Walking into the parlour, Edmund sighed once more. "Elizabeth Reid, if you keep twitching at those curtains then you will wear them out."
She stepped back from them and sighed to herself. Nodding her head, she took a step back and turned to face her father. She held her hands up defensively and her hair fell in soft curls on either side of her shoulders. She wore her nicest red skirt tucked into her white patterned blouse and Edmund noted that she had spent longer than usual on brushing her hair that morning, tying some of it back into a red ribbon that matched her skirt.
Her mother was in the kitchen preparing tea and Elizabeth had been pacing the parlour, waiting for Edward to make his appearance. Edmund had to confess that he himself was slightly apprehensive about meeting the boy, but he kept that to himself. He did not need his daughter knowing that. He only hoped that the boy was good enough for her. His sole concern was that Elizabeth was happy and treated well, as she deserved to be.
"Edmund, can you come and take these into the dining room?"
Elizabeth was grateful that her mother called for her father. She went back to looking outside and saw Edward approaching. Before he could knock on the door, she had run through the parlour and opened the door. Stepping outside and onto the step, she startled Edward as she pulled the door closed slightly to her. She gathered her breath and Edward's lips curled up at the sight of her.
"Everything alright?" he wondered and she nodded her head.
"Fine," she promised him, gaining her breath.
"Then why are you stood on the doorstep before I could even knock."
"I just…well…I wanted you to be prepared."
"Prepared for afternoon tea with your parents?" he checked with her.
"Yes," she said as though he had reason to worry. He resisted the urge he had to chuckle at her dramatics, but he humoured her. Instead he moved a hand to her cheek and brushed her hair behind her ear, feeling her cheeks warm up.
"You really are something," he whispered to her.
"You will understand when you meet my parents," she said. "My father can be quite intimidating and my mother…well…she…she can seem aloof, but she is that way only because of what happened. You will appreciate that this might be difficult for her."
Edward arched his brows. "I understand," he said. She had already told him all about her parents and their interesting ways. He said nothing in response to her comments, instead he changed the topic. "I will be as courteous and polite as ever, I promise."
"I do not doubt it," Elizabeth said.
"Now…can we go in?"
"In a moment," Elizabeth said and she moved on her toes towards him. Edward smiled warmly and his lips pressed briefly to hers. He pulled back just in time as the door opened wide again and Edmund stood there, noting his daughter take a step back from the young boy.
"Not interrupting, am I?" he questioned and Elizabeth shook her head.
"I was just warning Edward not to be scared of you," she teased and her father looked amused before his gaze fell onto the boy. He held his hand out and Edward took it, his grip as tight as Edmund's and he mated his handshake. "Detective Inspector Edmund Reid."
"Father," Elizabeth complained, "you are not at work now."
"Then you may call me Mr Reid," he said.
"Pleasure to meet you, Mr Reid," Edward said. "Edward Baker."
"Come in, Edward. My wife has prepared tea for us."
"Thank you," Edward said.
Elizabeth took a final breath and fresh air and stepped into the house as Edmund held the door open for her and Edward urged her inside behind him. He removed his coat and she took it from him, hanging it on the coat stand. He had made an effort, dressing in his finest grey suit with his blue tie. He had his hair neatly combed and had even shaved that morning and been grateful that he had not cut himself as he had feared her might.
"Ah, this must be Edward," Emily's voice came into the hallway.
She forced herself to smile at him and he inclined his head towards her as Edmund watched him with beady eyes.
"Mrs Reid, it has been a few years since I last saw you."
"Indeed, it has been," she confirmed to him. "You are certainly a grown man now, Edward. Please, come through and take a seat. I will finish fetching the tea in."
Elizabeth walked with Edward into the dining room as Edmund followed his wife into the kitchen. He helped her collect the plates and moved into the dining room behind her. Edward had sat down and Elizabeth next to him, the two of them talking in a hushed tone. They stopped as soon as Edmund and Emily entered the room and Emily began to lay out plates on the table.
"So, Edward," Edmund began, speaking in a deep tone, "my daughter informs me that you intend to become a solicitor."
"Indeed, I do," he confirmed to Edmund. "Well, I would actually like to become a barrister if possible. I have been shadowing one in court recently…a Mr Eagles. He is currently about to begin working on the Thomas Gower case and he asked for me to assist him in his note taking."
