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The Reclusive Earl

Page 19

by Ruth Ann Nordin


  After a moment of silence, the detective asked Miss Kesner and the maid, “Did either of you know about the money?”

  Miss Kesner and the maid glanced at each other, and then Miss Kesner answered, “No. Mr. Hamilton said he would give me a double sovereign for my trouble. When I realized I could not do everything myself, I promised the maid half of that.” After a moment, she glanced at Opal. “My previous employer had so little to her name that I didn’t have much of anything.”

  “I didn’t want to be a maid for the rest of my life,” the maid finally spoke up. “The money would have afforded me a way out of a servant’s life.”

  “How much money do you think is in this townhouse?” the detective asked Mr. Hamilton.

  “He had half a sovereign in the nightstand,” Mr. Hamilton said.

  Warren’s jaw dropped. “He kept that kind of money in an unsecured place?”

  “Now you know why I wanted your sister to think your brother wanted her to go to the country,” Mr. Hamilton replied as if he were talking to a child.

  Warren frowned, but the detective interrupted them. “How much money is or isn’t here is not our concern. That is Lady Chadwick’s business.” The detective’s gaze went to Lady Chadwick. “I advise you to have a servant you trust search through all of your furnishings with you.”

  Lady Chadwick nodded. “Of course, I will.”

  “Who moved everything around the den?” Landon asked when no one said anything for a few seconds.

  The maid glanced at Miss Kesner. “We both did.”

  “And the whispers I heard in the den?” Opal asked her. “Who did those?”

  “Mr. Ackinson was there that day,” the maid replied.

  “That was the day I first saw him in my bedchamber,” Opal told Landon.

  He remembered that day. It was the day when he’d received the urgent message from the lad. He directed his gaze to Mr. Hamilton. “Did you hire a lad to tell me that my brother needed me on the morning Mr. Ackinthon came to my wife’th bedchamber?” Though he noticed the lisping he was doing, he forced aside his unease about it. This was more important than how much he was embarrassing himself.

  “Yes, I paid the lad to do that,” Mr. Hamilton admitted. Then he looked at the detective. “Is there anything else?”

  The detective glanced at Landon, Opal, and Warren. Landon couldn’t think of anything else. It was easy enough to put the rest of the pieces of the puzzle together now that he knew Miss Kesner and the maid had been the ones to switch things around the den, Mr. Ackinson had played the part of the departed brother, and Mr. Hamilton had taken care of the rest.

  “Do you want to know anything that they haven’t mentioned?” Landon asked Opal.

  She shook her head. “No. I know all I need to.”

  “I think we’re done,” Landon told Detective Hall.

  The detective nodded and then gestured for the four culprits to leave with him. “I’ll make sure they don’t cause any more problems,” he assured Landon.

  Landon thanked him. As the detective led the four out of the townhouse, Landon turned to Opal. “How are you doing?”

  “Much better. It helps to know what’s been going on and why,” she replied.

  Lady Chadwick, still looking overwhelmed, rose to her feet, and Landon, Opal, and Warren followed suit. “What an unfortunate thing you went through.” She went to Opal and gave her a hug. “I thought Mr. Hamilton was a nice gentleman, and to find out he was behind all of this…” She shook her head. “There are no words to describe how I feel.”

  “You really should get a servant through here to help you find the rest of your husband’s money,” Warren said. “If I was him, I’d want it with you where it belongs.”

  “Yes, I’ll go get one and come right back.” She glanced at Landon and Opal. “I’ll try to make it quick.”

  “Take as long as you need,” Opal said.

  She smiled at Landon and Opal. “I’m glad I went with you two. You’re very sweet people, and those are the kind I want to live here.”

  After she left, Warren crossed his arms. “If you ask me, trying to make a young lady think she’s seeing the ghost of her dead brother is in poor taste. I hope Detective Hall gives those four what they deserve.”

  “He will,” Landon said, joining Opal in standing up. “Guy promithed Detective Hall will do the right thing.”

  Warren nodded and looked at his sister. “Why didn’t you tell me or Iris what was happening?”

  “I didn’t want anyone to know,” she replied. “I didn’t even want to tell Landon. I didn’t want anyone to know there was something wrong with me.”

  “But there wasn’t,” Warren said.

  “We know that now. But I didn’t know it then. Warren, I remember how everyone used to look at me when I was pretending I was insane. I didn’t want to be pitied like that again. I wasn’t planning to even tell Landon. He just happened to find me right after I thought I imagined seeing Byron’s ghost.”

  “You can’t blame her for not wanting to tell anyone,” Landon told Warren. “It ith hard to be different from your family, let alone everyone in London.”

  Warren glanced between Landon and Opal then sighed. “I suppose you’re right. I’ve never had to deal with a lisp or had to worry that someone might think I was losing my mind. It’s just that…” He paused. “We’re family. You should be able to come to me about anything.”

  “We did come to you,” Landon said. “Why do you think I wanted your help today?”

