Chapter 26
T he following morning, Edward was up even earlier than usual.
Dinner the night before was the usual affair, which he’d sat through without incident, but even though Scarlett told him she wouldn’t be back over, he was disappointed to sleep without her.
Frustrated and very awake, he was up and dressed, and having skipped his usual morning coffee, now stood at the back of the house looking up at the stables.
There was a small light on in the smaller bedroom and he wondered if she was also awake, or if she’d left it on and fallen asleep.
Was she struggling to sleep too?
He took out his phone.
Edward: You awake?
The familiar dots quickly appeared, showing she was typing a response.
Scarlett: Good morning x
Edward: Look out your window.
Scarlett: ???
He watched as the blinds pulled up halfway and a silhouette with a head of curls appeared.
Scarlett: Stalking much… what are you doing?
Edward: Come for a walk with me– and make sure you put on your boots and coat.
Scarlett: Edward, it’s still dark!
Edward: Let’s call it our second date.
Scarlett: You’re mad!
Edward: A bit, aye.
Scarlett: Where are we going?
Edward: I’m going to pop back into the house and grab some bits and a torch. I’ll meet you downstairs in 10.
Scarlett: You’re such a weirdo… but ok.
A smile played on his lips as the day made sense to him again, perhaps not in a logical way, but the pent-up energy that was fizzing inside him settled down.
She was basically acting as an antacid at this stage, and he wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing, especially considering it was probably her that caused the fizzing in the first place. Taking a last glance up at the window, he saw the blinds come down again, and he went back inside.
He walked into the boot room, which was clean, but the smell of muddied wellington boots, dog paraphernalia, and old wax coats was ever present.
He grabbed the torch sat on top of the old and chipped tallboy leaning against the wall, placing it in his pocket, then unhooked the dark-brown leather satchel hanging on a brass hook and stuffed in a soft throw and a plastic-backed picnic blanket from the drawers.
Grabbing the battery-powered lantern from a shelf, he checked it had some power and packed that in, too. There was just about room for a flask, which he’d get filled with some coffee from the kitchen.
Mrs Wilson was busying herself with breakfast prep, James working at her side in companionable silence. The smell of coffee and freshly baked bread made his stomach rumble, but he wasn’t interested in getting food.
“Good morning,” he said, hoping not to startle them.
James looked up, taken aback by his presence. “Good morning, sir.”
Edward nodded and turned his attention to Mrs Wilson, who was already cleaning her hands on her apron. “Apologies, sir, I didn’t hear you come down. I’ll bring your coffee through now. It’s all ready for you.”
“No need, thank you. If you wouldn’t mind filling this flask with it, though, that would be much appreciated.”
“Of course, no problem at all.” She walked over to take the flask from him.
Edward knew it would be good form to make some sort of polite conversation but was eager to get out of the house and didn’t want to be asked where he was heading.
James and Mrs Wilson seemed to sense that was the case, as James returned to his prep work and Mrs Wilson quickly filled the flask for him and then hesitated before asking, “Would you like any sugar in there, sir?”
Edward shook his head. “That won’t be necessary, thank you.”
Mrs Wilson raised an eyebrow but made no comment and simply dried off the closed flask before handing it back to him. “Let me know if you require anything else this morning.”
“Thank you, will do.” He nodded a goodbye and left the room. There was something to be said for his usual surliness , as Scarlett liked to call it. It meant that people rarely made any unnecessary conversation with him.
He returned to the boot room and put the flask in the satchel, closing it over, and hurried out of the house.
They couldn’t be too long. He knew Scarlett had lots to do, and so, in fairness, did he, but he wanted to spend a bit of time with her before they got pulled into the fray of the rest of the household.
As he turned the corner, he could see Scarlett’s figure in the doorway.
“Ah, there you are,” she said in a hushed voice. “Was beginning to think you’d stood me up!”
He placed the satchel by his feet and pulled her in to kiss her.
“Never.”
She smiled into his lips. “I suppose that’s something.”
Edward steadied her back on the step and picked up the satchel, taking out his torch and switching it on. “Let’s roll.”
Scarlett laughed at his casual tone, stepped down, and sped up to walk next to him. “Where exactly are we going?”
“Someplace special.” He felt heat rush to his cheeks and shrugged. “To me, anyway.”
It was dark, but the sky was lightening, so when he turned to face her, he could see Scarlett eye him with suspicion. “At this hour, in the dark?”
“Granted, my timing may be a bit off, but this is me being spontaneous. Doesn’t happen often, so I’d enjoy it whilst it lasts.”
“Fair enough,” she laughed softly.
“Besides, the day will spiral out of control as soon as the hordes are awake, so now is perfect. Hardly anyone will even know we’re gone.”
“I told my mum,” she said, a smidge of uncertainty in her voice. “You know, especially after last time.”
“That’s okay.” He didn’t want her to feel bad for talking to June, but equally, he didn’t particularly want his longstanding employee to know everything either. The boundaries were blurring, which made him uncomfortable.
Scarlett clearly sensed something was off and stopped.
