As Edith walked into the foyer, she thought how do you tell your husband that you have fallen in love him and want to be his wife. What would Anthony say if she marched into his study and just said the words? Most likely he would look at her in disbelief and then play twenty questions with her completely ruining the mood.
No, you dope, she thought, you are going to have to go at this in a different way, but how?
Well, she might flirt with him a little. That would catch him completely off guard , considering the fact that she hardly talked to him at all. But he would probably think she had caught some kind of a fever because he knew she would never act flirtatious and coquettish around him; not after the way she had been acting all these months.
She sat down on one of the benches and looked around the foyer. She was proud of herself, she had worked hard on refurbishing all of the main floor rooms. Well, all of the rooms except Anthony's sacred library, and the downstairs washroom. She got up and walked toward each one. The drawing room and morning room were the ones she was most pleased with. They were now bright and airy. The heavy drapes had been replaced with lighter fabric ones that were tied back at the windows allowing the sun to shine in. All the furniture had been cleaned and fabric replaced where needed. Too bad we never have any visitors, she thought glumly as she walked toward the dining room.
Opening the door she looked at the polished table and chairs with their new upholstery. She had chosen a tapestry pattern and had picked up the green from them for the new window treatments, This was indeed a lovely room, but so large. She and Anthony ate in here every night. It was oppressive. It was the largest room in the house, not small and intimate like the other rooms. It was so formal, a hard place to talk and relax, not that she ever felt like relaxing around him, until now.
Suddenly she smiled and headed downstairs toward the kitchen. She found Mrs. Bass and Oakley just getting the afternoon tea tray ready, and they both jumped when she sat down on one of the kitchen stools to tell them about the changes she wanted to make starting tonight, if it was okay with them. To her surprise, they both agreed. With just she and Anthony, the changes would be good for the staff as well. They would get done earlier and have more time for themselves. She waited downstairs with Mrs. Bass as Oakley took the tea tray upstairs.
"I made Sir Anthony his favorite cookies for tea, Milady, "she said to Edith.
"You spoil him Mrs. Bass; you , Oakley and Mrs. Sloan. But I know he deserves it." she smiled as she headed up the stairs.
Mrs. Bass just looked at Edith. Her haughty ways and the way she treated Sir Anthony when she first arrived had not gone unnoticed by the staff. But suddenly here she was making some changes that would be a benefit to all. Maybe his good, gentle nature was starting to rub off on the high strung Lady Edith. Maybe she was starting to change. She hoped so, their Sir Anthony deserved only the best.
Edith reached the foyer just as Oakley was leaving the library. She still had on her trousers and sweater. She wanted to see Anthony now and not waste time going upstairs to change her clothes. Running her fingers through her hair and tying her scarf around her neck she breezed past Oakley and entered the library.
"Hello there! "she said as she sailed in and sat down at the tea table.
Anthony's head snapped around. Is she talking to me? he thought. He knew she was pleased with her new car, but normally she wasn't this friendly. He could tell by the way she was dressed that she had been out walking, but usually she changed her clothes when she joined him for tea. However, he enjoyed looking at his lovely wife in her trousers and sweater, a sweater that left nothing to his imagination. He felt a familiar stirring in his groin, one that he seemed to get often lately when around her,
Get a grip old chap, he thought.
Well, I might as well start now, she thought. Hopefully he will like the changes.
"Anthony, what would you think if we changed things a bit and ate our meals in the morning room? The dining room is so large and oppressive, and since we don't entertain, I think it is pointless for Oakley to set the table each night. The morning room is closer to the kitchen stairs and much friendlier. And I would like to change our dinner time from 8:00 to 6:30. Eating so late gives me a headache and I am too tired afterward to read, knit, or do anything else. "
He sat there just looking at her –mesmerized.
"By eating earlier, we would have time after dinner to do something amusing. We could play cards, cribbage, or checkers. I might even give in and play you a game of chess, although I have to admit I doubt I could stand playing it for more than an hour or so. "
"Also, we wouldn't have to change for dinner. Frankly I am getting tired of it. Changing clothes is such a bother and unless we are going someplace it is a complete waste of time and energy, Of course I understand if you would want to change yours, especially if you were out working around the estate all day, but no suit. You look nice in casual clothes, you know trousers, shirt and sweater.
