Chapter Twenty-One

"Ah, there you are."

Edith looked up, then set her book to the side as she rose to her feet, her breathing becoming a little quicker as she looked into the Duke's face. "Your Grace?"

He smiled. "Please, do sit down. I am aware that I have disturbed your solitude but it is because of that solitude I have come to seek you out."

Edith swallowed hard as she sank back down, suddenly afraid of what it was he was about to tell her. He had been rather strange in his manner the last couple of days, keeping back from her and yet, astonishingly, asking her to dance and pulling her closer to him. Was this about their engagement? Had he decided whether or not they were to be wed?

"The house gathering is almost at an end," he told her, lifting his chin. "The ball is tomorrow night and then we shall all take our leave. Is that not so?"

Edith nodded, unable to find any strength to speak such was her nervousness. Her hands clasped together, then unclasped again, her worries frightening her.

"I think… " The Duke sighed and then came to sit on the couch beside her, looking into her eyes. "Edith, I think we shall wed."

The rush of breath which came from her made the Duke blink in surprise, only for him to chuckle as she flushed with embarrassment.

"You thought that I was to refuse to marry you?"

"I – I did not know," Edith admitted, her voice cracking with emotion, with the weight of relief she felt. "Your Grace, I have been worried for ever since your brother returned, you have pulled back from the connection we had been building and I feared that you would no longer wish to wed me. I was afraid that I had failed in your eyes somehow, that I was no longer considered suitable and – "

"None of that has been your fault."

Much to Edith's surprise, the Duke reached out and took her hand in his, sending flames of fire licking up her hand and her arm, threading their way towards her heart.

"I did not know that my brother and his wife were coming and that came as a great shock."

"Though you have permitted them to stay," Edith managed to say, her lips feeling thick as she spoke. "Your kindness has permitted it."

The Duke frowned. "I do not know if am kind."

"I think that you are."

The softness with which she spoke seemed to make something of an impact upon the Duke of Fairglen, for he let out a slow breath, his eyes affixing to hers before he finally smiled, though there was still a sadness there which Edith saw quite clearly.

"I do not think that I deserve such a creature as you as my bride," he told her, gently. "I have treated you abominably, Edith and yet you now come to me with nothing but sweetness on your lips." As he spoke, his eyes went to her mouth and a light shudder of something like excitement or anticipation rushed over Edith's frame. "I did not once consider you when I proposed marriage," he continued, his voice a little deeper now. "I cared nothing for your own emotions. I brushed you off, I set you back and yet you were courageous enough to speak to me of that. You were strong enough to show me where I had been wrong in my treatment of you and now, much to my astonishment, you have enough kindness within you to seemingly smile at the confirmation that we are to wed." He tilted his head, his fingers pressing hers. "I do hope that there is a little happiness here, Edith?"

"Are you asking me if I am glad to be marrying you?" Edith asked, her heart beating with a sudden thunderous excitement. Was this the time for her to be honest with him? To tell him the truth of all she had been feeling? Or would he push her away if she did so?

The Duke nodded. "I am." His lips curved just a little. "I find that I am all the more inclined towards your happiness, Edith. It has taken some time to begin to show itself but it is there, nonetheless. I want to make certain that, in all of this, you are contented to be my bride. If you are at all unhappy, if you are uncertain or even doubtful of my suitability as your husband, then I would beg of you to speak of it." He squeezed her hand. "I want there to be nothing but truth between us. I want us to be honest with each other."

Edith swallowed hard, her stomach suddenly lurching. "I – I would like that too, Your Grace."

"Henry, please." The Duke smiled and Edith's heart quickened all over again. This was the gentleman that she had begun to draw close to before his brother had arrived. This was the gentleman she had begun to see, the one who had begun to soften, who had begun to share a warmth with her rather than leaving her with nothing but coldness.

"Henry." She smiled despite the slight trembling within her. "I want to be honest with you too. That is all that I want, and I have been honest with you from the very beginning of our connection."

"I know." He chuckled softly, but there was no malice there, no mockery. "It is something that I have come to value, even though I did not always think of it in such a term."

Understanding what he meant, Edith nodded. "I see. Well, I must say that my heart is glad that you are eager for such a… truthful connection between us." Remembering what she had said to Lady Frankton the day before, Edith took in a deep breath. "There is something that I did want to speak to you about."

The Duke's eyebrows lifted a little. "About our marriage?"

She shook her head no.

"Then I have nothing to fear." A small, flickering smile danced in the corner of the Duke's mouth. "I need not grow concerned that my lady will step away from me. This engagement will lead to marriage." He pressed her hand again, his breath brushing across her cheek as he shifted a little closer to her, sending all thought of what she was to say from her mind. "You shall be my Duchess, Edith."

For a moment, Edith could not breathe, the thought of being in such a position stole all of her strength. She felt overwhelmed, crushed, almost, at what was going to be asked of her. Remembering how the Duchess had spoken to her about the ball, how she had seemed frustrated at Edith's lack of understanding, Edith caught herself frowning. "What if I cannot be all that you need?"

The Duke leaned all the closer to her, his eyes searching hers and a flush of desire ran straight through Edith's frame. "You are already all that I need, Edith," he said, softly. "You have brought me back to life. You have shown me what it is to trust, to be open to another. That is something that I cannot help but be grateful for."

