Chapter 33
A week later, Isaac, Freddy and I received an invitation.
Verity Huntingdon-Bowes wishes the pleasure of your company this Saturday to say goodbye to the autumn and welcome winter!
Where: Huntingdon Grange
RSVP
A handwritten note on mine, I assumed from Verity, said,
Do come, please!
‘Do I have to?’ I asked in admittedly a too-whiney voice.
‘Yes. She’s holding out an olive branch. It’d be rude to refuse,’ Freddy said, plonking me down with her hand on my shoulder and launching into curling my hair into loose ringlets. ‘Plus we’ve already accepted.’
‘You’ve changed your tune. You couldn’t stand her before.’
‘I know. But people can change. She clearly had a bit of rethink when you rescued her and it’s gracious to acknowledge that. So yes, we are all going.’
Isaac had been as enthusiastic as me but as he and Freddy were now officially an item and he would fetch the moon if she asked him, they were definitely going.
‘There! Perfect. What are you wearing?’
I’d returned the clothes I’d borrowed from Penelope even though she had told me I was welcome to keep them. It didn’t sit right with me so I was back to my own, much more limited closet.
‘I haven’t really decided.’
‘Emmy! We’re leaving in like twenty minutes.’
‘I know! I can’t decide. I’ve got this but…’
Freddy bustled past me to look at the item tucked in the back of the wardrobe, then pulled it out. It was a long velvet fitted dress, the colour of, I’d learnt over the summer, an excellent claret.
‘The tags are still on it. How long have you had it?’
‘I bought it in the summer on sale. I don’t know why. I didn’t have anywhere to wear it but…’
‘Well, now you have. The perfect opportunity. Get yourself into that and mind your make-up when you pull it on.’ She shoved it at me and scooted off to put the finishing touches to her own outfit.
* * *
‘Edward’s not going, is he? You’re sure?’ I asked for the tenth time as Isaac drove us over there. The only reason I’d agreed at all was on that proviso. The last thing I needed was to see him with a beautiful model on his arm. I’d get over him – in a way – eventually but I needed a lot more time.
‘Nope. Function in London, apparently. It was pretty last minute from Verity.’
‘True. Good.’
‘You’re going to have to see him sometime, Emmy, you know.’ Isaac’s eyes met mine in the rear-view mirror.
‘I know,’ I replied softly. ‘Just not quite yet.’
‘Bloody hell, you look gorgeous! I’ve missed you!’ Barnaby bounced over the moment we got there, wrapping me in a hug and kissing me before greeting Isaac with an enthusiastic handshake and Freddy a kiss on the cheek. ‘Lucky bugger,’ he said to Isaac.
‘Yep!’ Isaac replied with a grin. ‘Don’t I know it.’
Penelope was hovering a little way behind him, clearly unsure. I hated that she’d got caught in the middle of everything. I missed my own mum so very much and then, when I lost Edward, I lost his mother too and it was awful.
‘Excuse me.’ I stepped aside from the others and walked towards her. ‘Hello.’
‘Hello,’ she replied, her head tilting to one side, a wide smile on her lips and tears in her eyes. I rushed forward and wrapped my arms around her.
‘I’ve missed you so much!’ I said in to her shoulder.
I felt her nod against me. Pulling gently back, I looked at her.
‘Now I’m going to get into trouble with Freddy for messing up my make-up.’
‘Not at all!’ She dabbed at the corner of my eye with an immaculate white lace handkerchief she’d produced from nowhere. ‘There. Perfect once more.’
‘Definitely not perfect.’
‘You are to me. You always were.’ The deep, cultured voice spoke behind me and it felt like an age until I turned.
‘Edward… I… I was told you weren’t coming.’
‘I was told you weren’t either.’
‘You were trying to avoid me as well.’
‘No. I hope every day to see you but perhaps Verity wanted to be sure.’
‘Verity?’
