My Dearest Darling

Chapter 49

The three of them were shown to one of the many round tables lining the grand dining room of one of the best restaurants in all of England, if not the world. The whole interior of the room just exuded opulence and prestige — she almost felt like she was 18, walking into the grand ballrooms of the London season for the first time all over again.

For the first time in months, Mary felt like celebrating. Like all of this had been for a reason. Like things were finally about to go her way again. And she hoped that they would for her entire family. If there was one thing the past months had taught her, then that family really did count for everything. It scared her how close to losing them she had to come to finally realise that when nobody was there for her, her family always was. They always had her back, and she was filled with so much appreciation for all of them that she felt she could burst.

The waiter pulled out the chair for her to sit down while her father did the same for his sister before sitting down next to Mary himself. "Now, who is that mysterious person you asked me to extend the reservation for?" he asked, placing the napkin on his lap the way he usually did with one swift motion.

"Oh, you'll see very soon," Mary smirked. Upon seeing her father's doubtful and outright scared look, she added: "Don't fret, you will enjoy the surprise, I think."

Just when Robert wanted to inquire further, he was interrupted by the fourth chair next to him being pulled back from the table by another waiter. Out of habit, Robert rose from his seat and found himself standing face-to-face with his other daughter. The surprise and shock on his face were clearly visible, his eyes wide while his lips were parted slightly, not only because he had been about to say something. It was abundantly clear to everyone that he had not expected Edith, not in the least.

"What a delightful surprise to find you down in London, Papa," Edith smiled before breathing a kiss on his cheek and smiling warmly at Mary and Rosamund while taking her seat, the waiter still patiently standing behind her chair to push it closer to the table again.

Once the initial shock of her sudden appearance had worn off, Robert quite excitedly asked: "I did not know you were in London. Aren't you entertaining at Brancaster? And where's Bertie?"

"I told you that you would like the surprise guest," Mary smirked at her father before returning her attention to the menu in her hands — but not before exchanging amused looks with her aunt, who seemed to be enjoying the show. Maybe a bit too much.

"I am here on business with the magazine, and Bertie is at Brancaster, overseeing the preparations for his birthday celebration in a few days."

A regretful expression on his face, Robert retorted: "I am still very sorry we will be missing that. Forty is a big milestone."

Edith looked up from the menu and at her father, her brown eyes wide with concern and reassurance. "Oh, don't you worry. Mama's health and convalescence are much more important than yet another birthday celebration. We would not have celebrated at all if it weren't such a big occasion, given Bertie's rank. And Mary has said she would travel North as a proxy for the family, which we think is terribly nice of her."

That last information seemed to be shocking news to the man sitting at the table. He kept glancing from Mary to Edith and back again, not able to fully comprehend what he thought he just heard.

"My, my. You two really have changed, haven't you?" Rosamund interjected, surprise clearly evident in her voice.

His sister was saying out loud exactly what was going through Robert's head at that moment. He had no idea when his daughters had agreed to get along, when they had both finally grown up. In his mind, they were still the squabbling young girls him and Cora had to put up with for years on end. He could swear that just a few short years ago both of them would have wanted nothing more than to see the other rot in hell or if possible in a place even worse. Robert remembered only too vividly how they always seemed to try and make each other's lives as miserable as humanly possible, and he remembered how helpless he and Cora had felt whenever they talked about it.