Page 50 of Fragile Wicked Things
He put his fork down and almost in a whisper said, "I have all I need. Catherine, I..."
"I'm cold," I said, shivering for effect. I didn't want to speak about the Lovells or the Callahans and wanted to move into the drawing room.
"Let's sit near the fire," he said.
Edward placed his napkin on the table and escorted me to the next room. I sat on the settee as he prepared the fire and had it roaring in a short time, but when he sat in the chair by the table, he didn't notice the letters, preoccupied by the flames from the hearth. If I mentioned the letters one more time, I feared he'd know I was up to something. I pulled at a tassel on the pillow next to me, unthreading it from its seam and wrapped it around my finger. Finally, Edward sighed, then reached for the letters, and read the first one and then the second. Was it James’s letter?
"This is a surprise."
It was his letter!
"It is from neither the Lovells nor the Callahans, but the Logans. It appears their daughter has returned from a year-long trip to Europe and they wish to have us for dinner to welcome her back. Do we know of any black magic that can cast a spell to disarm these matchmakers?" Edward said.
It became unbearable. I had already picked apart one tassel, then moved on to the next, biting my lip throughout the ordeal. The final letter was in his hands. Edward looked at the envelope, knitted his eyebrows as he looked at the return address, and glanced up at me. He tore open the envelope, unfolded the paper, and while he read, his demeanor changed. Sitting forward, Edward grew stiffer, then his hands went limp, and the letter fell to the floor.
"Is there something wrong?" I said.
This shook him from his silence and I could see he tried hard to restrain himself. "No. I must go somewhere tonight."
"I'll have Giovanni bring around the carriage."
I jumped up to get Giovanni, for the quicker Edward took to the carriage and was on his way, the closer I was to becoming James’s wife. However, when I looked back before leaving the room, I saw Edward crumple the letter and toss it into the fire.
Two hours had passed since Edward set off in the carriage to see James. Although I had been very clear with James that he should visit Edward at Thornfield to properly ask for my hand in marriage, he didn't like to be told what to do and must have asked Edward to meet at his home.
I couldn't sit still, so I walked for miles within the confines of my room, from the bed to the window, from the fire to my writing table. For brief moments, I would sit and compose a love letter to my dear, sweet husband, but I thought better of it so that I didn't in some way cast bad luck on my future.
The front door slammed shut, and then somewhere glass smashed. I ran down the steps to the drawing room, where I found Edward standing near the blazing fire. The remnants of a Scotch bottle were scattered at the foot of the mantle.
"Edward? What is it?"
He remained motionless.
"Edward?"
Something had gone terribly wrong, and for the first time, I realized there was a possibility that Edward could have said no. Nonsense. Edward would say yes just to please me, as he had done since he first cared for me, providing me with whatever my heart desired. My heart desired nothing more than to be with James.
"Catherine, we're leaving New Orleans." He paced the floor, not once looking at me. "We'll go back to Europe."
"Leave this place? This is our home. Our friends are here and people we…love are here."
"I do not ask for your opinion. We leave at once."
"No! I won't go with you. What has happened? Where did you go tonight?"
"It does not concern you."
"It does. I saw the letter," I said.
Edward turned to me, the fire casting a red glow across his face. His eyes were dark and piercing, and there was something there I had never recognized before. It terrified me. "Do you know the contents of that letter?" he said, his voice pained.
"I do."
"And yet you lied to me, pretended to know nothing about it. Then you know I saw James tonight."
"Did he request something?"
"Yes."
