To Love Twice (19 page)

“Will you be going to work during the day, Edward?” 
Kate asked as they left Edward’s room and moved on in the tour of the house.

“Not unless it’s absolutely unavoidable.  I have the
week off to spend with you lovely ladies.”

“Truly?  Oh, Edward, that is so wonderful!”

Edward reached for her hand and linked their fingers
together.  He quickly showed her the rest of the bedrooms on the floor and
then they moved down the stairs to see the rest. 

Kate was astounded.  There was a formal dining room, a
small ballroom, a library, a sitting room, a den that Edward said he used as
his office, the kitchens and no fewer than three half-baths.  “What do you
do with all this space?”

“Nothing much.  This house dates back to the early seventeen
hundreds.  It’s been redecorated and updated a few times since then, but
it’s essentially the same.  My dad’s family lived close to here and I can
remember passing this house whenever we would come to visit my
grandparents.  I used to fantasize about living here and I’d dream about
the fancy parties I’d host and pretend about being “lord of the manor”. 
About three years ago, the owner passed away and he had no family.  It was
on the market for about twenty minutes before I snatched it up.  I imagine
someday when I get married, I’ll fill these rooms with the laughter of
children.  But for now, it’s a nice retreat when I need away from the
hustle and bustle of the city.”

“It’s a beautiful home, Edward.”

Raising her hand to his lips, Edward lightly brushed a kiss
against her knuckles.  “I’m happy you’re here, Kate.” 

“Mama?”  They heard over the monitor.

“And she’s awake!”  Kate said.  “Let’s go get her
before she decides to wander off on her own.  It’ll take weeks to find her
in this place,” Kate joked.

They walked up the stairs together, and when Kate pushed
open the door to her room, they found Mary sitting in the middle of the
floor.  “Hi baby, did you have a good nap?”

“Where are we, Mama?”

Kneeling in front of Mary, Kate brushed her hair back from
her forehead.  “We’re at Edward’s home.  Remember we flew in the
airplane?”

Mary lifted her face to see Edward and a beautiful smile
broke out on her face.  “Edward!”  Mary squealed.  She stood up,
walked over to Edward and lifted her arms.  The universal sign for “pick
me up”.  Edward obliged and easily lifted her into his arms. 

“Well, I see who the favorite is now,” Kate smiled as she
spoke. 

“Well, that’s only because she knows about my
h-o-r-s-e-s.”  Edward spelled.

Kate laughed and tickled Mary on the belly.  “I’m glad
you spelled that because otherwise we’d be out there right now.”

“Mama, I’m so hungry!”  Mary said in between giggles.

“Alright, let’s go feed your belly.”

“Where’s my new grand-baby?”  Charlotte asked the room
at large the following afternoon.

Kate and Edward were in the sitting room enjoying some down
time as Mary took a much needed nap.  They’d been out riding horses all
morning and between the excitement of the activity and the fresh air, Mary had
been done in.  Kate had found a new mystery series in Edward’s vast
library and was laying on the couch, her head in Edward’s lap, reading the
first book of the series.  Edward was rubbing Kate’s head as he channel
surfed, looking for a cricket game. 

Kate and Edward, startled by the appearance of his mother,
jumped a foot in the air.  Kate dropped her book on the floor and almost
followed it when Edward jumped to his feet. 

“Mother!”  Edward said a little too loud.  “I
thought you wouldn’t be here until later,” he said sheepishly as he helped Kate
to her feet.

“That much is apparent,” Charlotte said dryly.  She
walked over to Kate and presented her hand.  “You must be Kate?  I’ve
heard so much about you.”

Kate put her hand in Charlotte’s and was surprised when the
woman pulled Kate into a hug.  “All good, I hope?” Kate asked in a
strangled voice.  Her anxiety levels were through the roof.  She
hadn’t prepared herself for meeting his mother until dinner time. 

Kate shuddered.  Here she was, laying on the couch, her
head in Edward’s lap.  How embarrassing!  This was his
mother
. 
The man practically worshipped the ground this woman walked on.  Kate
couldn’t envision a worse first meeting.

“Absolutely, my dear girl,” Charlotte assured her.  “He
adores you, and I can see why.”

 “Thank you,”  Kate said, blushing.  Not
really sure what to do with herself, Kate sat back down on the couch.  It
wasn’t her house, or her place, to offer refreshments and Edward wasn’t exactly
being the Host with the Most right now.