"Mr Eagles?" Emily checked and sat down, resting her napkin on her lap. "I attend church with Mr Eagles. He is a good man. I have no doubt that you will be well taken care of."
"Indeed he is," Edward confirmed.
"And how are your studies?" Edmund continued pressing. "I suspect you are doing well?"
"As well as I had hoped," he said, trying not to boast.
Elizabeth picked at the food in the middle of the table. She reached for a sandwich and placed it on her own plate as Edward mirrored her motions. He was usually confident in most things he did. But here he was, following his Elizabeth's lead in front of her parents. He did not want to put a foot wrong, not in front of them.
"And you reside with your parents, do you not?" Edmund continued his questioning.
"I do," he said. "We live but several streets from here. I attend to my studies when I must and help Mr Eagles on my free days when I am not in lectures. My parents support me completely in what I do."
"And are you an only child, Edward?" Emily asked.
"No," Edward said. "I have a sister. She is younger than me. She is seven years old."
"Not far from Mathilda's age."
There was silence then in response to Emily's comment. Edmund lowered his gaze and chewed on his sandwich as Elizabeth looked to her mother. Emily had her own stare on the sideboard and Elizabeth knew her eyes were focused on the photograph of Mathilda. Elizabeth should have known that this would happen. It would not be possible for her to court a man and Mathilda not be brought into conversation somehow. Elizabeth did not mind. She loved her sister and missed her terribly. She simply did not want her to be brought into conversation and instant sadness take hold of the family.
"This is a lovely spread, Mrs Reid," Edward tried to lighten the tone once more.
"Yes, quite lovely," Edmund agreed with the young boy.
"It was nothing," Emily said, adjusting the broach she wore at her neck and tucking a curl that had gotten loose from her hair behind her ear. "We simply wanted to meet you, Edward. Our daughter informs us that she is quite taken with you. She said that she wishes to court your publicly."
"And I wish to court her," Edward confirmed. "I am quite taken with Elizabeth. She is a stunning woman…truly…"
"Careful, boy," Edmund warned him, "I confess I am not used to hearing another man speak of her in such a tone."
"Father," Elizabeth complained once more and Edmund's lips quirked upwards as he taunted her and Emily caught the exchange between them. Elizabeth had always been able to get around her father, despite his stern ways. As she had grown to her teen years, she had gotten even better at persuading him to come to her way of thinking. And Mathilda would never have that. She should be here. She should be sat with them at tea, annoying her elder sister and teasing her about courting a boy. She should be there causing havoc, not without them. It hurt Emily. It caused her pain.
"I apologise, Mr Reid," Edward said, "but I confess that I am bewitched by your daughter."
"Really?" Edmund asked. "Do you not find her particularly annoying? Or stubborn?"
"Thank you, father," Elizabeth said sarcastically.
"Oh, she is stubborn," Edward agreed. "But I assume that is a trait she gets from her parents. She is a determined individual."
"I suspect that does come from both me and her mother," Edmund said and glanced over to his wife. He dared to move a hand towards her own on the table, but she pulled back and away from him. Elizabeth noted the motion, as did Edward. Neither of them said anything as Emily fidgeted with her hands in her lap.
"Has she told you about the work she helps me carry out at the shelter?" Emily wondered.
"She has," Edward spoke and Elizabeth chewed on her sandwich. "She has told me all about the children she cares for. She enjoys her time there."
"She is very good with children," Emily said with a nod. "She used to be good with Mathilda…a caring big sister…no doubt she will have a motherly instinct inside of her…a better one than I had, anyway."
"Mother," Elizabeth sighed, wishing for her not to go down this path.
"Emily," Edmund also warned her and she looked between the two of them.
"Are we not to speak her name?"
"Of course we can speak her name," Edmund responded, "but the boy has yet to meet us truly."
"But you talk about her, do you not?" Emily asked and looked to her daughter. "He knows about her and who she is. He knows how she perished…and yet we all sit here and we try to pretend everything is well…that we can welcome this boy into a caring and happy family."
"Mother," Elizabeth protested. She did not want to do this, not right here or now. She wanted this to be as normal as possible. "Of course Edward knows about Mathilda."
