Page 40 of The Duke's Auctioned Spinster
“Please, Mother, while I am looking forward to the future, there is still His Grace to consider. My wishes are not necessarily his wishes,” Rose said.
“Don’t speak like that, Rose. How could he not love you? I am sure that when these outings are over, there will be wedding bells to follow. Perhaps the last promenade will be the occasion for his proposal!”
Rose smiled, although she did not harbor such hopes. The fifth proposal would end in fake tears as she returned home to tell her mother that she would not become a duchess, and that Edmund would never propose to her. She would be so distraught, she would swear off weddings and romance and men entirely, and her parents would have no cause to argue.
It was going to be the happiest day of her life, she thought, and it couldn’t come soon enough.
“I do hope so, Mother. I can’t wait to see His Grace again. If I feel this way now, then I can only imagine how happy I shall be upon our fourth meeting. Thank you again for arranging all of this. I am quite certain that Edmund is the man for me, and I could never imagine being with anyone else.”
Chapter Seventeen
“Treat this house well, and she will treat you well,” Edmund’s father said as he and Edmund’s mother were about to leave on their fatal trip. They were standing in the garden, looking at the manor house. It loomed above them.
“The staff keeps the house clean,” Edmund said.
His father smirked.
“That’s not what I mean, and you are old enough now to understand it. This is your home, Edmund. It has housed your family for generations, and I hope it will continue to house them for generations to come. Every tree must have its roots deep underground, anchoring it in one place. No matter how large it grows, it can always be traced back to that one single point in the ground, connected to where it all began as a seedling. We are just like that.”
Edmund furrowed his brow.
“But you and mother go away all the time. I want to go away, too. It’s dull here. The people are all the same, and I tire of the same sights. I feel as though I am living the same day over and over again.”
His father placed a hand on his shoulder.
“I, too, felt the same way once, but do you know what changed?”
“You ventured out into the world and saw amazing places.”
“True, but that’s not what brought a sense of unpredictability to my life. That happened with your mother, and with you children. Since you all came into my life, nothing is ever the same. Of all I have accomplished, having a family is the thing of which I am most proud, and you three children are a greater legacy than anything else I could achieve. I hope that it will be the same for you one day. I hope that you will know the joy of having children running about this house, filling it with their laughter and their questions.”
“I want to explore the world, like you.”
“And you will. I promise. You are soon to finish your schooling, and then you will be able to go out in the world and learn far more than you ever could from textbooks.”
“If you think it so useless, then why was I ever forced to take lessons in the first place?”
“Because the world demands certain things of us. There is order, there are expectations, and the lessons you’ve learned will give you a good grounding. The exams you passed are proof to others that you have a certain grasp of knowledge that will enable them to trust you if you seek their partnership. We always have to make compromises, Edmund, but we take what we can, when we can.”
“So I shall be able to come with you next time, you promise?” Edmund asked, his eyes shining.
His father turned to face him and looked him squarely in the eyes.
“I swear it, Edmund. I have already planned the next expedition. I think you shall enjoy it. We shall be venturing into the darkest parts of the African jungle to catalog some plants that nobody has ever seen before. It’s my hope that you will discover one and name it after yourself. That’s what all great explorers get to do,” he said, smiling.
Edmund smiled too. He loved the idea of hacking his way through the jungle, a new sight greeting him around every corner.
“All I ask is that you be patient, Edmund. You have always been in a hurry to grow up. I remember that you walked before you could crawl, and as soon as you could balance on two feet, you were trying to run. But be patient. Life will come to you if you let it, and you will get everything you desire. Your mother andI will be glad to have you with us on our expeditions. Just wait until next year.”
“It seems like an awfully long time,” Edmund said.
“I know, but it will pass swiftly, as though you have simply blinked. In the meantime, you must care for Charlotte and Lydia in our absence. Do not take this duty lightly, Edmund. You, children, are the most precious things to your mother and me, and we would not trust you to just anyone. You should be proud of the fact that we are leaving them in your care.”
“I shall never let them down, Father,” Edmund said in a solemn tone, straightening his back. At the time, he did not necessarily feel the weight of the responsibility pressing upon his shoulders, but he soon would.
“Good lad, Edmund. I am proud of you, and I am proud of the man you are growing into. You are going to accomplish great things in this life, I am sure of it,” he said, squeezing Edmund’s shoulder.
It was the last meaningful thing Edmund’s father ever said to him.