‘Did someone call?’ She swanned into view looking tall, elegant and totally composed. But I’d seen under the armour now. She was as human as the rest of us. ‘Oh good, you’ve found each other already.’
‘You told Isaac Edward wasn’t coming.’
‘No, he knew. We had a good chat about it over a coffee in the village deciding how best to get you two to see sense.’
Both Edward and I turned to look wide-eyed at Isaac.
He shrugged. ‘Believe me, I was as surprised as you when she invited me.’
‘He’s quite right. But…’ The polish left her for a moment. ‘I’m trying.’
‘And that’s all any of us are doing,’ Penelope stepped forward and linked her arm through Verity’s, who looked momentarily shocked before smiling and laying her hand on top of Penelope’s.
‘So.’ Edward moved towards her. Verity was still taller than me, even with my wedges, but Edward maintained the height advantage by several inches. ‘All this,’ he waved an arm to encompass the substantial party going on around us, ‘was just a ruse to get Emmeline and me in the same room.’
Verity remained straight-backed but the shifting of her weight hinted that she wasn’t quite as sure of herself as she made out.
‘Yes.’
‘I see.’ Edward’s expression was serious, the brow drawn down, eyes darkened. ‘In that case, I have one thing to say, Verity.’
From the corner of my eye, I saw Isaac and Freddy exchange a concerned look and he pulled her a little tighter against him, kissing the top of her head as he did so.
‘Which is?’ Verity asked, tilting her chin up in defiance. I rather admired her.
Edward leant in closer. And then he kissed her on the cheek. ‘Thank you.’
Her relief was palpable. ‘You’re welcome. And I’m sorry about everything before.’ She reached out and pulled me close. ‘This woman is the kindest, coolest person I’ve ever met. She actually towed me off the road. Did you know that?’
‘I heard.’
‘It’s not a big deal,’ I mumbled.
‘Not a big deal? I assure you, it is. Dad drove me back that way when the tow company were going to pick up the car and I realise now I was in a very dangerous position. Something could easily have come round the corner and hit it and injured me and themselves. It hadn’t even occurred to me to get it off the road.
If I’d have got hold of someone I’d have just left it there and perhaps caused someone to have a big accident. ’
‘But you didn’t so don’t think about it now,’ I reassured her.
Verity looked at Edward. ‘See what I mean?’
‘You’re looking at the wrong person. She’s the one that needs convincing that she’s amazing and gorgeous and kind and the best thing that’s ever happened to me in my entire life.’
His gaze was fixed on me now and I couldn’t look away. I didn’t want to.
‘You once said that I would get bored of you, that you’d embarrass me, that something would cause me to regret my decision.
But I assure you now, even more so since I’ve spent every day hoping to catch a glimpse of you, to bump into you in the hope that we might be able to talk, that that will never, ever happen. ’
He lifted both my hands to his lips and kissed them.
‘I love you, Emmeline. With everything I have, more than I knew I was capable of loving anything or anyone. You’re the part of me that I didn’t even know was missing.
If you really don’t feel the same then I will let you go but don’t let it be because you think I’ll ever stop loving you.
Let it only be because you don’t love me. ’
There was quite a crowd around us now, which in most instances was my worst nightmare but right in this moment, I didn’t care. In fact, the more the merrier because I wanted everyone to know the truth.
‘I do love you, Edward!’ The make-up was a total goner now as I let the tears flow, my cheeks hurting from the width of my smile. ‘So, so much!’
Before I’d even finished, he’d wrapped his arms around me, lifting me up and kissing me, holding me so tight against him, it was hard to breathe, but I didn’t care. All I knew was that I was here, with the man I loved more than anything, and that that was exactly where I wanted to stay.
Slowly, he lowered me to the ground.
‘There’s one more thing,’ he said. Bending on one knee in front of me, Edward’s eyes were on mine.
A gasp twittered around the room.
‘Emmeline Daisy Buchanan, will you marry me, for real this time?’