Chapter 2

CHAPTER2

This evening was a nightmare, one Edward Price had no idea how to wake up from. It seemed that it simply kept on going, one painful minute after another, with each of them bringing new means of torture. The newest one was the addition of the lady’s father, who seemed to be furious at her.

"What on Earth are you doing here!?" the earl demanded to know.

To be quite honest, that was the same question that Edward himself had been meaning to ask her from the moment he realized that she had woke up next to him, in his own chamber, in his own bed. But the smoke redirected his attention to a more pressing matter. Now, her mysterious presence was plaguing him once more and he knew that he would need to solve this puzzling mystery.

Edward’s attention turned to the lady. Only now did he recognize her. It was Lady Leah Gillet. His neighbor. He remembered seeing her as a little girl, then stopped paying much attention to her as time went by. That was a mistake, because her chestnut brown hair stood in stark contrast to her sky-blue eyes, which darted from him to her father, then back at him, as if pleading for help. Something told him he should not have stopped paying attention to her.

"Father, I can explain," Edward heard her say. Her sentence made him curious. He focused all of his attention on her, but he instantly realized that she only said that so she could have a little more time to come up with an explanation on her own, because she did not seem to know why she ended up there any more than Edward himself knew. This made everything even more puzzling.

"You there!" the Earl of Moore roared at the nearest servants. "Did you see my daughter come out of the mansion with the duke?"

The servant girl seemed confused. She obviously knew that the truth was the last thing that needed to be revealed here, but the earl’s accusatory finger would not let her be.

"No," the servant girl trembled. "She... came out with us."

The earl paused for a moment. Edward thought he would leave it be. Then, the servant girl added. "But she came downstairs with him."

Edward exhaled painfully to himself, closing his eyes shut, fully aware that this was the last thing the earl wanted to hear. He didn’t blame the servant girl. This was forced out of her. The earl had that look that made one fear for their very own life.

"Leah!" the earl thundered again at his daughter, regardless of the fact that all the servants, as well as the neighbors were listening. "You should be ashamed of yourself! I thought your mother and I raised you to be a lady, and not–"

"I don’t know how I got here," Leah interrupted him before her father was able to say something that he might regret later on. Edward knew about words that one came to regret, but after those were said, there was little one could do to rectify the situation. "Someone must have moved me in my sleep and brought me here!"

The moment she said it, Edward realized how ridiculous that sounded. Then again, he knew it to be true. The last thing a lady would do was sneak into a stranger’s bedroom, in her nightgown of all things to wear and just lie down next to him, sleeping soundly. It simply made no sense. It was the most preposterous thing he had ever heard. So preposterous in fact, that he almost burst out into a chuckle, but he managed to control himself. Instead, he just listened to the conversation that was unraveling before him, waiting for the right moment to jump in.

"Do you honestly expect me to believe that!?" the earl sounded incredulous, and rightfully so. Edward was sure that he also would not believe her if he were in the earl’s place. None of this seemed to make any sense. He just knew that it did not look good. In fact, it looked horrible, for both of them.

"I expect you to know me," Leah was adamant. Edward had to admire her courage at a moment like this. "I expect you to know who your daughter is and what she would and would not do."

The earl seemed to hesitate for a moment, then he waved his hand at her dismissively. "You are just trying to excuse your scandalous behavior. I see through your words, Leah. You cannot fool me. I see exactly what has been going on here." He paused, the weight of the following words a heavy burden upon his soul, but he eventually allowed them to roll down his tongue, slightly more silent than before. "You and the duke are... having secret relations."

"Secret relations!" Leah burst out loudly, making a few of the people in the crowd gasp with shock. "How can you say that, Father?"

Edward knew that he could not wait a single moment longer to interfere, not if he wanted to explain that neither he nor Leah seemed to understand how this happened, how she ended up in his chamber.

"I must intervene here," he suddenly said, physically stepping in between Leah and her father, dividing the two sides. Leah took a step back, as if to keep a safe distance from him. He couldn’t understand why. Not like he was to blame for any of this. In fact, he put out the fire. He was the hero here, not the villain. However, that seemed to be the image she had of him.

"You’d best stay out of this," the earl growled. "Unless you want me to plant you a facer for what you have done."

