A/N: Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. All characters belong to Stephanie Meyer
And the plot is over all Carla Estrada's. I tweak it a lot for the story to flow faster though.
Marriage of Hate
Chapter 7
Edward Cullen POV
Due to some robberies going on in Willlow Estate, I would need to travel back up to sort it out. When I first started working out my fathers properties, I found in the accounts that he was paying a pretty high quote to the police enforcement of the area. I was confused as to why he would do that. The police gets paid with taxes so there was no need for them to be paid a cent more. Since I stopped paying the quote, I'm sure they're trying to teach me a lesson. If I need to clean house and get new workers because the current ones are being paid off, that's exactly what I'd do.
Currently in the office of my manor I can't help but to think back to what has happened in the last couple of days. Sometimes I would like to ask the next person I see if they could politely pinch me so as to help me realize if I am in fact dreaming or not. My life was becoming a whirlwind and very fast. Sure, having two gold coins to rub together now is what you may assume is what is making me so feel like I'm having an out of body experience but how wrong you may be. I couldn't help but to think of that innocent young girl who I now had the permission to court. Her father had made it very clear that he gave me full permission to court Bella as long as it was what she wanted. Of course I couldn't agree more. He had let me know he would never force his daughter into marrying especially for money. He expressed his daughter had no price and I felt myself grow a very soft spot for General Charles in my heart. I couldn't wait to declare my feelings to her and see if she felt the same way in return. I would like to head over the Swan home to have a talk with Isabella Swan this evening. Bella.
I was startled out of my thoughts by Thomas' frantic knocking.
"Come in" I yelled.
"Mr. Cullen, there's a riot out on the street! It seems that the soldiers are causing mayhem. There are people panicking and some are actually being hurt" he explained quickly.
I didn't wait; I got up and made my way out to the streets. There were people running everywhere. The ladies selling fruits and vegetables in the middle of the town park were frantically trying to gather their products before it was all spoiled. Children were crouching on the side of buildings trying to stay away from the stampede of horses running by with the soldiers on top. I made sure to yell at them to keep doing what they were doing until it was safe for them to run back home.
I didn't know what I was looking for. Perhaps I was looking for a very injured person to tend to. But then there in the middle of the street being tripped by people running in a panic was Bella. I felt my blood run cold when I saw her disheveled appearance. She along with the people around her was panicking and trying to get away from the turmoil. I made a dash towards her but wasn't able to get to her on time before she was frightened by a horse galloping too close to her. She fell and lay lifelessly there on the dirt road. When I got to her I picked her up and turned her over. It seemed she had fainted. I put one arm under her back and tried my best to put my other arm under her knees because her petticoat was making it difficult. I picked her up looked around to see where her maid was but could not locate her anywhere. What in the world was she doing out by herself so early in the day? I looked down at her face and saw how frightened she must have been. Just by looking at her I could tell she had been very distressed. Tears were still staining her cheeks and she had a scrape on her lower jaw and on the tip of her nose. My poor angel.
I quickly made my way to the manor where I had my medical supplies. I wasn't sure how hurt she was and needed to make sure she didn't break anything or sustain any internal injuries. I took her straight up to my room without really thinking. I laid her on my bed and ordered Margarita to heat up water and told Leonor to take her clothes off while I went to get my supplies. I washed my hands and grabbed my medical bag. I then ran back into my room.
When I was back in the room Bella was face down on the bed with a white thin sheet covering her. As I was taking out some alcohol Leonor spoke.
"When I was taking her clothes off she woke up very disoriented but fainted right away again".
"Did she say something?" I asked her.
"No. Nothing." She said.
"When the water is ready bring it to me please. Oh and can you tell Thomas to let the Swans know that Isabella Swan is here being looked over." I told her.
"Very well Sir" Leonor said and left the room.
I didn't know how hard it would actually be for me to tend to Bella. I pulled the white sheet back and my heart started beating a lot faster. I felt my palms begin to sweat. I wanted so bad to ignore the fact that the girl that has been in my thoughts non-stop was actually lying on my bed in just her under garments. I had to get over it though because I wanted to look for any serious damage. I was finally functioning again after the shock of seeing the porcelain skin of her back.
I was wiping down a bad scrape she had on her back when she gasped and was awake again.
Gasping she spoke "Oh my!" she was breathing hard. "What happened?"
"You sustained a few scrapes but it's nothing serious so far. Lay still I need to apply this lotion to the large scrape on your back" I spoke sounding more sure of myself than I really was.
"But where are my clothes?" she was now holding the sheet tightly to her chest.
"My maid took them off of you." She finally turned to look at me and gasped even louder than before.
"You!" she sounded almost appalled.
"Don't be frightened. Remember I'm a doctor." I tried explaining.