“So, where’s my new grand-baby?”  Charlotte sat down in
one of the overstuffed chairs.

Kate glanced at Edward in confusion.  Who in the world
was this woman talking about?  Edward hadn’t mentioned a new family
member, at least not that Kate could recall.

“Taking a nap,” Edward said finally breaking out of his
stupor.  “We took Mary horseback riding this morning and she was tuckered
out when we got back.”

“Yes, that’ll wear them out for sure,” Charlotte agreed.

“I’m sure she’ll be up soon,” Kate said, desperately hoping it
was true.  It was wrong of her to use her child as a buffer, but she
couldn’t help it.  Sending telepathic signals up to her sleeping child,
she prayed they shared that special gift.

“Oh, let the child sleep.  I’m sure she’s still
catching up from the time difference,” Charlotte said.  “Besides, this
will give us a chance to visit and get to know each other better.”

Kate paled.  Why was she so nervous about meeting this
woman?

Charlotte chuckled.  “Edward, your Kate looks nervous
to meet me.  What have you told her about me?”

“What?”  Kate paled further.  “No, he’s only had
the nicest things to say about you!”  She said quickly. 

Edward laughed and sitting down next to Kate on the couch,
he linked his fingers with hers.  “Mother, please.”

“What?  I’m just trying to get to know this girl that
has stolen your heart.”

“Mother!”

“Alright, alright!”  Charlotte raised her hands in
surrender.  She sighed and stood.  “I’m going to get some tea, I’ll
be right back.”

Kate watched her go and felt a pang of regret.  Could
their first meeting have gone any worse?  Rising to her feet, Kate excused
herself.  “I’ll go help your mother bring in some refreshments.”

“You don’t have to do that, Kate.  She’ll rope one of
the maids into helping her bring them in.”

“Oh,” Kate paused.  Sighing, she dropped back onto the
couch.  “Oh, Edward, I totally screwed that up.”

“What do you mean?”

Kate gestured wildly with her arms.  “This first
meeting.  I was nervous about meeting her, I stumbled over my words. 
I hadn’t gotten myself psyched up yet because I thought you said she would be
here later.”  Kate stared at the doorway.  “That was your
mother
!” 
Kate dropped her head in her hands and wanted to cry.

Edward scooted closer to Kate and draped his arm around her
shoulders.  “Kate, honey, it’s nothing to worry about.  Mum is very
laid back, I’m sure she didn’t notice anything amiss.”

“She’d have to be blind, Edward!  Look at me, I’m a
mess.  I’m covered in hair from the horse, I have mud on my pants, my hair
is windblown and messy.  And, I was laying in your lap.  I’m sure I
look as frightful as I sounded.  Your mother probably thinks I’m some
crazy person that’s attached herself to you because you were so nice as to show
me some attention one night.”

“Kate, you look beautiful to me.  As always.  A
little horsehair and mussed hair isn’t going to change that,” Edward said as he
hugged her close to his side.  “Let me tell you a secret about my
mum.  She’s sneaky and stealthy, especially when it comes to the
well-being of her children but she has the best heart,” Edward confided. 
“To be honest, she probably had been standing at the doorway for a minute or
two taking in the scene we had presented.”

Kate sighed.  She was totally overreacting, and she had
no idea why.  It wasn’t usually like her to lose this much of her
confidence.  Taking a deep breath, she slowly exhaled.  “She did that
grand entrance on purpose?”

“Yes.  Most likely she wanted to see what you were like
when taken by surprise.  Mum’s not overly fond of people who suck up to
her because she’s my mum.  I’m sorry, I should have warned you,” Edward
said.

“No, it’s ok.  I understand,” Kate said and smiled.

“Just relax and be yourself.  I have one of the coolest
mums out there.  She’ll love you!”  Edward smiled.

“Alright, here’s the tea.  I brought some for
everyone,” Charlotte said as she walked through the door.  She was
carrying three glasses and Kate jumped up to help her.  Kate carefully
extracted two glasses from Charlotte and passed one to Edward.  Sitting back
down next to him, she sipped the tea.

Frantically wracking her brain, Kate couldn’t come up with
one topic to discuss.  What did one discuss when first meeting their
boyfriend’s mother? 

“Kate, Edward says you work for Eclipse Fashion?”

“Yes, for about five years now.  I absolutely love my
job.”

