A/N: My Chapter. It's short and sweet, but I still like it.

Edward continued to stare at me in open-mouthed, wide-eyed bewilderment. He blinked several times very quickly, and I watched as his eyes flickered back and forth between both of mine before his brow furrowed in frustrated consternation. I had obviously caught him off guard, and he was obviously struggling inside, completely at a loss for what to say to me. I would love to have been able to disregard that fact on account of his surprise, but if the obvious response didn't immediately come to him . . . well, obviously I knew the answer to that particular question.

The sharp pain of rejection twisted in my stomach like a knife, and though I knew it was an irrational reaction, there was nothing I could do to rid myself from the pain of it. This was worse than being whipped or beaten; worse than any other sort of pain or torture imaginable. Because there was one simple fact that I could no longer ignore; that no matter how far we had come, Edward and I could never be together. He could not love anyone, let alone someone like me. And honestly, how could I have expected any different?

Fresh tears stung horribly at my eyes but I closed them tightly, ashamed. I would not let him see me cry. I would wait until later, when I was alone. I took several deep breaths to calm myself before opening my eyes again, and when I did, Edward's deep emerald ones were on me. He took in my red eyes, my desolate expression, and his face fell. He could see that he had hurt me, and his eyes begged for me forgiveness. Yet, he still couldn't bring himself to say anything.

I shifted my face to the side and closed my eyes again, not able to look at him anymore. "Please just take me home," I whispered quietly.

Edward frowned, but nodded stiffly. I trailed several steps behind him as he led me through the now dark and empty square. Even once we were back in the carriage we didn't say a single word to each other. I sat curled up in the far corner on the seat opposite from him, staring out the carriage window at the heavy rain drops that had started to fall. I could feel Edward's eyes on my face the entire way, but I couldn't look back at him. I took slow, deep breaths to calm myself and keep myself from crying in his presence.

Edward unexpectedly grabbed my hand tightly in his as he led me from the carriage. I irrationally felt the need to pull away, but I found that I was too exhausted, both emotionally and physically, to fight against him. He pulled me through the front door of the house and straight through the foyer, completely ignoring a very confused looking Alice, who took one look at my tear and dirt streaked face and immediately demanded to know what was going on. Edward deliberately side stepped around her without a word, and I could still hear her yelling behind us as he dragged me up the staircase.

Once we reached the upstairs landing he headed toward the bedroom as I expected, but he surprised me by taking an immediate right and instead leading me into his large master bathroom. He let go of my hand so he could cross the room and turn the handle all the way to hot on the large claw foot tub, and then abruptly pulled his shirt up and over his head. I instantly felt my face heat up and my eyes widen. My gaze flickered between Edward and the tub several times before I felt my face get hot again, remembering the last time we had been in here together.

Edward crossed the room again, this time coming to stand before me. He fingers went to the buttons at the front of my dress and immediately started unbuttoning them. Panic started to bubble in the pit of my stomach. Surely he didn't want to… not after… everything that had… he couldn't possibly… could he? I stared back at him, silently begging him to stop this before it went too far.

Please, don't, I begged him with my eyes. I can't do this, I don't have it in me right now.

But his fingers only continued working on the buttons, and they were almost to the bottom now so I knew I had to say something.

"Edward…" I struggled to find my voice.

He took in my expression; the wide eyes, the trembling, and I was about to say something else to stop him before he extended a finger and held it gently against my lips. I looked into his eyes, and they were intense, but gentle. There was something in them that told me not to worry, that I was safe. I trusted him. And somehow, despite everything, I still knew that Edward would never hurt me.

So I stayed very still as he removed the finger from my lips and continued undressing me slowly and methodically. He kept his eyes locked on my face as he slipped the dress from my shoulders, down my legs and onto the floor, followed by my undergarments until I was standing completely nude before him. His eyes stayed on mine as he took a step back from me, removed the rest of his own clothing, and moved to sit in the tub. He extended a hand so that he could help me down into the warm water.

I sat down facing away from him, and immediately pulled my knees up to my chest. I felt awkward, not knowing exactly what to do with myself now that we were naked. This was different than the last time we had been in this tub together; there was no passion, no urgency this time. It was just us, sitting together, both of us completely vulnerable. And although we had seen each other naked dozens of times, and although we had already been together in the most intimate ways possible, I still couldn't bring myself to relax.

Then I felt Edward's strong, warm hands curl around my sides, and he pulled my body backward so that my back was pressing up against his chest, my body between his legs. His fingers pressed tentatively into my shoulders, rubbing gently at the obvious tension there. My eyes fluttered closed of their own accord and my head rolled back against his shoulder as I felt the tension in my shoulders begin to loosen. He gradually increased the pressure against my skin, rubbing harder into the tense knots.

Once I was thoroughly relaxed, I felt Edward shift behind me so he could grab a washcloth from the side of the tub. He lathered it with some kind of sweet-smelling soap and began to rub it in slow, soothing circles on my back. He washed me thoroughly; down my arms, across my sides, my shoulders, my stomach, my feet and my legs, carefully avoiding those more intimate areas he had previously become so well acquainted with.

I knew what he was doing, and it was so unbelievably tender and caring and gentle that it made my heart swell and my throat constrict painfully. He was loving me with his actions, rather than words; he was communicating through his gentle touch all of the loving things that he could not say. By washing me as I had once washed him, he was communicating the fact that we were equals in his eyes. He knew I would recognize that, more than anything, as an absolute indication of his affections.

