Good morning, everyone, and hello to all the new readers!

Here's an important note:

Edward will seem bitter here. Please remember, we're living in very different times now. Victorian men very rarely married for love, in fact, in the upper-classes, it was almost unheard of. Marriages were mostly arranged and were almost always about business, money, and most of all, connections to your class.

Also, men (of pretty much any class) had very limited experience with their own children. The lower-class men worked an obscene amount of hours and were not around much. Upper-class men (and women) also rarely saw their children as they were either in the nursery all day or when older, in education.

I've made the Cullens (Carlisle and Esme especially) a little different, as they spend a lot of time with their grandchildren, but this usually never happens.

I've prattled enough, shall we get on with it...

It was in the ballroom that Victorian society was on its best behavior. Everything there was regulated according to the strictest code of good-breeding, and as any departure from this code became a grave offense, it was indispensable that the etiquette of the Victorian ballroom was thoroughly mastered.

...

September 28th, 1843

Master Edward Cullen

I had just returned from my meetings with the bank in town and I would now be able to spend some time with the children before I was expected to return to town for the foreseeable future.

I happily walked through the house and straight to the nursery where I knew I would find the children at this time of day, smiling as I went.

"Daddy!" Charlotte cried out as Henry, her little brother, laughed a contented noise as he knocked over his large tower of wooden blocks.

I did love them, fiercely, but it still hurt to see them without a mother. That thought had plagued me since the night of the heated argument between myself and my brother.

Two nights following that, I had sadly, but determinedly, removed my wedding band and placed it in my study drawer with a letter written to my children. When they were old enough, I knew that I would hand them that letter, and the band, and would make sure that they knew I had cared deeply for their mother.

It was the least I could do when she had given her life for them.

I spent some time in the nursery with them while my mother prattled on about seeing some villager earlier on in the day.

I'd learned a long time ago to tune out my mother's musings about people in the small village and their daily trials and tribulations.

If life was so hard for them, make them work harder. You got nothing in this life unless you gave it your all. I knew I sounded bitter and maybe I was.

My father often used to say that life is what you made it and I fought against that every time the words were uttered.

Sarah gave it her all and she'd fought until the end.

But in the end, God had won.

Now I was a widower with two young children and a business to run.

On top of that, when it was time, I would not be Edward Cullen anymore, but Lord Cullen, second cousin to the Queen, and with that came huge responsibilities.

I knew that it would be expected of me to marry again and as much as I hated the idea, I could not be Lord Cullen without a wife by my side. Well, I could, but it would not be seen as a 'proper' thing to do and I would be expected to go to town when the season started back up … to find a wife.

Despite what was expected of young ladies, in my experience, not one of them stuck to the rules of society and more often than not, leered and fawned over men with their eyes. I had rolled my own eyes several times as women looked at me like a meal ticket, with their fans waving and eyelashes batting.

The words my brother said to me not so long ago had come back to haunt me in my dreams and I was exhausted.

If I wasn't dreaming about faceless ladies, I was dreaming about Sarah.

She bore me two children and died not long after giving birth to Henry. They said that she had been exhausted and an infection had set in and with the influenza that was rife, she stood no chance.

Everyone told me that it was God's will and in those first few months, all my faith had left me. Why would God take Sarah, of all people, away from her children? If he were such a loving and caring man, why would he wish to cause so much pain to so many people?

I remembered asking the vicar those very questions and all he could reply, was that it was God's plan, and we were not to question it, but to have faith. How could I have such faith when my children had lost their mother and I had lost a friend and someone dear to me? It did not make sense and through my pain, I turned my back on the church, and God, for a time.

To shake me from my thoughts, I took the children from mother and rode us into the village, much to Charlotte's amusement.

…

After buying the children a few trinkets and books in the village, I left them in the care of Betsy and went in search of a good book in my parent's library.

I knew that father was busy with the tenants and I didn't want to disturb him, so I just kept to myself.

I did not know why, but I found myself restless as I gazed upon his collection in the library and I could not, for the life of me, find a book to take me away from this world. That is what I loved about reading so much. Any book, as long as it did not involve business, took me away from the stresses that reality gave me. The pages would whisk me off to somewhere new each time, a different world than mine. It gave me a break and sometimes I needed that so much.

By the end of the day, I was still restless, and I had a meal in the kitchen, much to the staff's dismay, and then readied the children for bed.

I did not interact with my parents at all, and as much as I did not like that thought, I knew that I needed some space from them. Father would often try to involve me in some sort of business or hunting talk and while mother would talk less, her kind looks, and sad expressions hurt my heart.

I found it hard to settle in bed that night, and I could not pinpoint why, but I was hopeful that I would shake my mood by morning.

