“Step away from my wife,” Lord Jones growled, but there was much less conviction in his tone this time. He could see the panic in Mary’s eyes, and he could feel that there was something behind that. The red mist that had descended in front of his eyes had dissipated rapidly, and now he was not sure what to do. It was never like this. Usually, he got to calm down by himself. Now, it seemed that he had gone too far ... even for him.“Charlotte?”
Mary’s heart was in her throat as she tucked her hand under her sister’s head. She pulled her up to look into her cold blank eyes. She felt cold from the bottom of her toes all the way up to the top of her head. It left her foggy and unsure of what to do next.The man that she hated – the one that had caused this damage – was the only other person that she had here. She had to rely on him even if she did not want to, for Charlotte’s sake.
“We need a doctor,” she gasped desperately but refusing to look at him directly. She could not meet those cold eyes, no matter what. “Charlotte is bleeding.”
She turned and looked at Lord Jones’ body which was frozen to the spot. She could almost see his thought pattern, and he did not want to call the doctor because he did not want to take the blame for what had happened. He was man enough to cause the damage but not man enough to take the blame for it.
“We do not have to say anything,” she said exasperatedly. “It does not matter. We simply need to get someone here to look after Charlotte. She and her baby’s lives are depending on it.” She narrowed her eyes at Lord Jones angrily. “You will do this, and you will do it now,” she gulped noisily, not wanting to say this, but knowing that she had to. “This is your baby as well. Do not let your pride get in the way.”
As Lord Jones finally walked off, she allowed a tear to roll down her cheek. This was scary, the most terrified that she had been in her entire life. Charlotte had been knocked out by her husband’s bad temper, which was potentially her fault for intervening when Charlotte told her not to, and now things did not look good at all. She could hardly contain the sad emotions that threatened to consume her whole.
Please be alright, Charlotte, she begged sadly. The tear fell from her cheek and onto Charlotte’s face that was frozen in time, stuck in the moment that she was struck. Please do not be hurt. You are all that I have left. I need you.
Chapter 28
There was a strange atmosphere surrounding Lord Jones’ home, Edmund could feel it the moment he stepped out of his carriage. It was almost as if there was a black cloud hanging above it. He stopped for a moment and stared up at the building wondering why he had such a chill racing up and down his spine. It was almost as if he could sense that there was an emergency inside, and it was not a feeling that he liked too much. Especially as he knew what Lord Jones was like.
I hope Mary is alright, he thought with furrowed brows. I do not want her to be hurt.
He moved quickly to the front door and knocked hard. There was serious anxiety inside of him now, and the longer he left it, the more he got himself worked up. Edmund needed to see Mary, and he needed to know that she was safe. Right now, that was all that he could think about. His mind raced at a million miles an hour.
“Oh, my goodness.” The door swung open rapidly, and Edmund was stunned to see Mary rather than a member of staff on the other side of it. She looked dishevelled and stressed which only served to amp up the fear inside of Edmund. But, on the plus side, she was clearly alright to some extent which allowed the tight knot in his stomach to loosen somewhat. “Your Grace, what are you doing here?”
“I ...” All the words fell apart on Edmund’s lips as his brain instantly searched for a logical solution. He tried to rationalise what was happening but could not. There was no obvious answer. “Is everything alright? Do you need help with anything?”
Mary glanced behind her back as if she was looking for someone. Then she stepped outside the front door and pulled the door almost closed behind her. “It is Charlotte,” she said gravely. “She had a ... fall.”
“A fall?” Edmund did not believe her; he knew what Mary was suggesting between the lines, and it made him feel sick to his stomach. “Is she alright? How is the baby?”
“The baby is fine; we got the doctor to come and check her over right away. The baby has somehow managed to survive what has happened.” Mary pursed her lips thoughtfully then folded her arms across her chest. To Edmund, it did not seem like a defensive gesture, more like she was trying to hold herself together. All Edmund wanted to do was wrap his arms around her. He knew that he could hold her together, but he had to behave with some decorum. At least for now. “Charlotte, I am less sure about. Physically, she is not doing too badly. She has some injuries, but nothing too serious, but mentally ... I believe that she is going downhill, and I fear what will happen to her next.”
Edmund nodded slowly as a crushing sadness fell down on him. He did not like the thought of anyone suffering such a horrible time. Especially not Charlotte Roberts – he could not really think of her as Jones, it did not seem right considering all that she had gone through since being married – she was a lovely Lady and the sister of the woman that he loved.
It was just lucky that he did not come to see Mary empty-handed.
“I have a plan,” he said very quietly so that only Mary could hear him. “One that will help you and Charlotte.”
Mary’s eyes widened in surprise. For a moment, Edmund spotted a flicker of hope, but that was quickly replaced with the realisation that in reality, it was not possible. Edmund could understand that; she did not know his plan. Of course she would not think that it was possible because she did not know what Edmund’s plan was. Unfortunately, he could not disclose all of the information right now. Not when things were so potentially dangerous.
“What plan?” Mary hissed. “Because things are terrible at the moment. I am not sure that it is the right time ...”
“It is the perfect time,” Edmund interjected. “You cannot allow things to get worse. Not when you consider that the baby will come sooner rather than later.”
Mary was silenced by that; of course, she was very worried about the baby too. She loved the unborn child; it would be her niece or nephew. Judging by the way that Lord Jones flew at her without a second thought, she knew he would have hit her if the whole mess with Charlotte had not happened. If he could do that to her, she knew for a fact that he would do it to his child too. He would probably feel more ownership over his child so he would think it was his right.