I'm sorry! I was alerted of some historically inacuate information so I just changed it… I did send the next chapter to my beta so it will hopefully be up by tomorrow… maybe tonight if you're lucky!
Ok, so here is the updated version of chapter UNO! Please, R&R! Oh and please look at the poll on my profile… many thanks to those who have already voted BUT it's a four way tie lol. SO PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE vote. Oh, and Angela will be my Alice in this story… for reasons that you do not need to know!! I feel special keeping secrets… So before everyone starts reviewing saying "ANGELA IS OOC!" I know that, but I want Bella to have a hyper friend and for reasons I do not feel the need to explain Alice is not here right now.
For all your informations… I'm going to put every other chapter in Edward's POV, just so you know. I think that, not only will it make the story longer, it will make it FAR more interesting. Enjoy. Oh, and it will make the prologue happen… he he
Disclaimer: (I'm going to repeat them until I get finish the old ones)
Me: I own Twilight/New Moon/Eclipse! MUHAHAHA! That means no more Edward for anyone but ME! I WIN!!
Edward: No you don't!! Stephenie Meyer owns me!
Me: NOOOOO!!
Edward: Yes.
Me: Fine, I may not own it but I own Eragon/Eldest and the Harry Potter series! I WIN! YOU LOOSE! A MINI WAVE IN CELEBRATION OF ME!!
Edward: No, you don't own those either.
Me: I hate you almost as much as I love you!
Edward: sexy chuckle
Me: (Faints) (Gets up awkwardly) I will get those rights somehow. AH HA! I know exactly what I'm going to do.
Please, no flames. If you have anything bad to say… try and give me advice instead.
Summary: Bella and Edward are living in the early 1800s. They meet and hate each other immediately. But do they really hate each other? Right when everything seems to be going right, everything goes wrong. Will Edward and Bella ever be together? Will an unlikely ally save both of their lives? Vampires come in later…
Song of the chapter: Bed of Roses by LeAnn Rimes
Chapter 1; Bed of Roses
"Bella! Mistress Bella! Miss Angela is in the foyer!"
"I will be up soon, Martha." I called. Martha was my favorite handmaid. No, not handmaid, friend. She was the one person that I could share my feelings with, that I could admit all my masked insecurities to. Then a knock came at my door and I could hear Martha's unmistakable voice through the maple.
"Bella! I have given you long enough! Miss Angela, please. Miss-"
"Bella! You come out of that room now!" I flinched at the tone Angela used. She pushed her head through the small space between the door and the wall, allowing me to see her hurt expression. "We have not been together in ages Bella! We must have a day on the town!"
"Very Well."
"I do have a condition Bella." Angela's voice was gruff and disapproving.
"A condition?" My voice rose to a higher octave.
"Well, Benjamin will be in town for only a fortnight. And, well, I thought that maybe you would meet this man. He-"
I cut her off. "Angela, no! Not another suitor! Please stop trying to start a romance between me and one of Benjamin's colleagues!"
"Bella! Edward Cullen is a rich man! You know your family needs money, Edward can give them that! Five thousand pounds a year! Imagine!"
"Oh, yes, five thousand pounds a year! Oh, he is rich then? Well, then forget personality. For five thousand a year it would not matter if he had warts and a leer!" (I couldn't resist)
"You know that that is not the meaning I intended!" She sounded offended.
"I know," I sighed. "Very well. But please, do not do anything rash!"
"Oh, Bella. When have I ever done anything rash?" But before I was able to answer Angela was slipping out the door onto the Grand Staircase, laughing softly to herself. Martha looked at me with sympathetic eyes as she was pulling down my sleeping gown. She still made no motion to start a conversation with me as she pulled on my corset, my dress following soon after. I gave her a questioning glace but she just gave me a glare in return.
"Martha? Is there something wrong?" I couldn't help the slight annoyance from entering my tone. What had I done? Did I offend her somehow?
"Oh, Bella how can you waste your life without a husband?" Martha sounded disapproving and slightly angry.
"How exactly does that involve you?" I instantly regretted snapping at her as her face fell and she stormed out of my room.
"Martha! Martha!" I tried to call to her, but she did not respond. I sighed, I must learn to control my anger. I looked at the door for a few seconds before opening it and going out onto the Grand Staircase. I looked around the hall, finding no sign of Angela.
"Angela?" I called, trying to find where she went.