“I know we’re being discreet, but if this is supposed to be some state secret, you need to let me know.”
Edward turned to her again, almost blinding her with the torch.
“Sorry.” He pointed it to the ground. “No, it’s not a secret and of course I don’t have a problem with you telling your mum… I mean, up to a point. What did you tell her?”
“Just that I was heading off to meet you. She didn’t ask why or anything, but she might’ve raised an eyebrow.” He could hear the anxiety rising in her voice and he didn’t want to spoil the morning.
“It’s all good. Now come on, before it gets too late.” He turned back in the direction they were heading.
“What do you mean late? It’s the crack of fucking dawn!” she said, breathless from the pace they were now walking.
“Mouth, woman!”
“Mouth?”
He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the woods. “Watch it before I put something in it!”
Scarlett laughed. “Ohhh, it’s that kind of outing!”
Edward shook his head. “Insatiable woman. Come on, before it gets too light.”
It didn’t take them long to reach the waterfall he’d directed her to shortly after she first arrived at Haddon House, which seemed like an age ago. The rain had been heavy during the night, making the water hitting the rocks more thunderous and dramatic than usual.
He looked across at Scarlett, who appeared engrossed in the view.
Some light was filtering through the trees now, so he turned off the torch and placed it back in his pocket, freeing up his hand.
“This way– just watch your footing here. It might get slippery.”
Scarlett nodded and followed him, both of them carefully skirting around the wall of rocks to their right, edging towards an opening behind the curtain of water gushing over the cliff above them.
He hadn’t been here for a while and noticed the moss had built up, making the area trickier than usual to navigate, so he kept Scarlett under careful watch as she followed him through to the opening.
“I mean, this is pretty special.” Scarlett smiled up at him. “But, Edward, it’s fucking freezing!”
“I’ll warm us up! And I’m glad you think so.” He gave her a quick kiss before pulling away and removing the satchel from over his shoulder. After laying the picnic blanket on the floor, he switched on the lantern and emptied the contents of his bag. “Also brought some coffee.”
“You’ve obviously thought of everything!” She laughed.
“If you’re lucky, some of the firewood at the back there may be dry enough to light a fire.
” He walked towards the back of the cave and thankfully he’d stored a lot of the wood on top of a plastic pallet and covered it with tarpaulin, which meant some of the wood, at least, had remained dry and unaffected by mould or decay– the fact they’d had a dry summer and autumn also played a part.
Pulling out suitable branches, he watched Scarlett make herself comfortable on the blanket, kicking off her boots so as not to muddy the blanket. He smiled seeing her thick oddly matched socks.
“How’s it looking? Can man make fire?”
He nodded. “Aye, I think so.”
And after a couple of false starts, he managed it.
“I’m suitably impressed… The fire, the setting, even the coffee– it’s all a very nice touch. Anyone would think you’re trying to seduce me, my laird .”
Edward laughed. “Again, how is it you can make that sound smutty?”
“Told you before, it’s a talent.” Scarlett shrugged and made room for him to sit beside her. He untied and kicked off his own boots and joined her on the blanket, grabbing the flask and pouring a cup of coffee for them to share.
“I blame the accent. No sugar, of course.” He passed her the coffee, winking.
“Like I said, thought of everything. Thanks.” She took a sip and passed it back to him. She went silent for a moment before continuing. “So, what’s the deal with your brother?”
Edward’s jaw tightened.
Why did it always end up back on his brother?
“What’s he done now?”
“Nothing in particular, at least not anything I can put my finger on… He just behaves strangely sometimes.”
Edward frowned. Irritation at his brother was never far away, but the fact it was affecting Scarlett raised the scale to more than mere annoyance. “What’s he said?”
“Nothing, really, it’s just his mannerisms and innuendos. I never quite know what he means. He’s perfectly pleasant, don’t get me wrong. Charming, really. I just sometimes get the feeling he’s saying more than the words he uses… if that even makes sense?”
Edward picked up the stick beside him to stoke the fire, which was now giving off a surprising amount of heat.
He put the stick and coffee down and pulled off his cable-knit jumper, tugging the t-shirt back down over his abdomen.
“Gives off more heat than you think.” He nodded his head towards the fire in response to Scarlett’s coy look.
“Of course.” She smiled. “Don’t mind me. I’m just admiring the view.”
“And it does make sense. He’s usually up to one thing or another. Has he been making you feel uncomfortable?”
He thought there was a moment of hesitation, but she smiled again. “No, he’s harmless enough.”
“Hmm, I wouldn’t be so sure. I want you to tell me if he ever steps out of line, okay?”
Scarlett shook her head. “He won’t, but let’s not spend whatever time we have left talking about your brother. Can’t say I’ve ever had sex behind a waterfall before…”
“I didn’t just bring you here to do that,” he said, watching her as she shrugged off her coat. “But if you’re going to get undressed, I can’t promise I won’t.”
She laughed as he pulled her over to sit on top of him. “I’m kinda hoping you will!”
“Then who am I to rob a lady of her wish,” he said before kissing her again, something he was becoming very comfortable doing.