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When Jerry looked at him, waiting for an explanation, Aidan sighed and quickly recounted what had happened.
“Do you think Edwards has worried her or something?”
“I don’t know,” Aidan sighed. “But I damned well intend to find out. One thing is for definite; I don’t want that damned nurse in my house but can’t find a way to get rid of her. Now, I need to know what her motives are before I decide whether to call the magistrate or not.”
With that, Aidan opened the drawer to the table beside him.
“It is cold I am afraid, but try this. Take only a small piece, and spit it into the fire once you have tasted it,” he instructed as he cut a tiny piece off each item and held them out to Jerry.
Jerry’s brows lifted but he did as instructed. His nose wrinkled at the unusual taste, and he gladly spat the food into the fire.
“What is that?” he asked as he sat back down.
“Laudanum. It’s disgusting,” Aidan replied.
He explained what had happened with the breakfast, and the staged incident that had upset Petal so much, and watched his brother’s face harden.
Jerry sighed. “I think it is safe to say she has been sent here to try to ensnare you, correct?”
“The very thought leaves me cold,” Aidan muttered with a nod. “But, the dowager just happened to re-appear in the bedroom at the precise moment I had no choice but to lean on Edwards for support. However, when asked she couldn’t come up with a reason for doing so.”
“You were set up,” Jerry reported. “So, we can only assume that Edwards is here to catch herself a husband. If she has to drug you to do it then she will, obviously.”
“Not bloody likely,” Aidan declared fervently. “I am wise to her now, and won’t let my guard down again while she is in this house.”
Jerry snorted. “Well, I think that unless you are incredibly careful, you are going to be trapped by a scheme of some sort. You will then have to marry her because her family will insist upon it. However, if you are removed from the marriage market entirely, then Edwards has no reason to stay.”
“Are you actually scheming against them?” Aidan asked, not sure how he felt about being forcefully pushed into marriage to Petal either.
Strangely, he didn’t want to use Petal to save his own backside. He wanted Petal to be his wife, and for her to know that he wanted her, the woman.
Wait a minute! A small voice chided. When did you realise you want Petal as your wife? Do you? Do you really?
“I think the only way you can deal with the dowager is to play her at her own game. That means you have to scheme against them, and quickly, if they are prepared to go to such lengths to catch you unaware,” Jerry said. “I think that you had better think very carefully about what kind of woman you are looking for in your life. Do you want someone biddable? Or, are you prepared to sacrifice the life you have fought so hard to keep to marry someone the dowager’s chooses? If you do, you need to accept the untold misery it could very well bring you. If not, then you need to choose someone who appeals to you and damn the consequences. After all, people have married the oddest choices of mates and not been entirely shunned by society. Any good friend will accept both of you, or neither. Those who are real friends won’t care as long as you are happy. Those who merely want to be connected with you will make their objection known, and be offensive in their attitude against it. If they do, good riddance to them, I say.”
“I am not going to take any of their opinions into consideration when I decide whether to marry or not. Why, it is no better than caving into the dowager’s machinations, and that is something I am never going to do,” Aidan assured him.
“You have a good house here, and a lovely estate that is self-sufficient. You can do trade locally and survive perfectly well. The house is connected to Abbeygate, and me. Don’t ever forget that. People rely on me to keep their businesses afloat, and wouldn’t dare cause offense in case they lost my trade. I will ensure you are supported, whatever you choose to do.”
“You actually would support a marriage to someone like Petal?”
Jerry nodded. “I know it sounds quite mercenary, but you are providing her with a life she could never be able to afford after all. You two seem to get on well. I think you have every chance of having a long and happy marriage.”
Aidan shook his head. “It just feels like I am using her like a, well, a kind of human shield. That isn’t what marriage should be all about. I should not be gaining a wife to hide behind.”
Jerry grinned. “You are no coward. You are just ensuring you have a ring on your finger but are putting someone beside you whom you choose to be with. The lady in question stands to gain a hell of a lot in all of this. Look at this place. You have a hundred acres of rolling hillside, several working farms, a profitable fruit business, a beautiful family home. She will be the lady of the manor, and will undoubtedly be kept busy creating the family to go in it.”
Aidan stared blankly out of the window while he considered that. He had never thought about it like that before. Marriage had always been an expectancy placed upon him at an early age. However, he had never truly stopped to consider what it truly meant. Not only for his way of life, but the impact it had on his future could either bring him the greatest of rewards or plunge him into the darkest pit of despair. If he had a happy marriage, with a bride who was chosen for the right reasons, then he could have a family whom he could work to raise with her. That thought suddenly lifted the looming spectre of the chain bearing marriage that had always hung over him. Instead, it opened up a doorway to an entirely different set of possibilities that filled him with a quiet sense of anticipation.
Jerry fought a grin. Although he didn’t know much about Petal, he suspected she was devoted to Aidan, only he didn’t appear to realise it yet. She always looked at him with a special light in her eyes that was as close to adoration as Jerry had ever seen.
Was it love?
He knew it was on her part. As for Aidan; he was behaving like a love-struck fool. It was clear to anyone with eyes in their head that his fascination with her had started from the day he had entered the house. It had, in spite of everything, appeared to grow stronger with each day that passed. Aidan just didn’t seem to know it yet.
Jerry knew she could read, and was a little too feisty to make a biddable maid. However, in Aidan’s case that could only be a good thing. He needed someone to challenge him; who could argue with him occasionally. A marriage where arguments never happened often became dull and boring very quickly and left either person apt to have a wandering eye. That was the last thing he wanted for his brother; whose recent trials and tribulations had nearly ended his life.
“Look, all I am saying is that you need to think carefully about this. You don’t want to bother with the connections your status in life affords you. You have no intention of returning to the ton whether you marry or not. This estate runs well, and so does Abbeygate, even without you being married. You have no reason to worry what anyone else thinks. I am happy for you,” Jerry began. “There is just one thing I think you need to remember.”
