by Abigail Agar
“Is everything all right, Mr. Hawthorne?” he asked.
“Yes, yes, everything is fine,” the inn keeper said, brushing it away.
“Excuse me, Mr. Hawthorne. It appears that I have offended you in some way. Would you mind telling me what it is that I have done?” Eric asked, knowing well that it was a rather bold and uncomfortable request.
Mr. Hawthorne spluttered.
“W-well, Lord Thornbury, it would appear that your father is in the scandal sheets. You, as his son, have also been named,” Mr. Hawthorne said.
Eric’s pulse began to race. Miss Lockhart and Amelia had really gone through with their threat. They were coming after him now, trying to hurt his family and their good name.
“I see…” he said.
Eric looked to Reginald, who appeared equally upset by this news.
They left the inn and made their way onto the street where they would try to find a coach they could hire, but Eric was shocked that he was receiving so many angry looks from people.
How had they even learned that he was present in Finchley? How did they know that he was there and that he was the Earl of Thornbury?
“We have to find a copy of the scandal sheets. I have no idea how I might protect myself in this, but I must absolutely protect my mother from the gossip and shame that is soon to befall our family name,” Eric said.
“You will be all right. So will your mother. You can both survive this, you simply need to be strong,” Reginald told him.
“There he is,” whispered a father to his son as they passed by Eric.
He let out a sigh of disbelief.
“Are you all right?” Reginald asked.
“No, no I am not. I am concerned for my mother and for everything that is happening. I have never been hated in the very streets that I walk on,” Eric said.
Even as they continued, he saw more and more people looking his way.
“I think I shall have to skip the ride this afternoon,” Eric said.
“You cannot, we must go. Surely, you need the time to enjoy yourself,” Reginald said.
“I cannot and I am sorry for that. But I have another, far more pressing matter at the moment. The idea of riding just now, in the midst of this difficulty, that is something that I cannot abide,” Eric said.
Reginald was evidently disappointed, but Eric had to do this. He could not sit by and let all of this unfold and harm his mother.
When Amelia had made the threat against him, Eric had been thinking only of himself. Certainly, he did not appreciate the hatred that he was suddenly facing, but that was nothing compared to the grief that his mother must be experiencing.
She had been arranged to marry his father, a match without love and only carrying the respect that was socially required. Otherwise, his mother was simply a young woman who had been married off for the sake of a title, as most young women were forced to do.
But now, here she would find herself, in the midst of humiliation. A long-lost, illegitimate daughter of her husband’s had been discovered and everyone was learning about it.
She would be utterly humiliated.
He said goodbye to Reginald and let him leave before making his way towards the edge of town where the postman had said Liza Lockhart lived. When he drew near, he began to subtly ask about her. Mercifully, no one in this area appeared to have known who he was. Perhaps the news had not reached the outskirts of the town yet.
When he reached the tenements that he had been told to go to, Eric took a deep breath. He knocked on the door and an elderly woman instantly stuck her head out the window of the bottom floor.
“Who’re you?” she asked, rather rudely.
“I am here to speak with Miss Lockhart,” he replied.
The woman eyed him with suspicion.
“Oh, you’re the one they warned me would come. Right then, Lizzy said to just send you right in,” the woman said.
So they had been ready for him. They had known that he would visit. That immediately put Eric as a disadvantage as they were already awaiting him.
“Come in,” called a voice from behind a closed door once he reached the second floor.
Yes, they were certainly prepared for him.
Eric opened the door and walked in, seeing Amelia and her darkly complected mother seated on an old bench with a thin cushion.
“I knew that you would be coming,” Liza said.
“I can see that. Thank you for not refusing me,” Eric replied.
“Why would I refuse you? This is a way that I can see the little boy again, the one I cooked and cleaned for all those years. The boy whose father promised that we would be together one day,” Liza said, mock tenderness in her voice.
“I do not remember you,” Eric told her with honesty.
“Ha! You are just like your father. He forgot about me. At least he tried. I am sure that I haunted him until his death. And I can assume that I was hardly the only woman. You never know how many brothers and sisters you have out there in the world,” Liza said.
