Page 50 of Loving a Noble Gentleman
Chapter 24
By the time Edmund reached his home, he felt utterly hopeless. This was a situation that continued to grow increasingly complex with every passing second. Every time he thought that he and Mary could find a way to make it work, something else got in the way. First Victoria, now Charlotte ... there was a never-ending string of issues.
He wanted to solve them all. He wished that he could find a way to make Victoria tell the truth; he wished that he could get Charlotte away from her horrible husband ... but there was only one problem of Mary’s that he actually thought that he could help with. It would just take him a little persuading when it came to his mother, but he hoped that would not be too much of a problem.
“How did it go?”
He found Iris waiting in the hallway when he stepped back into his home as if she had been waiting there the whole time. That took him aback. He knew that she wanted things to get back on track with him and Mary, but he did not know how important it was to her.
“It ... erm, it went,” he answered vaguely. “Actually, it is good that you are here. There is a lot that I want to talk with you about. Do you mind if we take a seat?”
“Yes. Sure. Let us ...” Iris felt uneasy. She did not know what any of this meant, but it did not sound positive. “Yes, let us sit.”
They walked through into the living room and took their respective seats. Iris perched her backside on the edge of the chair and leaned her elbows onto her knees where she waited for her son to start telling her the truth.
“It is not good. Things with Mary are bad because of the house. She is terribly upset.”
“Oh, I am sure that she is,” Iris agreed. “That must have been truly devastating for her. I do not know how she is even holding herself together. Does she even know what she is going to do now?”
“Actually …” Edmund let out a little laugh. “She is not too concerned about herself. I am sure she is worried about what she is going to do, but it is not her main focus. She is too busy being worried about everybody else.”
“Is there anything you can do to help?”
Edmund knew his mother would ask this because of her kind heart, which is exactly why he brought it up. He stared intently at Iris, trying to work out whether she would be agreeable to her or not. Her expression was closed off; she was not giving anything away which meant he just had to go for it.
“There is a girl, a maid that used to work at her house. Daisy. It was her friend, and she is very upset about where she is going to work now. The house has been sold, and as far as she is aware, Daisy is out of a job, and she is afraid for her future.”
“I see,” Iris drawled. She did not like to admit it to anyone, but she was starting to grow weary of doing so much herself. She had been trying for a very long time, but there was a big chance that this had all happened at exactly the right moment. “Well, I suppose she could come and work here. We could use some help, could we not?”
The tight knot loosened in Edmund’s chest; that was one of the biggest problems solved. Now Mary could come and visit her friend; she would know that she was alright and being looked after.
“That would be wonderful, Mother. Thank you very much.”
Iris leaned back in her chair and stared at her son. He was not done; she could see that. “What else, Edmund? There is more. You have to tell me what is going on.”
“I know that I do not need to say this to you, Mother, I know that I can trust you with anything, but I need you to keep this a secret. What I tell you next must stay between you and me.”
“You insult me,” Iris squealed, a little miffed. “You know I will not break your trust. I might listen to gossip, but I never spread it myself. I never even believe it wholly. Everything that comes from the mouth of someone else is never the whole truth.”
“Right, I see. Well ...” Edmund paused. “This is not something that I heard directly from the person, but I did get it from her sister, and I saw evidence to back it up. Mary’s sister is pregnant.” His heart hammered as he thought about this horrible situation again. “She is having a baby with a man who beats her.”
“What do you mean by evidence?” Iris’ tone suddenly turned stern. “What did you see? Did you see him do anything?”
“I did not,” Edmund admitted. “And Mary has not, but Charlotte has told her. When I was there today, I saw a bruise on Lady Jones’ cheek. She had attempted to cover it up with make-up, but I got a glimpse of it anyway. There is something very unpleasant going on in that household.”
“You need to get her out,” Iris gasped. “You need to get them both out of there.”
“I know.” Edmund’s head fell into his hands as that sense of hopelessness overcame him again. “But how can I? How can I rescue them both? Understandably because of what her sister is going through, Mary says that she does not want to marry me at the moment because she cannot leave her sister there in that house alone. But how can I take them both away from it? Lord Jones does not seem like the sort of man who will let his wife go easily.”
When Iris did not answer him, Edmund knew that he was in the middle of a question with no answer. Iris Smith always knew exactly what to do, so the fact that she did not now spoke volumes.
“You do need to get both girls out,” she said quietly instead. “I am not sure how you will do it, but I know that you are resourceful enough to find a way.”
“I do not think you get it,” Edmund said quite a lot louder this time. “I do not think you understand what that will mean. I will have to leave London. To keep the girls safe, I shall have to leave the city and take them far away. It will take me away from you and the life that we have here.”
Iris sighed loudly. “I know that, and I might not like it, but this is important. You would probably want your own space when you got married anyway, so this will only be like that. I should expect you to move on. Plus if I am going to get some help around the house now, then I shall be fine.”
Edmund leaned close enough so that he could reach out to grab his mother’s hand. He knew that this was something he needed to do, but that did not mean that he liked it either. “Will you be lonely? What if I have to go so far that I do not get to see you very often?”
