Chapter 2

Bertie felt his face erupt into a smile wider than he'd ever experienced in his whole life. His heart was beating so fiercely he wasn't sure he would be able to contain it in his chest.

Edith had accepted him, at last!

All he wanted to do was push the table aside and take Edith into his arms and never let her go. But he had enough sense to control himself. He gazed at his wife-to-be. She was smiling back at him with equal fervor. Bertie looked at her smile and found himself struck speechless; in awe at her beauty.

Edith noticed the surprised look on Bertie's face "You look surprised, Bertie. What is it?"

Bertie smiled and took a breath. "My darling, I have never seen you smile like this. It's reaching every corner of your face. I am floored by how lovely you are."

Edith blushed as she responded. "I am happy!" She said, with a knowing smile. "It's as simple as that really" She took a minute to put together her next thought "Bertie, I truly thought I would never set eyes on you again. I'd resigned myself to that fact and was busy making plans to go it alone, so to speak. And here we are. Not only are we engaged, but you know about Marigold at last and you accept her and me." Edith felt herself smiling like a schoolgirl, but she couldn't help it. "I never thought I would ever feel this light and free"

Bertie's heart swelled with pride to hear her speak about her happiness so openly. He couldn't seem to wipe the giant smile from his face. He felt silly but didn't care. "I'm so delighted to hear it. I love you so much and can't wait to marry you. And I vow to love your daughter as if she were my own child." Edith grinned even wider and felt overcome by her love for this wonderful man. Bertie continued "Well! Shall we talk about next steps?"

Bertie saw Edith steal a glance over his right shoulder as she immediately replied "That would be lovely. But first, I think perhaps we should order. The waiter keeps looking over here, I assume wondering if and when he should come back over to us."

"Aah yes. Good idea" Bertie replied.

Bertie could barely control his excitement long enough to read the menu and pick a dinner option, but he managed to complete the task without too much flare. As they waited for their courses, they managed to keep the conversation light and jovial, related to the restaurant and the food, their family and London. Bertie was thrilled at how easily he and Edith slipped back into the rhythm of their relationship again. Once they were well into their main course, he revisited the topic of planning next steps. He was eager to be married to her, for so many reasons. But most importantly, he had already wasted enough time being apart. There would be no more of that.

"So! Next steps. You said you're here for three days. I assume you have already booked your train back to Yorkshire?"

"Yes! Indeed, I have several morning meetings with the magazine tomorrow and Thursday and I'm on the Thursday afternoon train."

Bertie nodded and continued "I'm on the train back to Northumberland on Thursday at 5pm. I wonder if I can persuade you to let me change your ticket and book you on my train so you can come back with me directly to Brancaster."

Edith smiled in surprise. Bertie was once again in awe of her. How could she look so surprised, still. Bertie reflected on how indoctrinated Edith's cracks in her self-worth were. How much of it was Mary's fault, and how much was from how life had beaten her about, he wasn't sure. It didn't matter, he was determined to make her feel as loved and important as he possibly could. He was about to speak again when Edith spoke:

"You'd like me to come with you to Brancaster? On Thursday?"

Bertie looked at her and responded in a comforting tone "Of course I do. Now that we are reunited, the idea of separating again, even temporarily in two days time is unacceptable to me. Let's move forward with announcing the engagement and planning our future together straight away. Besides, it will be your home as well, soon enough. How does that sound to you?"

Bertie loved that Edith couldn't seem to stop smiling "I would love that very much."

The rest of the dinner was spent discussing details, Bertie would fix the train tickets, Edith would go to work and they would meet for lunch in the afternoon at Rules and spend the rest of the day together.

As they headed toward the exit of the Ritz, Bertie asked "May I escort you home? Are you staying at your flat or with your aunt while here in London?"

"I would like very much for you to walk me home." Edith smiled at Bertie in such a way that sent a shiver down his spine. She continued "And I'm staying at my flat. I've been staying there more and more recently, actually." Edith looked like she was contemplating saying more but decided against it. Bertie didn't press her on it. He was beyond elated that this evening had been so successful, but he had learned his lesson about pressing her. He had no right to demand he receive her trust. Trust was earned, and he would endeavor to earn it and be worthy of her. If she had more to tell him, she would do it in her own time.

As they stood in the foyer and a member of the staff handed him his coat while another helped Edith on with hers, he extended his arm for Edith and they walked out of the restaurant together. They were only a few blocks from her flat but neither of them were walking very fast, simply enjoying being so physically close to each other. The second they were around the corner, Bertie felt his entire body overcome with heat at being so near to Edith. He stopped in his tracks, took his hat off, turned to her and kissed her, infusing it with considerably more passion than he'd done with any of their previous kisses. He could tell that Edith was taken aback by the sudden surge of passion directed at her, but Bertie felt her respond within an instant. He had his arms wrapped around the small of her back and he felt her wrap her small hand around his upper forearm near his elbow, very subtly pulling him closer to her.

Bertie broke the kiss but kept his face very close to hers. "I'm sorry, my darling. I simply couldn't wait another moment." Edith only smiled and look back at him. Bertie continued, "I can't believe it's been six weeks since our last kiss. Let's never let it go so long between kisses again" Bertie smiled at Edith, raising one eyebrow, and looking at her in a way that reminded Edith of his unique ability to be jovial and unbelievably attractive all in one fell swoop. Bertie was pleased that she kept her arm firmly locked in his for the rest of the walk to her flat.

