Our awkward meetings continued every other day. He took the opportunity to show me about the house and grounds and tell me all about the history of the art. If I’m being completely honest, the whole thing was not only awkward, but supremely boring. In case anyone had any doubts of my qualities as a queen, which was laughable at best, my distaste for British history was probably the nail in the coffin.
One afternoon, several weeks later, we had finished our latest discussion of some pre-war period of something. It’s boring, sue me. Edward and I were sitting in the parlour at least I think that’s what it was called — and drinking tea that actually had flavour, unlike whatever my grandmother tried to pass off. I shot a quick glance her way to see if she was watching us.
She was.
Time to turn it on, I guess, I thought to myself. I turned back to face Edward, whose attention had been taken by something outside the window. I was about to speak when my grandmother interrupted me. “I think, Adelaide, that we ought to consider your dress for this weekend’s event.”
Edward almost choked on his tea, causing two of the men around the edge of the room to lurch forward, but he waved them off and continued about the conversation as if nothing had happened. “I think perhaps this is something Adelaide and I should discuss, Nora.”
I was looking back and forth between them, trying to figure out what event it was I was supposed to be attending, especially given that I knew of no such commitment.
“You are engaged, Sir. She needs to start getting used to that.”
Edward stood and looked directly into Nora’s eyes. “And I have told you, we will announce that when I am ready and not a moment before.” Nora’s stern look glared back at Edward’s and I was left even more dumbfounded than before.
“Does anyone still want to give me a say?” I stood up and raised my hand like I were back in grade school. Something about those two reminded me of my scary second grade teacher, Mr. Bullwar.
“Yes,” Edward replied, turning to face me. At exactly the same moment my grandmother replied, “No.”
Oh, great.
“Well, then, Edward,” his name still felt odd in my mouth when I said it, as though I shouldn’t be calling him that. All my life I’d been taught proper titles and addresses. You don’t just call the future king ‘Edward.’
“Yes?”
“Would you mind telling me what this event is?”
“The charity polo I was telling you about. I believe that is the event to which your grandmother refers.”
To which my grandmother refers? “And why is it I am or am not supposed to show up? Maybe I want to eat some too small sandwiches and watch people play a ridiculous game on horseback!”
His lips pulled into a slight frown and his brows pulled together as though he were sizing me up. What am I? A farm animal at auction?
“If you were to attend with me, as my fiancée, there would be no going back. The whole thing will be public and anything either one of us do for the next — well maybe forever — will be scrutinized. I wasn’t sure you would want that type of attention.”
“You mean you don’t think I’m ready for the media to follow me everywhere because they are sure to uncover how uncultured and unlearned I am?” I pressed, curious how much of his motives were self-serving. No matter what Ezrah kept saying, Edward seemed like the kind of person who was too calculating to be trustworthy.
Nora’s gasp from the corner reminded me why I hadn’t acted this aggressively before: I’m supposed to be getting her to believe I’m responsible. Maybe this is responsible? Edward took barely a moment to reply to me.
“Probably a little bit of both, if I’m being honest.” He ran a hand through his hair and held it at the back of his neck. “I don’t think you are ready and I’m not sure you’re in this for real. And if you’re honest, you aren’t sure either.”
Ouch. Accurate, but ouch.
“Of course she is!” Nora came to my defence from across the room. Because of course she was still there, acting as our chaperone like we were literally alive in the 18th century.
“Nora!” I snapped, turning to face her. “Can we just, maybe discuss this slightly more privately?” I could see the hurt on her face at my using her name — I was really trying to call her grandmother, but sometimes my facade fell off. “Sorry, grandma, this is just stressful.”
She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms, looking between Edward and me until finally she pursed her lips and nodded, turning on her heels and making her way across the room to stare out a window in the farthest corner.
I took a deep breath. Time to do what Nora wants. I need to get her to release me from this and then I can go home. And then everything will be fine.
“You are right,” I admitted. “I’m still not sure. I’ve met you so many times and I still feel like I barely know you. But I do want to get to know you. This is what we have to do, right? It’s, like, our duty or something.”
His eyes flashed across mine and for a split second I thought I might have seen the real Edward hiding in there somewhere. He looked almost pained. What did I say? I ran back the whole conversation in my head and couldn’t find anything overtly untrue so I just waited for him to speak.
“It is not, and should not be, entirely duty. I have made a promise to you and your family and I intend to honour that, but this ultimately is up to us. Did no one tell you that? It’s not decided. It’s just a proposition.”
“It’s… what?”
“You can still say no?” he said the phrase as a question. “I assumed you were aware of that.”
“I was not,” I admitted.
“Did you read my letter at all?”
I bit my bottom lip and looked up at him, shaking my head. “Not really.”
“Maybe you should,” he said, leaning in toward me and whispering. Then, he returned to full height and spoke at a volume probably just loud enough for Nora to hear. “So, what do you think about coming to the party? Maybe it would be easier if you came as my guest and not as my fiancée?”
“Are you serious?”
“Of course. Though you will have to leave that giant rock at home.” He pointed to my finger and I laughed.
“You picked it!”
“That I did.”
Something about the matter-of-fact response and the way he looked down at his hands clasped together made me feel like there was something he wasn’t telling me. But if I asked him about it, there was no way I’d get out of there without giving him some information about me and everything he could possibly learn would only make my time with my grandmother increase.
“So it’s decided, then. I will come as a guest and leave ‘this giant rock’ safely tucked away. But you know, no one would know I’m engaged to you if I did wear it.”
He smiled. “I think they might have a guess.”
I looked down at the ornate detailing of the ring and the large flawless stones within it. “Okay, you might have a point there. It is very beautiful, though.”
“It was my grandmother’s. I added some of the gems for you.”
Why on earth had he entrusted me with a priceless family heirloom? I always knew the thing was worth a lot of money but this was something else entirely.
And then I said the only thing I could think of at that moment. “I’m really hungry, do you have any snacks.”
When did I become so incompetent at handling myself in public? Get it together, Becker.
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