Page 25 of An Alliance with the Earl (Marrying for Love #5)

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

E dward arrived at Alexander’s estate just as the sun began its slow descent, gilding the fields in molten gold. The journey had been a quiet one—only the steady rhythm of hooves and the occasional rustling of wind through the trees accompanied him. But within his mind, a tempest raged.

His heart had been so certain. His plan had been so clear. But now?

He clenched his jaw, shifting in the saddle. He had wanted to tell Olivia the truth—that their alliance had ceased to be a mere arrangement for him. That every moment he had spent with her had unraveled a piece of his careful detachment until there was nothing left to guard. That he had fallen hopelessly in love with her.

And yet, when he had arrived in town, determined to speak, he had seen her in the arms of another man.

Her past. Her former fiancé.

The sight had been like a blow to his chest. He had stood there, motionless, his hands fisting at his sides as whispers of how romantic it was floated around him. That the man had returned to win her over.

I was never a consideration.

Edward exhaled sharply, urging his horse forward through the iron gates of Alexander’s estate.

The estate was quiet as he handed the reins to a waiting groom. Edward had barely stepped inside before Elizabeth spotted him from the corridor.

His sister, always direct, folded her arms and tilted her head. Here it comes.

“Edward.” She tapped her fingers on her elbow as she studied him. “You look positively horrid.”

Edward let out a breath of amusement. “You always know just what to say.”

Elizabeth huffed. “I cannot believe you’ve been riding in such a state. Your hair looks like you’ve been dragged through a hedgerow, your cravat is askew, and your eyes—” She narrowed hers as she stepped closer. “I daresay you look as if you haven’t slept in a week.”

He hadn’t. Not properly.

Elizabeth sighed dramatically and shook her head. “If I did not know better, I would think you were dying of consumption.”

Edward smirked, shaking his head. “Your concern is touching, dear sister.”

She pursed her lips, watching him for another long moment before stepping aside. “Alexander is in the study. Go and wallow in there. I will fetch you both something to drink. You are clearly in need of something stronger than tea.”

Without waiting for a reply, she turned on her heel and disappeared down the hall.

Edward exhaled, running a hand over his face before making his way toward the study.

Alexander had the air of a man who had been expecting him. He sat behind his large mahogany desk, fingers steepled in front of him as if he were judging a chess move.

Edward collapsed into the chair opposite, rubbing his temples.

Alexander did not rush him. He merely waited.

“I saw her,” Edward finally said, his voice tight. “In the village after the house party.”

“From the looks of you, it appears that she did not take your proposals well?”

Edward shook his head. “It wasn’t that.”

Alexander waited, encouraging him to go on.

“She was there with her former fiancé.” Edward inhaled sharply, looking away.

“Tell me,” Alexander continued, “did she look overjoyed to see him?”

Edward clenched his jaw. “No. She looked startled. And then—irritated.”

Alexander lifted a brow. “And yet you assumed she had chosen him?”

“I assumed nothing. I saw them—together. They were—he kissed her cheek.”

Alexander leaned forward. “And did she appear to welcome it?”

Edward opened his mouth, then closed it. The moment replayed in his mind. Olivia had not leaned into the embrace. She had not smiled fondly. But he had turned too quickly to notice. He hadn’t wanted to see.

Had he been so blinded by his own insecurities that he had misread everything?

Alexander sighed. “Edward, you let one moment dictate your entire course of action. Did you speak to her before leaving?”

Edward gritted his teeth. “I was not about to stand there like a fool, watching her reunite with the man she once planned to marry. Miss Harper said her fiancé was accompanying her brother and her on the trip. What am I to make of that, if not that they would further their past relationship.”

“Perhaps,” Alexander mused. “And yet, had you spoken with her, you might have learned that she never intended to reunite with him at all.”

Edward exhaled harshly. He had already reached that maddening realization, but hearing Alexander say it made the weight in his chest even heavier.

“She stopped me once before,” Edward muttered. “When I tried to tell her how I felt. What reason had I to believe she would suddenly change her mind?”

Alexander studied him. “Perhaps because you changed. And perhaps she did as well.”

Edward ran a hand through his hair. “Well, it hardly matters now. She is leaving for the Continent. And I—” He let out a humorless chuckle. “I gave her the notebook. I wrote that note in it—”

Alexander’s brows lifted. “And what did you say?”

Edward looked away and rubbed back of his neck. “Something bold. Something foolish.”

Alexander smirked. “So, something honest.”

Edward sighed heavily, the weight of it pressing down on him.

At that moment, Elizabeth breezed into the room, a decanter and two glasses balanced neatly in her hands. She set them down with a flourish, ready to play hostess and tease in equal measure.

But when her gaze landed on Edward’s face, her lightness faltered.

“Well, Alexander,” she said, trying for levity but missing the mark, “have you two sorted out whatever has turned my poor brother into such a tragic figure?”

Edward said nothing, lifting his glass in silent reply.

“It’s love, Lizzie,” Alexander said simply.

Elizabeth stilled, blinking at them both.

“Oh,” she said, the word small and almost reverent.

Her gaze softened instantly. She crossed the room and perched on the arm of a chair near Edward, her earlier briskness replaced with genuine concern.

“I’m sorry, Edward,” she said, her voice low and earnest. “I shouldn’t have said you looked horrid earlier. I didn’t realize ...”

She reached out, giving his arm a gentle squeeze.

“You don’t look horrid, you look—exactly as a man ought to look when he’s given his heart to someone and isn’t sure what to do next.”

Edward gave a low, rough laugh despite himself, but the ache in his chest didn’t ease.

Elizabeth smiled, the corners of her eyes crinkling warmly.

“For what it’s worth,” she added, “I think any woman would be fortunate to have you.”

Alexander lifted his glass in a small toast.

Elizabeth nudged Edward lightly with her elbow, her voice turning just a shade teasing—but still kind. “And next time, perhaps lead with that honest heart of yours, hm? It sounds like it suits you far better than all this brooding.”

Edward smiled faintly, grateful beyond words for the simple, unwavering loyalty of the two people before him.

He didn’t have answers yet.

He didn’t know how or when he would find the right words for Olivia.

But he would find them.

He had to.

Some things were too important to leave unsaid.