Page 34 of The Gentleman Was Right
Before his mother had remarried and abandoned their family, she had been fond of revealing intimate details of her sexual exploits. He’d dismissed her words and assumed she was exaggerating. It hadn’t seemed possible that a simple kiss could render a person senseless.
Meeting Violet had taught him it was exceedingly possible.Did that make him daft?
And was he really listening to his mother’s guidance for the first time in his life? He’d discounted her and even judged her for shamelessly chasing pleasure at the expense of everything else. He still thought she ought to have been able to be a doting mother as well as a devoted wife, but for the first time, he could honestly say he understood that starved look he used to witness on her face.
“Edward,” Emmeline said his name softly, bringing him back to the conversation and Jane’s question.
He still didn’t have a straightforward answer to offer, and even if he did, he could hardly tell his sisters he had finally found merit in their mother’s advice. “It’s irrelevant whether I want to marry her, because she doesn’t want to marry me. And even if she did, she’s already pledged to someone else.”
“Marriage is only unavailable if you allow it to be. She isn’t married to someone else yet,” Jane reminded him. “You still have a chance.”
“Are you saying you think I should find her and convince her to marry me?”
Jane shrugged. “If it makes you happy, then obviously yes.”
“I hardly know her,” he argued, even though he had spurned Sebastian when he suggested the same.
“Our parents were practically strangers when they married,” Jane replied. “Sebastian and Emmeline too. And mother had not known Charles for long when she agreed to be his wife. The length of your acquaintance might not be a proper indication of future happiness. Mother always said she knew immediately that father was the one for her.”
“She never said that about Charles though, did she?” Louisa asked.
Edward’s gaze flew to Sebastian and then Belinda. Even though he’d just had similar thoughts to Jane, they appeared horrified that she was using their parents’ marriage as an example.
He couldn’t exactly blame them. His youngest sisters didn’t have a full picture of what their parents had been like together. Both Jane and Louisa had been too young to understand the full depth of their parents’ obsession with one another, and after their father’s death, he had allowed their mother to romanticize the relationship when she interacted with them.
He hadn’t considered what a mistake it might turn out to be. Nor had he realized how skewed their view of love had become. He winced internally. Perhaps he should have been a bit more honest about how neglectful and disinterested their father had been in anything other than his wife.
“Our mother shouldn’t have influence on any of your decisions,” Sebastian said to the group. “For now, I think Edward should proceed cautiously.” His gaze locked onto Edward. “I understand your desire to help Violet, but I should hate it if you pay a price for your kindness.”
Edward heard what Sebastian saidandwhat he didn’t say.
His brother was telling him that he needed to be sure, because marriage was forever, and if he acted rashly, he would have ample time to regret it.
ChapterEleven
After another intolerable supper where Basil was congenial and exceedingly well-mannered, Violet retreated to her bedchamber. It’d been over a week since she and Isabelle had returned, and she was no closer to convincing him that she would never be his wife.
She paced from the window to the bed and back again. There was a part of her—a very small part—that wished she’d never seen Basil with his sweetheart. If she hadn’t, she would have married him, and she’d be able to exist in ignorant bliss. She wouldn’t have this constant ache in her chest that nothing seemed to alleviate.
Nothingexceptthe day she’d spent with Edward.
She groaned.Edward.
He was on her mind when she laid down at night and when her thoughts wandered during the day. She was consumed by memories of the way his body felt against hers, the way he’d devoured her, and the way she’d surrendered to him.
It might have been possible to ignore those thoughts if they weren’t mixed with the way he’d sheltered her from the rain, the stories he’d told about his family, and the way he’d seemed determined to save her. The memories of him were both too much and not enough. How was it that a man she’d only known for such a short time could evoke such a lasting impression?
* * *
The next morning, before she could talk herself out of it, Violet bundled Isabelle into a hack and set off across town.
“Where are we off to in such a hurry?” Isabelle asked, a frown on her face as she brushed the dampness off her cloak.
“To call on Lady Greydon,” Violet replied. She’d been as vague as she could when she had told her sister they were going out, but she couldn’t hide the truth any longer.
Isabelle’s mouth dropped open.
Sometime in the wee hours of the morning, Violet had decided that calling on Edward’s sister by marriage was the surest way forward. A young woman could call on a lady without causing too much of a stir, and while she was there, Violet could poke around and learn a bit more about Edward.
