Twilight One-Shots

Mystery Partner ~ One

In turn-of-the-century London, Edward Cullen, one of the most eligible young bachelors in the capital, is told that he is to marry Miss Isabella Swan, daughter of Sir Charles Swan. Edward is determined not to sentence a young woman he's never met to marry a man she doesn't love. Isabella is furious with her father for selling her away to her soon-to-be husband when she wanted to marry for love. But upon meeting, both realise that the potential match isn't so bad after all.

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A/N

This is a one-shot, and but will be split into parts for ease of reading. However, I used it mainly to get my fanfiction juices flowing again after all this writer's block I seem to be suffering from. *sighs* I hope you enjoy this one, and all feedback is much appreciated, as always!

Lucy xX

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Time: AH, turn-of-the-century London

Type: Fluff, small amount of drama

Rating: PG-13

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Edward Anthony Cullen Esquire, amongst the most eligible bachelors in Victorian London, slammed his fist into the expensive mahogany table, making his mother jump in fright. Lord Cullen, however, remained unflinching as he levelled his hot-headed, twenty-four year old son with a disapproving look.

"I am not doing this!" Edward hissed, paying no attention to his untamed bronze hair as a strand came to rest over one eye.

His father raised an eyebrow. "Do you think you have such a say in the matter?"

"This is my life! Not yours! I've never even met this woman!"

"Edward," his mother implored him. "Please, sit down."

Reluctantly, Edward did as she said, always unable to upset his mother for long.

"That's better," Lord Cullen said. "Now, perhaps we can discuss this in a more civil manner."

"I will not condemn myself and this lady to a future that neither of us wish for," Edward said firmly. "That's all there is to it."

"What? Are you saying you want to marry for love?" Lord Cullen laughed. "Love does not last, Edward. It is a fickle thing, between young people. Love grows. Any two can learn to love."

Edward couldn't believe what he was hearing. The nerve of the man! "And yet," he said, cool and daring, "I believe, sir, that you married for love rather than for money."

Lord Cullen paled very slightly, but seemed otherwise unperturbed. "I shall not deny it." He clasped his wife's hand across the table. "But our marriage was not without support and encouragement from our families."

"Still, you wish your only child to marry somebody he knows nothing of?"

Lord Cullen closed his eyes momentarily. When he opened them again, there was a new resolution in them which Edward didn't like one bit. "You will meet her, in a fortnight. You will dance with her, you will charm her, and you will marry her."

"Women are not animals with which we may do as we please!" Edward burst out, causing his mother to gasp at his bold words. "Times are changing, sir, and quickly. Already there are movements amongst women campaigning for equal rights - just for the right to vote. Merely because they are, physically, the weaker sex, we have spent centuries using them like slaves. It is our purpose to protect them and to love them, surely, but to shun them and toss them aside? For their purpose merely to be to have children and to raise a family while we as a race have achieved so much is cruel. Women have as much right as men do."