“How did you get into fashion?”

“Well, after Mary was born, I decided to go back to work
part-time.  When I went in for the interview, they informed me that the
part-time position had already been filled and they wanted me for the full-time
position.  The benefits and salary were too good to pass up.  They
have a daycare facility in the building, so Mary and I get to see each other
during the day.  It’s amazing!”

“What do you do?”

“Well, now I’m in charge of the marketing for the current
product line, but when I first started I was an executive assistant.  I
went back to school and got a marketing degree and a few months ago I got
promoted.”

“Congratulations!”

“Thank you!  This company has really been a
blessing.”  Kate sipped her tea.  “How’s Meaghan?”

“Oh, she’s doing as well as can be expected.  She’s
bored.  She wants to be up shopping for the baby and putting the nursery
together,” Charlotte sighed.  “It’s going to be a long nine months.”

“Mum, isn’t there anything we can do to help?”  Edward
asked.

“Well, of course there is.  And we will.  But
that’s not the point.  Meaghan wants to do it herself.”

Kate nodded her head in agreement.  “She’s right. 
It’s called nesting, and it’s instinctual and annoying.  I remember the
feeling,” Kate shuddered as she thought back.  She and Georgie had done
most of the work on Mary’s nursery once Brad had shut down.  Georgie had
insisted that Kate have no part in the painting and wallpapering, and it had
driven Kate crazy.  And when it was time to put the furniture together,
Georgie had insisted that Kate let Tim do it.  To Kate it had felt like it
wasn’t really happening unless she could put her hands on the project.

Edward shook his head.  “That’s above my education
level,” he laughed.

Kate settled back into the couch and her heart lightened
when Edward draped his arm around her shoulders again.  She liked that he
wasn’t afraid to show affection in front of his mother.

They passed an hour chit-chatting and Kate realized that she
had relaxed and was actually enjoying herself.  Kate was surprised to find
out that Edward hadn’t actually seen his mother in a few weeks.  Charlotte
had been up in Scotland helping her sister with the gardening and such. 
Charlotte regaled them with stories from her travels and caught Edward up with
all the gossip from the family.

“Mommy?”

Mary stood in the doorway clutching her lovey.  Kate
smiled and went over to hug Mary.  “How was your nap?”

“Good.  I’m hungry,” Mary said.

“I bet.  All that fresh air is good for an appetite!”

“I’ll go get her something from the kitchen.  You two
cuddle on the couch,” Edward said.

Kate walked Mary over to the couch and sat down. 
“Thank you Edward,” Kate said as she smiled at him.  “Mary, I’d like to
introduce you to someone very special.”  Kate gestured toward
Charlotte.  “This is Edward’s mother, Ms. Charlotte.  Would you say
hello?”

“Hello,” Mary said shyly.

“Well, hello, Mary.  It’s so nice to meet you!” 
Charlotte sent a beaming smile in Mary’s direction.  “I hear you went
riding on the horses this morning.  I bet that was fun!”

Nodding her head rapidly, Mary glanced at her mother. 
“Can we do it again?”

Smiling, Kate nodded.  “Of course.  But let’s wait
a bit.  Edward is getting you a snack and we’re visiting with Ms.
Charlotte.”

“Ok.”  Mary’s face fell but just then Edward returned
with a snack of apples and peanut butter and a smile lit up her face again.

“Thank you,” Mary said as Edward handed her the plate and a
napkin.

“You’re most welcome.”

Charlotte waited for Mary to finish her first apple slice
before asking her another question.  “Mary, which horse did you ride this
morning?”

“Thunder!  Edward let me ride with him on his big
horse.  He was so beautiful, Ms. Charlotte!”

Everyone listened as Mary recounted the morning’s adventure. 
They had roamed all over Edward’s property, through the trees and out on the
pasture.  They had stopped and picked wildflowers and Kate had made a
daisy crown for Mary.  The weather had been cool this morning, so they had
skipped the lake, but Edward promised to take them out there in a day or two
when the weather warmed up.

“Sounds like quite the adventure, little Mary.  Are you
enjoying your trip to London?”

Mary nodded having stuffed another apple in her mouth. 

“Edward, will you be going into the City at all this week?”
Charlotte asked.

“No, probably not.  We’re planning to visit with
Meaghan tomorrow and then hopefully make a day of it at the lake.  And I
think Izzy is coming down on Saturday,” Edward explained.