Edith could not speak, could not even move. All she could see was the blue of the Duke's eyes, wondering how she could have ever thought them piercing or sharp. There was a beauty there, a depth to them that she had never really seen before and, as she watched, the Duke leaned forward and touched his lips to hers.

With the shock of it, Edith jumped in surprise and the Duke pulled away at once, leaving them both staring at each other; breathing hard. Edith did not know what to do, for she had never been kissed before and yet the desire for the very same, the desire for even more of it, grew strongly.

"Forgive me." The Duke pressed one hand to his eyes, his lips tight. "I should not have taken such liberties. You were not expecting such a thing and – "

Edith, this time, was the one who leaned forward and met his lips with her own. The very same heat seared her as before, stealing her breath, only for the Duke to tilt his head just a little in order to deepen their kiss. Fire like nothing she had ever felt before tore through her and Edith pulled away, astonished at the amount of feeling a simple kiss could evoke.

The Duke smiled a little ruefully, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. "I think that should be enough for the moment," he said, his voice rasping a little. "That was both surprising and… well, quite wonderful."

A blush ran through Edith's cheeks but she smiled back at him, aware now that he still held her hand. "Yes," she whispered, suddenly unable to look anywhere but his face. "Yes, it really was."

***

"I do declare, you have not stopped smiling since I first saw you arrive!"

Edith laughed as Mrs. Wilkins came across the room, a tea tray in her hand. "It has been a remarkably enjoyable afternoon," she said, grateful now for the tea which was soon to be served.

"Though it is already late," the vicar's wife reminded her. "Will you not be tardy for your own dinner?"

Edith shook her head. "The guests dine late so I will stay for another hour or so and then take my leave." She accepted the cup gratefully from Mrs. Wilkins. "I was glad to be able to help put the children to bed. They are all so very dear." She smiled softly. "Caleb especially is a very lovely child."

"He is." The vicar's wife sighed and smiled. "This orphanage has been very blessed by the Duke's generosity. We would not have been able to accommodate the number of children we have without his kindness."

"I think that he has done a great deal of good without truly realising it," Edith agreed, finding her heart singing as she thought of the Duke, remembering the kiss they had shared earlier that day.

The vicar's wife nodded, studying Edith carefully for a moment as though she had something to say but was not quite certain how to say it. Edith simply smiled and waited, wondering what was on the lady's mind. Eventually, she spoke.

"I am aware that the Duke has been in something of a depression for some time," she said gently, as though she was a little afraid of Edith's reaction to such a statement. "Though now, ever since you have arrived here, he appears to be a good deal happier. That must be because of you, Miss Tidemore."

Edith shook her head, though she still smiled. "I do not know if that is true, though I am glad that you have seen a change in him. I… " A sudden frown crossed her brow as she sniffed the air. "Wait, is that… is that smoke?"

Alarm reared in her chest as Mrs. Wilkins shot to her feet, hurrying across the room to the door. She opened it and at once, the smell of smoke grew stronger.

"There is a fire!" Mrs. Wilkins cried, fear evident in her voice. "The children! I – "

"Go and raise the alarm. You know where to go better than I. I will fetch the children."

Without so much as a glance over her shoulder towards Mrs. Wilkins, Edith hurried along the hallway and climbed the staircase. There came a few frightened cries from the children but Edith, reassuring them as best she could, called for them all to follow after her. Grasping the hands of two of the youngest children, she hurried back down the staircase, all too aware that there were two other bedrooms for her to go back to search.

"This way, as quickly as you can," she cried, only for the crackling flames to catch her attention. She turned her head, gasping in fright as flames began to lick up the sides of the dining room door. Had the fire started in the kitchens?

"Hurry!" she cried, hearing the cracking of the beams as the wood began to roar with heat and fire. She ushered the children outside, then turned to hurry back to the other bedrooms. "Come out, quickly!" Opening one of the doors, she saw three frightened faces looking back at her. "There has been a fire," she explained, coming a little further into the room as smoke continued to fill the hallway. "Come now, quickly. Follow me." The three children hurried after her and after checking the final bedroom and finding it empty, Edith was able to bring them to the safety of the outdoors. Coughing to clear her throat, her eyes streaming, Edith called for all the children to come together. Quickly, she counted them, and then counted them again.

Her stomach dropped.

Someone was missing.

"You must hurry to the vicarage," she shouted over the cries and the tears of the younger children. "Matthew, Hubert, Jill – take the hands of the younger children and lead them up towards the vicarage. Do you understand?" She looked to the eldest one. "Matthew, you are responsible for getting everyone up to the vicarage. I must go back in. Someone is missing."

"It's Caleb!"

Edith's heart beat a little more quickly, fear beginning to lick up into her heart as she turned back to the orphanage. She could see flames at the windows of the upstairs rooms and, as she opened the door wide to step back in, all she could see was smoke.

"I don't think you should go in," one of the children cried. "You could get hurt."

Edith shook her head, her heart pounding but her determination steady. "I must get Caleb," she said, turning to look at them all. "Now go to the vicarage. Hurry!"

Waiting until she had seen Mathew and the other two children ushering the others up towards the vicarage, Edith took in a deep breath and, without hesitating, stepped back into the smoke-filled orphanage.