"I think my favorite color is… yellow, I suppose. Like the color of a daffodil," Bella said, looking to the side to think.
Edward watched her with a smirk. They had headed up to his quarters, which were the only spot in the house where Edward could sit with Bella and not worry about someone barging in.
At least, that was the logic that Edward had presented when he argued that they should go to his room.
Thought he had tried to convince Bella that they should lay in his bed and chat, she had firmly declined that offer. They were now seated across from each other in his sitting room, in the chairs that were on either side of the fireplace. Edward had wanted to share the coach, but she was eager to actually have a conversation. And she knew that if they sat next to each other, conversation would be the last thing on Edward's mind.
They were supposed to be planning the details of how they would go about announcing the wedding, but of course he had ended up steering the conversation in a different direction, peppering Bella with questions about her life and likes and dislikes.
"Your turn," Bella said.
"Well, it's difficult to say," Edward said, scrunching his face up in consternation. "It's a bit of a complicated shade… I think I might have to show you."
He stood up and walked towards the window, gesturing for Bella to join him.
When Bella walked over, he pressed himself behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and nestling his head into her neck.
"It's that shade of green," he said, lifting his hand and pointing at the line of trees in the distance. "Right… there."
Bella looked at the treeline and saw that it was merely an ordinary color, a deep emerald that generally fit most people's conception of "green".
She turned around and fixed him with a playful glare, "You didn't need to show me anything."
Bella turned to walk back to her seat but Edward caught her by the wrist. "I guess you're right," he grinned. "I should have just said 'green'."
With that he pulled her over to his chair, sitting down and pulling Bella on top of his lap. She made a half-hearted attempt to get up, but Edward's hands around her waist were firm.
"You tricked me," she said, gazing into his eyes with a look of mock dejection.
"No I didn't," Edward said, watching her lips. "It really is my favorite."
With that he, he put his hand on the back of Bella's head and pulled her in for a kiss. She tried to resist at first, but then she gave herself away to the delicious feeling of his mouth on hers.
They were completely wrapped up in the kiss, caught up in the moment, when Bella heard a light knocking from the door. She immediately froze, but Edward didn't seem to notice. He merely moved from her mouth to her neck, seemingly undisturbed by her stopping of the kiss.
"Edward," Bella whispered, pushing his head away. "Did you hear that?"
"No," Edward said, looking at her with half-lidded eyes before bending back down to resume his kissing.
"Edward, are you there?" came a female voice from behind the door.
Edward froze- he had heard it too.
Bella immediately stood, taking barely a second to remove herself from Edward, who looked somewhat taken aback at the speed at which his carefully maneuvered seduction had been derailed.
"Where should I go?" Bella whispered frantically.
Edward sat in the chair, and grabbed his hair uncertainly. Bella knew Edward well enough to know that handling whoever this was was the last thing on his mind right now. His thoughts were surely lagging about a minute behind, still wrapped up in their passionate kiss.
"Edward, may I come in? It's Caroline."
Edward's face turned pale and he immediately stood up. Bella's suspicion about Edward's mental state was confirmed when she saw the front of his pants, which tented out at half-mast. Bella had felt it rubbing against her as they kissed, but to see it standing at such attention, at such an inopportune time, made Bella feel conversely amused and sorry for him.
Edward looked around hurriedly. "Go into my room!"
Bella nodded, and rushed to the door. She quickly closed it, and bent down, so that her eyes were level with the key hole.
She could only see the area directly in front of her. The door was adjacent to the fireplace, which connected between rooms. Which meant she had a direct view of the seating area, and not much else.
She watched Edward let out a curse under his breath, and then he had reached down into his pants and rearranged himself. It must have been a bit of a painful process, because he grimaced as he did so.
Bella had to suppress a giggle. It was his own fault that he was in such a predicament. She had genuinely wanted to talk about what they would say to Caroline and Jacob. Edward had been the one who had steered the conversation to a discussion of personal preferences, and then to them kissing. It was his own fault that he had no idea what to say now.
"Come in," Edward had said. His voice sounded rough and somewhat hoarse- a tone Bella had come to recognize. It seemed that whenever his mast was raised, and then he was forced to speak, his voice sounded this way.
Caroline opened the door and walked in, looking at Edward a bit curiously.
"Jessica told me you would be up here, your grace," she said. "I'm sorry to disturb you."
Edward shook his head. "No disturbance. I was merely reading a book."
Caroline looked behind him at the chair, as if looking for a book. She looked somewhat puzzled when she didn't see one.
"I wanted to know what you plan on wearing to the Oglethorpe ball next week? My mother is sending our seamstress to meet me here and I wanted to pick out a complimentary color palate."
Edward gritted his teeth. The look of discomfort was plain on his face.
"Caroline, there was something I wanted to speak with you about, actually."
Caroline's face became suffused with excitement. Bella's heart fell. She knew what that look meant: Caroline was expecting to be proposed to.
If Edward had meant any less to her, Bella might have run out of the room and called off the whole thing. Even though Lady Caroline was her rival, she could still empathize with the imminent rejection she was facing from Edward.
"Of course, your grace."
"Why dont you sit down on the couch?" Edward gestured.
Bella did an inward victory dance at the knowledge that both parties would be angled towards her.