"I will be there in a moment!" I heard Angela's voice from somewhere distant, but suspiciously in the direction of the kitchen. I decided to find out what Angela could possibly want in my kitchen so I crept quietly through the hallways until I reached the kitchen foyer. I looked inside, only to see Angela looking through the pantry.
"Angela? What are you doing?" Angela jumped, surprised that I was in the room with her, and turned to face me with a guilty look on her face.
"Oh, Bella, I did not hear you coming." Such a surprise, I smirked.
"Angela, what are you holding behind your back?" I walked toward her and tried to reach for what was behind her back but she moved so that she faced me. She looked like a child caught eating sweets before supper.
"Why, nothing at all Bella!" Her voice was innocent, much too innocent. I made a quick grab and stared incredulously at the object I found in my hand.
"Bread? Angela, why are you eating bread? It is not noon yet!" Her mouth formed a chagrin as I stared at her, not understanding.
"Well Bella, we will be going to lunch with Edward and Benjamin. You know how I hate to eat in front of them." The look on her face was priceless and I couldn't help bursting into hysterics.
"Well, it's not that amusing Bella!" Angela sounded annoyed, but that only added to my laughter.
"I'm s-sorry!" I tried to apologize while laughing, but gradually I was able to compose myself, but not without smirking at her.
"Get that smirk off your face, let's go." She was still angry and that made the smirk turn into a real smile.
We headed into the garden toward her manor where we would apparently find one of Benjamin's carriages waiting for us. Angela and I, well we weren't rich. In face, we were lower middle class. Not quite in poverty, but not living well either. We walked in silence until Angela could not take it anymore and started chattering about Benjamin. They had met in the market, where Benjamin just happened to be looking for 'decorative' fruit.
The scenery around us was beautiful. Cornwall truly was wonderful in the spring time. The trees around us had started to blossom and wildflowers had started to grow. I smiled as a butterfly went past me. I loved spring, it was my favorite of all the seasons. Winter was too cold and summer was far too rainy.
"'Ello Misses!" The cab driver greeted us as we came around to the door of the coach.
"Hello." We climbed into the spacious carriage and smiled at each other. Angela was very lucky, to find a man this rich. I knew that if I could not marry for love I would die an old maid, a burden on my parents. Angela was also very fortunate in another aspect; she loved Benjamin. Angela was marrying for love. Though I would never tell her, I was extremely envious.
The ride was short, only twenty minutes or so. As I watched the scenery, I could not help but feel envious for the children reading in the gardens of the more luxurious manors. They all had it quiet easy, everything was perfect for them. For me, nothing was perfect.
Benjamin was waiting for us outside his extremely large mansion, smiling as Angela stepped out to meet him. I followed behind, greeting him politely but otherwise staying silent. I gasped at the appropriate moments as he gave us a tour of his manor, smiling all the while, but I could not help but notice a man standing in the corner, watching us. I could see his profile, but nothing else. He was standing in shadow, facing toward us. I could not help but think that his eyes were on me, it made a shiver run up my spine.
"Bella?" Angela's voice pulled me out of my thoughts and I turned to her, finding both of my company staring at me.
"Yes?" I could feel my cheeks growing hot and an embarrassing blush lighting my face. I noticing this and it only made me turn a darker shade of red.
"Benjamin asked you about your thoughts on the manor." Her voice was annoyed, she was glaring at me.
"I absolutely adore it! Benjamin, why do you not stay here more?" I looked away from a seething Angela.
"The manor may always beautiful, but I find that Cornwall is not. In the winter it is quite dreary. The country is much more diverse." I smiled at him, agreeing entirely.
"Benjamin, when is Edward arriving?" Angela had a wicked smile on her face that obviously alarmed Benjamin as much as it did me. I snickered at him as he struggled to answer, thinking that she was plotting something against him.
"He is here now, can I ask of your intentions?" His voice was higher than usual, as he looked down at his smiling fiancée.
"Then let us go eat!" Angela practically dragged Benjamin and I to the dining room, leaving us to give each other questioning looks the entire way.
"Kathryn! Please send for Edward!" Benjamin's voice was practically a squeak and I could not help laughing at him. Angela, though she looked harmless, could be actually a little frightening at times. Although most people would find this odd or annoying, I found it endearing. Her anger added to my laugher, the looks on others faces as she glared at him was always entertaining.
