Saving Marilee by Annette K. Larsen

Author:Annette K. Larsen [Annette K. Larsen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hidden Falls Publishing
Published: 2015-05-01T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

EDMUND HAD BEEN in residence for two days and already I wanted to crawl out of my skin. He was perfectly polite, almost charming at times, but he still felt like an invader. I knew that the law saw him as my relation, and since I was a respectable widow there was no scandal in it, but it felt inappropriate to be in residence with a single man.

Thus far he had ordered nothing, only given me his assessment of things. Mr. Vaden nearly always concurred and despite my reticence, I felt compelled to listen to some of his suggestions. However, in order to go forward with the actual work, more staff would necessarily be brought in.

"Are you prepared to hire more help at this point?" Edmund asked.

"I—" His question was gentle and I wanted to move forward, but the thought of allowing strangers into my home, of opening myself up to the whims of others, left me tense. "I'm sorry. I can't. Not yet." I stood. "Please excuse me."

Edmund stood and bowed as I left, despite his obvious disappointment.

I went for a walk behind the house, trying to order my thoughts. I knew that logistically, I needed to properly staff the house. It was irresponsible of me not to maintain it the best I could. I also knew that Edmund's deference to my way of doing things was something he chose. For despite my inheriting the house from Damian, if Edmund chose to contest my claim, he would likely have a good case, since he was part of the ruling family. He could have attempted to take over the minute he walked through the doors, yet he hadn't.

Taking a decisive breath, I turned back to the house. I would hire more staff. I would try to trust Edmund's expertise, and if in the end he turned out to be more like Damian than he had thus far demonstrated, I would leave. I had my guards and my few loyal servants. My staying here was my choice, and I could leave at any time.

I entered the house in time to take tea in my sitting room. I allowed the warm aroma to calm my anxiety as I settled more firmly on my decision. It was fear that prevented me from hiring more staff, and being controlled by fear would be nearly as bad as being controlled by Damian. I finished my tea and went downstairs. As I descended, the murmur of voices reached my ears, slowly unraveling into distinct words as I stopped on the landing. Suspicion rose up in my chest and I crouched down, scooting over to the railing to look down on the scene below. Edmund stood with several of my guards lined up before him.

"Begging your leave, my lord," Marcus interrupted, "but we are here to watch over and defend Princess Marilee. Those are our orders, and we will not be abandoning them."

Abandoning them?

"And I would never ask that you shirk your duties, but I'm sure

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