21. Edward #2
Despite everything that had happened, despite the family crisis and the exposure of secrets, she seemed more herself than she had in years. The strain of hiding her relationship with James was gone, replaced by a quiet confidence that came from living honestly.
"You really think this is the right choice?"
"I think it's the only choice that lets you live with yourself." She smiled, and for a moment I saw the little girl who used to drag me on adventures through the estate grounds. "Besides, you made me realize something important when you confronted Mother."
"What's that?"
"That the Grosvenor legacy isn't about maintaining traditions or protecting reputations. It's about having the courage to fight for what matters, even when the fight seems impossible." She pulled out her phone, navigating to an airline website. "So let's go fight for what matters."
I stared at the booking page, thinking about everything that had brought us to this moment. The secrets, the manipulation, the pain of loving people we thought we couldn't have. The choice between the life Mother had planned for us and the life we might create for ourselves.
"Book two tickets," I said, taking her phone with hands that were suddenly steady.
"Two?"
"You're coming with me. You owe Lili an apology for encouraging our relationship while hiding your own.
And I..." I paused, looking at my sister—my partner in this desperate mission.
"I need someone there who remembers the man I was before Mother's manipulation.
Someone who can vouch for the fact that what Lili and I had was real. "
Daphne's smile was brilliant. "Plus, someone needs to make sure you don't lose your nerve halfway across the Atlantic."
"There's also the practical consideration that I have no idea how to convince a woman to forgive me for being an unwitting accomplice in my Mother's schemes."
"Leave that to me," Daphne said firmly. "I've had practice apologizing for being a hypocritical coward. The techniques are surprisingly transferable."
I was booking flights to Texas. To Lili. To the possibility of redemption or final rejection. Either way, I was done letting Mother's legacy of fear determine my future.
"Next flight leaves tomorrow evening," I said, finger hovering over the purchase button. "Are you ready to find out if love really is stronger than legacy?"
"I'm ready to find out if we're brave enough to deserve the love we've been hiding from," Daphne replied.
"Let's go get our girl back," I said, and clicked confirm.
The Texas sun beat down mercilessly on my shoulders as I stood at the edge of the local rodeo grounds, sweat already beading under the collar of what had seemed like my most casual shirt in London but now felt like formal wear at a barn dance.
My Savile Row suit—chosen because it was the least formal option in my wardrobe—might as well have been a neon sign announcing "British aristocrat, completely lost and possibly having a breakdown."
The boots I'd hastily purchased at the Austin airport weren't just pinching my feet; they were conducting what felt like a systematic torture campaign against every toe.
The cowboy hat Daphne had insisted I buy sat on my head like a foreign object, and I was fairly certain I was wearing it backwards. Or upside down. Possibly both.
The air itself was different here—thick with humidity, barbecue smoke, and the scent of horses mixed with fried food and something sweet I couldn't identify.
It was overwhelming in a way that made my carefully controlled London existence feel sterile by comparison.
"You look like you're about to face a firing squad," Daphne observed, adjusting her own hat with considerably more confidence than I could muster. She'd somehow managed to look effortlessly appropriate in jeans and boots, while I appeared to be playing dress-up in someone else's life.
"What was I thinking, Daphne? This isn't just about being out of my element—this is about standing in front of people who have every reason to hate everything I represent and asking them to trust me with their girl.
" I pulled at the brim of the ridiculous hat, watching a group of children chase each other with the kind of carefree joy I'd never experienced.
"These people raised Lili. They know her worth better than anyone.
What if they look at me and see exactly what Mother always said outsiders would see—a privileged man who thinks his intentions matter more than the damage his family has caused? "
"Then you'll prove them wrong," Daphne said simply. "The same way you proved Mother wrong when you chose Lili over family loyalty."
The festival stretched before us like something from a different century—or at least a different continent.
String lights were being hung between oak trees, a makeshift stage had been erected near the central pavilion, and everywhere I looked, people moved with the easy familiarity of a community that had gathered like this for generations.
