Chapter 6
He shouted from behind, “Who would dare marry a woman who’s already exchanged vows and entered the bridal chamber? If I claim you’ve already been mine, you’ll be nothing but soiled goods!”
Fury ignited in my chest. As I whirled to retort, a man struck Edmund unconscious from behind.
I froze. The man spoke coldly, “A man like this is truly a disgrace to men.” He raised his head, and I recognized him. It was Lord Stafford, one of my father’s cavalry commanders, Lynx.
I stared at him, stammering, “Lord Stafford, you knocked him out…what will we do now?”
Lynx kicked him hard and dragged him to the lake, dropping half of his body into the water. “Don’t worry, he’ll wake up once the cold hits him,” he muttered, then took a flask of wine from his waist and poured it over Edmund. “Getting drunk really causes problems.”
I whispered to my maid: “Ensure Margaret hears her beloved lies unconscious in the gardens.”
I returned to the flower hall, and after a moment, I said casually, “I heard that the Princess’s estate has rare two–toned Lily. I wonder if I could have the honor to admire them?”
The Princess, eager for any attention to her garden, seized the opportunity. “Eleanor, you’re always so playful! Let me take you to see them today. They’re quite beautiful.”
A group of us followed the Princess to the back garden. As we approached the flowers, suddenly, from behind a rock formation near the lake, we heard the sounds of intimate whispers.
“Edmund…your mother bars me from you…” Margaret’s voice dripped with false sweetness.
“My darStafford, I’ve longed for you.”
“Lord Edmund, are you going to marry someone else, not me?”
“What other woman could take your place? You know I love your body most of all, it’s so soft and tender, just like it has no bones. You little temptress, now that you’ve pregnant, you’re even more irresistible.”
“Please, Lord Edmund, have mercy. I’m carrying your child…please be gentle…”
The sounds of their passionate exchange made all the noblewomen blush.
The Princess was furious. To have such scandalous behavior in her own house was a huge embarrassment to her banquet.
“Who’s there? Guards, pull them out!” The Princess commanded.
When the guards stormed into the cave, a sharp voice came out, “What are you doing? I’m Lady Edmund! How dare you!”
When Edmund was dragged out, his clothes were drenched, while Margaret was disheveled, her outer gown torn by the impatient Edmund, leaving her in nothing but her undergarments, her shoulders and neck marked with bruising kisses. It was clear what had just transpired.
“How dare you do such a thing in broad daylight?” the Princess fumed.
The other ladies covered their mouths and whispered, “This Lord Edmund is really shameless, doing this in someone else’s house while his concubine is pregnant.”
“Oh, that’s the slut from Norland Keep, right?”
“Such behavior is a disgrace to Norland Keep’s family.”
Lady Norland arrived and nearly fainted upon seeing the scene. “Get her dressed, and get her back to the estate, now!”
Her face turned various shades of red and blue as Edmund yelled, “Mother, I’ve been wronged! Someone knocked me out, and when I woke up, I saw Margaret. My clothes were soaked, and Margaret used her body to keep me warm.
”
He pointed at me and shouted, “It was Eleanor who knocked me out!”
The room erupted in an uproar. “What? Lady Eleanor knocked him out?”
My eyes welled up with tears as I leaned close to the Princess. “Princess, I’ve been here with you the whole time, talking to the ladies. How could I have knocked him out? Besides, I’m just a weak woman. How could I knock him out? Princess, Lord Edmund of Norland has humiliated me time and time again. Please, help me.”
The Princess patted my hand gently. “Don’t worry, I will stand by you. Eleanor was with us the entire time in the flower hall, and we can all testify to that ”
Glap 6
“That’s right! How could a delicate lady knock out such a man?”
“Now he’s making false accusations?”
Edmund’s eyes flickered, and he suddenly shouted, “Before I lost consciousness, I vaguely heard her call out to Lord Stafford. She must have been secretly meeting with him. When I discovered them, he knocked me out to silence me!”
