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“I am taking her away because I want to,” Edgar replied, leading Alessandra away from his grandmother. There was a lot he wanted to say but now was not the time when dinner was about to start soon. He already knew it would not be a conversation his grandmother would take well.

“Edgar!” Rose called to him as his behavior was absurd. “Alessandra,” she turned to the young woman in hopes she would get Edgar to leave her be to speak with Alessandra.

Unfortunately, Alessandra was grateful for Edgar suddenly wanting her as the conversation about the furniture she did not want to change and referring to Hazel by her name would be over. She would hear more of it later but as of right now, she wanted to only focus on Edgar and the people here for him.

“We can finish our conversation after dinner,” Alessandra said, not stopping Edgar from taking her away. She realized Alfred did not want her when they walked right past him and started to go upstairs. “Where are we going, Edgar?”

“To have a quick chat without being interrupted,” he replied.

“Does it have something to do with your grandmother bringing up my background? You interrupted her but I knew where she was going. I am not offended by it if that is what you are pulling me aside to ask. I knew from day one I came into this marriage with nothing to offer you though I thought my father being a baron didn’t make my background that bad,” Alessandra said. She still came from a decent household.

Alessandra was already prepared for anyone to point out the distance between her and Edgar. She just didn’t think it would be Rose. “I should have paid more attention to making the house better for her arrival. I don’t want this to spoil your evening,” she added.

“You are not the one ruining it. It’s the person who is making my mother right. I detest it whenever my mother is right. If changing furniture regularly is not something you care to do then just say it. You do not have to do everything she asks of you because she is my grandmother,” Edgar said, knowing it was the reason she was going along with what Rose wanted. She didn’t want to upset one of the few relatives he was close to.

.....

“I did try to say it is not something I want to do a moment ago but it wasn’t taken well. Rose is quite stubborn when it comes to this so I do not think it will be easy for me to get past this without making her even more upset. Your birthday dinner is not the right time for this so I hope it won’t be brought up again,” Alessandra said.

Celebrating Edgar’s birthday should not be overshadowed by something as silly as changing furniture. Just because you had the money at your fingertips didn’t mean you should spend it every season to please the eyes of visitors.

“Whatever you like or don’t like, stand firm on even if it makes anyone unhappy. I am included in this. If you are worried about how your relationship with her might change, I will speak with her. I already intended to,” Edgar said as his mother’s words weighed on his mind.

Then he couldn’t help forgetting what he witnessed from Rose in his youth. He always knew what type of woman she was but she couldn’t do as she pleased with his wife.

“Thank you,” Alessandra replied, happy to be left out of it. Edgar was better at speaking with his grandmother than she was. “If it is brought up when you are not around, I will deal with it on my own. I cannot always rely on you to save me from conflict.”

Edgar didn’t see why he could not. “Why can’t I resolve conflict in your place? What is wrong with a husband helping his wife?” He asked.

“If you have to fix everything I will be seen as weak for always depending on you. I want to stand up for myself and not have to rely on anyone else. Quite frankly, I would like that you aren’t always aware of when I am having trouble with someone because I always have a little fear you will become annoyed with it,” Alessandra said as it had been on her mind from the moment he first defended her.

There were some things she wanted to do on her own and many things she wanted to hide from him. Trouble seemed to love her and when she came into conflict with another woman she wanted to deal with it without Edgar having to learn of each argument. She wanted to stand up to Rose but it was different compared to going against Sophia or Kate.

Edgar sighed, touching his face to calm himself. “It is not you that I become annoyed with. It is the people around you. It would be different if you go around starting a mess I have to clean up but it is the other way. People bring their stupid views, opinions, thoughts, or judgments to you when you are just trying to enjoy yourself. It is not a bad thing to have a husband to aid you.”

“Perhaps but I can’t shake the feeling of being weak. I think it is better if I go back to speak with Rose before dinner. There might be a greater chance of a rift in our relationship if she thinks I complained to you. I don’t want to change the furniture and as you said I should be firmer. Please let me deal with it,” Alessandra requested.

Edgar knew his grandmother’s stubbornness and wanted to deal with the matter alone but he could not steal away the chance for Alessandra to speak up. “Just know there is a conversation I must have with her about something else. If you are certain it can be done quickly without an argument, you should speak with her now. You’ve anticipated this dinner far more than I have for it to be ruined by talk of furniture.”

Alessandra chuckled as it seemed so silly she was a little at odds with Rose over furniture. “I never thought there would be a day I needed to defend not changing furniture. I am seeing more and more of why you do not let guests in your house. Even family.”

“It has taken you this long to see why? I thought it-”

“Dear lovely couple, please forgive me for interrupting,” Dominic said as he approached the pair standing at the top of the stairs. “Edgar, I believe I searched this entire house but I have not found a single cigar. Did you hide them from me?”

“Why would I waste my time hiding something from you? I tossed them out this morning to not be tempted to use them,” Edgar answered. These days he needed to have a cigar but had a feeling Alessandra would stay out of his reach if she smelt he had used one. It was either the cigar or Alessandra to clear his mind and his pick would always be Alessandra.

Alessandra was surprised to hear Edgar had tossed out his cigars. She never liked the smell of cigars from when her father would use them or he would have guests over and the horrible smell ruined the air. There were other ways to enjoy yourself instead of smoking.

Alessandra liked to believe he stopped because of what she said when they first met. She had not seen him smoking a cigar from the first day she started to live here. “I will see the two of you shortly,” she excused herself, taking the interruption as a chance to speak with Rose before dinner started.

“Edgar, I can deal with you getting married but you throwing out those cigars is where I draw the line. How could you do this…” Dominic’s words became faint as Alessandra walked downstairs.

She returned to where they had left Rose but she was not there. Alessandra was about to ask a maid until she heard the sound of Rose’s voice and Alfred’s coming from the dining room.

Alessandra walked to the dining room, finding the two standing by the table laughing about something, and when Rose saw her coming, there was a look of disapproval. Alessandra knew that look quite well to mistake it for something else.

“Alfred, it is good to have you back. I know this is abrupt but do you mind if I have a word with Rose alone?” Alessandra asked, wanting the conversation to just be with the two of them so she could put her foot down on her own.

“Of course,” Alfred excused himself. He desperately wanted to inspect how the maids did in his absence.

Once Alfred was out of sight, Rose spoke up first. “Are we going to be interrupted by Edgar again? I get the feeling there might have been a complaint about what I have been telling you. He has never looked at me the way he looks at his mother.”

“No,” Alessandra shook her head. “It is just me and you right now. Please take a seat.”