Edgar kept his attention on Alessandra as he walked up the stairs to stand before her.
"That went well. I was afraid the time had come for you to get rid of Mark. He meant well," Alessandra said in Mark’s defence.
Mark was a man of the court who cared for everyone. He didn’t need to have loyalty to the Collinses.
"I know," Edgar replied, though it didn’t matter to him. "But he can mean well elsewhere. I know you well, Alessandra. You hear of how Kate is, and you start to feel sorry for her."
"Well, I am not a monster. I can feel sorry for her and at the same time, don’t want to hear more. It is time for Kate to learn from her mistake and do better. I thought she did so years ago," Alessandra said, a little curious why it had taken so long.
"Is her son well?" Alessandra asked, her mind fixed on Warren. "Will he return to her?"
Edgar didn’t know what Tyrion was doing with Warren, but he was certain Warren wouldn’t see his mother again.
Edgar caressed Alessandra’s face. "Don’t worry about it."
"I am a mother, so how can I not worry about it? If I were to lose any of our children, I don’t know how I would rest. If you hand him back over to Kate, then Warren might speak of where he was, and the town guards might have something to use against you, right?" Alessandra asked, putting the pieces together.
"Yes," Edgar nodded. "But I never planned on returning him. While you are kind to feel sorry for Kate or her son, I don’t. I have left her family alone for years, but he came to us."
"I know," Alessandra softly replied.
Edgar had shown Kate kindness in secret by allowing money to be sent to help Clark.
The two families had left each other alone until recently.
Alessandra couldn’t have Edagr taken by the town guards. It was a terrible position to be in, but Alessandra had to choose her family.
"Then, you cannot give him back," Alessandra replied.
Each word pricked at her heart.
Never before would Alessandra have agreed with keeping a son away from his mother, no matter the age.
"Alessandra," Edgar said, holding her hand. "I don’t have him."
Alessandra frowned. "If you don’t have him, then who does?"
"It is best that you don’t know. Next time, don’t go to Mark and let me be the one to speak with him. Promise me," Edgar said, sticking out his left pinky for a deal to be made.
Alessandra laughed at the sight of his finger. "If I am not there, I worry that you might harm him. If anything happens to Mark, you will be suspected. I’m quite certain he would have told his peers to suspect you. You cannot leave me with our four children."
Still, Alessandra made a promise to Edgar.
If Mark was going to keep coming with news about Kate, Alessandra didn’t want to know. It was better this way. There was no more hate for Kate, and Alessandra wished to keep her distance.
"I am not leaving you," Edgar promised. "And you cannot leave me. Should something happen to you, our children shall be on their own. I will follow you."
"Edgar!" Alessandra gasped. "You shouldn’t say that. I wouldn’t be happy if you were to follow me."
Edgar placed his left hand on his chest, pretending to be wounded. "You don’t love me that much?"
Alessandra shook her head and said, "I am not speaking of this. I fear it will start something bad."
"You have wounded my heart, Alessandra. The least you can do is kiss where you have hurt me," Edgar said, patting his chest.
"I miscounted how many children I have. I am not Priscilla to be kissing your wounds at this age. You are also not hurt, Edgar. I should fix it with news. Melody sent a letter requesting to speak with us and Penelope. Tyrion must be present as well," Alessandra shared.
Edgar’s mood dampened, but it wasn’t because he disliked Melody. Melody was the only good thing to come out of Melanie’s return.
Edgar wasn’t thrilled about the visit since it meant he would have to hear about Melanie.
Alessandra raked her fingers through Edgar’s messy hair. "She says it is important. Since you, Penelope, and Tyrion must be present, it is not something we can ignore. I have not long ago sent a guard to Penelope’s home to see if she could come by."
"I would have to change my plans for tomorrow and leave home tonight. I have money to collect," said Edgar.
Alessandra knew right away that Edgar spoke of Erin and Dale.
Alessandra couldn’t stop Edgar since he had left plenty of time for Erin or Dale to come to them.
Though Edgar wouldn’t admit to it, he had shown great kindness by giving Erin plenty of time.
"I see. You should wait for Lily to return before you leave," said Alessandra.
"I hope to be back before dinner. Since the town is becoming dangerous again, I thought it would be best for one of us to pray. I shall visit a church on behalf of all of us," Edgar said, kissing Alessandra’s cheek.
Edgar let go of Alessandra’s hand and walked around her.
Alessandra thought the idea was sweet until something dawned on her.
"Edgar, you must leave Peter alone. He will faint at the sight of you," Alessandra said, worried for Peter’s sake. "There is a church here in town."
"But there isn’t a priest who tried to scam me. I promised to torment Peter all his life since I spared him, and I haven’t been doing so. I am only going there to pray," Edgar promised.
Should more than praying happen, it would be Peter’s fault.
"I do not believe you are only going there to pray, and neither will Peter. He was stabbed by Simon and was lucky to be alive. I think that is enough punishment for him, so you can leave him be," said Alessandra.
Alessandra followed Edgar.
"It doesn’t make up for how much he tried to scam me out of. I will haunt him for the rest of his life. It truly is a blessing that Simon didn’t kill him. Would you not like me to thank him for marrying Penelope to Tyrion?" Edgar asked.
"No," Alessandra replied. She would rather not have Edgar scare a priest to death. "That poor man," she sighed.
Alessandra gave up. "I must go to Isabelle since she might still be worried. Have fun plotting to scare a priest."
Alessandra hoped for Peter’s sake that after Penelope found him, he was smart enough to move so he could escape Edgar.