Looking at him, she realized that she would accept Percival’s marriage offer, if he chose to make one. Far from it that she loved the man. She was not even in love with him. Her heart had absolutely no reaction to him, but indifference. But that could be a good thing. Whatever he did, he would never have the power to hurt her emotionally.
As for Alexander, she needed to save him as much as she needed to save herself. By not making herself a burden to him any longer, their lives would be saved. Only, she would be alone in making that sacrifice… as she had always been.
Chapter 10
As soon as the earl’s carriage pulled over at Marjorie’s house, she could see that her friend had been waiting outside. Marjorie didn’t wait for the earl to do the polite thing and open the door for her. Instead, she jumped out of the carriage and rushed to her friend.
“Why are you waiting outside, Edith?” Marjorie wondered, and a few moments later, the earl appeared behind her.
“Your Grace,” Edith curtsied, then her attention switched back to her friend again. “I wanted to catch you immediately when you returned. I was speaking with Mrs. Lowell, and she told me that there was a bright circle around the moon the previous few nights. You know what that means.”
Marjorie certainly did, but Alexander jumped in instead. “Whatdoesthat mean?”
Edith gave him a puzzled glance. Marjorie then explained. “Mrs. Lowell is very good at predicting the weather. She uses her observations, and something called an indicator journal, to tell what the weather will be like. She follows the moon, the clouds and of course, the wind. According to her journal, if there is a circle around the moon, stormy weather will follow shortly afterwards.”
As if on cue, all three looked up at the sky. Somewhere in the distance, thunder rumbled.
“It seems that Mrs. Lowell is right,” Alexander observed. “It is good that we ended our stroll when we did, so we can all hide away in our homes for the night.”
Marjorie looked at Edith. They exchanged a significant glance, one that Alexander obviously did not understand.
“Not everyone is as fortunate as we are,” Marjorie noted.
“Indeed,” Edith confirmed. “That is why I came rushing, because we do not have a moment to spare. We must get going immediately.”
“Yes, absolutely,” Marjorie agreed immediately, throwing a glance at the door. “I shall just inform Annie that I shall be out for the night, and to expect me in the morning.” Then, she turned to Alexander, dismissing him. “Thank you for the stroll, Alexander. And for the ride home. Good night.”
He looked as if she had spoken to him in a language he did not understand a word of. “Wait, wait,” he urged, lifting his hands in the level of his chest, as if surrendering. “You will be out all night?”
When he said it like that, it sounded outrageous. She dared not even imagine the images that were swarming inside his mind at the mention of a young lady staying out all night long. But in her defense, he obviously had no idea what she was planning on doing. She wondered if he would even care.
“Yes,” she nodded matter-of-factly. “Someone must.”
She was in no mood to explain. Every second counted, because the storm could start any moment, and the poor orphans would all get soaked to their skin. She dared not even think of all the illnesses they could catch in wet clothes, out in the street on a still chilly spring night.
“Now, Edith, let us go inside and tell Annie– “
“Wait, Marjorie,” he called out, and she could hear genuine concern in his voice. Spending almost her entire childhood on the ruthless streets of London taught her to be very observant when it came to the tone of people’s voice. She could tell immediately when someone was saying one thing, but in fact meant another. This time, that wasn’t the case. “Is there somehow I could help you?”
She turned to him, incredulous that he was even offering. Then even more incredulous that she believed him. “It is not me who needs help,” she told him, concern reverberating in her voice.
“Then who?” he asked. He demanded to know. She could see it in the way he was staring at her that she could not tell him to just turn around and go home. To be quite honest, they needed all the help they could get.
“We need to gather all the orphans who usually sleep on the street, and we need to find them accommodation for the night. Otherwise, there is no telling how many of them will get soaked to the bone and end up catching their deaths.”
At the mention of the word orphan, his breath shortened. She wondered if he knew even a part of what it was to be an orphan. Could he even tell what scarring those children had on their souls, in their hearts, not only on their bodies. She knew well.
Suddenly, he took her by the hand. It was an electrifying touch, one that woke up all her senses, tingled every inch of her skin, rendering her paralyzed. Even if she wanted to pull away, she would not be able to.
“Let me come with,” he urged. “I want to help.”
Marjorie glanced helplessly at Edith who seemed to smile at the scene unraveling before her, as if she knew something neither of them did.
“All right,” Marjorie finally spoke. “Let us just go inside to inform Annie not to worry.”
* * *
If Alexander said that he never noticed the little urchins begging on the streets, he would be lying for he certainly noticed them. And not only that, but he had also been warned numerous times to steer clear off them, so like many other gentlemen and ladies, he did exactly that. They were just nameless faces with no past or present, and certainly no future. As such, they were of no concern to him.
