Page 17 of Her Honorable Viscount (Noble Pursuits #3)

CHAPTER 17

E dward was on a mission.

He had unraveled the threat upon Dot.

But now he had another problem to solve. Its success would mean as much to him as it did to her. For if he couldn’t make her happy, he would be a failure. As a husband and as a man. He had seen the brightness in her eyes when she spoke of her passion. He might not understand why this fascinated her so much, but he had to appreciate her love for it.

She had agreed to say goodbye to it all to marry him because he had told her that she couldn’t be his wife while continuing to work as a midwife. Why had she done so?

He wished it didn’t have to be this way, but the truth was that while it was partly due to what society expected of them, he was also concerned about her. It wasn’t safe for her to continue to work in neighborhoods of the city where she could be put in danger as she had been the night he had come upon her in Shoreditch – whether she traveled with a footman or not.

And if they did have children, how could she leave them for hours to see to her duties?

It was a dilemma. One he didn’t have an immediate answer to, but he had heard the stories of Lucy and Adelaide. They might have people who looked out for them in their time of need, but countless others did not have the same circumstances.

If he could establish a way to help women like them and include Dot in the process, that could fill the void for what she was looking for. Make her happy.

He had met with a woman whom he had hoped could help.

She had worked at a hospital and knew the need present in communities. Edward had an idea that he hoped he could bring to fruition.

He wanted to give Dot the purpose she had been searching for as a midwife.

This could work.

It wouldn’t be easy, but was anything worthwhile ever straightforward?

No.

It was also the first problem in a while that he might actually enjoy solving.

It had been a week since his outing with Dot in his gig. A week in which he had begun to make his plans and put them in motion sooner rather than later. He wondered if Dot had heard from Lady Carroway. Surely she would have sent him a note if she had.

He probably should have called upon Dot this week, but he had been far too busy. He would see her at church this morning. His head was filled with thoughts of her as he entered his carriage for the short ride over to Lord Fitzroy’s house. Edward had agreed to accompany Dot, her mother, and any of the sisters who wished to join them for the first reading of the banns.

It was all a rather tedious custom but one that he couldn’t miss. Not if he wanted to do this right.

Which, of course, he did.

He wished that Michael and Adelaide were also taking steps toward their marriage, but Adelaide had not, at least as far as Edward was aware, agreed to marriage yet.

It was rather concerning, but he had done all he could do. Perhaps Dot would have an idea.

There she was now, walking out the front door of Lord Fitzroy’s townhouse. She wore a cream dress with a blue sash, and he had to fight all of the basic urges within him, urges that seemed to arise every time he saw her.

He wondered if that would be a concern during their marriage, although surely, it would fade once they satiated their desires.

He was halfway out the carriage door before it had even fully come to a stop, so eager was he to see her. But the smile that had escaped onto his face quickly faded as he strode up the stairs to her.

For the arched eyebrow she sent his way told him that all was not as it should be.

“Lady Dot,” he said, hoping he could solve this quickly, before her family joined them. “What is the matter?”

“Lord Mandrake,” her mother stepped out of the door before Dot could answer, not that she had seemed inclined to.

Her mother wore the exuberant smile that Edward would have preferred from his bride. “Thank you for accompanying us to the church. Fitz will attend as well, but it will be lovely for the two of you to be together, at least during this first reading.”

“Of course,” Edward said with a slight nod toward her. “I also enjoy spending time with such lovely ladies.”

Lady Fitzroy blushed and tapped her hand on his arm as she passed by him. Edward offered each of them an elbow as he led them down the steps, sensing that Dot’s acceptance was begrudging.

“Will any of your other daughters be joining us today?” he asked Lady Fitzroy, for she currently seemed the most inclined of the two to answer his questions.

“Yes, both Lady Sloane and Lady Henrietta.”

The two next eldest sisters. After his last visit, Edward had memorized the names of each of Dot’s sisters. He hoped he could recognize them all, although that might be more difficult in this case, for the two were twins.

“Ah, there they are,” Lady Fitzroy said, and Edward returned to the steps to accompany the two women to the carriage. Henrietta was as cheerful as her mother, while Sloane looked as though she would rather be anywhere but accompanying him to church.

Which was fine. It was not the sisters he had to win over. He had already secured Dot’s hand in marriage.

Now, it seemed he must win her favor again.

