Chapter 13
Kate wished more than anything that she could have followed Edwina and talked to her about what she had seen, but Kate's shift at Aubrey Farm was about to begin, and she couldn't exactly leave. However, Kate doubted she would have known what to say to Edwina about what had happened if she had followed her.
"She hates me," Kate said miserably to Anthony as they watched Edwina in Mary's car practically peeling out of the car park. "I don't know how I can talk to her about this."
"She had to find out eventually," Anthony said to her fairly, and Kate looked over at him. "And you have nothing to be ashamed about – we haven't done anything wrong."
"I know that," Kate said sadly, looking down at her hands. "Objectively, I know that. But I still feel bad that I'm hurting my sister – she hasn't done anything wrong either."
"I know," Anthony said compassionately, and he pulled Kate into his arms for a comforting hug. She willingly went into his embrace, feeling soothed by his warmth. "I know this situation sucks. Would you like me to be with you when you go and talk to her after your shift?"
Kate pulled away so she could gaze up at him hopefully. "Would you do that for me?"
"Of course I would," Anthony smiled at her reassuringly. "This is clearly important to you, and I think it's imperative for Edwina to hear from me how I actually feel about her. As awkward as it may be, there's really no point in skirting around it anymore."
Kate felt a strong fluttering in her chest as she smiled at Anthony, and she leaned forward to capture his lips with her own, surprising him.
"Thank you," she whispered after she pulled away, her heart warm as she looked up at him. "This means a lot."
Anthony clearly looked pleased that he had made her happy, and he leaned in to kiss her again. Kate kissed him back, placing her hand against the side of his face and caressing his cheek with her thumb as she did so.
"Kate… oh!"
Kate and Anthony jumped apart, looking over to see Mrs. Danbury standing right outside the main building. She was staring at the two of them, clearly not having expected to see the two of them locked in a romantic embrace.
Kate looked away, feeling her face burn with embarrassment after being caught kissing Anthony for the second time in under five minutes.
"Kate, we're opening up soon. Could you do your usual checks on the horses?" Mrs. Danbury asked, offering her a small smile as she glanced over at Anthony. "I would suggest Mr. Bridgerton could help you, but I don't want to encourage my employees to be distracted from their duties right before business hours."
Kate wished she could sink into the ground. "Yes, ma'am," she said. She could practically hear Anthony trying to hide his smirk from beside her.
Mrs. Danbury gave them both a scrutinizing look, though Kate could detect a small smile on her face, before she turned and headed back inside.
"Oh my God, what is wrong with us?" Kate hissed the moment she was gone. Anthony chuckled.
"Relax. I think she's happy for us," Anthony said. "And what is she going to do? Fire you for kissing the owner?"
"No, but it will make working with her really awkward," Kate insisted miserably. "God, I wish I could redo this whole day already."
"Hey," Anthony frowned, rubbing his hand along her arm. "Everything will be alright. I know you're mostly just concerned about Edwina, so I'll come back after your shift and give you a lift home so we can talk to her together. Does that sound good?"
Kate did feel a bit better by his reassurance, and she smiled slightly at him. "Yeah, it does. Thank you."
"No problem," Anthony smiled, leaning forward to give her one more kiss. "I'll see you this afternoon."
"Yup. See you," Kate agreed, and Anthony gave her one last smile before he turned and headed back through the barn toward the car park.
Kate watched him leave, unable to help feeling nervous, but also extremely grateful for the fact he was coming back later. She knew that Edwina's feelings definitely complicated things between them, and while Kate would have rather avoided such an uncomfortable situation, she felt Anthony was worth the potential fallout.
He'll always be worth it, she couldn't help but think with a smile to herself.
~/~
The farm was busy today, so Kate was distracted by working with the horses and giving riding lessons to the customers who were scheduled for them. Thankfully, Mrs. Danbury was kept busy most of the day too, so Kate didn't have to talk to her about what she had seen between her and Anthony that morning. Finally, Kate's shift was over, and she soon saw Anthony's SUV pull into the car park, ready to take her home.
And talk to Edwina.
Kate took a deep breath before approaching his car, readying herself for the inevitable.
"Hi honey. How was your day at work?" Anthony said jokingly as Kate sat down in the passenger seat, closing the door behind her.
"Exhausting," Kate said truthfully. "It seemed as if everyone and their mother wanted a riding lesson today."
"It's the end of summer, what do you expect?" Anthony shrugged. "Do you have your bike with you?"
"I left it on the bike rack," Kate said. "It's too much of a hassle to put it in your truck, so I'll just walk back here tomorrow or hitch a ride with Mary to get it."
"I could alway give you a ride too," Anthony said fairly. "I'll never make you walk three miles to work."
Kate couldn't help but smile. "Thank you."
"You're very welcome," Anthony smiled back, pulling out of the car park and onto the road.
"So what did you do today?" Kate asked as they drove along.
