"I've got three dress appointments today. You don't mind packing up my room, do you?" Edwina and I found ourselves back in that tiny underground apartment back in Chelsea the next day. Both our doors were propped open, partly on account of how bloody hot it was down here. The only blessing this place had was its air conditioning. I was in the middle of organizing and folding my clothes to pack while Edwina was running around, fixing her hair into a sort of messy bun.
I frowned, side-eying her unimpressed. "Edwina….." She could tell by the tone of my voice that the answer was a resounding "no". She huffed, finishing up with her hair. "Ok, ok, fine. I'll pack everything later when I get home." "Don't be out too late. Anthony's sending the movers at three this afternoon," I informed her, to which she nodded her head dismissively. "Yes, yes, I know. I'll be here." "Make sure you are, Edwina. It's not fair to make them wait around. It was nice enough for Anthony to have them come so soon to collect our things." "I said I'll be here! Gees….." Satisfied with this, I turned my attention back to my packing. Edwina waltz into my room, looking around absent-mindedly.
"It's really nice that Anthony's letting you come live with us. I didn't ask him to do that," she said with no hint of pondering or jealousy in her tone. I nodded, smirking to myself. "Oh really? That is nice of him." "True, you'll only live with us til September, but it's still considerate of him. Guess he'll arrange you moving to Oxford too when the time comes." When the time comes… My hands paused their t-shirt folding for a minute as I stared out into space thoughtfully.
"What did Anthony say when you told him I'm going to Oxford?" Now that she mentions it, he's never brought it up with me personally. I always just assumed that he knew and was aware I was moving again soon.
Edwina froze here, keeping her hands hanging mid-air and having a sort of stunned glint in her eyes. I didn't really see her reaction as I was too busy organizing my clothes again. A quick moment of quiet passed as my sister tried to collect herself.
"Oh….. nothing," was her rapid reply, which I took at face value. "Nothing?" My eyebrow arched and I smirked again to myself. "Y-Yeah….." She didn't sound at all confident. "Heh, so you're telling me he wasn't surprised to hear that your sister was starting PhD at Oxford? Well, I did go to the University of Amsterdam, and it's maybe it's not that shocking," I reasoned. That's the only rationale I could think of. Edwina stayed quiet another second before audibly breathing.
Her fingers twisted and curled in on themselves somewhat anxiously. "Have you….. mentioned anything about it to him?" "No? Why? I don't go around bragging that I'm going to Oxford. You know Daddy taught us better than that. Besides, you already told him. Why would I need to say anything?" Edwina looked at me with an obvious nervous expression for a second, her lips pressing in on themselves tightly. "So you…. haven't told him then?" She asked in a whimper.
I stopped what I was doing here to meet her gaze right on, straightening my back as I looked her way. My arms drifted down to my sides confused and with growing suspicion. "What's this about, Edwina? You've told Anthony that I'm starting at Oxford this fall, right?" Awkward silence. "Right?" A VERY awkward silence. My little sister glanced down in shame, grabbing the hem of her skirt clearly embarrassed. Meanwhile I could only gawk at her in pure horror and shock….
"Edwina!" Boy, did her arms shoot up defensively as her head lifted back up in sudden terror. "Don't be mad! I can explain!" "You didn't tell him?! So he has no idea that I'm moving again in September?!" My hands balled into enraged fists. My sister looked like she was about to cry. "I-I didn't know what to say! The timing just never felt right." "Never felt right?! And what do you mean you "didn't know what to say"?! How about "Kate is starting her PhD at Oxford"?" Short, simple, and to the point!" I was full-on screaming by this point.
Edwina did what she always did and tried to twist the situation like one of those cringy YouTuber apologies. Her posture contorted to one of false confidence in what she was saying, or about to say.
"Well you're the one starting PhD. I didn't feel like it was my place to tell him; it should come from you. It's your good news." "My good news?! You had no problem posting to all your followers that I got into UofA! What's different about Oxford this time?! You've always told everyone where I'm going to university! Why the sudden change now?!" I hollered at her, making her wince. It quickly dawned on her that her tactic wasn't working, so she decided to go a different route. "I-I didn't want Anthony to think that I was bragging…." All confidence left her voice again. I ogled her dumbfounded for a second.
"Not bragging…? No offence Edwina, but you're the queen of bragging! If it was you who got into Oxford, you'd tell everyone and their mom." Her eyes suddenly sharpened at this. "Right, but it wasn't me who got in. It's you, so why should I have to tell Anthony about it?" Her tone became a million times bitter. I blinked, again utterly shell-shocked by this poor excuse of well, an excuse. "Because I'm starting there in less than two months, genius! Don't you think Anthony's going to have questions when I suddenly move to a different city?!" "If you're so worried about it, then why don't you tell him?!" She fired back angrily. "You should have told him BEFORE we moved to London, Edwina! He should have known from the start! The only reason I haven't said anything is because I thought he already knew! I thought he knew from the start!" My voice was so high, it cracked on this last sentence.
My little sister glared red-hot daggers at me, viciously curling her lips together. "I'm sorry, but I just never saw it as my job to tell him that my older sister with two degrees already under her belt was also getting a PhD. What would that have done for me?" She spat. "This isn't about you. It's about the situation at hand," I countered. "So sue me for not wanting to tell the man I want to marry that my sister is soooooooo much more accomplished that I! You wanna know why I didn't tell him, Kate? Because I didn't want him to compare me in an unfavourable light to you." "Wha-…? Anthony would never do that!" "Well yeah, we know that now. But I wasn't sure back when we were still getting to know each other over text and phone calls. I didn't want to take any chances," she finally admitted to me.
