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‘Do not say such a thing, Edmund! It pains me!’
Then why the heck is she smiling through her tears?
I scratched my head, nonplussed. This love thing was obviously more complicated than I had thought. Oh, I was so glad I didn’t have anything to do with it myself.
‘I will ask you one final time, Ella.’ Slowly, Edmund rose to his feet. Her hand slid into his, and he held it firmly. ‘Will you elope with me?’
She shook her head.
‘No.’
‘You refuse to go against your aunt’s wishes in the matter of Sir Philip?’
‘I beg you, Edmund, understand. I cannot!’
‘Shh. Don’t be anguished, dearest. I understand. I understand, my love. You cannot go against your gentle nature.’ He sighed. ‘Then there remains only one thing for me to do.’
‘Y-you will do as I ask? You will move on?’
In spite of the fact that she was trying to affect a cheerful manner, I could see the fear in her eyes.
Pressing her hand again, Edmund shook his head.
‘No. I shall go out and buy myself a pistol. In the morning I shall call at Sir Philip’s residence and challenge him.’
Any feathers available with which to knock me over? For the second time this night, I was completely taken by surprise. This tradesman’s boy was turning out to be a regular Casanova! Had I heard correctly?
‘W-what?’ Ella stuttered. ‘What do you mean, challenge him?’
Apparently, she hadn’t yet understood what he meant. Or she would not let herself understand, maybe.
‘I mean, challenge him to a duel,’ Edmund replied calmly. ‘To the death.’
She took an involuntary step towards him. Or maybe it was voluntary. You could never tell with these love-struck people
‘Edmund, you must not jest about such things,’ she whispered, her hands clasping the iron poles of the fence tightly. ‘You must not.’
‘Who says that I am jesting?’
‘Please, Edmund, stop. You worry me sick.’
‘I am sorry for that. But it cannot be helped. You say you will not refuse Sir Philip, nor stand up to your aunt, so I have no choice.’
‘No choice but to contemplate violence?’ Letting go of the poles, she threw her hands up in the air. ‘What mad demon possesses you, Edmund? I beg you, relinquish this mad scheme!’
‘It is not mad. Indeed it is highly logical. You will not rid yourself of Sir Philip, very well, then I shall do it for you. I shall acquire a pistol, go to his house and challenge him. Do you think I should explain the situation to him? How things stand between us?’
Ella almost fainted right then and there. Only Edmund’s quick hands, which shot through the gaps in the fence and caught her around the waist, prevented her from falling.
Wait just a minute!
I was on the point of charging in. Now he definitely was touching areas he wasn’t supposed to be touching on a lady, and I had to look after my little sister, after all. But then, he had only prevented her from falling. I decided to not kill him for his insolence just this once.
‘Tell him?’ Ella whispered, obviously in no hurry to get out of his arms. ‘Are you mad?’
He smiled at her. It was a boyish, excited kind of smile that looked new on his face, which I had seen so often anxious and sad, yet it suited him well. He looked like a different person, and for the first time I began to understand what Ella saw in him, just a little.
‘That’s the second time you’ve accused me of insanity tonight, my love. Don’t let it become a habit.’
‘Be serious, Edmund!’
‘I’m absolutely serious. I don't want you to suspect me of a mental disorder.’
‘You know what I mean!’
‘Yes, I do. And I’m serious about that, too.’
‘But telling Sir Philip? After all the hundreds and hundreds of times I have begged you to keep our love a secret?’
Edmund’s smile became a trifle wistful.
‘Ah, but what is there to keep secret anymore? If I go to him tomorrow and vanquish him, then it will not matter whether or not I have told him, will it? I need to explain it to him, Ella. I cannot simply march up to him and insult him to make him fight me. I would smudge the honour of my family, which, as you so diligently pointed out, is a bad thing to do. No, I need to go to him and say: “Sir Philip, I love the girl you have set your sights on, and she loves me. I will fight for her with my last breath.” He is a gentleman. He will understand and allow me the opportunity to fight for you. Once I have put a bullet through his heart, the way will once again be free. So you see, Ella, I am not mad. I have thought this through very carefully.’
I nodded approvingly. For once, it seemed, somebody had been using their brains instead of their heart. The plan was indeed highly logical - except for one point. With unusual quickness, Ella realized it too.
‘And what,’ she whispered, trembling in Edmund’s arms, ‘if it is he who kills you?’
There were a few moments of silence. Well, almost-silence, anyway. In the distance, a dog barked with total disregard for the romantic drama unfolding in front of me.
‘I wouldn’t worry about that, love,’ he said, dismissively.
‘Not worry?’ she exclaimed, and suddenly it wasn’t just his arms around her - she was clasping him now, too. That was more like it! Finally, she was taking some action of her own.
‘Edmund, he is a gentleman! You’re a tradesman’s son. He’s been raised to shoot with guns, hunts every year and knows what he’s doing. Have you ever handled a pistol before in your life?’
‘I’m a quick learner.’
‘Edmund, tell me! Have you ever handled a pistol?’
‘Not actually, no,’ he admitted. ‘But I’ve seen other people do it,’ he added as an afterthought.
The groan that originated from Ella indicated that she thought about as much of this excuse as I did.
‘Edmund, please don't, I’m begging you!’
He shook his head.
‘I would give you almost anything you want, love, but in this I must deny you.’
‘But why?’ Reaching up, she clutched his shirt and, through a gap in the fence, buried her face in his chest. ‘Do you want to die? Are you truly mad?’
Encircling her with his arms, he drew her even closer towards himself. I was debating again whether or not to intervene - but somehow I couldn’t bring myself to interrupt them. And there was still an iron fence between them, so things couldn’t really get very intimate. ‘I have no wish to die, Ella.’