Page 34 of Adoringly, Edward
“I’m not sure if he would arrive soon enough.”
“It’s worth a try.”
Edward didn’t refute him nor agree with him. Short of performing a heart surgery no one thought was possible, one that would more likely kill him than allow him to live, nothing would help.
“Let’s play a game.” Maxwell crossed the room and opened the cupboard filled with games and books, pulling out one of Edward’s favorites. But then he paused before picking up Vivienne’s blue and white lacy fan he’d forgotten to give back to her all this time.
“Put that down.”
But instead, his uncle unfurled it, laughing as he fanned his face. He read the initials carved into the wood. “‘V.W.’ I think my little nephew has a paramour.”
“I said put it down.”
Finally, his uncle held up his hands as if to show he meant no harm before setting it back where it belonged. “For both of your sakes, I hope the new doctor arrives sooner rather than later.”
Uncle Maxwell sat down, forgetting to close the cupboard behind him. For a long few moments, Edward stared at Vivienne’s fan resting on top of one of his books. For the remainder of his life, he would treasure the time he’d had with her, however short, keeping the memory of her locked within his weak heart.
He loved her.
And he hadn’t realized just how much until she was gone.
“He can’t bother to come see me himself?” Vivienne scoffed as she set down a bottle of imported perfume on the table in the family suite. It smelled awful. Like heartbreak and defeat.
“Duke Hastings is visiting tomorrow,” her mother reminded her.
“If he really were competing for my hand, he would show up at my door like a thoughtful gentleman.”
Her sister, Sophia, raised an eyebrow from where she sat beside the hearth while embroidering flowers on the bodice of one of her dresses. “Competing with whom?”
Another sister, Marcella, elbowed the other in the ribs. “Don’t be rude. She captured the duke’s attention. She needs no other serious suitors.”
The look her mother gave warned her not to speak of Edward. But rather than finding gratitude deep within herself for the duke’s special attention, she only uncovered anger. Anger at her stupidity, at her selfishness, at losing her freedom and the man she loved.
By tomorrow, she needed to come to terms with becoming the wife of a duke. But today?
She preferred to feel red, hot anger.
Without another glance at the vast amounts of gifts atop the table, she strode out of the room, stomped down the staircase, and snatched her cloak from a waiting servant before slumping onto a bench in the entryway, sitting by her lonesome while glaring at the wall on the opposite side of the room.
Anger was unbecoming of a woman of good breeding, her mother had told her countless times. But Vivienne felt things too deeply. It was no easy task to hide the rage and devastation billowing inside of her.
“Thank you very much,” a voice said, floating down the nearby hallway and reaching her ears. “I will send for the documents next week.”
The earl, Lord Barnaby Mavis, also one of Edward’s close friends, appeared around the corner with a coat draped over one arm. He paused in his tracks the moment he caught her eye.
“Lady Vivienne,” he greeted as he brushed his blond hair out of his face. But a hesitancy rested in his vivid blue eyes, a quiet word lurking behind his tongue.
“Lord Mavis.” She pulled off her slippers and reached for her boots. A bit of fresh air to sting her cheeks was exactly what she hoped would calm the fire in her spirit.
But the man continued to stand in the middle of the room, clearly wanting to say something.
“How was your stay at the Beaumont residence?” he finally asked, taking another step closer.
“Splendid,” she replied sarcastically. “Just peachy.”
“Edward was that bad, huh? He’s usually a good host.”
“Usually?” she scoffed. “Well, I’m sure you’ve seen him more recently than I have.” She angrily clasped her cloak around her shoulders. “He hadn’t even the decency to say goodbye.” She furiously shoved her feet into her boots. “He’ll turn twenty-four soon and find the wife he’s always wanted, and then live happily ever after like in his storybooks.”
