Page 10 of Loving a Noble Gentleman
As Walter walked Edmund to the door, Mary let out a deep sigh of relief. That was far quicker than she expected, and she was so glad that it was over.
“How do you feel now?” Daisy asked from behind her, making Mary jump. She had almost forgotten that she was not alone. “Are you happier now that you have met the man?”
Mary gave Daisy a smile. “Much better, actually. I am now very sure that there will be no wedding.”
“Oh.” Unexpectedly, Daisy’s face fell. “Does that mean you shall lose the home? Do you think it might be time for us to look for new jobs? After all, the new house owner might not wish to keep us.”
Mary’s body boiled; she had not thought about that at all. She had only been concerned with how this arrangement affected her life and her future. Charlotte was wrong. Therewereother people that could be affected by what she did next. A whole houseful of people, the sort of people she had just pretended to care about the welfare of.
“Well, Idothink I shall keep the house if the Duke does not wish to marry me,” Mary replied with a little uncertainty. “I have not spoken to Walter about the finer details of things, but I will.” She reached out and touched Daisy’s arm softly. “I shall ensure that no matter what happens next, you will keep your job anyway.”
Daisy looked up at Mary gratefully through her eyelashes. “What you said to the Duke about the working classes was very touching.” She paused thoughtfully. “Most people assume that the poor are a parasite; they forget that we are hungry too.”
Mary blushed, recalling Charlotte’s recollection of her husband’s words that matched that exactly. “Oh, well, I am sure that is not true ...” she tried to argue, but it was fruitless. “But yes, I do think it is very important to ... to care about rights.”
Mary felt terrible. She did not mean to lie. Maybe this was something that shedidneed to think about in the future. Of course, she needed to sort out her own mess first, especially when it affected lots of other people around her.
