AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 33
Moments after Lord Remington fled, Aunt Margaret collapsed once more at the dining room table. She appeared woozy and nearly fell forward, her nose nearing the mashed potatoes on her plate. Just in the nick of time, Baldwin leapt towards her, gripped her shoulders, and pulled her back. Laura screeched with fear.
“My goodness, Baldwin. Thank you,” Aunt Margaret whispered. She grabbed a napkin, placed it across her mouth, and then belched loudly.
Across the room from one another, Ewan and Marta made heavy eye contact. Marta thought she might fall in a fit of laughter if it weren’t for the undulating fear in her heart.
“Ewan, how could you?” Aunt Margaret suddenly cried, finally executing the behaviour Lord Remington had assumed she would.
Ewan gripped Laura and held her close. “Mother, you know that I’ve longed for a deep and prosperous love. The kind of love that will stay with me for the rest of my days. And I’ve found her. Perhaps she isn’t the sort you would have written out for me. But…”
“Would have written out for you? I planned to match you already next year!” Aunt Margaret blared.
“And what then, Mother? You match me with someone just as suited to me as Lord Remington is to Marta?” Ewan returned. “All you’ve spoken about is how much of a match they are. How wonderful he’ll be for her future. But have you once considered what Marta wants in all of this? Or are you too busy living under the assumption that none of us could possibly ever know what we want?”
Aunt Margaret looked altogether flabbergasted. She bit her lower lip and furrowed her brow. Her son wrapped his arms tighter around Laura and held her close. Suddenly, Aunt Margaret rushed from her chair, toppled it back behind her, and stomped towards the parlour. Marta rushed after her, her hand still entangled with Baldwin’s. Once there, they watched as Aunt Margaret tugged open the old cabinet to reveal what seemed to be a 50-year-old bottle of Scotch. Within seconds, she’d poured herself a stiff drink and collapsed on one of the fainting couches. Her eyes scanned the window, reflecting the light pinks of the evening.
One by one, everyone from Uncle Everett to Tatiana to Marta to Ewan to Baldwin to Laura poured themselves drinks and sat at the edge of the various seats through the parlour, all gazing inward. Even the young boys sat forlornly, as though they recognised the severity of the situation just as much as the adults.
Finally, Aunt Margaret spoke, “I suppose there was nothing we could do. Lord Remington isn’t the man I thought he was.”
“I could have told you that,” Ewan blurted.
Everyone glared at Ewan. It was clear that Aunt Margaret attempted to make amends of sorts. They didn’t need Ewan’s attitude in the mix.
“Regardless, it seems that Lord Remington has put us in a very unique and wretched position,” Aunt Margaret continued. She turned her eyes towards Marta. They glowed with tears. “I’m terribly sorry that I ever suited you up with the likes of that man, Marta. It’s clear to me now that your heart and soul hold lightness, while his remains in the dark. Perhaps it wasn’t initially obvious to me why you and Baldwin were drawn to one another. But in previous weeks, if I’m honest, I’ve noticed that Baldwin has taken a more optimistic view of the world. In other years, he might have never left his office, except for a few spare rides with Ewan across the moors. Now, he attends every ball. He dances. He laughs.”
Baldwin dropped his chin to his chest. Marta, who sat beside him, squeezed his hand hard. She wanted to translate how much she loved and adored him. She wanted him to know that she saw him before his transition; that she’d been drawn to him even though he’d decided to change.
He’d always been enough for her.
“But what shall we do now?” Tatiana suddenly blurted. “Lord Remington is poised to drag Ewan’s name through the mud. And with it, the Thompson family will be ruined.”
“As though you haven’t done your fair share of monstrous things,” Ewan said.
Laura reached up and swatted Ewan across the lap. Of course, Ewan referred to Tatiana’s affair—something that they’d all seemingly resolved not to discuss.
“Leave me out of this. I’m married to a proper man and have proper children,” Tatiana blurted.
“Let’s focus on what we can do with this information at this time,” Aunt Margaret resolved, sounding far more reasonable than she had in weeks. “I suppose the only thing we can do is ride this out.”
“We will eventually recover from the gossip,” Uncle Everett resolved.
Ewan gripped Laura’s hand hard. He blinked from his mother to his father, then cast his eyes towards Marta and Baldwin.
“At the end of the day, one thing is sure and true,” he said.
“What’s that?” Marta asked.
“Laura will give birth to my child,” Ewan said. “And I wish to love that child with all my heart and soul. For that reason, I wish to ask my mother and father to approve marriage to Laura. If you approve of it, all of this will go away. It will no longer quiver with gossip. It will be set. And we can announce it to the world.”
Aunt Margaret and Uncle Everett exchanged glances. Marta reached across to Baldwin’s hand and squeezed it hard. Laura’s eyes found hers at that moment. She knew precisely what had occurred; her English was extraordinary. Marta knew it all wasn’t due to her “tremendous” ability to teach. Rather, Laura had pushed herself into the language due to her love for Ewan.
This was remarkable in and of itself.
“This still may cause a few waves,” Aunt Margaret said, her voice low.
“Yes, but it would legitimise the situation,” Uncle Everett returned.
