Chapter 8

At breakfast

the next morning , little had

changed. Alessandra was still quiet, but did seem to be making

somewhat of an effort, at least with Edward's parents. After

breakfast, she left the room to find somewhere to be alone and

gather her thoughts and her confidence. She found a pleasurable

spot inside an enclosed glass room. The space appeared to be used

for growing plants, but had seats set around inside of it, like

seats inside a small jungle.

She was so deep inside her

thoughts that she didn't hear the door open.

"Alessandra," said the voice

she immediately identified. She forced herself to look up at

him.

"Edward," she stammered

back at him, feeling the blush coming on again, and silently

cursing herself once more.

Edward

watched her sitting still and

looking stubborn in her effort to not speak to him. He knew he'd

reached his point of no return. He could not keep putting in any

more effort that only resulted in pain for him. His mother would

have to accept that it would never work between them. Taking a deep

breath, he started to leave.

"Wait," Edward heard her

quiet voice say before he reached the door.

Halting his

steps, he looked back at her

and saw her standing, facing him. She had such a look of

determination on her face that he remained quiet and still, giving

her as much time as she needed to speak.

"Please," Alessandra

pushed out. "Please, sit down with me."

She

moved along so there was room for

him on the bench she'd been sitting on. She waited as Edward did as

she bid, looking at her with obvious surprise.

"Please, let me speak,"

Edward heard her say quietly as he watched her face go an

increasingly darker shade of red. "Although my parents have always

told me that this would happen - I would one day go and marry

someone I did not know - now that I am here, I am finding it … very

difficult…"

"We do not have to get

married," Edward said softly, trying to reassure her.

Alessandra stopped

him from speaking more.

"Since I came

here , you have been nothing

but attentive and kind to me, and I am very sorry about this silly

insistence my face has to turn into a beetroot so often. It causes

me vexation and then I get more frustrated at myself for being so

silly…" she continued, determined to say what she wanted to

say.

As

Edward watched her, he began to feel

not only relief, but also some light amusement at her words. It

seemed a new side of her was starting to reveal itself.

"Please do not think that

I wish I were not here, or even that I do not enjoy the thought of

marrying you. I…" Alessandra started to say before taking a deep

breath. As she found the strength to look right into his eyes, she

could see the move had surprised him in her first flush of

boldness. "We live in a very small area, and I do not remember the

last time that I met anyone new. My skills in conversation are

greatly lacking, but if you could please be patient with me a

little longer, I promise to try harder to relax more around

you."

Alessandra stopped

speaking for a moment, and realised that Edward was watching her

face intently. Seeing that resulted in her becoming flushed all

over again, so she smiled shyly at him.

"See, you do not even need to

do anything for my face to go so red," she said, trying to sound

light-hearted and make him smile too.

Edward had listened to

her, and now watched her. As he saw her force herself to look

closely at him and smile at him, he was thankful he hadn't rushed

to dismiss the idea of marriage to her quite so quickly. He thought

she'd finished speaking, and was enjoying looking at her for the

moment, but then she spoke again.

"I am sure it seems

silly, but could we perhaps start over?" she asked, looking at him,

smiling at him despite the extreme redness in her face. She held

out her hand to ask for a handshake. "Hello, I am Alessandra, and I

am very pleased to meet you."

Suddenly Edward felt enchanted

by her, as if she had just woven a spell over him. He placed his

hand in hers, happy to begin again as she was.

"Alessandra,

I am very pleased to meet you

too," he said. "I am Edward."

They smiled at each other

as a moment of relaxation finally came for both of them at the same

time. They were both unaware that from a window nearby, they were

being watched by their mothers, who were huddled together, having

decided between them that they needed to come up with a plan to get

their children talking.

"I think we shall not be needed

after all," Edward's mother said to Alessandra's, who nodded in

return.

"I think you are right.

All shall be well now."

They both looked on

toward their children as, in their minds, they each remembered when

they'd met their husbands-to-be. They remembered as clear as day

how awkward that had been for each of them. Despite those awkward

first moments, both had gone on to spend their lives to date, with

someone they had grown to love dearly. They could only wish for the

same result for their children.

~~~~~

For the rest of that day,

Edward and Alessandra began relaxing more and more with each other.

They loosened up like a thread being pulled from a very tight

cloth.

That evening, they sat

near each other in the drawing room, just as they had done each

night since Alessandra and her family had arrived. As Edward

studied her, he finally saw before him a young woman who had

knowledge, dreams, and a desire to do right by her

parents.

"Alessandra, I did mean

it when I said that we do not need to get married if you do not

wish it. I would not want to force anyone to be my wife…" he

started to say. Their conversation was finally completely relaxed

between them, and they had begun to talk like friends who'd known

each other for a long time. It pleased and relieved him

greatly.

Alessandra looked at him

and smiled, while boldly reaching out and taking his hand in hers.

It was a movement that was new but didn't seem unnatural to

her.

"Edward, I

thank you for that , but I do

want to marry you. However, if you do not wish it…"

she began to say.

Edward squeezed her hand,

looking at her in a very different light from what he had done

before that day.

"No!" Edward

exclaimed. "No, Alessandra, this marriage is a gift from our

parents. They all want this, and it is important to me to regard

their wishes. I want to be married, but I want it to be with

someone who wants to work at marriage as much as I do. I think you

and I could be happy if we are both willing to work at making each

other happy. I want

to make you happy."

They sat, holding hands,

and simply happy to have found each other.

From the other side of the

room, two sets of parents smiled at each other also.