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“Edwards.”
Although the words were spoken gently, the concern on Aidan’s face warned her that it was not likely to be pleasant.
She felt her stomach drop, and her earlier joy suddenly started to dim. The day didn’t seem so bright anymore; although the spectre that hung over them now had nothing to do with the weather.
“We are going to get her out of the house. She is likely to head straight over to the dowager’s house, and she will undoubtedly appear to find out what on earth is going on. Once they have been dealt with our life is our own, my darling,” Aidan assured her.
“It will be alright,” he assured her sensing her worry.
“I hope so,” she replied fervently.
Aidan studied his wife. “I hope it isn’t the thought of being a lady of the house that is unnerving you so. With Mrs Kempton’s assistance, there is nothing in that house you are not capable of coping with.”
“It isn’t that,” she replied.
“Good, then come here,” he ordered and handed her into the carriage.
Once they were inside with the door closed, the carriage lurched into motion. Aidan studied his new wife, a sense of quiet pride settled over him that he had never expected to feel. It went a long way toward reassuring him that he had made the right decision in making her his wife.
“Come here,” he whispered. He held a hand out to her but, rather
than do as he asked, she stared at him. “Come on, it is too late to be shy now.”
When she still looked hesitant, he lifted her bodily off the seat and settled her in his lap. Once there, he sealed their marriage with a very thorough kiss that continued right until the moment the carriage rumbled to a stop outside of the front door to her new home.
He couldn’t stand for her to have any doubts about being his wife. Not given the feelings that were pummelling him. If he had to keep kissing her right up until the moment the dowager left the house then he would. He would do anything to stop his delightful wife fretting about what was to come.
“Welcome home, my darling,” he whispered.
He didn’t immediately open the door. It was wonderful when they were alone like this. He was truly himself, and there was nothing that posed a threat to them.
It was with an air of reluctance that she left the carriage once Aidan had finally released her. She gracefully accepted the hand he held out to her to help her down and tried to keep her worry off her face.
They were greeted by Rollo, Mrs Kempton, Aggy, and her father who had, somehow, all overtaken them. Petal shook her head in disbelief but felt considerably happier to have them all present. To have her father there was immensely reassuring because, right now, she needed as much support as she could get. Especially considering that the dowager’s coach was already rolling down the driveway.
“Would you like me to send for Edwards, sir?” Rollo asked with an air of anticipation.
“Yes, please. Let’s get this over with, and then I think we should have something to eat. I don’t know about you, my dear, but I am starving,” he said to his new wife.
He studied her now pale cheeks with a frown of concern. He knew she was worried about what was going to happen and wished he could reassure her, or spare her the forthcoming confrontation. However, he wanted her to see just how little regard he had for Edwards, or his mother’s, opinion.
Petal didn’t care about food. Her nerves were rife. If she tried to eat a thing she suspected she wouldn’t be able to keep it down. Her stomach churned with a mixture of dread and fear. Although Aidan had told her he cared for her, now that she was back in the house the lingering memory of what she had witnessed just that very same morning returned with horrifying clarity.
In some ways, it felt like an entire lifetime had passed since that fateful moment when her world had collapsed at her feet. In others, it felt as though nothing had changed. The house certainly hadn’t. Everything was still in its place, and the hallways were still too quiet, but at least it was familiar.
“It will be alright, Petal,” Jerry assured her. “Please don’t lose sight of the fact that I am the head of the Quigley-Myers family. What I say goes, even with the dowager. This marriage has my blessing now that I have seen how happy you have made my brother. The marriage was legal. There is nothing either the dowager or Edwards can do, or say, about it now.”
Petal smiled at him and felt some of her worries lighten at his quiet reassurance. But she would still feel considerably better once they had both been informed.
“Don’t forget, darling, that you are now the lady of the house. What you say goes with regards to guests, accommodation, and the like,” Aidan assured her with a smile.
He didn’t say as much, but this was going to be her trial by fire. How she dealt with the Edwards was going to set her mark upon the house in a way that very few situations ever could do.
Not only was it important that Edwards left the house, but that the dowager was informed, and Rollo and Mrs Kempton needed to be present to witness Petal assert her authority over the home she was to live in and rule. They would all then understand the ramifications of the new changes within the house.
Aidan certainly hoped so because it was too late to chance things now.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
