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“You don’t love Jane?” she asked in a hurt voice.
“I’m afraid not,” Edward said, shaking his head.
“She will be devastated. I cannot believe you, Edward,” Maisie said in an accusatory voice. Before he could stop her, however, she fled.
“Don’t worry about Maisie. She will come around,” the Duchess assured him. “Let’s discuss Ariadne for now. Life has been rather cruel to her, it seems.”
“But she sustains against all odds,” Edward said, thinking about Ariadne. “She has this fire in her, unlike any other. That’s what drew me to her in the first place.”
The Duchess sighed. “I assumed you liked her only because you were in her home and she saved your life. But now I see that your feelings haven’t changed.”
“She’s the one I want, Mother,” Edward confirmed. “And I want your blessings before I can have her.”
“I’ll always be with you, Edward,” the Duchess said, and then she frowned. “What about Jane?”
“I’ll speak to her. I’m sure she will understand the matter of the situation,” Edward said with a confidence he didn’t feel. Jane had been engaged to him for all her life and matters like these were very delicate to the ladies. His confession would be messy but it had to be done. “Charles is willing to marry her.”
“He is?” the Duchess gasped.
Edward nodded. “Turns out he has always kind of fancied her.”
The Duchess was surprised. “That is something unexpected.”
Edward took her hand in his. “Mother, you must help me convince Father.” He was glad that his mother had chosen to listen to him. “He’s threatening Ariadne’s life.”
“He is a stubborn man but he won’t harm her,” the Duchess said. Edward didn’t feel the same assurance his mother did. His father would go to any extent to save his family’s name. If he thought Ariadne was a threat, he would remove her without a second thought.
“Where is he now?” Edward asked. The Duchess frowned in turn. “I’ve actually not seen him the entire afternoon. Maybe the butler might be able to tell you.”
Edward took leave of his mother and started to look for his sister. He needed to apologize to her. Jane was a good friend of hers and he didn’t want to see her hurt.
He was passing by the large windows of the hall when his eye fell to the street. A hack had just stopped in front of their house and moments later, his father got out. Edward frowned. His father never took the hack.
To his surprise, a tall man wearing dark clothes got out after him. This must be the person he had employed to keep watch on Ariadne. And they weren’t alone. The last person to come out of the carriage was a woman. He had seen her somewhere before. Edward drew closer to the glass and strained his eyes on her. And then it dawned on him.
It was Ariadne’s landlady. He had seen her the day his father had burst upon their flat to take him back home. She had assisted him in finding him. But what was she doing here with him? His father wasn’t the kind of man who consorted with a coarse woman like her. They spoke for a few moments before the woman and the man took off down the street while the Duke made his way inside.
Edward leaned back against the wall as his father passed by him. He was muttering something under his breath. “Since he won’t stay away from her, I’ll need to show him that I’m a man of my word.” His father was planning something.
