Many thanks to wandb for recc'ing this story in her fic "Confidential".
My Darling Mini Jaffacakes,
I just want to thank everyone who's read my story, especially those who took the trouble to review, and those who have said kind things about it on forums and Twitter. I was really nervous about posting my first fic, but everyone's been so sweet and supportive. Thank you. *insert dramatic single tear that miraculously leaves makeup intact*
This chapter is quite dense and has a lot of scene changes. It reads more like 5 mini-chapters. Brace yourselves!
Chapter 13 – The Revelation
"Garrett! How nice of you to visit!" Renee was tittering as she flitted about their small living room straightening their few anaemic cushions.
Bella cringed. Renee never quite adopted the dignified, matronly air appropriate for a woman of her age and position. Much to Bella's horror, she had retained the coquettish manners of her youth, especially around attractive, young men. At that moment, these coquettish charms were being inflicted on Garrett who had dropped in on their cottage unannounced on Saturday morning.
"Renee! How could I resisting coming to see the two loveliest ladies in Forks? I was on my way to the village, and I was wondering if Bella'd like to walk with me on this fine morning?"
Renee giggled at "loveliest ladies". Bella could bear it no more. She agreed immediately and ushered Garrett out the door with almost indecent haste. Renee's sly look was not lost on her. It was quite possible that her mother had already picked out the hat to wear to her wedding.
Their conversation was, as usual, amusing and inconsequential. As they approached the village centre, Bella became aware of the loaded looks the women were throwing in their direction. It was the second time she had been spotted in public with Garrett (the first being the fête), and tongues were wagging. She shrugged it off. She had never engaged in petty village gossip; she wasn't about to start now.
She said goodbye to Garrett, who had already been drawn into an absorbing conversation about the mercurial weather, and popped into the greengrocers. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Esme approach tentatively. She found this rather curious. She recalled Edward buying apples on the first and only day she worked at Newton's. Did the Cullens actually buy their own food?
Esme Cullen was lovely to behold. Her face showed every sign of having grown into its beauty, rather than fading out of it. The grey at her temples was left untouched, her laugh lines proudly worn. She had a graciousness that came with age and the perspective it brought.
Now why couldn't her mother be like that?
"It's Isabella, isn't it? I'm Esme. We've been never been properly introduced." Esme's eyes searched hers. She has such kind eyes, Bella thought to herself. "Benevolent" was the word that popped into her head.
"Ummm, pleased to meet you." They had barely met and already Bella felt guilty for deceiving her. I'm secretly working for your son! I've been coming to your house every day for months!
"I visited your mother a few weeks ago, but she wasn't feeling well, so I didn't stay long." Something in her tone told Bella that Esme didn't receive the warmest welcome at the cottage.
"Anyway, Carlisle and I are having our 30th Wedding Anniversary party in a few weeks. We'd love for you and your mother to come, if you are free."
"Thank you for inviting us." Bella knew that the chances of her mother agreeing to go were practically nil.
The older woman suddenly gripped her hand and spoke in a low, earnest voice, "I know our families haven't been on the best of terms, but I'd love nothing more than to put all that behind us. If you ever need anything, anything at all, please come to me and I'd do my best to help." In that moment, Bella saw an uncanny resemblance between mother and son. She found herself blinking back tears at the sincerity in Esme's voice.
"Of course, tha...thank you, Esme."
"All right then dear, take care of yourself." She patted Bella's hand. "Send my regards to your mother!" The odd, intense moment had passed, and the two women soon went their separate ways. Bella was left wondering what it would be like to be friends with the lovely Esme Cullen.
Bella walked in almost complete darkness, with only the moonlight to guide her steps. The wind was biting but she didn't feel a thing. She was focused on the task ahead of her. There it was, third window from the right, the one that could never be locked because it didn't quite closed properly. She pushed her fingers into the gap and lifted with all her strength. Nothing. The cold weather had made the wooden sash window stiff. She cursed herself for not having the presence of mind to bring a tool of some sort.
"Need a hand?" Bella gave a little yelp. Edward seemed to magically materialise from the darkness.
"Edward! What are you doing here?"
"I had a feeling you would come. Look, I brought this." Edward lifted the crowbar in his hand and set to work levering the window. It lifted with a decisive creak.
