Page 73 of The Lovers (Echoes from the Past #1)

FIFTY-SEVEN

Suffolk, England

Elise felt vastly relieved when Edward finally left for Salisbury.

She tried to play the dutiful wife, but Edward’s words had cut her to the quick and left her feeling despondent and frustrated.

She wasn’t foolish enough to believe that Edward married her for love—few people of his class did.

But most couples, being put in a position where their lives depended on each other, at least attempted to have some sort of a relationship.

Edward wanted nothing to do with her; he cared nothing for her or her feelings, but he held the key to her future and legally she was his property.

She was a bird in a gilded cage, a prize to lock away in a silver coffer and admire on occasion.

Edward made it clear enough that to him she was something less than human: a vessel and a means to an end.

Elise wasn’t precisely sure when she’d made the decision, but by the time James returned from London, she knew for sure.

If her husband felt no obligation toward her, well, then she felt no obligation toward him.

Perhaps this was a radical notion for a woman of her time, but she refused to allow a man to rob her of her chance of happiness.

Edward might be her husband, and he owned her and her offspring, but he did not own her thoughts or her heart, nor did he own her loyalty.

Elise threw aside her sewing and rushed outside when she saw James canter into the front yard.

James rode pillion behind a small, tired-looking girl whose head drooped like a flower as she slept.

James said something to her, and the child stiffened, her eyes flying open once she realized that they’d reached their destination.

James dismounted and helped the child off the horse, setting her gently on the ground.

She took his hand and looked about fearfully.

“James, you’re back,” Elise cried as she approached him, but James made no move to go to her. Instead, he held up his hand to keep her from coming any closer, his expression closed. “It’s all right, Lord Asher is gone,” Elise said.

James shook his head. “Don’t come any closer. We are both fine, but there is still a chance that we might take ill. I only came to tell you that I am back. I will stay at the gamekeeper’s cottage with Mercy until it’s certain that neither one of us has been infected.”

“And your sister?” Elise asked carefully, stealing a peek at the child, who pressed herself to James’s legs when her mother was mentioned, as if trying to make herself smaller.

“Molly and Peter are not ill, but Beth…”

“I understand,” Elise replied and turned her attention to the little girl.

“Welcome, Mercy. I hope you had a pleasant journey.” Elise cringed at her inappropriate choice of words.

There was nothing pleasant about fleeing a plague-ridden city, having left your family behind.

Mercy was old enough to comprehend why her parents sent her away.

Children grew up fast, especially when sudden death was all around them.

Mercy might never see her parents or sister again, nor was it guaranteed that she wouldn’t begin to display symptoms herself, having been exposed to the sickness.

“Thank ye, me lady,” Mercy replied, her thin voice barely audible. “It was most pleasant. Uncle James took good care of me. He promised me mam.” At this, Mercy nearly began to cry, but James put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, and she got hold of herself.

“Well, I, for one, am very glad you are here, and I hope you will come to the house and visit me once Uncle James deems it safe.”

“I would like that very much, me lady.”

“Are you well, Elise?” James asked over Mercy’s head.

Elise nodded, unable to speak. What could she say?

She was well enough physically, and there was no need to tell James of the conversation between her and Edward.

He knew the truth of their arrangement and his own part in it, and he was just as bitter and angry as she was at being used so cruelly.

“I will send Peg to the cottage with a basket of food. She’ll leave it on the doorstep. Get some rest.”

“Thank you. I’ll see you in a few days,” James said as he handed Mercy her bundle and took his horse by the reins.

He wouldn’t be leaving it at the house stable, not when Edward could return at any moment.

James’s eyes softened when he took in Elise’s rounded belly, and a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he raised his hand in farewell.

“And I will see you,” Elise replied and hoped it was true.