…

The following morning, I saddled up my horse and went on a hack through the woodland near home. I ended up traveling as far as the next village over before I made my way back as rain clouds hovered in the distance.

I laughed and smiled as we jumped fallen logs and cantered through shallow streams. I loved the freedom that the horses gave me, and it did not matter what direction I headed in, it was away from the stresses in life.

After both I and the horse had our fill of freedom, I dismounted my horse at the rear of the property and was pleased that I had made good time before the rain clouds hit us.

Once the horse was stabled and free from his reins and saddle, I made my way into the house, finding it eerily quiet and went in search of somebody, anybody.

I found Cynthia in the kitchen where she was cooking breakfast and she was shocked, no doubt, to see me up and dressed so early, and most probably windswept to boot.

"Cynthia, have you seen mother or father?" I asked as I walked over to the large pot cooking on the stove. Mmm, it smelled divine.

"Not since daybreak, Sir," she replied with a small curtsy and I left the room once I'd grabbed a slice of ham, causing her to giggle a little.

I finally found my father in the nursery with the children, and he informed me that my mother was out in the village.

I rolled my eyes again. I loved her sweet and giving nature, but these people would take everything they could from her. I was all for helping people, but mother had been spending a lot of time out of the house recently and I did not want these people taking advantage of a good woman.

"She does it to feel good about herself and doesn't expect anything in return, Edward," he chastised me lightly as I told him my feelings on the matter. "And now that you're home, you must ready yourself for the small ball in the village later this eve," he chuckled as I shook my head.

"I am not a man with very high standards, father, but the village ball?" I asked jokingly. Village balls were so less refined than in town, and most of the time they were good fun, a chance to relax from the rules slightly, but they were very small and stuffy.

"Yes, so be ready by seven." He tried to sound stern, but I saw the smile play at the corner of his lips.

…

With my trousers in place, I pulled on the white bibbed shirt and reached for my double-breasted waistcoat.

I hated dressing so formally, but I didn't have a choice. If mother and father expected me to go, I couldn't turn them down.

I may have been nine and twenty, but I was living under their roof and while I was here, I was to do as they said.

When I was fully dressed, I made my way down into the library to read for a while before hunting out my family.

I knew that Jasper would be attending tonight and as much as I loved him, I knew he would cause trouble.

He always did and I resented him, I will admit that.

"Edward, I will not press anything on you, but I would like to introduce you to a young lady tonight. It is for no reason other than finding her a suitable place for her to learn about business. Her mother is gravely ill, and she knows that she will have to change things when her mother passes. There is no way in which she can run the farm and provide for herself," mother said gently as we walked towards the carriage.

Father was already seated in the carriage and now I knew why. He had informed me that Jasper would meet us there and he wanted to give my mother the chance to corner me.

"So why do you not employ her as your maid or find a similar position for a young girl of her age?" I asked, taking her hand and helping her into the carriage.

"Because she is better than that. She is intelligent, kind, sweet and she needs more than to rattle away in a large house. And in any case, your father has made arrangements for her to stay on at the farm, but to change how it is run. We just need you to help her with the business side of things, like bookkeeping and such," she answered sternly.

I knew that mother had asked me this as a way of a favor and I should not have been so harsh, but helping a lady, a farm girl at that, learn a business was unheard of! People did not like educated women. It was as simple as that.

I agree that men found a well-read woman, who could lace and needlepoint, a very good thing. Especially if she knew a language or two, but that was to make him look good, not because the lady in question was thought more of due to her education. An educated woman could be a dangerous woman if you gave her the leeway to do as she liked.

"I love you dearly and cherish your views, but please do not press me to help with business affairs, and with a lady at that. It is a man's world that I work in and it's no place for a lady." I said firmly in reply, feeling somewhat bad and not meeting either of my parent's eyes.

…

The village hall was small and suffocating.

It was cramped and extremely loud as people danced raucously and laughed loudly over the beautiful music that was being played.

The noise quieted down as we made our presence known, but did not stop in its entirety.

It was not often that our whole family was in attendance here and although Jasper wasn't here yet, he would soon make his presence known.

Glancing round, I was shocked to see that Jasper was indeed already here. He was sitting in the corner of the hall with a young girl, talking quietly while she kept her head down.

That was a change.

He smiled sweetly at her, picking the petals from a flower as they talked.

He was so calm looking and that was completely out of character for him, he was normally three sheets to the wind by now.

Maybe this girl had possibly had an effect on him.

All he needed to remember now was that he should not have been sitting on his own with her.

Even you think it's hard for equal rights as a woman these days, it was nothing compared to life in the Victorian age and a lady wanted to be a businesswoman. It was very rare indeed. No one ever took them seriously and Edward knows this.

The next chapter... Edward and Isabella meet! If I can manage it, I'll post it later today, so I don't keep you waiting!

xxx