Midnight Rain:

Chapter 66: Will James Call Off the Engagement?

The Danbury estate.

Edwina sat in the window, looking out at the night sky as she feared that her engagement would be over this night. She did not look away as there was a knock on her door that was left opened.

"Edwina?" Kate called, stepping a bit into the room as Edwina finally looked over at her, then looked away.

"Ever since the earl has been courting me, I have sensed you were not being entirely truthful." She scoffed, shaking her head as she looked back at Kate. "And now I know I was right..." She scoffed as the sisters went quiet for a couple of seconds, before Edwina scoffed at Kate's sudden silence. "This business with the Sheffields and their fortune, you did not trust me enough to tell me what was really going on." Edwina scoffed at her.

James's London estate.

"Are you alright, Brother?" Elijah asked, walking into the drawing room as he saw James standing by the window with a letter in his hand.

"He will come for Evelina's wedding to a mere viscount to walk her down the aisle, but he won't even make an appearance to his own son's wedding." James scoffed, throwing down the letter onto the sofa as he wiped his face, still thinking about what happened with Kate.

"Are you surprised?" Elijah asked, moving to pick up and scan over the letter. "He has done this your entire life..." Elijah sighed, looking up at his brother.

"No, he hasn't... He was there for me when he loved our mother... once." James sighed, looking out the window.

The Danbury estate.

"I am truly sorry, Bon, for keeping both you and Mama in the dark. After Appa died... I took it upon myself to manage our affairs. I wrote to the Sheffields, and after learning of their stipulations, I saw an answer to all our troubles. I thought I was doing the right thing by keeping you free from this burden. But you must know, it has weighed on me every day..." Kate tried to explain as Edwina stood up.

"I am not a little girl anymore, Kate." She scoffed at her sister. "I am a grown woman now, ready to be a wife." Edwina said, but she was only eighteen.

But things were different back then.

"Yes." Kate nodded. "Yes, I know." 

Edwina sighed, looking down, before trying to regain composure after the evening they had. "If Lord Hanover does not wish to end our engagement... then the Sheffield fortune would not matter, would it? Once I am married to the earl, there will be ample funds to provide for all of us. He is as generous as he is wealthy. I am sure the earl will provide for you and Mama too." Edwina said, so sure of her opinion of James.

Blissfully, unaware of everything between James and Kate.

"He... He might. But-- But, Edwina, this should not be your burden."

"What burden would it be to marry the person I love?" Edwina asked her with a scoff.

"You love him?" Kate asked, feeling awful.

"Watching how nobly he defended us at dinner tonight, how could I not?" Edwina asked, rhetorically. "I want nothing more than to be his wife. His countess. But he will have to forgive us." She said, before braving a smile. "Do you think he will?" She asked her older sister.

"That I do not know..." Kate sighed, feeling at a loss of words.

Edwina just nodded, walking past Kate and down the hall.

~season 2, episode 5: "An Unthinkable Fate"~

~575 words~