"Had some scheduled calls with my property managers, and reviewed all the financials for Aubrey Farm," Anthony said. "Just boring, land owner stuff, y'know."
"What a terrible burden you bear," Kate teased, and Anthony grinned.
"Someone's gotta do it," he said. "So are you ready to talk to Edwina?"
Kate grimaced. "No. I still have no idea what I'm going to say to her."
"I'm sure we'll figure something out," Anthony said fairly. "And she already knows the truth about us, so we've got the hardest part of the conversation out of the way."
"I suppose so," Kate said, gazing out the window. The two of them stayed silent for the remainder of the short journey home. Anthony pulled up into Kate's driveway, and Kate saw Mary's car parked in front of the garage door.
No going back now.
"Ready?" Anthony asked, glancing over at her with his eyebrows raised.
Kate sighed. "I suppose so."
They got out of the car and walked up to the front door. Kate's heart pounded in her ears as she opened the door and they stepped inside.
They saw Mary sitting in the living room watching TV, and Edwina was nowhere to be found. The smell of dinner cooking wafted from the kitchen, but even the delicious scent of her stepmother's baked chicken couldn't distract Kate.
"Kate," Mary looked up and smiled in surprise when she noticed Anthony. "Anthony… this is a pleasant surprise."
"Hello, Mrs. Sharma," Anthony said politely. "How are you?"
"I'm very well, thank you," Mary said, getting to her feet. "I hope you'll stay for dinner tonight."
"We were actually hoping to have a word with Edwina right now," Kate said before Anthony could respond. "Is she here?"
Mary blinked. "She's upstairs, I believe. She came back from Aubrey Farm this morning and she's been in her room ever since."
Kate and Anthony exchanged a glance, the concerned frown on Kate's face obvious.
Mary gauged their reactions, and gave her daughter a suspicious look. "What did you do, Kate? Is Edwina upset at you for some reason?"
"Sort of," Kate said uncomfortably. "I just think we need to talk to her, that's all."
"Of course, but do I need to have a word with you first?" Mary asked, raising a stern eyebrow at Kate, crossing her arms like she did whenever she was upset at one of her daughters.
"She hasn't done anything wrong, Mrs. Sharma," Anthony defended her, and he looked a bit embarrassed.. "Kate and I, er… we've started seeing each other."
Mary's expression turned from suspicion to surprise as she stared at them. "Oh?"
"Yeah, and Edwina found out, and I don't believe she took it very well," Anthony continued, and Kate could feel herself blushing as she avoided her mother's gaze. "We were hoping we could just talk to her and perhaps clear the air."
"Well… I guess that explains why she's been holed up in her bedroom all day," Mary said, slowly uncrossing her arms. "I don't mean to pry, but I've been under the impression that Edwina has been quite taken with you, Anthony, since your family moved in next door."
"Yeah, we know," Kate said defeatedly. "Do you think we could talk to her, just for a few minutes?"
"There's nothing to talk about."
Kate and Anthony turned around to see Edwina standing near the top of the stairs, clearly having heard the latter part of their conversation. Her expression wasn't heartbroken: she looked rather stoic and emotionless as she regarded the two of them.
"Edwina," Kate said, taking a step toward her. "There you are."
"Yeah, I've been in my room," Edwina said, taking a few steps toward them before stopping halfway down the stairs. "What do you want?"
Kate stared at Edwina, trying to gauge her emotions, but she was giving nothing away. "We, er… we wanted to talk to you. About what you saw this morning."
"Right," Edwina nodded, looking over at Anthony and giving him a scrutinizing look. "So how long have you two been together, then?"
An awkward silence reigned for several seconds, and Kate had no idea what to say. Finally, Anthony cleared his throat. "It's, er… it's pretty new. But we swear, we weren't trying to hide it from you, Edwina."
Edwina snorted. "Yeah, clearly," she said sarcastically, looking over at Mary. "The two of them were making out in the middle of the paddock on Aubrey Farm. It was in broad daylight - anyone could've seen them."
"Edwina," Mary said sternly. "You're clearly upset at them, but they've done nothing wrong."
"I'm upset that they've made me feel like a complete idiot," Edwina argued, anger finally registering on her face as she glared at her mother. "Kate knew how I felt, and I was led to believe I knew how Anthony felt too… but clearly, everyone has been perfectly okay with lying to me this whole time! Everyone thinks I'm just a stupid kid who can't handle the truth."
"Edwina, we never intended to lie to you," Kate insisted. "And neither did Daphne. Before you saw us this morning, I had every intention of talking to you tonight after my shift. I'm just sorry that it played out this way."
"Yeah, I'm sorry too," Edwina said, giving her sister a cold glare. "And you know what? You and Anthony can do whatever you want. You can date, fall in love, get married, have babies - whatever. Just do me a favor and conduct your relationship away from me so I won't have to see it, alright?"
And without waiting for a response, Edwina turned on her heel and headed back up the stairs to her room.
A/N: Oh Edwina :/
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