Chapter 38

Unwilling to

stop at all in his riding, Edward rode through the day and night

and arrived at Alessandra's family home the next morning. After

securing Beauty, he knocked on the door. At first he thought that

no-one was there. Then an older woman , who he had never seen before, opened the door.

"I am looking for…"

"Oh, you are Miss Alessandra's

husband! Has something terrible happened to her?" she asked, with a

look of terror on her face.

"Oh, no. Sorry … you are?"

"Oh, Mister Edward, I am

June, the housekeeper. Sorry, we were not introduced when you were

here before."

"Alessandra has been

worried she has not heard from her mother, so I have come to see if

everything is alright," he said, still wondering what was going

on.

"The mistress and master

are well, Mister Edward. Come inside and sit down. They are not

quite up for breakfast yet, but the food is ready. If you are

hungry, you are welcome to sit at the dining table. and I can bring

in some food for you."

Edward entered the house,

reminded again of how small it was. He thanked the housekeeper in

her offer to have breakfast, having not stopped for a meal along

his journey.

Just as he was finishing his

meal, he was joined by Alessandra's mother and father.

"Edward! What brings you here?

Oh no! Something has happened to Alessandra?"

"No, Sir.

Alessandra was worried that something had happened to

you , as she had not had any reply to her last two letters. I

want to keep her calm, so I thought I could ride here and see that

you are both alright," Edward replied.

Alessandra's mother looked

confused but sat down and took his hand.

"We are both well, but I have

written to Alessandra twice in the past month, Edward. Why would

she not be receiving my letters? Are you having problems receiving

post at your home?" she asked.

Edward

laughed quietly to himself, remembering the painful letters that

most definitely had

been arriving.

"No, there has been post

most days," he said. "Perhaps it is a problem at this

end?"

"I do not think so. Other

letters I have sent have been replied to. An old friend of

Alessandra's, Tom, has been kindly bringing our mail to us, and

sending away our outgoing correspondence."

Alessandra's father

watched as he saw horror and then anger flow over his son-in-law's

face. It was a level of emotion he had never seen on Edward

before.

"Tom … Missinger?" Edward

asked, trying desperately to maintain calm.

"Yes, do you know him?"

Edward rubbed his eyes as

both parents looked at him in confusion.

"Is there some problem,

Edward?" he heard Alessandra's father ask. Edward felt uncertain

about whether to speak to them or not.

"Is there any

possibility that Tom Missinger has prevented your

letters from getting to Alessandra?" Edward asked. "Could it be

that he never sent them?"

"Why should he do that?"

Isabella asked.

Edward took a deep breath and

then spoke.

"When Alessandra and I

were in Bath not too long ago, he was there. He made a declaration

to her, which she rejected. Since then he has been writing to her,

persisting in declaring his love for her. He has written of his

desire to leave his wife and make a new life with Alessandra and

the baby."

The anticipated shock appeared

on both of Alessandra's parents' faces.

"Oh, but Tom

is a nice boy. What would he gain from doing this?" Alessandra's

mother asked, remembering that Tom had been particularly

attentive to them in recent weeks.

"I do not know…"

At that moment, they

heard a knock on the front door. Shortly afterward, the person in

question walked into the drawing room. Upon sight of Edward, Tom's

face changed from the charming smile that had entered the room, to

surprise, and then to a surprising display of eagerness.

"You!" Edward said, standing up

and walking closer to him. Alessandra's parents watched on

nervously.

Tom maintained his composure

long enough to ask, "Is Alessandra here?"

Edward breathed out a sigh of

realisation.

"That is why

you have been stopping letters from her mother reaching

her? " he asked. "Because you

thought it would bring Alessandra home, and you could see

her?"

Tom quickly realised that

he had miscalculated something in his plan. Without Alessandra to

witness, he took the opportunity to speak plainly.

"You need to let her go, you

ugly, horrible man," Tom said. "She deserves better than you, and

she and I are meant to be together."

Edward took a moment to

maintain composure for the sake of Alessandra's mother and father,

who watched on with confusion on their faces. It was evident they

were now realising they'd been charmed by a man who was, all the

time, having plans of ruining their daughter's marriage. Edward

remembered how Alessandra had described Tom the night before - only

a beautiful shell. That was all she considered him to

be.