"Besides," he continued dryly. "I know all the local constables. That might come in handy when we get arrested."
Earlier in the day, Edward had sat her down and delivered the news: her former home Swan Manor and its land had been sold to a hospitality group and would soon be converted into a boutique hotel.
"Edward, you went to view the house. Why didn't you buy it?" Bella was desperate. It didn't matter that the Cullens were rivals, having the house in private hands was better than seeing it stripped and depersonalised by a faceless hotel group.
"I'm sorry Bella. The main house needed too much work. It would have been expensive to maintain as well. To tell you the truth, some years the Cullen estate barely breaks even. The repair and restoration work is a huge drain on our finances. We rely on our other investments to shore this place up."
Bella had decided there and then that she needed to see her childhood home one last time before it was turned into a soulless, corporate monstrosity by some trendy architect. She waited until the early hours of the morning to break into her former home.
She climbed in through the window and fumbled around for a light switch. The brightness blinded her eyes momentarily. The bank must have kept the power connected so that the manor could be viewed by prospective buyers in winter.
It was the smell that hit her first. The musty, decaying smell of an unused, unloved building.
The discolouration on the walls which outlined all the furniture that had once stood there, in some cases for decades, only served to mark their absence and make the rooms seem even emptier.
Bella's footsteps echoed on the bare floorboards as she walked around the house, trying to populate each space with her memories. She played hide-and-seek here; she read her first Roald Dahl books there, on the window ledge. She rode a bicycle down this hallway and got soundly scolded for it. She begged their housekeeper Mrs Cope, in this kitchen, for one more slice of pie. She asked her father to read her a book here, in the library, when he was trying to work.
She tried her best to fill the emptiness with her happy memories but all she could see now were the cracks and blisters on the walls, the water stains on the ceilings, the mould that crept up from the corners. The house had been in disrepair for years, she just never saw it.
But this would soon change. The house would have a new owner. It would be gutted, refitted, repainted. It would have a new life, a new purpose. The house from her memories had long disappeared. She had to let go.
Everything that had rooted her existence was truly gone. Her father, her childhood home, the estate she was supposed to inherit. This realisation made her dizzy and she staggered, blinded by her tears. She shot her hands out instinctively, groping unseeingly for something to hold on to. A warm hand grasped hers and righted her balance. Edward had followed behind her so quietly she had almost forgotten he was there. Bella held on to his hand gratefully. "I think I'm ready to go now."
A few days after their late-night visit to Swan Manor, Edward came into the library and collapsed heavily into his favourite armchair. His face was wearier than Bella had ever seen, his shoulders defeated. Though she had never done so before, she went to the cabinet where he kept his whisky and poured him a drink.
"What happened?"
"The farms on the estate haven't been doing so well for a while now. I've had to make some cuts. We can't afford new staff. That means more work for everyone. Things will probably get worse. Nobody likes me very much right now."
Bella remembered how he had quietly stood by her and held her hand in Swan Manor. She was desperate to do something to reciprocate, to soothe his hurt. Before she could second-guess herself, she walked up to his armchair, climbed onto his lap and put her arms around him.
"That's not true. I like you." She placed a soft kiss on his cheek.
The shock on his face melted into tenderness, and then...hope.
"Say that again."
She took a deep breath. "I like you." It felt good to finally admit it to herself. She looked at him. He was sitting so very still, steadily holding her gaze.
He was waiting. It was entirely in her hands now.
"I like you. Very much, in fact." She leaned in and brushed the lips she had been tracing over in her daydreams with her own.
It never occurred to Bella that all this time, Edward had been patiently waiting. Waiting for her to know him. Waiting for them to become friends. Waiting for her to show some sign, any sign, that one day she would care for him as much as he cared for her.
So, when he abruptly closed his arms around her and crushed her body to his, she was taken aback by force of his kiss.
It was an exceptionally cold winter in England. On this particular day, instead of the usual drizzle that drained the landscape of its colour, the countryside was coated with a plump layer of snow, dazzling in its whiteness.
Deep in snow-covered countryside stood a handsome Georgian house. In a quiet wing of this handsome Georgian house was a beautiful library. In the library, there was a great, roaring fire. In front of the fire, was a carelessly discarded boot. Further from the fireplace, another boot, and then, a skirt, cast in a heap by the foot of the sofa.
