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"Good night," he said instead, and within moments, Leah was left alone, wondering if she had done or said something wrong.
* * *
"So, how is married life, old boy?" Andrew wondered, as the two men occupied the two armchairs in Andrew's study.
A long time ago, they frequented White's, and Edward enjoyed that place. However, with the death of his parents, he realized that he was no longer welcome there. He could not say that he was banished from it. He could not say that anyone had threatened him or any such thing. But he could say with certainty that people were giving him strange looks. They talked about him behind his back. It all made him feel uneasy, as if he were a rare animal that everyone else was hunting, desiring his fur or tusks or whatever other precious possession he had.
"I have been married for two days," Edward pointed out.
"Exactly," Andrew chuckled. "Two entire days, forty-eight hours, even more to be exact. How does it feel?"
"It is not what I expected," Edward said, with a slightly dismissive shrug.
"It never is," Andrew chuckled even harder. "But your wife seems nice. Is she... nice?" He winked mischievously at his friend.
"I would not know," Edward replied honestly. "We do not share a chamber."
"Then, you aren't married," Andrew kept teasing his friend playfully. "You ought to repair that, old boy."
"I doubt there shall be any reparation in that department," Edward noted. "And it's all right. I did what was expected of me, and I suppose I should be glad."
"What was expected of you?" Andrew wondered.
"Why, to marry her, of course," Edward reminded him. "After that nightly fire affair, no one would have left her alone. She would be the talk of the entire town. I had to do something about that."
"Ah, yes," Andrew nodded. "Did she admit to coming to your chamber on her own and why?"
"No," Edward shook his head. "We came to the conclusion that we have no idea how that happened."
"I find that very hard to believe," his friend frowned.
"I know, so do I, but I honestly do not think she is lying," Edward admitted. "IknowI am not lying as well, so that leaves only one other possible solution, and that is that someone else orchestrated this whole thing."
Andrew's eyes widened in disbelief. "For what purpose?"
"That is what I still need to find out," Edward explained. "Perhaps it is all just a wild coincidence, that I was the sole target of someone's attack and that she was there, well... just to mask the attacker's true intention."
"It seems too complicated," Andrew could still not believe this. "There are much easier ways to kill someone, pardon me for saying that."
"Oh, I know there are," Edward nodded. "I am also shocked that someone would go to such lengths to try and dispose of me, when a simple attack on my carriage one late evening could do the trick."
Andrew's eyes squinted with concern. "Speaking of that, perhaps it is not a good idea for you to go anywhere late at night, old boy."
"I shall be fine," Edward waved his hand dismissively. "If someone means to kill me, they must know that I shall not go down without a fight. And as for Leah... well, I honestly do not know how she fits in this whole strange affair. Perhaps she simply had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and she was taken by my attackers as an additional toy for their wicked plan."
Andrew inhaled deeply, pressing his lips together. He seemed to be lost in thought, going over everything his friend had just told him. None of it made any sense, no matter how hard they tried to think about it.
"Just be careful, old boy. And if you need any help, do not hesitate to come to me for anything."
"Thank you for that," Edward leaned closer and patted his friend on the shoulder. "You have always been by my side. I shall never forget that."
"I know you, Edward," Andrew explained. "I know the kind of man you are, and no amount of gossip will ever convince me otherwise."
Edward felt truly fortunate that he had a friend like that by his side. One true friend was more worth than a million false ones. When everyone left his side, Andrew was the one who remained behind, offering support, help and anything else Edward might have needed. He was the one who helped him through the most difficult time of his life, and Edward would never forget that.
"Enough about me," Edward smiled, eager to change the topic. "Tell me about you."
"Well–" Andrew grinned, and Edward knew immediately that there was a young lady who managed to capture his attention. She would probably be the fourth or fifth in a row, as Andrew seemed to lose interest quickly. However, Edward was certain that when the right woman came along, she would capture Andrew's attention forever.