As we entered the dining room Angela set us in our proper seats. I was sitting beside Benjamin with Angela sitting across from him. I smiled at her, she thought it improper for a wife, or fiancée, to sit beside their significant other.
As Edward entered the room, I could do not but stare. He was perfect. He had untidy bronze hair that seemed to shine in the light. His eyes were a bright green, it looked as though they were glowing. His clothes were elegant, but simple. They but hinted at their cost, as though he did not want much attention to be put toward his clothes. His features, while not perfectly angular, where as straight as I had ever seen. I smiled at him, and his flawless lips formed a beautiful crooked smile in response.
"Hello." Edward's voice was loud as though he was talking to the entire company, but his eyes were only for me. I blushed scarlet and quietly greeted him. His voice was so soft, so musical. It was slightly rough, but in a way that made his voice that much more irresistible. I looked toward the mantle over the unused fireplace, distracting myself. But even as I was not looking at him, I could feel his gaze upon my face. I flushed again, trying to lower my face so my hair could hide my red visage.
I looked to Angela and she was smiling a large, wicked smile. Her eyes darted between Edward and me, seeing the obvious connection. Benjamin did not seem to notice though, as he started a conversation with Edward, not feeling tension in the slightest.
I was lost, not listening to the conversation of the others. How could I let a man affect me in this way? I could feel my hands becoming slick with nervous sweat. I have seen attractive men before, though never of this degree. My eyes, as if on their own accord, flitted to Edward every few seconds. At times he would meet my gaze and I would flush, turning away. Other times he would be talking, his face turned toward Benjamin. The way his mouth moved made me stare. His eyes would smolder at times, making him, if possibly, even more handsome.
"Miss?" I turned my head toward him, looking into his eyes. "You must be Isabella Swan, is that correct?" He smiled at me as he saw my eyes panic. I felt unable to answer a question as simple as my name, and that worried me.
"Yes, but you may call me Bella if you wish." I tried to give him a confident smile and noticed with pride that his eyes became slightly glazed over. This could not be my doing! My thoughts were frantic, how could I have an effect on a man so beautiful?
"Thank you Bella." He then turned away from me, continuing the conversation he had interrupted by asking for my name. I decided to listen in, if only to hear his voice.
"I believe that she was a fool. Love doesn't happen that way." Edward's last sentence intrigued me, who could he be talking about?
"Her books are fascinating. Pride and Prejudice was absolutely excellent. It displayed love and loss." Benjamin's voice was indignant, frustrated. As if they were having a heated argument over an important political candidate rather than books.
"Are you speaking of Jane Austen? Oh, I adore her books!" My voice was excited. I truly did love Jane Austen's work. As Benjamin said, it truly did speak the truth about relationships. They did not always go as you expect them to, but sometimes you just need to live through the hard times because in the end it could be worth it.
"Her books are utter madness. She believes that love always conquers all, but doesn't she know that sometimes people cannot marry for love? Doesn't she know that life does not always go as planned?" He looked at me angrily as if he expected me to argue with him further.
"Love can conquer anything. If we put all of our heart and soul into a relationship we will be able to see the answer to most problems!" My voice started to rise as I finished my statement.
"How is it you know this? Have you ever been in love?" He was stubborn, and as much as I was starting to dislike this man, I could not help but again notice how handsome he was.
"Have you?"
"I have known people who have been in love and it only leads to heartache!"
"Your acquaintances are not the entire world! Love may not work for them, but that does not mean the rest of us should not try!"
"It is a wasted effort!"
"Not always!"
"Name one instance!"
"Our mothers and fathers!"
"My mother and father are separated!" (This is a story… remember that…)
"Well if they were as stubborn and bitter as you I can see why!"
"You are intolerable!" He gave me a glare as he exited the room and I gave a sheepish smile at Angela who was staring open mouthed at the middle of the table.
"Excuse me." I pushed my chair back and made my way toward a empty guest bedroom on the first floor.
Me, intolerable? He is the most selfish, undeserving, stubborn man I have ever had the displeasure to come in contact with! Just thinking of him makes my blood boil. Of all the nerve!
There is one thing that I know for a fact. One thing that will never change for as long as I live.
I hate Edward Cullen.
How did you like it? A good first chapter, eh? I HOPE SO! Please R&R and I'll update as soon as I can… but if you review I may be able to spend some extra quality time with my computer… :D
The next chapter will be the meeting in Edward's POV! Enjoy!
Ciao,
Carly Rae