Chapter 30

Walking On Eggshells

Walford Estate, London

Four Days Later

“Well?” Edwin prompted.

“Old chap, we are friends, and we will always remain friends, but I don’t appreciate your tone, unless you are angry with me for some slight,” Robert snapped.

Edwin looked at his friend. He was the Duke of Walford, and he could do as he pleased. That was how he felt, but he knew it was not true. He wanted to throw his friend out but knew that would not help either.

Robert stared him down, not budging.

Edwin, at least, appreciated that. If it were anyone else, they might have given in and cowered or bowed to him, but not Robert. Edwin didn’t want a friend who would do that; he needed a friend who would tell him how foolish he had been.

“I apologize, Robert,” he said. “This has been a trying time for us all.” He couldn’t quite bring himself to say that he was the only one suffering. It was new for him—raw. “Have you heard any news about Miss Jennings?”

“I have word that one of the printers might speak with us, but we only have one shot at it. It depends if Miss Jennings has spoken to him already and what threats or promises she has made.”

Edwin threw his glass against the wall and watched it shatter into pieces. Robert did not flinch—it was not the first time the Duke had lashed out in the past few days.

“So, we still have nothing,” Edwin moaned. “My marriage is over, and I can’t do anything about it?”

“There is something you can do about it,” Robert told him.

Edwin glared at his friend again, and for a second time, Robert did not back down.

“What should I do?” Edwin asked.

“You should visit her and tell her to come home,” Robert replied.

“And then what? She sneaks out again and is caught this time. Or she concocts some other plan, when I have explicitly told her that she must leave it to me.”

“You have to give her some credit for trying to fix it,” Robert argued. “Most women would do absolutely nothing and let you do everything. What she did shows that she cares.”

“She snuck out in the middle of the night dressed in men’s clothing!” Edwin boomed.

“Yes, I am well aware,” Robert said witheringly. “Which are you most angry at? The fact that she snuck out to try and fix a problem or the fact that you have been unable to fix it?”

Edwin glared at his friend, annoyed that he was right. Much of the anger Edwin felt was because he could not fix the main problem affecting his marriage. Beatrice had certainly added to his problems, but Miss Jennings was his biggest problem.

“Why did she have to go to her sister’s?” he groaned, trying to change the focus of the conversation. “She should have stayed here, and I would have one fewer problem to deal with.”

“Then deal with that one promptly,” Robert urged. “She is there with her pregnant sister, and that is a good cover for now. But the longer she remains there, the more people will begin to talk. They call her the Runaway Bride, and I’m sure Miss Jennings is plotting her next move. How long will it be before she starts to question what is really going on?”

“I know, I know,” Edwin grumbled. “What am I supposed to do? She was the one in the wrong, and I will look weak if I go crawling over to her sister’s home and beg for her to come back. If anything, Beatrice should be the one to come back here and apologize. If she does that, then we will be able to move on to the next problem in a long line of problems.”

It only made Edwin feel more in the wrong. She had tried to apologize, but he had been too angry to hear it. If he had calmed down and listened to her apology, he could have accepted it.

No! She had accused him of being in the wrong, too, and that was not the case. He could not show weakness, whether it be in business or marriage. If he apologized for her sneaking out, then what else might she do? He needed to be ruthless for a reason. It was to protect those around him.

“It is your marriage,” Robert pointed out.

“Yes, it is,” Edwin snapped.

He immediately regretted his tone. He gave his friend an apologetic look.

Robert seemed to understand and did not look too put out. “I will check in with some people and see if there is anything that can be done more immediately,” he told him.

“I don’t ever thank you enough,” Edwin admitted.

“No, you don’t,” Robert said with a smile. “Not only for this but for being your friend, too. I don’t know anyone else who would have kept up with you all these years.”

“You are no angel yourself,” the Duke scoffed.

“That is true, that is true,” Robert conceded with a chuckle. “I must leave. I hope you feel better, old chap. Please, talk to your wife and sort all of this out. Do you not have an event to attend?”

“In three days,” Edwin confirmed.

“Will she be there?”

“I was told she will. I don’t know what to expect when I see her, but I will be ready.”

