Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
“Imust insist that you all have cake, even if you fear you are going to burst. If you need to collapse, there are plenty of beds, so please, eat until your stomachs are full,” Edmund said, brandishing a large knife.
He turned to the cake, which really was enormous, and cut through each tier, beginning at the bottom and working his way to the top.
He waved his hand in the air, encouraging people to cheer every time he cut into the cake.
They all leaned forward, eager to see what the next layer would be.
It was quite incredible how Edmund could make something so mundane as cutting a cake into an event that had everyone sitting on the edge of their seats.
Once he finished, he held the knife in the air triumphantly, and then the hard work was left to the servants who bustled around making sure that everyone had the right type of cake. Edmund seemed happy enough to enjoy the adulation.
Rose became aware of some tension nearby. Nathaniel glowered.
“This is dinner, not theatre,” Nathaniel muttered. Alfred seemed quite content. Mary asked if there was anything wrong, but Alfred kept batting away her concerns until he became quite animated.
When everyone had finished their cake, Edmund once again captured everyone’s attention and directed the men to the smoking room and the women to the drawing room, where they could play cards.
Chairs were shuffled, and the remains of the feast were left on the table, like a ruined city after an army had passed through. Rose was ushered along with the other women. So many people were moving that it felt as though she was carried along by a current.
Soon enough, she was in the sitting room. She played cards with Lydia and Mary while Amelia, Charlotte, Beatrice, and Agatha sat beside them, playing their own game. Conversation hopped between tables as well, while the cards were being shuffled.
Rose, Lydia, Margaret, and Mary were playing Brag. Clara was sitting beside Mary, although she did not have cards of her own.
“I do hope nothing is wrong with Alfred. It’s not like him to refuse to share everything with me,” Mary said.
“I am sure it’s nothing to worry about. I imagine he probably just wants to wait until the party is over,” Charlotte said reassuringly.
“Oh, I think I have won,” Amelia said, laying down her cards and tittering with laughter. Rose glanced across at their table and saw a line of diamonds laid out before her, numbered sequentially. They were playing Brag, and she had just scored a few high tricks.
“Diamonds for the diamond,” Beatrice said, beaming with pride.
Lydia squirmed in her seat.
“It must be beginner’s luck. Let’s hope I am so fortunate when it comes to a husband. Just think, Lydia, our husbands could be sitting in a nearby room as we speak,” she said.
“Perhaps,” Lydia said icily.
“When can we stop playing and watch the dancing?” Clara asked.
“I am not entirely sure. There might not even be any dancing tonight,” Mary replied.
Clara’s face fell. “But there has to be. I want to dance with Uncle Edmund!”
“If there isn’t any dancing tonight, then I am sure there will be some tomorrow. But anyway, it is getting late, and you should start bidding people goodnight.”
“I don’t want to go to bed. I am not tired,” Clara said, digging her hands in her armpits and adopting a harsh expression.
“Clara, please let’s not do this now in front of all these people.
It’s time for bed, and that hasn’t changed just because we’re at a party.
There will be plenty of parties for you to enjoy in the future.
Now, say goodnight to everyone,” Mary said in a gentle but firm tone.
She rose from her seat, and Clara jumped down, stomping her feet on the floor.
“Goodnight,” she said curtly, using the word like a hammer, and then marched out of the room. Mary gave a beleaguered sigh and chased after her.
Margaret continued chuckling.
“Clara is so much like you, Rose,” she said, shaking her head, before gathering up the cards and dealing them out again. Rose rolled her eyes and went to cross her arms, before she remembered that Clara had done exactly the same thing. She instead slipped her hands beneath her legs.
“I believe you must be misremembering. I was never that disagreeable,” Rose said.
“You’re that disagreeable even now,” Lydia said with a mischievous smile. Rose tilted her head and glared at Lydia, but before she could say anything in response, they heard a loud noise just beyond the door. It sounded as though something massive had bumped into the wall, like a battering ram.
But it wasn’t something massive. It was someone.
The great bulk of a man appeared in the doorway. A cloud of smoke came with him, making it seem as though he was bringing some fog along.
“My name is Leopold Johnshon, and I am here to declare my intention to marry the fair lady—” he was interrupted, and his tone changed. He started barking and tried to wrestle it away.
“Handsh off me!” he slurred.
“Leo, I already warned you,” Edmund said. He poked his head into the door, coughing through the smoky haze. “Apologies for the disturbance. Leo here has had a little too much to drink. It was my fault for making sure that his glass was never empty. I am just going to escort him outside.”
