Title: Scandalous

Summary: When he asked for her hand, she refused him. Now a scandal throws her on his mercy, will he marry her or leave her to her fate? Will she let him?

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Twilight.

Chapter Three:

It was three days later that he saw Bella Swan.

It was a tense meeting, each sitting formally in the Swan family garden. The weather was somewhat favorable, a cloudy sky provided a break from the season's heat, though humidity was high and the air was thick with the promise of rain. Wind, uneven and occasionally worked up into strong gusts, brushed through the lush trees overhead and provided much of the soundtrack.

They had exchanged polite greetings, busied themselves with getting tea and commenting on the tempestuous weather. Now they sat silent, and it was not comfortable.

Edward was nervous. He was busy observing, watching the way Bella spent time looking at her tea, the window through which Renee sat in the sunroom, even the flowering bush to his right. But never at him, she had looked at him very little in the twenty or so minutes since his arrival.

Bella cleared her throat and observed the bush intently. "How is your sister?"

"She is well." Edward sipped his tea, eyes steady on her over the cup's rim. "She has begun preparing for the Mallory's ball."

The grimace on her face made him smile.

"Already? That's nearly two months away."

He nodded. "She says she's determined to—and I quote—knock Miss Mallory on her flat face."

Bella snorted, then shot a hand to cover her rapidly blushing face.

"Well better her than me. Though I'm surprised she even wants to go after last year." She paused, fiddling with her teacup nervously but continued before Edward could ask what she had meant. "That's one thing good out of all this. . ." she waved her hand around them, eyes flashing to his for the first time since they'd come outside, ". . . mess. I'm fairly certain I won't be receiving an invitation this year from the Mallory's."

"You could come with me." Edward felt his face flush immediately from his thoughtless invitation. "As my . . . guest." He ducked his own eyes away now, missing as she turned to him.

There was an awkward pause before she finally responded.

"No thank you, Edward." Her voice was quiet, he noted, though he had to guess at her expression as he kept his eyes trained firmly on the foliage. For a long moment neither of them spoke. His offer and her rejection both taking them to other, similar issues.

He wondered absently if there was anything he could get her to say yes to at this point.

The sound of rustling skirts had him peeking at her from the corner of his eye to see her shifting uncomfortably in her chair.

"I should enjoy the perks of my shaming after all," she smirked slightly, eyes flicking to his face for a second. "And it is had to consider missing a full night with the Mallory's as anything but a perk."

Edward managed a smile at that, though it twisted his face unnaturally. If he was thinking clearly he would have agreed with her assessment of the upcoming ball and it's true merits. All he heard was her refusal of his company.

He finished the remaining tea and bid his goodbye.

A short one, I know, but finals are finally over and I expect to get back on track with the once a week updates from here on out!