AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Why are you dressed like a man?” he asked, turning his attention to her. Ariadne decided that it was better when he was busy with the inventions instead of her. She looked down at the breeches and the loose shirt she was wearing on top.
“It makes working easier,” Ariadne said. Men’s clothing weren’t as stifling as wearing her dresses where corsets restricted most of her movement and breathing.
“For a moment, I thought you were a man. When you had your hair covered,” Edward said.
“You did?” Ariadne asked in surprise. She didn’t know that she could be that convincing. But if he really was telling the truth…an outrageous idea brewed in her mind.
“What are you thinking about?” Edward asked, gazing at her. Ariadne looked away. His intense gaze made her stomach wobble and made it difficult for her to look at him for long. Edward was a handsome man. She had found him beautiful when he was sick, and now he looked like a sculptor had patiently carved out his features. His aquiline nose, the sharp cut of his jaw, his broad shoulders. She missed the stubble he had worn before.
“Nothing,” Ariadne lied but the more she thought about it, the more the idea became more concrete. She could dress like a man…that would make her life far easier, and she could even end up selling some of her father’s old inventions. Her thought went back to the business card the pickpocket had left for her. He had called himself Jack. Maybe she could pay his address a visit.
“You’re working on everything here?” Edward asked, pulling her back to reality.
“No, most of it is old inventions of my father’s,” she replied.
“Why haven’t you tried to sell them?” he asked.
Ariadne scoffed. “If only it were that easy.” She didn’t tell him about what had transpired earlier today. The last thing she needed was his pity. But he seemed to have got the inkling of it in some way.
“Did someone hurt you in some way?” he asked with a draw of his brows as if trying to figure out all of her truth.
“The world is unfair to people like me, my Lord,” Ariadne said. “I really can’t complain about it.”
Edward’s frown deepened as his brows drooped. “Will you care to share it with me?”
“No, it doesn’t concern you at all,” Ariadne said. What good would telling him do her anyway?
“Tell me everything about this studio, and everything that you and your father do here,” Edward said. Ariadne glanced at him. He looked determined—almost adamant about it.
“Why? This isn’t play time, my Lord,” Ariadne said. She realized that she didn’t know his title yet. But what did it matter? She only needed to get him out of here. She had to cut his burgeoning interest short here, for she wanted him to be no part of her world. This was all that she had to herself and not even Leda or Emma was allowed into it. And yet, in a similar fashion to how he had walked into her life in the first place, he was inserting himself back again. The thought frustrated her.
“I don’t wish to make you uncomfortable, Ariadne,” he said.
“It’s already too late for that,” she said. Unbidden the memory of the kiss rose in front of her eyes, and the way he had touched her. She throbbed, the wick inside her threatening to light itself again. A man had never touched her like this before, never made her think about these immoral thoughts. She shook her head to clear itself of the cobwebs.
Edward sighed. “I have a proposition for you.”
Despite herself, Ariadne was curious. “About?”
He looked around. “I want to know more about this place.”
“You mean the studio?” Ariadne asked, raising her brow. She didn’t know where he was going with this.
“No I mean this place—Clerkenwell, where you live,” Edward said. “I want to know everything about it.”
Ariadne frowned. “Why?”
“You may not realize it but you’ve opened my eyes to the things that I didn’t see before, things I grossly overlooked. But I can’t do so anymore, my conscience will not allow me.” He further continued. “I became an MP because it was my father’s greatest wish to see me succeed him. The seat has been with us for decades and I was just honoring the family tradition. Over time, it became my passion. I enjoyed politics deeply, but now it has occurred to me that I may have been fighting on the wrong side.”
“What do you mean?” Ariadne said. She couldn’t help but ask him. When he spoke about politics, his eyes lit up and she could see the passion that burned in him. It mirrored her own when she was working with her inventions.
“I want to help you,” he said.
“I do not require further charity from you, my Lord,” Ariadne said. “Your father paid us off rather handsomely.”
Edward shook his head. “It isn’t about that. It’s more than you and me and when I said I wanted to help you I meant people who live with you, who make up this stratum of society.”
Ariadne pursued her mouth. “Go on,” she finally said.
Edward felt relieved that she wanted to hear what he had to say. “I want to help all those who are overlooked and unprivileged. While I lived in the bubble of my privilege, I had no idea that my actions at the Parliament were doing more harm than good. I want to talk to a real person, a person who goes through this every day of their lives, something I can’t even hope to imagine. I want to bring reform, real ones and I need someone to guide me in that path.”
Ariadne gave him a wary look, probably realizing what he was about to ask of her. “You want me to help you?”
He nodded. “It’s your life, Ariadne. You’re bold and you know to speak the truth without being afraid. Don’t you want things to change around here?”
She seemed to take a moment to consider this. “I do.”
“So you’ll help me?” he asked hopefully. She took longer to answer this time, her brows furrowed as if she was making a difficult decision. It was indeed a hard decision for Ariadne. On one hand, she wanted nothing to do with Edward, but after what happened today, she knew some changes around here were extremely crucial. Ariadne couldn’t turn away the opportunity, even if it meant that she would have to be in forced proximity with him again.
Ariadne nodded. “I’ll help you.”
