Page 57 of An Earl's Scandalous Return
“Come in,” he said, putting his glass down, and so he didn’t look up right away until he heard his father’s voice.
“Edward, just what in God’s name do you think you are doing?”
Edward looked up from buttoning the buttons at his cuffs. His father was standing there in his dark red dressing gown and wooden cane, staring at Edward with narrowed eyes.
“Father? What are you doing here? You should be abed.”
Edward went towards him, but his father put up his hand, and with his hand on his walking stick, he moved closer to Edward until he was right in front of him. He poked a wizened finger into Edward’s chest.
“Do not worry about me. I am only fatigued, no longer ill. And besides, how can I sit abed while I learn that my son is about to ruin his life and his own happiness? I have seen it happen once and will not allow it to happen again.”
Edward clenched his jaw and stepped back, turning towards the armchairs before sitting down. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, you do. Do not play me for a fool. I am far older and wiser than you, boy, and I know a lot more than you think.”
His father shuffled to the chairs and sat down himself, laying the cane across his knees. Edward wondered if his father was considering using his cane as a weapon; he looked so angry.
Edward crossed his arms. “Then, tell me what you know. And how did you know I was planning to leave?”
“Because we share a valet, my boy, while we are here, and he happened to mention it to me when he was coming in to assist me. He thought I knew, but obviously I did not. So, I came down here to ensure you stopped being a blockheaded fool.”
Edward breathed out through his nose, angry. In the past four years, he’d done as he pleased without anyone getting in the way of any of his plans. Now that he was back home, it seemed that was all about to change, and he was not used to it.
“So, spit it out, then, Edward. What happened? Why are you leaving under the cover of night like you have done something wrong? You haven’t done something wrong, have you?”
Edward was about to fight back, to defend himself, to make sure that his father stopped pressing him, but all strength left him, and he leaned back in his chair, giving up.
“I love her still, Father, but I cannot give my heart again, or it will break, just like the last time.”
The angry look left his father’s eyes, and he, too, leaned back in his chair with a satisfied smile.
“Good. Now, you had better start from the very beginning.”
Chapter 62
Edward unburdened himself at long last, telling his father of the difficulty that had transpired during his time with Arabella while searching for Gregory. He did not mention, however, that anything untoward had occurred. That secret would remain with him.
“I thought perhaps that once we returned, I could share my love once again, but I am angry, Father, so very angry about what happened. I am angry that she left me waiting there when she told me she loved me – when she told me that she wished for a life together.
I cannot describe the pain to you. That was why I left so suddenly. I had to forget about it all. Clearly, she did not care for me but for something else, something that made her not run away with me.”
His father listened calmly, and then he sighed. “I do believe this is partly my fault.”
“Your fault?” Edward asked.
“Yes. As I mentioned yesterday, and as you knew, Lord Montrose and I were at odds for years. I had some feeling that you were interested in Arabella, and I was nervous about how it would be between me and Robert, but he hated it. I could tell even if he did not speak to me about it. When he saw you and Arabella together, his gaze was full of rage. Did she never say anything to you about it?”
Edward pinched the bridge of his nose, and he felt a headache coming on. He jumped back into the past, remembering their disagreements from time to time.
“Yes, we discussed it. She was upset that her father did not approve of the match, and everyone in town knew there was a sort of feud between you two. But I didn’t care and didn’t understand why that should have got in the way of our happiness. I told her so, and I told her that we should think only of ourselves and run away together if our fathers would refuse to give their permission. She seemed to think there was some hope of a reconciliation.”
He rubbed a hand over his face and stared at his father. “You think she did not come because she simply wanted to appease her father? Could that really be the reason she wrecked all our hopes?”
His father stared back at him calmly. “It is just a thought, but you already know that she wanted to please her father and hoped things would get better in the future. What young woman would not wish to please her family? What young woman would not wish for their family to approve of the one they wed?”
Edward looked away, feeling guilty yet again that he had not cared about his father’s opinion of his marriage. He had not been willing to let her go so easily.
“But Father, if that is the case, how can I know she will not hurt me again if something tells her they disapprove of me? How can I know that she will put us first?”