Stretched out on the sofa was a young woman, naked except for a pair of white cotton briefs and knee-high woollen socks. It would appear that someone had started to lift her layers of jumpers over her head but had stopped once the jumper neck cleared her mouth. This partially-removed tangle of clothes blindfolded her eyes and trapped her arms above her head. The young woman licked her lips. They were swollen and slightly bruised. Her breaths were shallow and laboured.
She was not alone. On the sofa, settled between her legs, was a serious young man, fully-clothed in an expensive suit. He had been teasing her breasts with his palms and fingers for some minutes. Deciding she was ready for more, he bent down and gently took one nipple into his mouth. He had been waiting to do this for a long time now. Her throaty moan soon forced him to stop.
He released her nipple reluctantly and began to free her from the twisted mess around her head. Once liberated, she pulled him down to her eagerly, the suit fabric scrubbing her bare skin.
"Bella," She was biting his earlobe. "Would it be presumptuous of me to plan a trip for us soon? Somewhere with more privacy perhaps?" His voice cracked. "Cos I can't take this any more."
"What's wrong with here? Now?" She wrapped her legs around him. "I can be quiet." They both knew she was lying.
"Our first time together will be on a proper bed." He shifted so that his weight immobilised her completely. He whispered in her ear, "Besides, I don't want you to be quiet."
Edward let his fingers trail down her body to between her legs. He clamped his mouth on hers before her cries could send the household staff running into the library.
Bella folded the clothes into a neat pile while her mother threw the bits and pieces that needed to be packed onto the bed. The invitation from Renee's cousins could not have come at a better time.
Renee's cousins had invited them to their French chalet for a ski holiday. Bella declined, saying that she couldn't take time off work but encouraged her mother to go. As expected, Renee had been saddened by the sale of Swan Manor. A change of scenery, exercise and lively company would do her a world of good, Bella thought.
Of course, Bella had a more selfish reason for not wanting to go to France. With her mother gone, she would be able to spend more time with Edward. And there was that trip he was planning...Bella's neck felt warm despite the chill in the cottage.
The chime of the doorbell interrupted her thoughts. It was Garrett, asking her out for a walk in the woods. Bella frowned. She never detected any romantic intent on Garrett's part; perhaps she was wrong. He was always flirtatious, but then again he was flirtatious with everyone, even the village octogenarians. She felt uneasy about the matter now that she was with Edward, even more uneasy remembering that the two men did not like each other, for whatever reason.
She decided to use the opportunity to drop some hints to Garrett that she wasn't interested. Bella grabbed her coat and left with him, ignoring her mother's unsubtle winks.
They had just reached the edge of the woods when Garrett casually asked her,
"Oh and by the way, where were you going with Edward?"
"What?" Her spine stiffened.
"I saw you get into Edward's car. On Friday, about two weeks ago."
Bugger bugger bugger. What should she say? Garrett knew her mother. But Garrett was also her friend. Could he be trusted? She decided to err on the side of caution.
"Oh that. I needed to go to London. He was going there for business and offered me a ride."
"Oh, that's why he was wearing a suit. He seemed rather friendly with you, I thought."
"Really? I hadn't noticed." Bella shrugged for effect. "Isn't he with that strawberry blonde? What's her name? The rude one. Tina?" She thanked her lucky stars that she had been rather awkward and distant with Edward that Friday morning.
"Tanya. Well, she's not in Forks now, is she? Isabella," Garrett turned to her, his eyes serious. "You're a beautiful young woman who's just been through a lot. Some people could take advantage of that."
"I don't know what you mean."
"Edward can be very charming when he needs to be. And persistent. I just want to warn you before the Cullen heir starts lavishing you with flowers and chocolate."
Garrett had unknowingly hit a spot. Bella turned to go. "We should head back, I want to help my mother pack."
"Isabella," Garrett's voice took on an urgency she had never heard from him. "You know I worked with your father on the river rights suit against the Cullens." Bella froze at the mention of her father.
"There's something else I never told you. The lawsuit...it got really ugly towards the end. Edward was very upset...he started a countersuit against your father.
"Isabella, your father received the letter informing him of the countersuit the morning he suffered his heart attack."