Eric was greatly disturbed by her attempt to get him in line with her assumptions about his father. No matter what sort of man he had been, there was no reason to assume that there were other children out there. He resented the very notion.
And yet, Eric also knew that there were reasons behind the assumptions made about his father. Frederick Price, the Earl of Thornbury, had not put himself in a very good position much of the time. And yet, as his son, and as a man who had so recently passed away, Eric could not confess this, even to himself.
He cleared his throat and made ready to speak.
“Miss Lockhart, I shall bypass your accusations, if you do not mind, and get to the point of why I have come,” he said.
She cocked an eyebrow and pursed her lips but nodded for him to go on. He glanced at Amelia who sat, reserved and quiet.
“I am sorry for all that my father did. I know that he was a man of many mistakes. He often chided me for not being more like him but, in truth, I am glad that I am not the same as he,” Eric began.
“But you must be warned that I shall not give up. I came here to find my sister and now I have found her. I desire to know her. I have only my mother and Amelia left and it is unbearable to think that I should have to go on without my sister, knowing that she is here,” he said.
“And you believe that I am simply to let you go on with it? That I am to move past what your family did to me and risk my daughter being hurt further?” she asked.
“No, I do not believe that you would let me go on hurting your family. But I have no intention of hurting you. I cannot justify my father’s actions. But what happened to you happened when he was simply a young man. A foolish one,” Eric said.
“And you are not so young and foolish?” she scoffed.
“I am young, but I am not my father. He had been scared about what people might say or think if they learned about the affair,” he said.
“And I was not?” she shot back. Liza stood, angry and filled with venom.
Eric took a step back.
“I was terrified. But I remained silent as to who the father was. I was just as foolish as he was. If I had been vocal about it, if I had shared the truth way back then, things might have turned out differently. But I was also terrified. And I was the one who suffered,” she said.
Liza was right. His father had been selfish.
“He made a foolish, self-centred mistake, Miss Lockhart. He had not even told my own mother about the pregnancy, although she had suspected the affair. Nevertheless, whatever he did to you, however he treated you and the abandonment felt by Amelia, you must know that I am not him,” Eric said again, pleading with her to listen to him, to understand that he was not responsible for all of this.
“I shall not quit. It is high time that the world learns what happened and it is time that your father suffer the humiliation that I did,” she said.
“But he will not. He is dead. It is I and my mother who will suffer,” he said
.
“It is what it is. My child suffered, why should his not? And your mother? She is the very one who sent me away. No, Lord Thornbury, I will not relent. I was broken by him. I shall have my revenge because it is what I deserve, and you can hardly deny that,” she said.
Eric was utterly defeated. He had come to talk sense into the woman, to offer peace, a chance for it anyway. But she would not relent and he had to accept that now. He had to accept that Miss Lockhart was never going to forgive his father and she would forever hold it against him as well.
Eric had wasted the past few days and he was ready to give up. There was no point in continuing to try and reason with Liza. Reginald had been right. He could return to London and write to Amelia now and again, maybe try to visit her in a year and see if she was any closer to accepting him.
He had done all that he could for now.
Eric turned and made for the door.
“I shall see him out,” Amelia said, following behind.
Eric was surprised that she was willing to do that but braced himself for the onslaught of insults and the warnings not to return. As they reached the street outside, she looked at him hard, her eyes cold.
“Do not ever come back here again,” she said, a steely voice hardening against him.
But in the very same breath, she handed him a slip of paper, swift and imaginary a motion as he could have fathomed.
Then, in an instant, she was gone.
Eric hid the paper until he was away from the tenements, closer into town. A few people passed him, their whispers not spoken quietly as they shared the news and gossip about him. But Eric didn’t care. He wanted to know what was on the paper.
The moment he had a chance, he opened it.
Come to the shop tomorrow. We may speak more there.
Chapter 10
Emma had an entire hem to take apart and put back together after the measurements that she had been given by the Duchess of Belcrest had turned out to be wrong. That was why Emma preferred to do measurements on her own, but there were always customers who were determined that they were in a hurry and recalled the numbers from the previous visit to a dressmaker.