As she handed him his tea and passed him the cookies she noticed that his face was a blank stare. Waving her hand in front of his face, he blinked and looked at her.
Where in the hell did Edith go and who in God's name is this? He asked himself.
"So what do you think?" she asked him as she bit into a cookie.
"You want to play cards, cribbage or checkers with me after we eat an earlier dinner in the morning room and not change clothes but eat in the ones we have on most of the day?"
"That's about it. We are going to start tonight , so don't eat all the cookies!"
Suddenly regaining his faculties he said, "Wait a moment, why start tonight? Shouldn't we ease into this a little at a time?"
"Anthony, everything in this house has moved at a snail's pace for-ev-er," she said emphasizing the word forever, as she waved her hand in the air to the beat of each syllable. "Believe me , I think you will like the change. And beside I think it will be healthier eating earlier and not going to bed on such a full stomach, " she said as she finished her cookie and took a sip of tea.
"Don't you remember what you said to me when you were telling me all the reasons why I should marry you?"
"I said many things, but why don't you remind me, "he said, and the humor in his voice did not go unnoticed by Edith.
As she refilled his cup she said, "You stated very clearly that I would have a house to run and you to boss around. Have you forgotten?"
"No, I remember everything I said to you that night," he said as he shifted in his chair, crossed his legs and fixed her with his signature stare.
"Well, that particular phrase is what caught my attention and stayed in my mind. If you don't want to try anything new that is fine with me, but starting tonight I am going to eat dinner in the morning room and I will tell Oakley to set a single place for you in the dining room. While you are eating at 8:00, I will be in the drawing room knitting, reading, or playing solitaire.
She didn't like it when he stared at her, at least not before now. Somehow she felt like a bug under a microscope and suspected he was undressing her with his eyes. Well if he is, she thought, I hope he likes what he sees. And to her surprise, she didn't blush.
Edith watched him carefully. She knew he was thinking all this over. Anthony wasn't exactly a spontaneous type of man. Everything he did was always meticulously thought out. This was a huge change in routine for him, but she wasn't going to back down.
"Well, while you are thinking all this over, I need to show you something. "With that she wiped her hands on her napkin and put it on the table. Jumping to her feet she left the library, but not before asking him not to go anywhere.
Anthony was perplexed. What had happened to her? Did she fall down and hit her head on a rock or something while on her walk? She had actually smiled at him the entire time she was rambling on about these changes. And, she was flirting with him. He liked her like this, relaxed, happy, and for lack of a better word, womanly. He knew that the refugee fundraiser was going to be a challenge for her, maybe even throw her back a bit, but if making these small changes at home would make her happy like this, then he would gladly change anything for her.
Coming back into the library, Edith laid down a paint and fabric sample in front of him.
"This is the color I would like to paint the washroom on the main floor and this is the fabric I would like for the swag at the window. What do you think?" she said as she grabbed another cookie.
"It's purple, "he said as he held up the paint sample and there was mirth in his voice. "Since you seem to remember everything I said to you, I distinctly remember asking you not to paint anything purple."
"This isn't purple. It is the color of the skin on a plum, anyone can see that. I am going to have the painters mix a little white in it to soften it a bit, and when it is on the walls of the washroom and this beautiful swag at the window, it will be a lovely room to use. Not sterile and white like it is now."
Not getting an answer she left the samples with him and headed for the door. Stopping at the door she turned and gave him one of her beautiful smiles and with laughter in her voice said, "Anthony you never disappoint me. You have now confirmed what I have suspected all along, that all of your taste is in your mouth. I hope to see you at dinner – 6:30 in the morning room," and with that she turned and left the room.
Anthony sat there in deep thought. Whatever had happened to her since their arrival home from Ripon was a miracle. Gone was the snarky woman of yesterday and the many days before, and in her place was the woman he always knew was underneath. It had been a most unusual day so far. He would eat dinner with her at 6:30 tonight and agree to the plum color paint. Two could play this flirting game and if he had his way, and played his cards right, tonight just might be the beginning of something wonderful, he hoped.