The air thrummed with bluegrass music, children's laughter, and conversations in accents so thick I had to concentrate to follow them.
"There," Daphne said suddenly, gripping my arm with enough force to leave marks. "Edward, there she is, and her Mother Rose. Cece knew she was going to be here today."
My breath didn't just catch—it stopped entirely.
Lili stood near the main stage talking to a middle-aged woman who looked like her Mother, but the rolling suitcase and carry-on bag beside them told a story I wasn't prepared to read.
Airport tags. Recent packing. The careful organization of someone making a planned departure.
"She's leaving," I said, the words feeling like glass in my throat. "Today. Right now, probably. I'm too late."
The implications hit me hard. She was moving on. She'd made peace with my absence. The three weeks of silence had given her time to realize she was better off without me. I'd flown across an ocean to grovel to a woman who was already walking away from everything we'd had together.
"Edward, breathe," Daphne said urgently. "We don't know—"
"Look at her," I interrupted. "She's radiant. Happy. Settled. Like someone who's made the right decision and is ready to move forward with her life."
And she was.
Even from fifty yards away, I could see that Lili looked free. Unburdened.
Like the weight of loving someone from my world had finally lifted from her shoulders.
Her blonde hair caught the afternoon sunlight as she laughed at something her Mother said, and she was wearing a sundress the color of Texas bluebonnets that made her look like she belonged to this place, these people, this life that had nothing to do with British manors or aristocratic complications.
"Which means we got here just in time," Daphne said firmly, though I could hear the concern in her voice. "Edward, you have to move. Now."
As if she could sense my stare across the crowded space, Lili looked up.
Our eyes met across perhaps fifty yards of festival chaos, and I watched her face cycle through emotions like weather patterns —shock giving way to disbelief, disbelief melting into something that might have been hope, hope battling with wariness and the memory of too much hurt.
Her hand moved to her throat, fingers worrying at the spot where a necklace would rest, and I realized she wasn't wearing the small silver pendant I'd given her in Sussex.
She'd taken it off. Of course she had.
She said something to her Mother, who immediately turned to look at me with the expression of a woman evaluating a potential threat to her daughter's wellbeing.
"She's seen us," I said unnecessarily.
"And she hasn't run away screaming," Daphne pointed out. "That's something."
"Yet."
I found myself walking toward the main stage before I'd consciously decided to move, my body apparently making decisions my mind wasn't ready for.
The crowd seemed to part around me—or perhaps I was simply too focused on reaching Lili to notice the curious stares and whispered conversations that followed in my wake.
By the time I reached the stage area, a small crowd had gathered, drawn by the novelty of whatever was about to unfold.
"Ladies and gentlemen," I called out, my voice carrying the projection I'd learned from years of courtroom presentations. The crowd noise gradually died as people turned to see who was speaking. "If I could have your attention for just a moment."
Lili's eyes went wide with something approaching panic. "Edward, what are you—"
"My name is Edward Grosvenor," I continued, addressing the growing crowd while never taking my eyes off her face. "I'm from London, England, and I've come here today because I owe this community—and especially one of your own—an apology that's overdue."
The murmur of conversation died completely. Even the children seemed to sense the gravity of the moment, their games forgotten as adults shushed them into silence.
I was aware of Daphne positioning herself where she could see me and Lili's reaction, Rose Anderton's protective stance beside her daughter, and dozens of strangers who had no reason to care about my personal drama but who were giving me their complete attention anyway.
" A few weeks ago, my family became involved in a situation that caused serious harm to Lili Anderton's business and reputation.
" I let that sink in for a moment, watching faces in the crowd shift from curiosity to concern.
"Business relationships that should have remained separate from personal matters became entangled.
Private moments were made public without consent.
A woman who had done nothing wrong found herself the target of circumstances that were entirely beyond her control. "
The murmur that ran through the crowd was sympathetic but wary.
I could see parents exchanging glances, trying to understand what exactly I was admitting to without saying directly.