My darling,
I sometimes wonder what we will ever do without you or what would we have done for the future. I received the money you sent a few days ago, and I am glad to inform you that we have paid the complete fee for Sara’s correspondence course, and I have a hefty amount saved up for Andrew’s education as well. Things are only getting better from–
Edward stopped reading, completely confused, wondering if his suspicions were right, considering those happened to be the names of Ophelia’s siblings. He picked up the envelope and noticed Ophelia’s name written, realizing that a letter addressed to her had accidentally made its way onto Edward’s desk.
He knew he should not have read it, considering it a huge invasion of privacy. Although, he had only done it subconsciously, simply following a routine.
But the part he had read was enough to tell him all he needed to know. Ophelia was clearly working to support her family, and Edward’s heart sank, realizing the hard work she put into her work every day. She had only been kind and loving towards Amy since the first day and had been providing her with affection and love that only a mother could ever provide.
And all this time, she had been away from her own family, missing out on the love they had to give her.
It pained Edward, and he knew he needed to do something about it.
“I cannot let her efforts go to waste,” he whispered to himself, unable to remove Ophelia’s face from before his eyes.
She had been asking him to be better with Amy, and all of it had been out of completely unselfish reasons. She had simply wished for Amy to have a better childhood, and Edward had been nothing but distant and problematic. He had been so wound up in himself that he had refused to take care of the needs of a little girl. A child.
The daughter of his very own sister whom he loved very much.
He sighed deeply, resolving to be better as he certainly could not go on disappointing Ophelia anymore. He had to become better and work as hard as she worked since that was the only way to be. If she could make an effort, so could he. He had to.
I have to stop being this selfish.
But the only thought that troubled him was his guilt. He was surrounded by the guilt, which consumed him and forced him to stray away from Amy. Only if his guilt disappeared one way or the other, he knew he could be a better uncle to Amy.
“I will try. I will,” he reassured himself, resolving to truly do it with conviction.
He quickly closed the letter, placing it back inside the envelope, knowing he had violated enough of Ophelia’s privacy and no more was necessary. In fact, he simply wrote down her house address, deciding to pay his solicitor a visit regarding the matter.
He only wanted to help Ophelia, and he must find out more about her before he could go ahead with that.
Although, he knew he would find a way to help her. One way or the other.
Edward quickly wrote down the address from the letter, deciding to pay a visit to his solicitor.
Chapter 19
Ophelia made her way down the staircase as silently as possible, not wishing to wake anyone up at that late hour. With her sleeping robe tightened around her, she wondered why she had not been able to sleep during the night. Since the morning of the carriage ride just a few days ago, she had been dreaming of Edward and waking up from that dream just the same.
It was terrible.
Especially now that she had to attend balls with Rosalina and Edward, which went on till late in the night, and she lost most of her time to rest anyway. Ophelia could not help feeling exhausted, every single joint in her body aching.
“I hope some warm milk will help,” she whispered to herself in the empty hall, noiselessly walking towards the kitchen.
The entire house was immersed in darkness, only a few candles lit up here and there. Although, after being there for several weeks now, she was as familiar with the London townhouse as she had been with the country house. The servants here were just as welcoming, but everything was different in London, and Ophelia had not been able to make her place with the servants yet.
She was just seen as Amy’s nanny, a station above them, rather than an equal.
As she neared the kitchen, she heard someone talking inside; all the lights still lit up even though it was well past midnight. Wondering who might be inside, she hid by the door, trying to listen.
“Don’t you miss what the house was like earlier? When everyone used to be here?”
Ophelia recognized it as the voice of the elderly cook. She was a friendly woman but a notorious gossiper, and Rosalina had warned Ophelia never to reveal any private information to her if she wanted it to remain a secret.
“Lady Margaret, you mean?” Ophelia’s eyes widened as she realized it was none other than Mrs Connor, the housekeeper.
Everything she had heard about the servants in London being filled with information about their employers was proving to be right. Gossiping had still been common in the country, but Ophelia had never seen the servants, especially Mrs Bailey, involved in it as extensively as the servants in the townhouse.