I felt him press a gentle kiss upon the back of my neck followed by a soft whisper of my name, and I was suddenly overcome with emotion. Hot, stinging wetness pricked at my eyes and, before I knew it, I was crying. It started slowly as the tears cascaded silently down my cheeks. But then the day's events all came crashing down on me, and I began convulsing as violent sobs shook through my entire body.

Edward stilled the cloth on my back for several seconds before he tossed it aside so he could wrap his arms around me. My sobs were loud and forceful, causing my body to shake and ugly sounds to escape from my mouth. My fingers clung desperately to Edward and my face buried itself in his chest, grounding myself to something tangible while I was overcome with the most unbearable pain imaginable. And all the while he shushed and rocked me, whispering gentle, calming words into my ear.

The water had turned cold by the time my sobs quieted. I was barely conscious as I felt Edward's strong arms lift me gently from the water. He sat me on the edge of the tub and dried me with a soft fluffy towel, and then carried me silently into the master bedroom. He laid the towel flat upon the center of the bed before placing me on top of it. I rolled onto my side, and I felt Edward crawl onto the bed behind me so he could wrap one arm around my waist, my back to his chest.

We lay there in silence together for a long while before I finally spoke.

"I thought of my mother today," I whispered.

Edward's hand that had been stroking my hair was suddenly very still. He didn't say anything, so I continued.

"Seeing those people today, lined up by the fountain . . . seeing those women . . . it reminded me of the last time I saw her. It reminded me of things I haven't allowed myself to think of in a very long time."

Edward's hand began stroking my hair again. "When were you taken from her?"

"When I was sixteen. Both of my parents were servants, so naturally I was born into servitude. My father died when I was very young, but my mother and still managed to stay together; for a while, at least. She was eventually sold to work in a private home. Their servants were not allowed to bring their families, so I was sold to work in the fields. But they soon discovered that I was malnourished, and weak. They sold me, because I was virtually useless to them as a laborer. That was when you found me."

"What was she like?"

I smiled a little sadly. "She was warm, like the sunshine. Always happy, despite the fact that we had nothing. She had the most wonderful, infectious laughter. You couldn't help but smile when she smiled. And I remember that she could peel an apple in one cut, all the way around in one long spiral. She tried to teach me how to do it once, but of course I failed miserably."

We both chuckled at that, but then I instantly felt sad again inside. "I miss her," I whispered quietly. Several small tears leaked from the corners of my eyes, but I didn't try to hide them anymore.

Edward leaned forward to place a soft kiss on my forehead. "I remember my mother, too," he murmured against my temple. "I lost her around the same age you and your mother were separated. I'll always remember how lovely she was; so elegant and graceful. But she was more than just a pretty face; she was always so generous and kind to everyone, no matter their station. She made everything around her more beautiful."

"How did you lose her?" I asked quietly.

Edward sighed. "My parents were overseas, visiting friends in the States. That was where they contracted the Spanish influenza. There was no cure for it at that time. They died in the hospital before they could even make it back home. I never got a chance to say goodbye to them."

Several more tear drops fell onto my pillow, but they weren't for me this time. "I am so sorry, Edward."

Edward didn't say anything, but merely tightened his grip around my waist. He buried his face in my hair, exhaling deeply. The longer we lay there together, the more I began to feel my own scars of pain and rejection begin to heal, and I think Edward felt it, too. We truly were equals in that moment, I realized, because the pain of suffering and loss spared no one in this life. We both needed each other now, in equal measure. And it no longer mattered to me that he could not verbally return my affections. Because if this wasn't love, I didn't know what was.

Several minutes passed before either of us spoke again, but it was Edward who finally broke the silence.

"Isabella . . ." he whispered.

I twisted my face around so I could look up at him. "Yes?"

"I am sorry for the pain that I caused you today. I should not have taken you into that environment so carelessly. I didn't think . . . I didn't know . . ."

"Shhh, Edward." I placed my fingers against his lips to prevent him from apologizing any further. "It's okay. You didn't know."

Edward looked away from me down into his lap and exhaled a shaky breathed. Then he reached forward to take one of my hands in his. "And I am also sorry," he continued, playing with my fingers. "About what happened earlier today. When you said what you said to me . . . I panicked. I couldn't think of what to say in return. There are many things that I would love to say to you, Isabella, but there are also many things that I cannot bring myself to say just yet. And I can see how much that fact hurts and disappoints you. I'm sorry."

When Edward looked up at me again, I saw that he was on the verge of crying. The sight of it truly shook me; I had never seen him look so worried and upset. I instantly wrapped my arms around him, holding him close so that he could place his face against my chest. I ran my fingers gently through his hair in what I hoped was a comforting gesture. "It's alright, Edward," I soothed him. "I won't pressure you. You can tell me those things when you're ready. In the meantime, I just want to be with you."

Edward sighed, burying his face in my shoulder. "I can only hope that it will be enough."

I tightened my grip on his shoulders, holding him as close to me as possible. "It is enough," I whispered. "For now."

A/N: So the girls over on Twilighted got me thinking… and I figured we could all go for some bath/cuddle time right about now.

And just in case anybody feels like questioning me on this, I looked it up: indoor plumbing was available for the upper classes in England as early as the 1850's.

I am nothing if not thorough.