The carriage was silent when he finally joined them, and at the tenseness in the air, he rather wished he was sitting atop with the coachman.

“Tell me, Lord Mandrake,” Lady Henrietta said, cutting through the silence, “do you have any family?”

“My brother is the only close family I have left,” he said. “My parents have both passed on, and I have no other siblings.”

“I’m so sorry,” Lady Henrietta said, and Edward felt that she genuinely meant the words. “Well, you also have us now.”

“Thank you, Lady Henrietta,” he said.

“Is he married?” Sloane asked from where she was slouched in the corner of the carriage, despite her mother’s repeated requests to sit up.

“Ah… no,” Edward answered. “Although he might be soon.”

“How lovely!” Lady Fitzroy exclaimed, although her lips had fallen a moment before she had pushed the smile on her face, obviously disappointed that another eligible young man was not an option for one of her daughters.

If only she knew what Michael was really like.

“Who is he courting?” she asked, and Edward smiled through tight lips.

“No one you would know.”

“But she really is quite charming,” Dot added.

“I can hardly wait to meet her,” Lady Fitzroy said, and Edward froze for a moment, wondering just how Adelaide would fit in with these noble families.

“Of course,” he said.

“Tell me, Lord Mandrake,” Dot said, leaning into the squabs as she fixed him with her stare.

He sensed that now was the time when she was going to reveal just what had irked her, even if she would not actually tell him the full truth.

“What have you been doing all week?” she asked. “You must have had quite the week to not have enough time to visit.”

“Dot!” her mother exclaimed, but Dot only shrugged and turned to look out the window as though dismissing him.

“I did have a busy week,” he answered, even though she didn’t seem interested.

So this was where he had made his mistake. He had not called upon her. Nor seen her nor written a note. She was probably waiting to hear of the outcome, and here, he hadn’t even thought to give her an inkling of whether there was anything to be concerned about.

When they arrived at the church, Edward waved his arm forward, allowing the women to enter before him. He hoped that Dot would stay back to speak alone, but she brushed by him and continued into the church. Thankfully, when they arrived at the pew, despite Dot’s attempt to slip by her sisters to sit on the other side of them, her mother refused to allow her to pass, insisting she sit next to Edward.

She did so stiffly, and while Edward initially thought she was being cold toward him, he soon realized it was the complete opposite.

She was hot with her anger.

“Dot,” he whispered, even as the minister began the morning prayer at the front of the church. “I apologize for whatever I did to anger you.”

Her head whipped toward him. “You didn’t speak to me for five days.”

“I was waiting to hear back from Lord Carroway. I had no news to share.”

Her gaze returned to the front. “Perhaps not. But how was I to know that?” she whispered, suddenly blinking rapidly. “Besides that, did you not want to see me? I thought—” She shook her head and pressed her lips together.

“What?” he whispered.

“We should not speak here,” she said, and he caught her mother’s disparaging glance toward them.

“Afterward, then?”

When she shrugged, he pressed his leg against hers, waiting for her to pull away, but she didn’t. He was surprised when she pressed hers right back against him.

He placed his hand on her leg, knowing he shouldn’t. Not here, not now. But his sudden need to make her understand, to receive her favor again, was too great to ignore.

As soon as they finished reciting the Nicene Creed, he leaned in against her. “Dot?—”

“We are in church. Have some respect.”

He straightened. “I am the definition of respect.”

“Of that, I am very aware.”

He bit his lip and returned his gaze to the front of the church.

She was right. This wasn’t the place, and he was the first person who should know that. He nodded, trying to pay attention to what was being spoken.

“I’m sorry, Dot,” he said, apologizing for far more than just his interference right now.

“After,” she finally muttered just as the first banns were read.

"I publish the Banns of Marriage between Lord Edward Redgrave, Viscount Mandrake of St. George’s Parish and Lady Dorothy Spencer of St. George’s Parish. If any of you know cause or just impediment why these two persons should not be joined together in holy Matrimony, ye are to declare it. This is the first time of asking."

Edward swallowed, waiting for anyone to speak up, finally releasing his breath when no one did.

But why would they? He and Dot were the ones who had initially rejected their own marriage for reasons of their own.

And as all eyes turned toward them, Edward realized what he was doing and removed his hand from Dot’s leg. She was right.

There would be time for this later.

In three weeks, to be exact.

As long as his bride would still have him.