy was not fortunate enough to be offered an education; there was no way she would know how to form letters in a recognisable way. She would also not be able to read a reply either ... but he could help with both of those things. Anything to make Daisy happier. He was also excited for Mary to learn that he had employed Daisy too; he just knew how happy she would be. He had not done it for that reason, but he could not help hoping that it would make her like him more.
“I shall write it for you,” he told Daisy happily. “I can do it now if you like?”
“Oh, my goodness, that would be lovely; thank you very much.”
Daisy nodded happily as she spoke. She felt utterly grateful for Duke Smith and his kindness. Her only regret was that she could not express her newfound like for Edmund to Lady Roberts. Not without it going through him which would have been very humiliating. She would just have to hope that she would get a chance to speak to Mary face to face. Then she could tell her what she had wished she had said all along ... that marrying Duke Smith was the right thing to do. She allowed herself to be swayed by something that she was only told which was wrong. She would never make that mistake again.
Chapter 25
What wonderful news! Mary smiled after reading the letter from Daisy giving details of her new employment at the home of Duke Edmund Smith. To know that Daisy had a nice home and an employer who would treat her well felt fantastic. Of course, Mary wished that she could do the same for all of the staff that had once worked in her home, but she felt stretched too thin as it was. It was challenging enough to work out what she was going to do with her life next, never mind anyone else. Daisy was her friend anyway, she rationalised, and she could not be responsible for everyone.
“I am sorry to drag you out like this,” Charlotte said to Mary in barely a whisper. Her voice was quiet and strangled, just how she felt inside.“I am sure that clothes shopping is the last thing that you wish to be worrying about right now. It is only ...”
“Yes, I know.” Mary could not stand to hear the rest of that sentence, nor could she bear to look at Charlotte for even a second. That shining bruise below her eye killed Mary and the fact that Charlotte utterly refused to discuss it left her with little to say about the matter. “I know that your husband wishes you to get something nice for the event tonight.”
Mary had purposely not asked Charlotte where she was going with her husband because she didn’t want to know anything about their lives together. Being around them was making her feel incredibly ill because she did not know how to fix it. The last time they spent the night out together, at the opera, it ended in disaster with Lord Jones finally learning about the pregnancy, and things had been going downhill ever since.
Mary could not stand to go through all of that again.
Charlotte glanced at her sister with ice-cold guilt sitting firmly on her chest. She could sense that Mary was pulling away from her and could hardly blame her. She knew that Mary only liked to deal with problems that she could solve, and her toxic marriage that was falling apart at the seams had no solution at all.
Charlotte ran her hand over her ever-growing bump, praying like she did all the time for a way out. There was not a way out, she knew that. Even when she and Mary used to discuss running away together with the inheritance money, she knew that was not possible, but she still prayed all the same.
“I think that this is the shop,” she eventually said quietly, grabbing Mary’s attention again. “Let us go in here. I will not be long, I promise you.”
“You take as long as you want,” Mary told her seriously. She knew that the longer Charlotte was out of the house, the less time that she had to spend with him. “I am in no rush. I can sit with you while you sort out dresses all day long.”
Mary smiled at Charlotte, but they both knew that it was fake. Charlotte could see that her eyes were glazed over; she could tell that Mary was refusing to look at her, and Mary was really lost in her own thoughts. Every waking moment she tried to plan a way for Charlotte to escape, and even sometimes in her dreams as well. She found her brain working overtime as she slept, scrabbling around in her subconscious to see if there was something there that she could not access while she was awake.
So far, there had been no luck.
Mary took a seat in the dress shop while the assistants fussed around Charlotte and ignored her. Maybe if she were not so distracted, she would have wondered if their neglect was because they knew her name and her reputation, that they understood she was unwed with no money of her own. Of course, it was possible that they weren’t giving her any attention because Charlotte had asked for help and she had not, but her mind would have undoubtedly read something into it.
Luckily, she was distracted, so she barely paid any attention at all. In fact, she felt grateful that she could become part of the furniture; it gave her some time to think.
“Lady Mary Roberts.”
All of a sudden, a gasping voice broke through Mary’s thought barrier. She glanced up slightly bleary-eyed to see a very glamorous Lady with long dark hair and piercing dark eyes staring down as if she recognised her. Mary blinked a couple of times as she tried to force some sort of recognition there, but there was nothing. No matter how hard she tried.
“Yes ...” she drawled slowly. “That’s me. Why ... who ...?” She didn’t finish that sentence but continued to look up blankly as she waited for the moment when everything would become clear. She coughed awkwardly. “I am terribly sorry ...”
The girl flung her hands onto her hips. Her slim waist suggested that she had a very tight corset on under her silky material. Mary could not help wondering how she was even breathing. “I am just surprised to see you here, Lady Roberts, in a place like this,” the newcomer said coarsely. “I thought you had been ruined.”
Mary’s cheeks flamed as she realised what was going on here. This girl knew her, knew what had happened to her, and wanted to humiliate her because of that. She felt herself blushing, then all the colour drained from her body completely, leaving her pale and icy as she continued to stare up at the girl. Yes, she was going through a terrible time, but it was not her fault. Who would take it upon themselves to be so unnecessarily cruel?
Mary tried to glance over the young Lady’s shoulder to find her sister, but Charlotte was stuck with the sales assistants. She truly was on her own with this one.
“I do not know what ...” Mary felt tears well up in her eyes. She would have given anything to run away. “I ...”