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"It is not him. It is anyone but you!" Albert felt as though he had been stabbed by that statement. Was there something so very wrong with him that she could not overlook?
"What is wrong with me?" She gave no answer."You know what I think? There is something you are afraid of. I know I have many faults but they are not enough for you to reject me so.”
Are you not also afraid, Albert?He immediately quieted the voice in his mind. "Tell me. Does it have anything to do with the letters you received? What makes it so impossible for you to be my wife? Are you not desperate enough?"
Albert immediately regretted his last question because she appeared wounded by it. "And you ask me why I do not want to be your wife. Can you hear yourself?"
“Forgive me. I did not mean to say that.”
“But you did, and you cannot take it back. I am desperate, I know that, but hearing it from you is rather degrading.”
“I did not—"
Raising a hand, she stopped him. “Stop trying to change my mind. You wish to claim me, but I am not chattel. I am a human being with feelings.”
Edwina did not give him the opportunity to fully understand what she had said about claiming her before she briskly walked out of the library.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Edwina needed a strong distraction to keep thoughts of Albert at bay, and nothing insured her success until she selected an occupation she greatly disliked.
"Ow!" She dropped her embroidery when the needle pricked her finger. For two hours, she had found respite in the crooked flower she was tracing with needle and thread. The sting in her finger brought that respite to an end. Everything seemed against her and she wondered what she had done to earn such punishment.
She had hoped for the impossible yesterday in the library when she had asked Albert to give her a good reason to marry him. His inability to do so had left her hopeless. He only wished to marry her to spite Roxanne. There was no other reason he wanted her. Her longing for him made her angry. It was as though she was running after someone that did not want her.
If she acquiesced and married him, she risked losing her heart, and she did not think she could survive another heartbreak. He knew how to make her want him. He knew how to endear himself to her. He was dangerous. She did pity him for living in the shadow of the lost love that he still clung to, but she could not spend the remainder of her life with a man that clearly wanted another woman.
She wished for the courage to break free of the chain he had wrapped around her. She wished to end their engagement and find a husband in William. "Give it up already," a familiar voice jerked her out of her thoughts.
Edwina tensed when Prudence walked into the small salon she had been occupying alone hitherto. "Some people are simply not meant for noble life. You look pitiful trying."
"What do you want,Mother?" Edwina sighed, setting aside the embroidery. She had a score of problems to deal with, and did not need Prudence adding to her frustration.
"How cowardly," Prudence said, “of you to hide behind your high and mighty Duke. Let's see for how long he will carry on providing your solutions for you."
"Cowardice is spreading rumors and having an innocent person take the blame for the wrongs you have done." Edwina returned. “Do you remember the porcelain figurines that Father loved? You broke them and blamed me for it. I never told you this but he knew the truth before he died. I made certain of it.”
Prudence’s expression darkened. “He is dead, and there is nothing that can be done about that.”
“I am happy he knew the truth. These people you have lied to will eventually learn the truth and see you for what you truly are.”
"That is your plan, is it not? You are already turning Tommen against me."
"Your vile actions pushed your son away from you, not me," Edwina said even though she did not truly understand what she meant by turning her son against her.
"Why, you villainous—”
"She is right, Mother." Tommen appeared in the doorway, looking solemn.
"You,” Prudence jabbed a finger in his direction, “will stay out of this!"
"I will do no such thing, Mother," he responded defiantly. "I refuse to be your puppet any longer. Irefuseto be anyone’s puppet any longer."
"I underestimate how obtuse you seem to be growing with age," Prudence snapped back at her son. “With my guidance, you are barely floating. I hate to see what your life would become without my guidance.”
Edwina could hardly believe the exchange between mother and child. They usually agreed on most things. The change in Tommen was astonishing, and she wondered what had caused it.
"How do you breathe with all that anger and resentment inside you, Mother?" Tommen asked Prudence, and Edwina nearly gasped aloud. Either Tommen was an entirely different person, or he had fallen and injured his head.
