Edward crept into his own house. He felt more like an errant teenager that was returning home too late from a night out with friends than the lord of a manor and a member of the king's parliament.
All this because he didn't want to risk Emily to see him when he was least prepared. He knew that she'd be angry. And for a good reason because he was basically traumatizing the poor girl with a rushed marriage and he didn't show up for what would have been their first meal together as a married couple. He only hoped she wasn't the type of person that would destroy everything in her path when she got angry.
He was about to start climbing the stairs when Mr. Brown appeared like an apparition on the top of the stairs, startling Edward.
"Blast it, Albert!" Edward said, his eyes slightly widened in surprise.
"Welcome, Your Grace," he said quietly, seeming to realize that his master wouldn't care much for loudness. He also chose to ignore the fact that his Lord had called him by his Christian name, something he hardly did.
Edward met him halfway on the stairs and the butler took his coat and hat from him, silently moving down the stairs to keep the items of clothing.
"Where is she?" Edward asked, and of course, the butler didn't need any prompting to know who his master was referring to.
"According to the maids, she has been asleep for about half an hour now."
Edward breathed out a sigh of relief and nodded to the older man before continuing on his way upstairs, contemplating his options.
If the situation was different, he wouldn't head into her chambers tonight. She was spent and would appreciate the sleep that came with the night.
On the other hand, postponing things only made it worse. He had to go through with it tonight so she could be free of his presence. She may not understand why he is in a rush, but with time she would understand why he had to do what he had to do.
With these thoughts in mind, he washed up with water Mr. Brown had left for him and got dressed in night clothes. He proceeded to the door that joined their rooms and waited for several seconds before cranking open the door and breathing another sigh of relief when he saw that the maids had kept to instructions.
He had instructed them in clear terms to ensure that once Emily got under the covers, every single source of light in the room must be extinguished. He couldn't risk her seeing his face and running out of the manor at this time of night. The maids did just that as the room was pitch black and he began to rely on his hands to lead him deeper into the room.
He had made slow but significant progress and was expecting to hit the bed at any time.
Blast it all! Edward stubbed his toe on the bedpost. He was used to moving around in the
darkness, but not as complete as this.
He heard the exact moment she shot awake with a horrified gasp.
"Who's there?" She cried out, her voice catching in fear.
"It's me," Edward replied, continuing his advance.
"Edward?" She said confusedly, and he felt the sheets move as she presumably sat up straighter.
"Yes, it's Edward," he replied, finally hitting the bed.
He found the edge of her bed and walked along with it until he was certain he was close to her and sat down on the edge.
"What are you doing? Light a candle so you can see."
Edward could hear her voice clearing and he knew that she was fully awake now.
"I don't need to light a candle, I'm okay."
"Well, I'm not," she quipped and he felt her move.
"Where are you going to?" He asked.
"To search for a candle," she replied, still dragging herself down the bed.
Edward's hand crept on the bed and he took hold of what appeared to be her thigh, halting her movement.
Her breath caught in her throat and he couldn't help but notice that her skin was the softest he had ever touched. He couldn't resist flexing his hand.
"Don't do that." He finally said. "We don't need light for what we're about to do."
He felt her still in his arm and he sat himself more firmly on the bed, his thumb rubbing circles on the skin of her thigh.
"What are we about to do?" She asked lowly and Edward chuckled.
"Do you know what happens between a husband and wife?" Edward asked teasingly and she dragged her thigh out from under hand, making his lips stretch out into a smile that he was only lucky she couldn't see.
"Yes, Your Grace," Emily seethed, her voice dragging out angrily, "I know enough about what happens between a husband and wife. I'm simply affronted that you are demanding for your conjugal rights without giving me any opportunity to see your face. You wouldn't even give me the decency to have a fair wedding ceremony. How low can you go Your Grace?"
Well, Edward had the answer to his question. It seemed she was a woman who lashed out verbally when angry. He would take that over one who destroyed things when angry.
"How low can I go?" He asked, annoyance coating his tongue.
"I demand basic respect, Your Grace." She spit out the last part.
"I'm respecting you by doing this," Edward argued. "You will understand if you just give it time."
"Why won't you let me see you?" She pressed. "How do I know that my husband is the man I'm speaking to right now? I don't even know how you look."
"I'm doing this for your good," Edward reiterated.
She gave a short, sad laugh. "Do you have a disease? Perhaps something that uhm.. bothers you physically. I promise that I won't be bothered. We're already married, after all."
Edward sat there for a few minutes, wishing that he had a type of disease condition that she wouldn't faint when she caught sight of it. He had looked at a mirror more times than he could count and the sight of the gruesome scars and empty hole where his eye should have been never ceased to result in a full body shiver.
He dreaded showing that to her. He probably never would.
"Good night, Miss Dewhurst."
Slowly, Edward stood up and made his way out of Emily's room, closing the door firmly behind himself.