As they continued, Edith would occasionally tilt her head and rest it on his upper arm which sent a thrill through Bertie, making it much more difficult for him to regain his composure. He knew he ought to be concerned that simply walking down the street with this woman caused him to feel that thrilled with excitement, but he simply didn't care. He loved Edith, and she loved him and this was the first day of their official engagement. Nothing would dampen the wondrous renewed feeling.

When they arrived at Edith's front door, he wanted to ensure she didn't feel uncomfortable. It was quite late and she might be hesitating about inviting him in for a nightcap at such an hour, however he still had one important task he had to accomplish before the night was through. It was imperative that it happened that night.

"Edith, it's quite late, so I won't stay long, but I was wondering if I might come in for a moment to discuss one last thing with you."

Edith smiled unreservedly and responded "Of course! You are my fiancé now, it's no longer so risqué for you to come in for a nightcap"

They both entered the flat, and Edith proceeded to put down her keys, take her evening gloves off and place the items on top of her piano. Bertie could see she was about to head over to the bar, to pour them both a drink, so he wasted no time and proceeded to meet her in front of the piano before she could do anything else.

"I'm delighted to see you have removed your gloves, because now I can give you this-" Bertie reached into his inner coat pocket and retrieved a small red velvet jewellery box. Edith looked completely breathless, put her right hand on her chest and turned her gaze from the box to Bertie's face.

Bertie opened the box, revealing a stunning yellow gold diamond ring. It was elegant, and magnanimous while still being simple and timeless in its beauty, just like his Edith. Bertie removed the ring and took Edith's left hand into his own.

"Edith, my darling. I've been carrying around this ring for ages, and it fills me with such pride and pleasure to finally be able to give it to you."

Bertie proceeded to slip the ring onto her finger, grateful for his luck that the ring was a perfect fit. He kept ahold of her hand and transferred his eyes over to her face. She was smiling, but there was something amiss in her eyes that gave Bertie cause for concern.

"This ring is a family heirloom that I thought would suit you well, but my darling – if you don't like it, I am just as happy to buy you a new ring, if you prefer-"

Edith stopped him by raising her right hand and cupping Bertie's face. Somehow, despite all their previous kisses, this felt like the most intimate moment that the two had yet experienced, and Bertie stopped talking immediately.

"I love this ring. I love it because it is a gift from you that you chose for me. I love it because it symbolizes my love and devotion to you as well. That I belong to you." Bertie saw a tear forming behind her eyes and he knew there was still more to come. Edith moved her hand from his face down to rest on his chest. This sent his heart rate racing and made him want to touch her far more than he currently was. However, he could see she was about to share something personal, so he waited patiently for her to speak.

"I can't help still feeling concerned though, Bertie. You know about Marigold, and I'm so delighted. And I will tell you the whole story about her tomorrow, I promise you." Edith hesitated… she seemed so nervous, and Bertie immediately felt so protective of both her and Marigold. Whoever had done this, and made Edith feel such fear would never be permitted to do so again. Not now that he was around, he thought. However, Bertie wouldn't make presumptions about her next comment, he would wait and give her the space she needed to get there.

"What if…" She hesitated "What if you hear the whole story and you change your mind about marrying me?" She looked like she was struggling not to succumb to tears and Bertie hated that. She was still so stressed. "I mean, it's such a risk for you, I would hate to think you'll regret this decision, later on-"

Bertie wrapped his arm around Edith's waist and pulled her closer to him. "Edith, my darling. There is nothing you can say that will change my mind about you. Nothing. Not now, or ever. Your relationship with Michael Gregson, how Marigold came to be, none of the detail about any of that will make any difference in how I feel about you." Edith raised her eyes to meet Bertie's, and he could see the fear draining out of her face. "Edith – the only way you and I won't marry is if you say you don't want me."

And with that, Edith erupted with joy and threw herself into his arms into a tight embrace. Edith had both arms around Bertie's neck while he kept one hand at the small of her back and brought the other up to the nape of her neck, firmly holding onto her. Edith responded by tucking her face into his neck and breathing in the scent of his skin. After the natural moment to break the embrace came, Bertie only proceeded to tighten his hold on her. Edith heard him say "I hope you don't mind – I'm just going to keep you in my arms for a moment longer"

Bertie felt Edith slowly pull her face back until her lips were directly next to his ear. She then gently whispered to him "You can hold me in your arms for as long as you like".

There was something about the conviction in her tone and feeling her lips lightly brush against his skin that made Bertie feel that there was nothing more important than his putting his lips on her, right then and there. He proceeded to gently and slowly kiss her on the neck, which he could feel sent a shiver down her spine. He kept his face buried in her neck for a prolonged moment and then pulled back to face her and planted his lips on hers, again slowly but firmly. Within an instant, the kiss was the most passionate thing either had ever experienced. Bertie held the kiss, burying his fingers in her hair. He gently parted her lips and slipped his tongue into Edith's mouth. He felt Edith move her right hand to the back of his own head and run her fingers into his hair, while her other arm remained draped across both of his shoulders. The kiss continued in a way that surprised both of them. They both simultaneously realized that the passion they felt for each other was more than reciprocated by the other. The kiss broke naturally and very slowly, with Bertie keeping his face as close to Edith's as possible. Edith moved her right hand around from the back of his head around his neck and back onto his chest. Edith was smiling at him as she slowly pulled back from Bertie. Bertie smiled back at her and said, in barely above a whisper, "Goodnight, my darling. Until tomorrow".