The servant girls curtsied quickly then scurried out of the room. Lydia and Susannah remained behind. He turned to them.
“I would like for just you to stay,” he told Lydia. “I don’t want to do this alone.”
Lydia understood. She gave Susannah a meaningful glance, and her friend also immediately curtsied and left the room. Edwin and Lydia were left alone. Silently, almost solemnly, he approached the bed. The letters were neatly folded into a small pile, and there was a red ribbon wrapped around them, keeping them elegantly in place.
“This is exactly like my sister,” he said, looking at the letters. “Whenever she truly cared about something, she made sure that it was kept nicely wrapped in a nice box or at least with a nice ribbon. She is careful like that.”
Lydia smiled. It always warmed her heart to hear with what affection he spoke about his sister. It was apparent that he truly cared about her.
He sat on the bed, taking the pile into his hands. He pulled one end of the ribbon, and it loosened up. He unfolded the first letter. He could see that Lydia wondered if she should sit by his side, but she decided against it. wanting to allow him a private moment with the letters. After all, it washissister, not hers. He appreciated her thoughtfulness although something inside of him wanted him by her side. He wanted her presence around him, calming him down in his most dire moment of need.
He swallowed heavily, before starting to read aloud. “My dear Lady Rachel, I hope you shall forgive me for this intrusion upon your time, but ever since I laid my eyes on you, I have fallen madly in love with you. Your beauty is truly beyond compare. Your smile is as radiant as the sun itself, and your eyes… they sparkle brighter than the stars at night.” He paused, frowning.
It was one cliché after another. Smile as bright as the sun. Eyes that sparkle like the stars or in another version, like diamonds. Those were phrases used by those who could not come up with anything better, anything more original.
He lifted his gaze to meet hers. “Rachel had no admirers,” he said, explaining. “She was… insecure. Lovely, but very shy.”
“A wallflower,” Lydia reminded him of the word he was looking for.
“Yes,” he smiled. It was a melancholy smile. It broke her heart.
That explained why Rachel would grab onto these cliché statements of tenderness and appreciation. She wasn’t used to receiving such attention from gentlemen. When the first one came along and offered her his compliments, she gladly accepted them. Edwin could understand that.
Edwin looked back down at the letter and continued to read. “I fear I am much too timid to reveal my identity to you as of now. All I can offer is my undying devotion, for a lady as exquisite as yourself comes along only once in a lifetime. I know I shall be asking far too much of you if I even dream of a response, but I wish you to know that it would make me the happiest man alive. If you wish to reply, please take your letter to Crownsfield Park and leave it under the bench, the one by the little fountain. I shall find it easily. I would love it dearly if you would approve of this love pursuit. For that is what this is — a love pursuit. With this, I end my silly profession of love and hope that my words have not been thrown against the wind in vain. Yours forever, your secret admirer.”
This was where Edwin stopped reading.
“No name?” Lydia asked.
“No,” Edwin shook his head. “Just a secret admirer.”
“Are the rest of the letters from the same man?” she asked although it was obvious to both of them that this was merely the first letter in a row of other, similar ones.
He took the second letter and continued to read. It basically retold the same things only in different words. There was yet another profession of love, his gratitude that she had somehow been brought into his life, and his desire for this love to never disappear. However, there was something else in there. He was thanking her for writing back.
Then, Edwin read the next letter and the next, until there were only two left. Even though they could not see Rachel’s replies, it was evident that she was intrigued by the man, that she was more than flattered to be considered so beautiful and so special by someone. She was interested in the stranger, whoever he was.
Edwin took the penultimate one and with a heavy sigh, continued to read. “My dearest, sweetest Rachel,” it started. “Seeing you was like climbing on top of the highest mountain and truly breathing in the freshest air for the first time in my entire life. I have never been so utterly enthralled by someone, so completely smitten by someone’s beauty and personality. You truly are precious, Rachel. I am so fortunate to have found you, to have you love me back as much as I love you.”
Edwin looked up at Lydia. He wondered if she could read the look on his face. He was filled with rage, with displeasure, with guilt that all of this was happening right underneath his nose, and he never noticed it. Not even for a moment did he suspect that his sister, his wallflower sister, was courted by a stranger in the night.
“They met,” he said, almost not believing that he was saying these words out loud. “She went and met this man… I… I cannot believe my sister did this…”
“Don’t blame her.” Lydia rushed to sit by his side. The moment she did that, something inside of him lit up. He turned to her. “You said it yourself. She was insecure of herself, of the way she looked. None of this is her fault.”
“You’re right,” he sighed, feeling guilty that he even thought of that.
“Read the rest of it,” she urged.
He had had enough. He could barely go on, but he knew he needed to. They needed to go through all the letters. Perhaps there was more to be found out about this man, about his identity.
Edwin cleared his throat then went on. “There is nothing I would love more than to take a stroll with you through Hyde Park, hand in hand, and show everyone that you belong to me, that you belong with me. Alas, that is not possible yet. That is why I must implore you to keep our correspondence a secret for a little while longer. Then, when the time is right, I promise you that we shall tell everyone and allow them to celebrate our love with us.”
“See?” Lydia pointed at the letter. “He was forcing her to keep this a secret.”
“That scoundrel!” Edwin growled. He felt like crumpling the letters and throwing them into the fire in rage, but he knew that would be the worst thing he could do. They needed the letters. They were their only trace of that man. Without them, they would never be able to find him.
“He obviously didn’t want anyone to find out about them,” Lydia said, pondering on what he just read.