Victoria assured her, “Yes, this is what I want.”
It was, she told herself. She would be foolish not to go. Absolutely foolish. She knew was Emily was thinking…that she should want to stay back with Edward, but Victoria knew she should not entertain such a notion. She would not be one of those women who pined away for a man who did not want her. She would take hold of this chance with both hands and continue to live her life as fully as possible.
Even if that meant living it without Edward.
***
Edward
When he finally reached the townhouse, Edward could hardly keep himself from rushing inside. He did his best to maintain some level of dignity and decorum, but the moment he stepped through the door, he immediately set out to find Victoria.
He had missed her so much. It was as though he had left a part of himself behind with her. He needed to find her so he could tell her about his meeting with his parents and ask her the question that had been burning with him all week.
“Edward! You are back!”
Coming to a stop, he turned and found Emily leaning out the drawing-room door. She was smiling and hurried out to give him a tight hug. Edward held her close, happy to see her but impatient to find Victoria.
When they parted, he held Emily’s shoulders and said, “I am happy to see you, Emily, but can you tell me where Victoria is? I need to talk to her immediately.”
Emily’s brows shot up, and her lips curled up into a wide smile.
“Oh? What do you need to talk to her about?” she asked, her voice tinged with delight.
Edward rolled his eyes. “That is none of your business.”
“She is my friend and nanny,” Emily insisted, her grin still firmly planted in place. “What if it is not something I approve of?”
“Emily, stop your teasing,” Edward growled. “Where is Victoria?”
Sighing, she declared, “You are no fun! Very well…she took Lily to the park. Lily likes to visit the pond and feed the ducks. I would guess that is where they will have ended up.”
Edward knew exactly where that was.
Nodding, he gave her a kiss on the cheek and hurriedly said, “Thank you, I will be back shortly.”
She shook her head and chuckled but let him go. Edward hurried back out of the house. Not bothering to try and order the carriage back around, he made for the park as quickly as he could without running and making a spectacle of himself. When he reached the park, he allowed himself to break into a light jog.
The pond was not too far inside the park, and he reached it within minutes. Gazing around, he quickly spotted Victoria and Lily standing with a small flock of ducks. They were feeding the birds with bread Victoria had stashed away in a little sack that she held out so Lily could grab the chunks herself.
Edward started toward them, his heart pounding with anticipation and anxiety. As he neared, Victoria looked up and spotted him approaching. Her eyes lit up, and her lips curled into an immediate smile. She quickly contained her enthusiasm, shifting her expression to one of polite pleasantness.
“Lord Harford, you have returned,” she said when he reached them. Her formal greeting caught him a bit off guard, and he felt a spike of worry.
“Indeed I am,” he nodded.
“Uncle!” Lily exclaimed, launching herself at him and giving him a big hug while nearly knocking the air out of him. “Where did you go? You did not say goodbye!”
“I am sorry for that, Lily,” he told her, patting her on the head. “I had to go see your grandparents to discuss something very important.”
“What was it?” she asked.
He gave her a warm smile. “I will tell you in time, sweetheart, but first, I need to talk to Miss Clifford. Go back to the ducks for a bit, yes? But stay away from the water.”
“All right,” Lily nodded with a grin. She let him go and hurried back to chase the ducks around. When she was a short distance away, Edward turned back to Victoria.
“I have something I wish to talk to you about,” he told her in an earnest tone.
She furrowed her brow as if confused. “What is it?”