"This is so humiliating" she cried.
"Please stay calm Bella. I've operated on people and seen more than you think. But rest assured, you're privacy has been respected." Maybe I said the wrong thing because she was now crying uncontrollably. Leonor was all of the sudden back in the room and I hadn't even noticed.
"Here's the water sir" Leonor said.
"Thank you Leonor." I went ahead and started cleaning the scrapes on Bella's arms. Perhaps the pain is what was making her so uncomfortable.
"Does it hurt unbearably?" I asked her.
"No, it's not too bad." She responded.
"Then tell me what is making you cry. I want to help you" I told her softly.
She turned to look at me and seemed to be lost in thought. "I'm sorry. It's just I'm so embarrassed Edward." She turned around crying all over again.
Sigh. She was really hard to understand.
"How about you tell me what it was you were doing out all by yourself? Why didn't your maid accompany you?" I decided to try to take her mind off of the shock of being in her under garments on my bed.
She started stuttering. "Uh-uh I-I-I was viā¦sitting a f-friend. I wanted to surprise her actually".
I don't know why but she seemed to be telling a lie. I don't understand what it was she would have to lie for.
"Either way, it was not prudent on your part to leave your house by yourself. Please be more careful in the future." I said to her.
"I can take care of myself Edward. I'm not some fragile porcelain doll." Wow. She really didn't realize how un- intimidating she is. I tried to not laugh. I didn't want to set her tears off again. She really believed she was a fierce tiger when all I really saw was an angry kitten.
"What happened today then Bella? Care to explain how you managed to scrape yourself all over if you can take care of yourself?" I asked.
"Today was merely a very unfortunate accident. Don't you worry yourself about me though" she still sounded upset. I don't know what it is I did but she seemed to be in a contradicting mood all of the sudden. One minute she was a damsel in distress the next a debating champion. I loved it.
"If you say so, I'm going to give you some medicine for the pain or any discomfort you may be feeling and something for you to calm down. You're mood swings are scaring me quite frankly" I tried to joke. Then I noticed she was crying again. My goodness, now what? I decided to just let her cry it out.
"Did you see how I cleaned the scrapes on her arms Leonor?" I asked.
"Yes sir" she responded.
"In the same way I want you to clean the scrape on her thigh. Then apply the lotion when you're done. Please be very gentle" I implored.
I left the room quickly. Hopefully it would help Bella calm down.
I was changing my shirt when Thomas knocked on my door to let me know Renee Swan was here along with her sister Winifred. I poured myself a cognac and downed it. I felt I would need it. Women could be very over dramatic. I could only imagine Renee knowing her daughter was hurt.
As soon as I walked into the sitting room Renee jumped to her feet.
"Edward! Please tell me she's perfectly fine" Renee asked.
"She's fine. She just sustained some minor scrapes and bruises. She's being tended to by Leonor. She fainted most likely from the surprise and fright so I brought her here because it was obviously closer." I explained to her.
"Can I see her?" asked Renee.
"Of course. You're in your house. We can just take the steps right out here up." I told her.
"It was a blessing from the heavens that you just so happened to be out at the same time as Isabella. You can't imagine how thankful I am Edward" she was saying while walking out.
"There's no need for that Mrs. Swan" I responded to her.
When we reached the door I knocked and Bella yelled.
"Just a minute! Who is it?"
"It's me angel, your mother" answered Renee.
Leonor opened the door and Renee and Winifred walked right in. Leonor walked out because I'm assuming they told her they were fine without her assistance.
Later on that same evening my friend Benjamin Cheney arrived to the manor. Bella had left with her mother and aunt but I wouldn't let them leave if they didn't use one of my carriages. I would carry Bella on my back if need be. Of course Renee accepted without missing a beat so off they went.
I had dinner with Benjamin and we discussed our trip back to Willow Estate. I decided I could never leave knowing Bella might need medical attention or for any reason that involved her. I would send a letter to Tanya giving her my condolences. I would let her know what her new role at the estate would be consisting of and that she would be staying in the main mansion. I promised her she wasn't to feel abandoned because as long as she was under my care she would be like a part of the family.
Benjamin had agreed with my decisions but decided he would travel up anyway. He will be going to interview new accountants. At the moment Tanya was taking care of it but the job was not that of a lady's. He would be leaving early in the morning so we decided to go to bed early that night. The next few days would surely be agonizingly slow what with Bella being injured. I didn't want to disturb her early on so I would wait a couple days before visiting her. I couldn't wait to see her again. I made up my mind and didn't want to ever have to stay away from her again so next time without a doubt I would speak to her about my intentions. Hopefully she accepts, because at this point I don't know what I would do if she were to reject me. My thoughts and heart had invested so much into her already.