“I don’t know what that means,” Robert replied. “Even with your anger and disappointment, Beatrice is the best thing that happened to you in a long time—perhaps ever. I have seen the small changes in you, and I can see how unhappy you are now. Some of that is because your wife has left your estate. I beg you to go and make this right before the event, but your stubbornness does not give me a lot of hope. If you can’t make it right before then, make it right at the event. Do you hear me? If you mess this up, I shall have to reconsider the sort of man you are.”

“Is this what I have become? You judge me based on the company I keep?” Edwin asked.

“A man is judged for many things,” Robert replied. “I am still your friend, and that means I have judged you well. Don’t let the Runaway Bride run away from you, dear friend, or my judgment may change.”

“I shall try,” Edwin replied.

“Don’t try. Do,” Robert ordered. He left the room before his friend could reply.

Edwin sat in his chair in the library, staring at a large bookshelf and sulking. He wondered what Beatrice was doing. He imagined she was having a jolly time with her sister, and they were talking about babies and husbands. He knew Charlotte was happy in her marriage, even though its start was rocky, and Beatrice was likely comparing their marriage to her sister’s.

He looked down at the smashed glass on the floor and wished he hadn’t done what he did. He could do with a drink. Still, it would only depress him more.

Edwin got up from the chair and left the room. He had told no one to enter, so the maid stood at the door, waiting for instructions.

“Clean that up,” he ordered. He was about to leave when he added, “I should not have done that.”

The maid bowed her head slightly before entering the room.

Not everyone should be miserable just because I am.

He walked the hallways of the manor, and it felt empty. He knew he should go and find Beatrice and beg her to come back, but he could not show weakness, and he was still angry. It did not matter that it would improve his life considerably.

One other thing stopped him. He worried that she would refuse. Or that he would arrive at the Duke of Hayward’s estate and wouldn’t find her there.

“Ah, there you are,” Modesty called softly.

In the span of a few days, his stepmother had turned from the most eccentric and excitable woman he knew to one who spoke in hushed tones and measured her words carefully.

Perhaps it is only around me.

“I am here, Mother,” Edwin said. “What do you need?”

“Well,” she began. “As you know, your sister is to debut this Season, and the preparations are going incredibly well.”

Edwin wanted to urge her to hasten her speech, but she was already walking on eggshells around him, and for good reason. He had snapped at just about everyone at least once in the past few days.

“She is looking forward to her debut so much, and we are wondering if Beatrice would return soon to help with the final preparations,” Modesty finished.

“Yes, she will be back soon,” the Duke replied curtly.

“Oh, good.” Modesty nodded. “Yes, I expected she would. Also, we have not heard a lot from her younger sister—the one who is also debuting this Season. Are they still debuting together?”

“Yes,” the Duke said quickly. “Why wouldn’t they? That is what was agreed upon, was it not?”

“Yes, of course,” Modesty confirmed pleasantly. “I only wanted to confirm the arrangements. I am sure you know how stressful it can be for a young lady to debut when all eyes are on her. Elizabeth is young, and there is only one chance to get this right.”

“It will be fine!” Edwin snapped.

He couldn’t look his stepmother in the eye as she tried to keep a small smile on her face.

“Everything will be fine,” he said softly.

He knew it would be for Elizabeth. He knew Beatrice well enough to know that it did not matter what problems they had—she would still help his younger sister. She would still help him if he asked, even if she were angry with him.

His thoughts only annoyed him more. When he thought about her character, it only made him feel like a fool. Robert was right when he said Beatrice was the best thing that had happened to him, but she was also the most troublesome thing that had happened to him. And, he was not convinced that their troubles would ever end. They would have to be managed.

Edwin took his mother by the shoulders. She should not have to suffer just because he was suffering. “Mother, Beatrice will return soon, and Elizabeth’s debut will be fantastic—I promise you. Please return to Elizabeth and inform her that she has nothing to worry about. I will take care of everything.”

That satisfied Modesty, and she leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. “I never doubted you,” she said. “You have a way of working things out.”

Edwin knew that she was not only talking about the debut or restoring the family’s reputation. When he put his mind to it, there was not a problem he could not solve. Yet, how did he solve a problem like Beatrice?

The Duke was not sure an apology would be enough. He still believed Beatrice should apologize for what she had done, but if needed, he would step up and make an apology, too. He did not want the halls of his manor to be empty. Everything and everyone was better off when Beatrice was around, even with the trouble she caused.

He could not go to her sister’s estate, but he would attend the charity gala and hope that she would be there too.

He did not know what would happen after that.