Chapter 12
Melody kept quiet, her attention on the view as the carriage transported her to Saint George’s. The request she’d received from Samantha had not minced words: Come at once. I need you.
Edward, who sat diagonally opposite her, was equally silent.
At least he’d been present when the footman arrived and delivered the message. This had saved her from seeking him out separately and having to explain. Worse, from asking him if she could go to her friend.
Demeaning and restrictive.
These were the predominant words that described their marriage thus far. Of course, it had only been a couple of days since they’d married. It would take a lot longer than that for Edward to forgive her. The pain she’d caused him, the breach in trust between them, filled her with regret.
Yet, what could she have done differently?
Remain in Italy, perhaps.
However, that would have ended in a similar state of unhappiness built on a long list of ‘what ifs’. Every thought would have led back to Edward and to the possible love match she abandoned.
A miserable sound slipped past her lips.
“What is it?” Edward asked, his voice flat, perhaps even slightly annoyed.
It was tempting to simply say, “Nothing.” Avoid a possible confrontation, pretend all was well, and ignore the problem. Hope he wouldn’t challenge her answer and simply move on.
But no. Melody had tried that when her effort to prove her love and devotion toward him was treated with disdain. She’d given him space after that and avoided him so he could work through his anger.
Perhaps it was time to tackle the situation head on instead.
“I met someone during my sojourn in Italy.” The words were out before she could second guess the wisdom in sharing this with him. And since she was already in for a penny, she might as well add, “His name was Alessandro Marino.”
Edward’s gaze hardened. “You should have told me about this before we wed.”
“When, exactly?” She glared right back at him.
“After you trapped me into marriage in front of Moorland? During your brief visit to Heathbrooke House when you came to inform me of the special license you’d acquired?
Or perhaps while we were standing at the altar?
For those are the only three chances I had. ”
Furry tightened his features. “You could have said something upon your return, when we met in the street. Before I kissed you, damn it. Definitely after. But instead you ran off, which leads me to believe you had no intention of sharing this information with me at all.”
“I had no plan to marry you, Edward.” The words exploded out of her, and he flinched ever so slightly. “As far as I was concerned, the most I could ever hope to become was your mistress.”
“Your faith in me is remarkable.” His every word dripped with sarcasm. “What else have you failed to tell me? Perhaps your real name is something else entirely, or maybe you’re not even English.”
“When I left for Naples,” she said, ignoring his taunt, “I had no reason to think you wanted a future with me. If you’ll recall, you left London for your estate without bidding me farewell.
There was no attachment between us, no promises made of any sort.
As far as I was concerned, you’d come to your senses and realized you ought to forget about me. ”
He averted his gaze from hers and stared out the window, dismissing her, it seemed.
Melody kept her eyes fixed upon him, on the man she’d cared so deeply for but who now seemed determined to make her hate him. With each passing day, it became harder for her to rationalize his behavior — to remind herself that he lashed out in pain, because of her, because she’d hurt him.
That only went so far. Beyond a certain point, Edward had to acknowledge his part in what had occurred. Eventually, he had to stop punishing her, or he’d wreck the fragile chance that remained of them ever moving past this.
“What was I supposed to do?” she asked in an effort to make him communicate reasonably. “Give up on life while you moved on with yours? Wait for you even though I had no reason to think you were waiting for me?”
“Did he bed you?” he asked without looking at her.
“No.” She swallowed, clasped her hands together tightly, and forced the truth past her lips. “There were heated embraces, kisses, some…intimate touching, but nothing more.”
“Then you remain—”
“Pure.”
Not even Edward had taken her to his bed. Their wedding night had been nonexistent, spent apart. She’d heard him leave the house at some point and had no idea when he’d returned. They’d slept in separate rooms since, with the adjoining door between them locked from his side.
A soft snort provided her with his opinion of what he thought about her choice of word. And then the carriage rolled to a halt.
“We’re here,” he announced and opened the door.
He climbed out, then helped her down and issued instructions to the driver.
She started toward the steps but was quickly yanked back against Edward’s side.
His fingers curled roughly around her upper arm, instilling in her a measure of anger she’d not known since childhood, when Mrs. Hasham had unleashed her cruelty on the children placed in her care.
