Saving Lord Berkshire - Laura Beers Page 0,71
Edward replied.
“Why don’t you start from the beginning so I can tell you where you screwed up?” Martin suggested, dropping the newspaper onto the desk.
Edward frowned. “I’m afraid it is not that simple.”
“Isn’t it?”
“I assume you read in the papers about Kitty eloping with Mr. Kendall,” Edward said, leaning back in his chair.
“I did.”
He sighed. “Miss Blackmore and I raced after them, in hopes of stopping the wedding, but we ended up acting as their witnesses.”
Martin’s brow lifted. “You allowed Kitty to marry Mr. Kendall?”
“I did,” he said. “Miss Blackmore argued that Kitty and Mr. Kendall were a love match, and we shouldn’t stop them.”
“And you went along with that willingly?”
“At first, I was angry, but then I realized Miss Blackmore was right,” he replied. “Kitty is a grown woman, and she made her choice.”
“A poor choice,” Martin mumbled.
He let out a slight huff. “That may be true, but I have never seen Kitty so happy as she was after she was married. It was as if she exuded happiness.”
“Did you forget that Mr. Kendall is a solicitor?”
“About that,” he said, picking up one of his ledgers, “I intend to use her dowry to purchase them a small estate by my country estate. That way I can still see Kitty on a regular basis.”
Martin stared at him in disbelief. “You have gone mad,” he declared.
Edward shook his head. “No, I am beginning to see clearly for the first time,” he responded.
“I take it that this is Miss Blackmore’s doing?”
“It is,” Edward replied, seeing no reason to deny it.
His friend sat down on a chair and asked, “Why didn’t you just marry Miss Blackmore at Gretna Green and be done with it?”
He chuckled. “That would have saved a considerable amount of time,” Edward said, “but neither of us were ready.”
“What changed?”
Edward adjusted his white cravat as he shared, “We ran into Lord and Lady Heath Whitmore at a coaching inn.”
“Ah,” Martin said, “so that part was true.”
“I’m afraid so.”
Martin grimaced. “I’m afraid to ask,” he began, “but did you order Miss Blackmore to marry you?”
“Heavens, no,” he replied. “I just explained that she had no choice in the matter.”
“I see,” Martin said, frowning.
“If Miss Blackmore doesn’t marry me, then she is ruined,” he pressed. “Furthermore, her sisters are ruined, as well.”
“And you explained all this?” Martin asked with a sigh.
“I did, in great detail.”
Martin cocked his head. “What did Miss Blackmore say when you told her that you loved her?”
“We never got around to that,” he admitted, shifting uncomfortably in his chair.
“No?” Martin asked, giving him a pointed look. “Don’t you think that was an important part of a proposal?”
“Perhaps,” Edward replied, wincing.
Martin stared at him as though he was a simpleton. “You are an idiot.”
“Are you going to help me or just continue to insult me?” he asked.
“I haven’t decided yet.”
Edward rose from his chair and walked over to the window. As he stared out into the gardens, he shared, “I thought I had successfully convinced Miss Blackmore to marry me, but I was wrong. She just wrote a note this morning, breaking our engagement.”
“So, what are you going to do about it?”
Edward turned back to face his friend. “I am going to fight for her,” he said with determination in his voice.
“I should say so.”
“I love her,” Edward declared.
Martin grinned. “I am well aware of that fact,” he said. “But don’t tell me that, go tell Miss Blackmore.”
“What if I confess my love, and she still rejects me?” he asked, dreading his friend’s response. “I don’t think I could handle that.”
“Then it wasn’t meant to be,” Martin replied, rising.
“I don’t like the sound of that,” Edward muttered.
Martin chuckled. “Just follow your heart,” he advised. “It will know what to do.”
“I am not one for making speeches.”
As his friend started walking towards the door, he suggested, “Why don’t you stop by the flower shop first? It has been my experience that women love flowers.”
“I could do that.”
Martin stopped at the doorway. “I wish you luck, mate.”
“Thank you,” he replied. “I will need it.”
After Martin departed from the room, Edward turned back towards the window. Why were women such complex creatures? It would be so much simpler if they were rational. After all, it only made sense for them to marry. So why was she fighting the inevitable?
He lowered his head. Never before did he have so much to lose. If Kate rejected him, again, then she would take his heart with her.
“Where would you like the flowers to go?”
Katherine glanced