Caroline sat down and ran her hands over the skirt of her silk dress, smoothing it out. When she clasped her hands in her lap, she looked up at Edward with an expression that belied internal excitement. Bella suspected that Caroline was trying to look calm and collected, but that underneath she was brimming with emotion, mentally preparing herself for a question she had dreamed of for months.
Edward sat down next to her, placing himself as far on the other end as he could. His expression was quite serious, even a bit apprehensive.
"Caroline, there's something I wanted to speak with you about."
Caroline nodded. Her eyes were focused raptly on Edward: the expression of someone trying to take down every detail of a moment they know they will want to remember.
"I don't know quite how to go about saying this," Edward said.
"You can tell me- ask me- anything," Caroline said. Her voice sounded sweet, but her expression was severely focused.
"I just- I want to apologize to you," Edward said finally.
"Whatever for?" Caroline seemed utterly taken aback, the look of anticipation replaced with one of surprise.
"I have been courting you, and yet- I have had another in my heart."
Bella watched as Caroline's eyes widened. She could see the hurt seep in and Bella felt terribly sad for the girl.
"What do you mean?"
"I should never have courted you, Caroline. You are so perfect, in every way, and I thought maybe I could forget about my feelings for her."
Caroline looked totally taken aback, as thought she had just been smacked with a sack of fish.
She stared at Edward, unmoving.
"What are you saying," she asked finally.
"I'm saying that… I've reconnected with her."
Caroline looked as though she had been struck at this admission. The pain was etched on her face.
"And I don't think it's appropriate for us to continue to court when I am seeing someone else."
Caroline looked stunned. She turned to face forward, staring into the fireplace.
SInce the fireplace was next to the door, Bella felt eerily as though Caroline were staring towards her.
"I don't understand- how could you?" Caroline asked finally. "You knew this... all along?"
Edward paused, and some part of Bella hoped he wouldn't answer the question, wouldn't dig the knife in any further. He seemed to be debating the same thing, his eyes looking at Caroline and back at the floor: the dance of confliction.
"Since the very beginning."
Caroline looked horrified, staring at Edward with a look of disgust.
"I really thought that, if we spent time together, I could forget about her."
These words hit Bella like a blow to the heart. To know that Edward had really wanted to forget her….
"You are such a wonderful woman, Caroline. You would make any man happy. It's just that my heart is… well, it's already been occupied."
Caroline stared straight ahead, then gulped. "I see," she said, brushing out the skirt of her silk dress.
"Well, in that case, I shall take my leave."
Edward stood up. "Caroline, I am deeply sorry. I never meant to hurt you-"
Caroline held up one hand, as if telling him to stop.
"I presume you were in here with her, and you weren't reading."
Edward looked somewhat sheepish, and a bit apprehensive.
"No, I was reading-"
"She's probably in there, isn't she?" Caroline asked, shooting her eyes towards the door to Edward's bedroom. "She probably listening to the whole thing."
Bella froze, panicked. What if Lady Caroline were to march over to the door and throw it open. She had no idea what she would say if that happened. She would want to apologize, but she suspected Lady Caroline wouldn't be able to hear a word she said, she would be so flabbergasted by the maid's uniform.
Lady Caroline seemed to consider the same thing, fixing the door with a hard look. Bella felt as though Lady Caroline were looking right at her, as though she could see right through the wood door.
But after a second, she turned aside.
Edward looked nervous too, and Bella suspected he was dreading the same thing.
"I'll have my servants pack my things and we shall leave tonight." Lady Caroline said.
"Of course. Please know that you may use any of the Cullen servants, even take some with you if you need them for the journey."
"That won't be necessary," Caroline said, and began to walk towards the door.
"May I ask one thing, Lady Caroline?" Edward asked.
Caroline stopped, pausing in mid-step. Bella was surprised she would listen to Edward's request, after her coldness to his offer. Perhaps it was the plaintiveness in Edward's voice, the genuine pleading.
"Would you please keep this quiet for a few days?" Edward asked. "I merely want to be able to tell my family myself. I don't want them to hear about it in gossip."
Caroline smiled at Edward, but her eyes didn't change. "Edward, I don't know why you would think I would do a favor for you now," she said.
With that, she swept out of the door, leaving the door open behind her.
Edward walked over and closed the hall door, then walked to the door to the sitting room.
He opened it, and Bella was still kneeling on the ground, her eyes still in the place of the keyhole. Since Caroline had stared at the door, Bella felt frozen in panic.
Bella looked up at Edward from this position, and Edward's pained expression turned into a mischievous smile.
"Well, that's one way to make me feel better," Edward said.
Bella looked up at Edward from her knees. "What do you mean?"
Edward shook his head. "I'll explain it to you later."
He reached down and pulled Bella up.
"That was awful," she said.
Edward nodded. "I've never had to do that before- end things with anyone."
"Not in all your days of womanizing?" Bella asked. Her tone was joking but she looked directly into Edward's eyes. She wanted him to know that she had heard of his reputation.
Edward seemed somewhat taken aback.
"And where did you hear about that?"
Bella shrugged. "We talk, amongst the maids."
Edward's smirked, looking almost as though he were replaying some old memory.
"No, I never stayed with anyone long enough to necessitate it."
Bella raised her hand and gave Edward a playful tap on his arm, chiding him for the hearts he must have broken in the past.
Edward pulled her flush against him, stopping her movement.
"So now," he said. "It's your turn."
Bella gulped.
"Time to pay a visit to the stables," he continued. "I wonder if dear old Jacob is expecting me."