Saving Lord Berkshire - Laura Beers Page 0,24
her cup.
“No,” he replied, “why do you ask?”
“Because you are glowering,” she pointed out.
“I am?”
She nodded. “You are.”
“My apologies, then.”
Miss Blackmore eyed him curiously. “You mentioned before that you are rarely happy,” she began, “why is that?”
“You are quite the busybody, are you not?” he asked in a gruff tone.
Her lips twitched. “You will find that I am overly inquisitive.”
He reached forward and placed his cup onto the table. “Frankly, I am not a happy person,” he said. “There is very little that brings me joy. Not anymore.”
“Finding joy in our mundane tasks is what life is truly about,” Miss Blackmore insisted.
“There was a time that I would have agreed with you, but that time has long passed,” Edward remarked. “And I am a different person because of it.”
Miss Blackmore didn’t speak for a long moment as she slowly sipped her tea. Finally, she placed the teacup onto the tray. “Kitty has spoken often of your mother and father,” she said, “and I would like to offer my sincere condolences for your losses. It is evident that she misses them deeply.”
Edward stiffened. What did one say to such a ludicrous comment?
“I am not sure if you are aware, but I lost my parents in a tragic carriage accident five years ago,” she revealed.
“I was not,” he responded. “I am sorry to hear that.”
She smiled at him weakly. “My parents were attending a house party in the countryside and I opted not to join them for the evening,” she shared. “Instead, I spent the evening playing card games with my sisters.”
“That was most fortunate.”
A pained look came into her eyes. “Sometimes I don’t feel so fortunate.”
“Why do you say that?”
“My whole life was turned upside down,” she confessed. “I went from a carefree debutante to the guardian over my sisters.”
“Your sisters are lucky to have you.”
Miss Blackmore let out a light, airy laugh. “I believe that they could stand to hear that more often.”
He furrowed his brows as he asked, “How is it that you are able to laugh, even after everything that you have gone through?”
“It is not as though I could have given up,” she replied. “I was responsible for my sisters, an estate in Bath, and all of our household staff. I daresay that at times it felt like an impossible feat, but I had to keep going. Every morning, I put one foot in front of the other and prayed that it was enough, that I was enough.”
“Is that why you are unwed?” he asked bluntly.
Surprise resonated on her features, and he immediately wished he could have taken back his question. “I’m sorry…”
She put up her hand, stilling his words. “Don’t be. That is a fair question,” she said. “The truth of the matter is that someone very close to me passed away a few weeks after my parents, and I’m afraid my heart has yet to recover.”
“I am sorry to hear that.”
A strained smile came to her lips. “Everyone has trials,” she stated, “but how we learn to deal with them is what makes us grow into better people.”
He leaned back in his seat. “You are a formidable woman, Miss Blackmore,” he remarked.
“That is kind of you to say.”
“There is nothing kind about it,” he responded. “I am merely speaking the truth.”
Miss Blackmore opened her mouth to respond but closed it when Kitty and Miss Amelia returned.
Edward’s eyes lingered on the matchmaker’s face, wondering what she had intended to say.
Kitty spoke up, drawing his attention. “Sorry for keeping you waiting, but the stone fountain is truly magnificent.”
“Is it now?” he asked, rising.
“It is,” Kitty confirmed. “Would you care to see it?”
“Perhaps another time,” he replied. “It is time for us to depart.”
Kitty turned towards Amelia and embraced her. “I shall see you tomorrow at the dinner party.”
Miss Amelia smiled. “We are looking forward to it.”
As he took a step towards his sister, Miss Blackmore’s voice caused him to stop. “Kitty is lucky to have you, as well,” she said in a quiet tone.
Edward stared at her as a swell of emotion billowed inside of him. Those simple words meant so much. Finally, he managed to respond. “Thank you for saying that.”
She held his gaze, and he saw something in her eyes, something that intrigued him. There was pain there, and it spoke of a story that she’d never tell… at least not to him. But it made him realize that he was not alone in his grief. Terrible tragedies had befallen Miss Blackmore, as well, but