Rose then heard a grueling contest where both men grunted. There were more footsteps as people came to help Edmund, and eventually, Leopold Johnson was hauled away. The women glanced at each other and tittered with laughter at the exploits of men who drank too much.
“There is never a dull moment where Edmund is concerned,” Charlotte said.
It wasn’t long before Edmund returned. His collar was askew, and one sleeve rose, revealing his wrist and forearm. He came in, and as he moved, the sleeve fell down.
“I do apologize for that disturbance. It really wasn’t planned, and I hope it has not cast a pall over the evening. Oh, it seems you have a spare chair. Do you mind if I join?” Edmund said, but then threw himself into the chair beside Rose before anyone could invite him.
Finally, he was sitting beside her, but Rose vowed not to let him feel satisfied about it.
“Your collar, brother,” Lydia said, gesturing to Edmund’s collar. He quickly adjusted it.
“Perhaps it could be a new trend,” he said.
“I must say it was most heroic of you to escort that man off the premises, Your Grace,” Amelia said, fluttering her eyelashes.
“Oh, it wasn’t the first time I have had to drag Leo somewhere, and it will not be the last,” he said, although he quickly glanced toward Lydia.
“I am just glad he left before he could cause any offense. I thought he might have learned his lesson, but I suppose some men are not good students, even when experience should be a fine teacher,” Edmund replied.
“Mm, I wonder what that is like,” Lydia said with a wry smile.
Edmund tilted his head, pretending that he didn’t understand.
“Edmund, do you happen to know if anything is troubling Alfred? Mary is worried. She thinks something is wrong, but he will not tell her,” Lydia said.
“Oh, I am sure it’s nothing. You know what she’s like.
I can’t blame her, I suppose, not after what happened, but I will speak to him when I get a spare moment and see if there is anything bothering him,” Edmund said.
His words were smooth, and the response felt almost too swift, almost rehearsed. “Shall we?”
Edmund shuffled the cards by separating them into two stacks and riffing them together, which produced a pleasant sound.
He then dealt quickly, and the game continued.
Edmund was a sly player, though, and he won a lot of tricks with ease.
Rose could not take him by surprise, despite her best efforts, and she wondered if he would grow bored without a challenge.
On the table beside her, Amelia’s streak of beginner’s luck lasted for a while as she racked up victory after victory.
“What else is planned for the next few days?” Rose asked. If she knew what was coming, then she could prepare for it and show Edmund that she could handle anything he could throw at her.
However, he gave her a sly look and tapped his finger against his nose.
“That would be giving away everything. All I will say is that I have plenty of surprises planned to ensure that there is never a dull moment. Although I am always open to suggestions, if you have any ideas,” he said.
“Perhaps I could venture one?” Amelia said, wearing an uneasy smile. “I apologize for interrupting, but there is something on my mind.”
“Then by all means speak it,” Edmund said, opening his palm toward her. “The freedom of expression is always available at Stonewood Manor.”
Amelia dipped her head toward him gratefully.
“It occurred to me that all of the servants have worked incredibly hard. Perhaps it might be possible to give them a rest tomorrow morning. As we arrived here, I noticed a village nearby. If the weather is kind, I thought it would be nice to stroll there and visit.”
“That is a kind idea, how thoughtful of you,” Beatrice said.
Rose wasn’t annoyed by Amelia’s suggestion until she noticed how warmly Edmund was looking toward the young diamond. Was it possible that he had seen something shinier than her, something more appealing? There was a tightness in her chest, and she couldn’t very well share her misgivings.
So, instead, she rose and glanced at her mother.
“I believe I shall retire,” she said.
“But the hour is still early,” Edmund replied, and she wondered if she detected a forlorn note to his voice.
“Any surprises shall have to wait until tomorrow,” Rose said, then took herself away, with Margaret trailing just behind her.
“Are you sure you wish to retire? His Grace has only just joined us,” Margaret said.
“If he wanted to spend time with me, then he had ample opportunity to do so at dinner, but his seat remained empty.”
“Don’t punish him for being a good host, Rose.”
“I am not punishing him at all. I am just tired.”
Margaret gave her a look that suggested she did not believe this.
“If you are upset that a proposal was not forthcoming tonight, I would not be worried. He hinted that there are more surprises to come.”
Margaret’s words rankled with Rose.
“There are no hidden feelings, Mother. I am simply tired,” Rose said, although as she left, she thought about Edmund playing cards with Amelia, a woman far more suited to being a duchess and perhaps more suited to being his wife.
She didn’t quite understand why this upset her so much, but she could not deny it did.