Trying- and failing- to hold my temper in check, I pinched the bridge of my nose while wincing my eyes shut. My other hand was planted on my hip in an attempt to keep my back steady. "So you're telling me that you didn't tell Anthony cause you didn't want to look bad compared to me? Is that it?" Edwina balked, like hearing it back to her didn't sound right, or likable in any sense of the word. She hesitated to answer, peering down to the floor uncomfortably. Her fingers curled inward and outward again.
"I just… wanted Anthony to marry me." "You didn't want him to think there're better options out there," I countered viciously, to which Edwina shot me a nasty glare, clearly offended. "You might think you're soooooooo smart, but not everyone wants to marry a PhD, you know." "I would assume no one wants to marry us, especially considering how much work PhD is and how it literally kills relationships," I reminded her. She rolled her eyes unimpressed. "You know what I mean! Unlike you, I don't have any university degrees. I didn't want Anthony to think that I'm stupid because I'm not like you." "Well this was pretty dumb of you, Edwina. I'm sorry, but it is," my voice was snappy like a fire-crack.
Edwina's eyes hardened again, though not with as much bitterness as before. "You need this marriage as much as I do, Kate." "What do you mean?" "There isn't enough left of our inheritance to cover your full tuition at Oxford," she reminded me, sending me into another rage. "And who's fault is that?!" "Look, I'll make this right! Once Anthony and I are married, I'll cover your tuition and living costs. Just please….. We can't do anything to mess this up, otherwise we'll both lose everything. Please Kate… I have to marry Anthony, for both our sakes," her hands clasped together in a pleading motion. I was glaring pure venom at her by this point, but did lower my voice a tad.
"When are you going to tell him?" I asked her, to which she hesitated. "Well I wasn't….. really planning on telling him until after the wedding," her gaze moved downwards slightly. I wanted to strangle her. "You think that's a good idea?!" "Kate, please! If I tell him now he'll think I was hiding it from him!" "You WERE hiding it from him! If you won't tell him, then I will," my thumb pointed into my chest determined.
Edwina's eyes widened in sudden horror. "No, Kate; please don't!" "Why? You literally asked me why I don't tell him if I want him to know five minutes ago." "I was wrong! Look, I don't want Anthony to think we're keeping anything from him. I've got a lot riding on the line here, and I really can't screw anything up." "Oh, you screwed up. You screwed up big time," I crossed my arms, still glaring razor-sharp knives at my sister. "We'll tell him! B-But let's wait until after the wedding contract is signed, just to be on the safe side." "You're going to blind-side Anthony, and he's not going to like it. I'm going to tell him," a huff left my lips as I shook my head.
"No, Kate; don't! What if he gets mad and decides to cancel the wedding?! Then you won't have the money for your tuition. Please…. Please, Kate. Just wait a little longer. He won't care about you leaving for Oxford once we're married," she begged. "Yes he will!" I replied without thinking first- oops. She blinked somewhat confused by this declaration. "Why would he? I'm the one he's marrying; you're just his sister-in-law. True, you guys are becoming better friends, but you moving two hours away shouldn't change that."
Edwina said this and my jaw dropped open a bit, now unsure what to say. I don't know how to explain myself, besides the fact that I have this sneaking suspicion that Anthony's going to livid when he finds out. I thought him already knew….. and didn't bring it up for posterity's sake. He knows I'm not a bragger… so I assumed that's why… I hadn't realized that Edwina didn't tell him yet. But now that I know that little titbit, it suddenly paints everything in a new light. Anthony wants me to move in with him….. and stay. He doesn't mean by the end of September; he means for as long as possible. This could be bad…
My sister observed me as I zoomed through all this silently in my head. Eventually her hand lifted up a tiny bit in my direction. "Uh, Kate…..?" "Huh?! Oh, sorry…." My hand reached up to grab the side of my pained face. Finally smiling after another minute, Edwina came over to put her hand on my shoulder in a comforting sort of fashion.
"Don't worry, sis. This'll all be sorted after the wedding. Anthony may be a little salty about it at first…. But he'll forget all about it on our honeymoon; I'll just book an extra-long trip somewhere." "Edwina…" I looked at her exasperated. She grinned, giving my shoulder a squeeze. "He won't care, Kate; trust me. I'm the one who's going to look like the bad guy here, but I'll fix all that once we're married. Don't take this as an insult, but he'll forget all about you and Oxford by the time I'm pregnant with the Bridgerton heir. Everything will work out, I promise." "Are you sure?" I was absolutely not sure. She nodded definitively, shutting her eyes for a second. "Without a doubt. Just don't tell him beforehand. I'll ease the news gently when the time is perfect." "This is a bad idea, Edwina. What if it backfires?" "It won't! Trust me, I know what I'm doing. Heh, I've had my fair share of experience with guys; I know how to make a man's head spin in the sack." Gross. She saw the cringe on my face and laughed before giving my shoulder another tight squeeze. "Believe me. By the time I'm finished with Anthony in Rome or Barcelona or somewhere,
he'll have forgotten that you ever even existed."