“You will not embarrass me in public by striding off on your own,” he hissed in her ear. “We walk in together.”
“As you wish, my lord,” she told him bitterly.
Thankfully, he chose not to answer, allowing her the reprieve she needed in order to compose herself.
It would be best if Samantha didn’t bear witness to Melody’s problems. Whatever her reason for summoning her to the hospital, she surely had worse issues to deal with.
The last thing Melody wanted was to add to that.
As she discovered a few moments later, she was correct. The raw panic on Mr. Croft’s face when she and Edward arrived outside the room Samantha presently occupied was like a punch to the gut. The anguished scream that came from within sliced through Melody’s heart.
Edward’s hold on her arm loosened, and she sensed all the tension from earlier dissolve in the face of the possible danger his friend’s wife might be in.
“You’re here.” Croft’s words were hoarse.
Melody sent her husband a quick look, saw that he struggled to find the right words, and promptly decided to take the lead. She reached for Croft’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “Of course we are. I consider Samantha my sister, and I know Edward thinks of you as his brother.”
It was time for them all to stop feuding, or they risked not seeing each other again until there was a funeral to attend. Heaven forbid.
“Adrian, I…” Edward glanced at the door to his right. “What happened?”
“She’s having the baby,” Croft said and scrubbed his face with his palm. “It’s two weeks early. Her water didn’t even break, so Doctor Moore said he’d have to do it for her. Should have seen the tool he produced—I snatched it right out of his hand and threatened to murder him with it.”
Another scream had him raking his hair with his fingers.
“Were you forced to leave her side?” Melody asked. It was the only explanation she could think of for Croft being out here in the hallway. He was not the sort of man who’d stand idly by while the doctor and midwife tended his wife.
“Two orderlies came to remove me. They’re still in there in case I try to go back in.”
“How long has it been since Samantha went into labor?” Edward asked, his voice low, soft, compassionate — so unlike the tone Melody had grown accustomed to.
“I, um…” Croft collected his pocket watch and blinked a few times. “Nearly two hours, I believe. According to what my butler told me, she left the house around eight o’clock, and it’s approaching ten o’clock now.”
A series of groans came from the room, then another scream.
“What do I do?” Croft asked, his eyes bleaker than the moors in winter. “I cannot lose her. She’s everything to me. Without her, my life has no meaning.”
Edward set one hand on Croft’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “She will get through this, Adrian.”
“You don’t know that. Mama didn’t. She…” Croft swung away, his posture hunched as he swiped at his eyes.
It was both strange and horrible to see this otherwise fierce and powerful man brought so low, but Melody understood it. Her own heart trembled at the idea of Samantha not making it through this.
“Do you think I’ll be allowed in there?” she asked.
Croft nodded. “I don’t see why not.”
Refusing to ask for Edward’s permission in this, Melody pulled away from him and went to the door. The orderly who answered her knock considered her briefly, then pulled the door wider and granted her entry.
* * *
Edward watched the door close behind Melody and instinctively clenched his fists. The way he’d treated her was unforgivable, yet the pain in his heart kept insisting that she deserved to suffer his wrath.
“You don’t look happy,” Adrian said.
Edward turned to him in surprise. “Under the circumstances, I think it would be rather odd if I did. Indeed, I believe you’d pummel me if I were smiling right now.”
“That’s not what I’m referring to. You can be worried and concerned for others while still conveying a deeper happiness thanks to the life you are living. That seems to be lacking, however, as it did for me in the weeks that followed my wedding.”
“I can’t seem to get past the lies.”
“You forced her into marriage,” Adrian reminded him. “Would you not say that makes you more than even?”
“Maybe. I’d rather not talk about it.”
“If it’s all the same to you, I’d like the distraction.”
Edward heard Samantha’s groans and saw the impact the sound made on Adrian. “Very well.”
“Her deception was necessary,” Adrian said when he’d found his composure once more. “The effect it had upon you in the larger scope of things would have been brief had you chosen to cut ties with her. Instead, you retaliated in a way that will impact you both for the rest of your lives.”
“You’re saying I acted wrongly?”