"But that is exactly it," Edward was adamant to explain the little that could be explained here. "I have done nothing to deserve a facer and neither has your daughter. I have no idea how she ended up in my chamber and I–"

"You should be ashamed of yourself," the earl hissed, interrupting him. He neared him, his vast heavy body overshadowing Edward’s, who refused to back down, even before such a threat. "I always thought you to be an honorable man, despite everything that has happened." He hesitated for a moment, then continued, "If your parents were here, may God rest their souls, they would be ashamed of you as well, to see you trying to excuse your scandalous behavior, instead of accepting responsibility for the mistakes you have made and trying to rectify the situation in the only way that is acceptable."

"The only way?" Leah echoed her father’s last words, looking at him, then at Edward, who instantly knew what the earl was referring to.

He sighed heavily. The nightmare just kept on going, without any end in sight. He looked up at his mansion, the only place he had ever called his home. Some parts of it were in a state of dilapidation. It needed his tender care and attention. It needed to be mended in so many ways, especially now after the fire almost destroyed all of it. He was fortunate. He never thought he would consider himself fortunate, after everything that had happened to him. Yet, here he was, the fortunate one.

"I know this looks very bad," Edward concurred, nodding.

"It most certainly does!" the earl huffed, his chest rising like a peacock’s, proud to hear that he was right.

"Your daughter and I have told you the truth, but I know that you do not believe us," he continued. "To be honest, I am not certain that I would believe myself. This whole evening seems like something from a novel, which I do not see the ending of."

"Well, I do," the earl snarled. "A good man knows what to do, even if it might be something he doesn’t like."

Edward wanted to remind him that no one here considered him a good man. In fact, everyone thought exactly the opposite. Everyone here thought Edward was a monster, and that was exactly why they were here, to see what the monster would do next. A monster would lure a young lady into its chamber. A monster would take advantage of a young lady in its chamber. And a monster would most certainly refuse to do the right thing. They all expected to see a monster, because that was all Edward was to them.

"I knew your father," the earl suddenly added. "He was a good man. He would know what to do. You have just shown everyone here what sort of a man you are. You are not your father’s son after all."

The earl’s words hit him hard. Edward held his father in great esteem, and he knew that the earl was right. His father was respected by all those who knew him. Edward could not boast the same feat. In fact, he could boast the opposite, although it was nothing to be proud of. People thought he was many things, none of which were good. Perhaps, this could be his first step in proving them all wrong?

Seeing fire had almost rendered him motionless. Memories came flooding back, but he managed to fight through all of them. It was the first time that he didn’t succumb to all the pain, to all the misery that lay dormant inside of him. Perhaps that was a sign that changes were afoot... good changes.

What would his father do? Edward wondered. Instantly, the answer materialized inside his mind. If he ever found himself in such a situation, he would most certainly marry the girl. He would never let a young lady’s reputation suffer, if he were involved in any manner. Edward knew what he needed to do, what he was expected to do.

He inhaled deeply and stared the earl straight into the eyes. He hesitated for a moment. There was one single second of reluctance in his mind, one single moment that would change everything. This was the time for him to choose his destiny, to prove to others whether he was the monster they all thought him to be or was he truly the son of his parents.

"You are absolutely right, My Lord," Edward said with as much reverence in his voice as he could muster. "Your daughter was in my chamber at night, unchaperoned. We all know what that means. I swear to you on the memory of my father, whom you knew well, that I have not soiled your daughter’s reputation. However, simply by being here with me, her reputation has suffered, and there is only one way in which I can rectify this." He paused, still staring at the earl, whose face expression seemed to become milder and milder with each subsequent word that was being said. "Please, take your daughter home," Edward instructed. "She has suffered enough. I shall come in the morning, to make an official proposal."

He waited for a moment longer, to hear if the earl would say anything else, but the earl remained silent, save for that flicker of a smile on his lips. Assured that the matter was handled well, Edward turned around and headed back inside, leaving all the servants and the neighbors, with all their prying eyes behind him.

How did Leah Gillet end up in his chamber? That question rang inside his mind with the strength of a million church bells, all pealing at the same time. But tonight, he would not get closer to the resolution of this mystery.

He still had no idea what just happened. This evening was still a horrible nightmare he could not make heads or tails of. However, he was adamant to find out, and visiting the Earl and his daughter the following morning would be his first step in doing that.