Before Edward could

speak, Alessandra's father moved forward and placed himself between

Edward and Tom.

"Tom, you have brought

unnecessary concern on my daughter, and particularly so in the

state she is currently in. That is something I could never forgive

you for. Please leave our house and do not return. You are no

longer welcome in our home," Edward watched Alessandra's father

say, with the strength and fortitude of someone twice his size.

Tom ignored him, now needing

him no more in his quest. He turned to face Edward once more.

"You do not

deserve her, and I will

have her," he said with a more

menacing tone to his voice than anyone in the room had heard from

him previously. After his declaration, he stormed out.

Edward and Alessandra's parents

all looked at each other, perplexed as to what just happened.

"I cannot believe it. Was he

making us like him, to win us over so that he could take our

daughter away from you, Edward?" Alessandra's mother asked.

"I had not thought he was

quite so serious, but yes, it does seem that may be so," he said

quietly.

"Edward, what will you do now?

You are welcome to stay here for the night, before returning home,"

Alessandra's father said.

Edward weighed up

options. He was tired, as Beauty must be also … Beauty! He quickly

remembered that the township seemed to be largely horse-free, so

immediately worried.

"Thank you. I do need to think

about letting Beauty rest and feed…"

"All taken care of, Mr

Edward," the housekeeper said as she entered, catching the end of

the conversation. "My John has taken him around back and is letting

him enjoy some fresh grass and a little bit of hay. Worry not. John

has been a horse lover all his life. He will look after him

alright."

"Thank you," said Edward,

relieved. "I do need to let Alessandra know you are all well, as

she has been fretting about your wellbeing. Is there some way for

me to do that from here?"

"I can do that for you, Mr

Edward. If you write a quick note, I can arrange its delivery when

I go into the village shortly for supplies," June replied.

Alessandra's father leaped up

to get writing supplies. Edward wrote as quickly as he could that

her mother and father were well. He then faced the dilemma of what

else he should disclose to her.

"I do not know whether to

tell her about Mr Missinger or not. I would not like to alarm her,"

he said out loud. He was glad he did, as both of his in-laws

offered their view on the subject.

"Oh Edward, I do not know,"

Isabella said. "If she is already fragile, would it do any good to

tell her?"

"Do you think there is any

chance he will go to her now?" her father said, putting Edward in a

further panic.

"Oh, I must return to

her…" he started to say as his worry intensified.

"No! Edward, you have

been riding all night, and you will need to rest. Just send her

word that we are well. If you want to alert anyone to the issue of

Tom, perhaps you could send a second note, privately addressed to

your father, just so that someone there is aware of how this young

man has been acting."

Edward

thought about that and

agreed.

"Yes, you are right. I shall

stay tonight if you are sure I am not inconveniencing you. Tomorrow

I shall set out first thing. Thank you."

Edward wrote the two notes and

gave them to the housekeeper, who assured him they would be sent

off later that afternoon.

"I have also put some hot water

up in your room, Mr Edward, for you to wash with if you wish," she

said.

Edward was appreciative of her

kindness. "Thank you," he responded.

When all was done, he

considered that he was alone in Alessandra's family home, with her

family but without her. It did seem an odd situation to have gotten

himself into.

~~~~~

Edward spent the afternoon

partly in the company of Alessandra's father, then partly just with

her mother, and at times with both. He found himself enjoying their

company very much. In particular, hearing her mother talk about

Italy was exciting for Edward.

"Alessandra has never

been to my homeland," Isabella said. "I always hoped we would one

day go there, so I could show her some of her heritage, but it

never happened. As your family grows, Edward, you must not forget

that there will be some very special Italian blood in your

children."

Later in the evening,

lying in bed alone for the first time since he had wed, Edward kept

thinking about the images of Italy he'd had put into his head

during the day. He filed those thoughts away in the 'one day'

section of his mind, to talk to Alessandra about at a later date.

Lying back on the bed, the image of his beautiful wife came to

mind. In exhaustion, he was almost instantly asleep, a smile

settled on his face.