But Amelia was all abuzz of another nature.
“You cannot have imagined what it was like to be siting there, being so proud of how my mother spoke to him,” Amelia said.
“Yes, you must have been very proud,” Emma said, her tone dry.
“But there was this small part of me that had a thought of a different nature. I cannot explain it. It was a sudden urge to know this determined man. A sudden need to understand why he cared so much about getting to know me,” Amelia continued.
At this Emma perked up, looking at her friend in wonder. She had not expected this turn of events.
“And? What were you beginning to think?” Emma asked.
“I began to think about how much I would really like to get to know my brother. No matter how much there is between us, no matter what difficulties lie between his father and my mother. I want to know him,” she confessed.
“Really? I never imagined that you would say that,” Emma said.
“I know, but it is true. So, that being said, he is coming here again today,” Amelia said.
Emma was shocked, but she was also somewhat excited. Now, at last, Amelia was beginning to thaw. She was thinking about the possibility of getting to know her brother and maybe she would even be less angry at Emma for being kind to him.
Or perhaps that was too much to hope for.
They did not have long to discuss the matter as they heard the door open and very soon, Lord Thornbury and his friend entered the sewing room together.
“Good afternoon,” he began.
“Good afternoon,” Emma replied, followed by Amelia echoing the same.
“Mr. and Mrs. Bonham are out?” he asked.
“Typically. They claim to run the shop, but most of the time, they are at the pub,” Amelia said, showing her brazen willingness to speak against her employers.
“Well, I suppose that gives us an opportunity to speak,” Lord Thornbury said.
“Yes, I suppose it does. If more customers come in, Miss Sproul will see to them while we speak,” Amelia said.
He nodded in understanding.
“Forgive me, I did not introduce Mr. Day, my dearest friend,” Lord Thornbury said.
“Mr. Day? You are not a titled man?” Amelia asked. It was a challenge, but one that did not appear to bother him.
“I am not. I need no title in order to have worth,” Mr. Day replied.
Silent though he had been, Mr. Day was clearly unafraid to match Amelia’s spirit. He was not simply speaking of the worth of money, Emma surmised. He was challenging her with the fact that he understood that his life had value even without a status in society, something that Amelia clearly did not understand for herself.
Emma watched the exchange with great interest and tried not to show her amusement. But she also wanted to be a balance of friendly and yet loyal to Amelia, gauging her feelings in every breath.
“Well, now that we all know one another, may I proceed?” Amelia asked.
“Please,” Lord Thornbury instructed.
“All right then. First of all, you may not come to my home ever again. That is the primary and strictest of our guidelines,” Amelia said.
“So there are guidelines now? Does that mean that we really do have some sort of agreement that will be made between us? And if –”
“I have not finished speaking,” Amelia said. “Forgive me for being rude, but as you have been so insistent, I am asking you to give me the courtesy to have my say in this matter.”
Emma was impressed. Yes, Amelia could be considered rude, cutting off an earl from speaking as she had done. But it was more than that. There was the faintest hint of a tenderness that she had never shown before when speaking to him.
It was clear to Emma that Lord Thornbury was not afraid to acknowledge that.
“Yes, it was my mistake. Please, continue with the guidelines,” he said.
“You may come to see me at the shop on occasion, but only for small amounts of time. Otherwise, I shall be the one to contact you if I wish us to see one another,” she continued.
“Yes, I understand,” Lord Thornbury said.
“Very well. You see, I am not entirely wanting this interchange between the two of us, but you have been very insistent. And as you have seen, my mother still grieves the past and all that took place. I cannot have you continuing to bring about the pain of memory for her,” Amelia said.
Emma could see the touch of sadness in Amelia’s eyes. She meant what she said. She was worried for her mother and the painful bitterness that this relationship brought.
“I am sorry for having grieved her. I imagine that it was very difficult for her to have seen me and remembered my father. I know that I look very much like him,” the earl said.