"Yes, of course. He was the one you snuck out to see when you abandoned her."
Elizabeth's eyes widened and her mouth went slack. Edmund shook his head at that response from his wife. The table went completely quiet and then Emily stood up as Elizabeth wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. She sniffed and her mother dropped her napkin onto the table.
"I have to go to church," Emily spoke.
"Now?" Edmund questioned. "Emily, truly?"
"Yes, I have business that needs attending to," she said and she looked to Edward. "It was lovely to meet you, Edward."
"You too, Mrs Reid."
Emily swept from the room and Edmund huffed. He moved to his feet and Elizabeth was left with Edward alone. She wiped her eyes and looked to him, trying to put a brave face on what had just happened.
"Welcome to this family," she said, voice sarcastic.
"It is fine, Liz," he whispered as they heard Edmund and Emily arguing in heated, but quiet tones. Edward tried to ignore them as he focused on Elizabeth and reached out to take her hand underneath the table. "You told me that things were not harmful."
"But I thought that we could manage an hour of tea before something happened," Elizabeth said to him. "But apparently not."
"Honestly, do not fret," Edward said to her, squeezing her fingers inside of his. "It is you who I wish to court, not your parents. This does not deter me."
"Truly?"
"Truly."
…
Elizabeth had walked Edward to the door half an hour later after Edmund had come back into the dining room and apologised to Edward on his wife's behalf. Shutting the door behind him, Elizabeth went back into the dining room and began to tidy up, her anger clear as she clattered plates together with very little care.
"Elizabeth, be careful," Edmund urged, appearing from the kitchen and she shrugged.
"Why?" Elizabeth demanded from her father. "Why can she not just try to act normal for once? Why can she not simply not mention her name for an hour?"
"It is hard for your mother, you know that she cannot push it to one side of her mind."
"And I do not expect her to, but I just want her to be able to manage one conversation without mentioning her name and blaming me in the same sentence," Elizabeth snapped.
"She does not blame you."
"Does she not?" Elizabeth snarled, moving into the kitchen and placing the leftover food onto the table and covering it. "Then why did she say that? Why did she have to remind me that it was Edward who I snuck out to see? Do you think that she has to remind me? Do you think I need any reminding? I would much rather she blamed me and be done with. Let us just be done with it."
"Your mother is not coping well. You know that. You know that she loves you. You know that she does not wish to take her emotions out on you."
"Then why does she?" Elizabeth questioned, placing the plates into the sink and dropping her hands to her hips. "I just wanted you both to like Edward. I wanted us to have a nice time, but it was too much to ask and the worst part is that I resent the memory of Mathilda…haunting us constantly…not letting us ever move on or experience anything that resembles happiness…because we cannot, can we? We cannot move on."
"One day," was all her father said to her. "One day we shall."
"But until then we live in this purgatory," Elizabeth said and she sniffed. "And you and mother continue to be at odds with each other."
"I cannot accept that she has gone. I feel it."
"I know, but I feel you live more in hope than reality, which for you is quite the novelty."
Edmund arched a brow. "You do not think her gone, do you?"
Elizabeth shrugged. "I do not know what I think," she replied.
There was silence between the two of them as Elizabeth washed the dishes and Edmund set about drying them and placing them away. They worked in silence and once they were done, he looked down to her.
"Come," he said, offering her his arm.
"Where to?"
"We are going out for air," he said. "We are not sitting and stewing in this household."
Elizabeth nodded, feeling a headache coming on anyway. She laced her arm through her father's and they left the house together.
…
Emily returned to the house late that evening. She had snuck in to find her husband sleeping in his chair. She had not disturbed him. Instead she had gone upstairs, the feeling of guilt playing on her chest after her discussion with Mr Eagles. Her daughter's room was bathed in darkness and Emily snuck into it. She said nothing. Instead she chose to lay down next to Elizabeth. Her daughter stirred on the small mattress and tried to turn to see who it was. She was barely awake, but Emily shushed her and comforted her. She wrapped her arms around her and held onto her, stroking her hair down her back. Elizabeth said nothing, deducing that silence was best at that moment in time.
"I am sorry," was all that Emily said to her. "I love you, darling…I love you so very much."
…
A/N: Do let me know what you think!