Emily woke up the next morning disoriented and tired from crying. Her head felt groggy and her muscles felt weak with exhaustion. The maids had finally lit a fire in the hearth and the room was warm and comfortable.Sitting up in bed, she contemplated staying in bed all day but decided against the idea. She slid off the bed and slipped her feet into comfortable shoes before moving to the window where she opened the drapes. The room was awash with soft light, and she stared out the window with her hands wrapped around herself.From her window, she had a perfect view of the well-kept yard and the trimmed flowers that decorated it. It was a beautiful sight and one she was glad she would be able to view everyday.Everyday.She was now a married woman. The thought which had previously filled her with glee when she fantasized about living with George as his wife, had now turned sour as she was presented with the man who was now her husband.Her thoughts slipped to the previous night where h
Emily descended the stairs slowly, her eyes already adjusting to the darkness of the manor. Her body was itching with the us to bring a lot more light into the darkened interior, but that would have to wait. She must first formally introduce herself to the staff.At the bottom of the elegantly curved stairs, a group of people gathered. As she got closer to them, she saw that they were all outfitted differently. A few of them wore caps on their heads, indicating that they worked in the kitchens, and a few other were dressed in heavy work clothes and high boots. She thought that those ones must work in the lands or stables. She had heard the whinnying of horses from her room and thus knew that His Grace had horses."Good morning, Your Grace," chorused all around her as they all dropped into low curtsies. She was taken aback by the title for a minute before remembering that she was know a duchess and would always be referred to as "Her Grace".This wouldn't be an easy thing to get used t
The moment Edward caught sight of his home, he knew that something was wrong. His horse's gallops had a strange way of making him feel calm, and it had worked. Leaving the house early had turned into habit of sorts for him. He would do everything he needed to do then enjoy a leisurely stroll around the border of his land, saying hello to the few tenants he ran into and enjoying the calming movement of his horse with his hat always slung low on his head, obliterating his face from stares.Today, however, the closer the horse trotted to the manor, the heavier his stomach felt. He thought it was something he ate until he caught sight of the first clue; a window with the drapes opened.No, she didn't.Edward didn't want to believe it, but the evidence stared him in the face. His conscience pricked him.Surely, you didn't expect her to feel her way through the dark house. He had known that it was inevitable that she would want the drapes opened the day after they wed.By the time he got to
Emily made to go after His grace and speak with him about his demeanor towards her but quickly changed her mind. Maybe when was tired as Mr. Brow had said but it still wasn't enough reason for him to have acted the way he did.With a grunt, Emily turned and completed her walk downstairs. She paused as she suddenly had a thought, a question that was beginning to bother her. She turned to Mr. Brown."Does His grace despise my presence?" I asked Mr. Brown whose face seemed to lack any hint of emotion."No, Your Grace," Mr. Brown said, keeping his stoic expression. "On the contrary actually. He really likes your presence but His Grace is not one to show it.""Oh," Emily muttered with a sigh as she made her way to the kitchen. She still couldn't believe she had left her happy and gleeful love to get married to one who refused to show any hint of emotion. She decided to let it not bother her as she was just doing it to keep her father happy.She passed some maids who were dusting the counte
Edward sat down on his cushion seat with a sigh. His palms shook and his face was filled with sweat that caused his one eye to flutter as the salty excretion dropped into it. The sweat had not come because of the hat on his head but the sheer thought of his new wife seeing his face.He grabbed his hat tight and threw it down to the floor as he grunted in anger. His fast paced heartbeat began to slow down as he placed his palm over his face, taking slow, deep breaths. The darkness of the room seemed to aid in taking off the fear that had been causing his body to shake and a sense of peace flooded his being. He was back where he belonged. He was finally at peace. "Why did she open the drapes?" he asked himself as he took his hands off his face and placed them on his knees. "And why did she leave mine closed?" These thoughts kept on coming and he just couldn't seem to find the answer."Her Grace just wanted a little ray of light to sleep into the rooms," Edward heard someone say and he
Emily sat down on the dining chair and stared at the food places in front of her. She was hungry and wanted to dive into the food but curtsy demanded that she waited for her husband, His Grace, before taking any bite. If he was even going to come down to eat. Seconds turned to minutes and her patience was getting cold. So was the food too. If His Grace didn't come down soon, she would be tempted to eat the food and that was not going to be on her."Mr. Brown?" Emily called out to the butler as he passed by the dining table. He paused on his steps and turned to her with a bow before saying, "yes, Your Grace." "Is His Grace coming to join me for breakfast?" Emily asked and Mr. brown shook his head. Confused, Emily asked, "why?""He has some business up at the town square to attend to," Mr. Brown replied. "He sends his apologies." Emily knew the latter was not from His Grace. Mr. Brown had just said that to calm Emily nerves down but it wasn't working. It instead was doing the opposit
"Here comes the great Edward, great Duke of Snowhill, known to be the killer of men and beast to the gentle," James said with a chuckle as Edward rode towards him. "What brings you to my parts this afternoon.""I don't think this deserves to be called an afternoon," Edward replied with a smile as he came down from his horse after he had pulled it to a stop. "The rain clouds has blocked the little light that we were meant to receive, turning this fine afternoon to a cold morn.""Typical Edward," James said as he walked towards Edward. "Always complaining about the littlest thing.""Hello, James," Edward greeted with a smile as he pulled his old friend into a hug."That's enough, brother," James said, pushing himself from Edwards tight embrace. "I do not want passers-by to have second thoughts about your display of affection." Edward bellowed out in laughter he wrapped his arms around James neck and pulled him into his house."I heard of your marriage to the daughter of the Baronet of B
Emily turned and saw a young man, neatly dressed standing at the bottom of the stairs with a bloody knife in his hands. Filled with fear, Emily shrieked before running up the stairs.She had almost reached the top when a concerned maid came running down with a tray of dirt in her hands. The two collided, spraying dirt from the tray into the air. Emily stumbled and was about falling down the stairs when a pair of hands grabbed her and pulled her back to her feet. She looked at the face of the person who had dragged her and saw that if was the maid."Your Grace," the maid said, eyes wide open and filled with fear. "Are you alright, Your Grace? I heard you shout.""T-there is... there is a man... a man downstairs with a bloody knife in his hands," Emily said, taking deep breadths in between each word as she placed her hand to her chest to calm her beating heart."A man with a knife?" the maid asked with confusion etched on her face. She looked past Emily to see who she was speaking about