Page 67 of Suddenly a Bride
“Seems?”
“I find it hard to believe that losing such a position of power is so easy for him.”
Edmund listened to his own banter, the way he was delaying having to leave Gwyneth. He had barely slept the previous night. No matter how he resisted trusting her, he realized that he no longer believed she knew anything about the earl’s plots. The revelation eased something deep inside him. She was a genuine, loving woman, and he didn’t like seeing her sick with worry over her family. She was picking at her food absently, and when she looked at him, she seemed distant and preoccupied.
And the thought of her married to someone else had suddenly seemed intolerable. He was actually jealous of a man in her past. He could never send her back to London, where she’d once again be under the earl’s control. He put away his notions of annulling this marriage, of finding another wife. He would defeat the earl another way, perhaps by exposing him for what he was when the old man finally revealed his intentions.
Gwyneth would remain married tohim.
“Gwyneth?”
It took her a moment to focus on him, but when she did, her smile warmed him. “Aye?”
“I cannot help your sisters with money, but I could help another way. If your father is ill, he will not be able to work much longer, will he?”
Her smile faltered and her eyes glistened. “He’ll do what he needs to. And my sisters and my mother are very strong.”
“If they are anything like you, then I have no doubt of that.”
She was watching him closely now.
“Ask them to come here,” he said simply.
The eyes he could lose himself in now went wide and uncomprehending—then full of so much hope that it was painful to watch.
“You—you want them to visit us? You would not mind?”
“They could live here permanently if you would like them to. I could send several of the soldiers to deliver your letter and escort your family back here.”
Her tears spilled over, and with a glad cry she flung her arms around his neck. Edmund sat back in his chair and let himself enjoy her body pressed so tightly to his. He patted her back awkwardly when he heard her breath catch on a sob and then tightened his arms about her.
“I have been so worried about them,” she whispered against his neck.
“Then worry no more. When your letter is written, my men will be ready to leave.”
Immediately she pushed herself to her feet. “I shall be finished in less than an hour.”
He laughed. “I think it might take them a bit longer than that to prepare.”
Pointing to the door, she said, “Then go tell them!” She clapped a hand to her cheek. “We’re starting to harvest the kitchen garden today—but we’ll need to prepare chambers for my family. There is so much to do!”
She gave him a swift kiss and ran out of the room.
After she’d gone, the cold reality of what he’d done hit him. Was he putting her in danger by keeping her with him? Surely if he let himself fall in love with her, the earl would use her against him? He wouldn’t let that soft emotion touch him. It was better for her—and him.
~oOo~
As Gwyneth walked quickly through the great hall on her way to the kitchen, she took a moment to enjoy her wonder at Edmund’s change of heart. She had begun to fear he would never banish the ghosts of the Langstons that seemed to hover between them. It was such a wonderful sign that he wanted her family to join them. Surely he was beginning to trust her at last.
And the relief of knowing that her parents and sisters would never know hunger or uncertainty again made tears of gratitude spill from her eyes. She wiped them away, feeling as if the shadows that had lurked around every corner were now banished. Castle Wintering was coming to life again.
~oOo~
If Edmund had any worries about experiencing tender feelings for his bride over the next fortnight, they were quickly dispelled. He only saw her at supper, when she was so tired she sometimes fell asleep with her head on her arm. She was opening up chambers that hadn’t been touched in decades, since more and more of the servants needed rooms. She had them all busy preparing the castle for new residents. A constant hunt was on for furniture and more often than not, she was full of dirt and cobwebs from her searches through the undercroft below the main floor of the castle.
Edmund spent his days in the orchards, overseeing the harvesting, and his nights frustratingly awake, trying to tell himself that if he actually managed to sleep with his wife, he wouldn’t fall in love with her, that he wouldn’t be the cause of even a moment of suffering for her.
At least the harvest was progressing on schedule, and he was pleasantly surprised at how well Harold Langston had begun to blend in. The accusations from Nell seemed to have changed him for the better, as if he’d never thought of his own arrogance before.
