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He knew why. He asked her to do something he himself would not be able to. He also had nightmares, although he did not like to admit it. He tried to forget them as soon as he opened his eyes. Sometimes, he would manage to, sometimes not.
"She is telling me that I cannot let her go," Leah continued.
"You are not letting her go by moving on with your life."
"But... that is just it, I can't," she admitted, defeatedly. "I cannot look to the future when my past is a dark night of deceit. I do not know what happened and that is preventing me from living my life the way I'm supposed to, the way my mother would have wanted me to."
Edward inhaled deeply. "In that case, there is only one thing to do," he said. He thought she would say what, because they both knew it, but she remained silent. So, he continued. "You need to find out what happened to her. If that is what it takes for you to move on, to live your life, then that is what needs to be done."
"My father is trying to prevent me from doing that every single step of the way," she pointed out, without any resentment. After all, her father was the only family she had left. Him and Edward, as well. But he doubted that she considered him family. Not yet, anyway.
"Your father does not get to live your life," Edward reminded her gently, not wishing to cross the line, but at the same time, hoping to show her that it was all right to go against the wishes of those around her and follow what her own heart thought to be the right path.
"I know," she nodded. "I just wish he understood me and my mother more."
"Some people do not possess that ability to see the bigger picture," Edward pointed out. "They only see what they want to see, turning a blind eye to so much. From what you've told me, your mother seemed to be the kind of person who not only saw but noticed everything."
"She was," Leah smiled. He could see that glimmer of happiness in her eyes. But it was there only for one brief moment, and then it was gone. How he longed to have it back.
"She would want you to do what you felt was right, yes?" he wondered.
"Of course," she nodded again.
"She wouldn't want you to be stifled by anyone, not even your own father," he continued.
"That is true," she confirmed yet again. He could hear the confidence rising in her voice. It was almost palpable.
"Then you know what needs to be done," he urged. "And... I came here to tell you that you won't be going through that alone."
"What do you mean?" she inquired, her curiosity peaking.
"I will help you," he said simply, not wanting to convolute this offer with complicated words.
He expected her to smile, to accept it instantly, but instead, she looked at him slightly suspiciously. "Why would you do that?" she wondered.
"Because, no matter how you look at it, we are sort of stuck with each other," he smiled. "There are things we need to discover, and two heads are always better than one. We could go about this our separate ways, sometimes even do double the work, or we could work together, and be more efficient. What do you say?"
She pondered on it for a few moments, then nodded. "All right."
"Where do we start then?" he asked, getting up, feeling strangely energized by this conversation.
She smiled at him. He loved it when she did that. "There are a few people I've been meaning to talk to regarding my mother and her... charity work. I do not know how else to call it, honestly."
"Did she give money to those in need?" he asked.
"Yes," she confirmed.
"Then itischarity work," he assured her. "And these people you want us to talk to, do we need to inform them of our arrival beforehand?"
She chuckled. "No. They are not lords and ladies. Lords and ladies do not need much help. They can easily help themselves." She looked at him somehow strangely, as if she almost felt sorry for him for not seeing something that was so painfully obvious to her. "I will show you people who truly need help. Perhaps then you shall understand."
Usually, when someone told him so directly that he was ignorant in some aspect, Edward was wont to return the insult. Only, this time, it didn't sound like an insult. It didn't sound like something bad at all. It sounded like she truly wanted to show him something important, so that he would understand everything, so that he would understand her.
And that was what he wanted to do more than anything else.
CHAPTER11
"Is that him?" Edward pointed in the direction of a man who was leaning against a house with his back, his leg bent at the knee, looking casually at the passersby. There was a piece of straw hanging from the corner of his lips, and every once in a while, he would turn to the side and spit, only to go back to people watching.