  “I just wish it hadn’t taken so long.” Warren turned his gaze to Opal. “If Landon hadn’t insisted you tell him what was happening, would you still be keeping this whole thing a secret?”

  She lowered her gaze to the floor, and Landon put his arm around her shoulders.

  “Forgive me,” Warren said, his expression softening. “I’m not as sensitive to these things as you two are. I just don’t want to see anyone I care about going through something like this.”

  Opal looked back at him. “I know you don’t. I wasn’t trying to hide it from you as much as I was trying to hide it from myself. I didn’t want to believe what was going on. As soon as I told anyone, it was going to be real.”

  “When you put it that way, it’s understandable,” Warren replied. “In the future, though, please know that Landon and I won’t think there’s anything wrong with you.”

  “We won’t,” Landon told her, hoping to further assure her. “You’re perfect. We know that.”

  She laughed. “I’m far from perfect, but I appreciate you saying I am.” She stepped away from him so she could hug her brother. “Thank you for helping me and Landon.”

  “I’ll always help you both,” Warren promised, returning her hug. “We need to support each other.”

  “I know,” she said.

  He released her and smiled at Landon. “I’m glad you came to me. It’s nice to know we took care of the situation.”

  Once Warren left, Opal hugged Landon. “Thank you. It’s nice to know you never lost faith in me.”

  He gave her a kiss. “I’ll alwayth believe in you.” He smiled and brushed her cheek. “Do you feel up to eating dinner?”

  She nodded. “Now that everything is over, I’m famished.”

  Slipping her arm around his, she let him lead her out of the room and to the dining room.

  Epilogue

  A Year Later

  Opal smiled down at her three-month-old daughter as she cradled her in her arms. Little Dorothy stared at her for a moment, and then she returned her smile. Opal felt tears well up in her eyes. She had dreamt of the moment when her daughter would return her smile, and it was far more wonderful than she’d hoped.

  “I love you,” she whispered then kissed Dorothy on the forehead.

  “I knew you’d make a good mother,” Iris said.

  Opal looked up from her baby and over at Iris who was watching her one-year-old twin children. Iris, her children, Virginia, and Virginia’s daught
er, who was only six months older than Iris’ children, were all gathered in Iris’ drawing room as they waited for dinner.

  Danielle and Thalia were playing side by side with a couple of toys. It had taken some coaxing on Iris’ and Virginia’s part, but the two had managed to stop trying to steal the other’s toy. Stuart, on the other hand, seemed more content to walk from one chair to another than playing with any toys.

  Stuart made his way over to Opal and looked down at Dorothy. Dorothy, in turn, furrowed her eyebrows and studied him. Giggling, Opal helped Dorothy sit up on her lap so Dorothy could get a better look at her cousin.

  “You remember Dorothy, don’t you?” Iris asked her son.

  He looked over at Iris before saying, “Dor.” He turned his attention back to Dorothy and touched her nose.

  Dorothy reached out for him, and her whole body followed. Stuart backed up as if he was afraid she would fall on him, so Opal pulled her back toward her.

  “It’s all right, Stuart,” Opal said. “She’s not going to fall on you. I’m holding her.”

  Either not believing Opal or losing interest, he proceeded on to the next chair.

  “Stuart likes to explore everything,” Iris said. “Danielle is content to sit and play, but he doesn’t like to sit still for long.”

  “Usually Thalia is like that, too, but I notice she’s enjoying her time with Danielle,” Virginia spoke up. “I think they’ll be good friends. Of course, Dorothy will be friends with them as soon as she’d old enough to play with them.”

  “I’m glad our children are close in age,” Opal said. “It’ll be nice to know they’ll grow up together.”

  Opal hadn’t had anyone to play with when she was little. Well, there was Byron, but he spent most of his time with their father. Opal had to come up with imaginary friends to help pass the time when she wasn’t reading books.

  “It is,” Iris agreed. “It’s also nice we’re good friends.”

  “That’s true, too,” Virginia said. “And our husbands get along as well, though Guy has a difficult time understanding everything Warren is trying to teach him about managing money. That doesn’t come easy to him like it does with Landon.”

  Opal chuckled as she cradled her daughter back in her arms. “Landon finds the whole topic boring. He listens to Warren and Guy out of respect to them.”

  “While I agree there are things to enjoy that have nothing to do with money,” Iris began, “it’s our mutual love of money that brought Warren and me together. I don’t think he would have fallen in love with me otherwise.”

  Amused, Opal asked, “Tell me the truth, Iris. Is Warren already starting to show Stuart and Danielle coins?”

  Iris’ face went pink. “We’ve both done it.”

  Opal and Virginia laughed. “I’m surprised their first word wasn’t ‘money’,” Opal told Virginia.

  “Well, it is difficult for them to sound out the letter ‘m’,” Virginia replied.

  “What do you and Guy do with Thalia?” Iris asked Virginia.

  “We spend a lot of time outdoors with her and enjoy the day,” Virginia said.

  “I’m sure Landon will want to take Dorothy out horseback riding as soon as she’s old enough,” Opal told them. “He loves horses. While we were in the country this past winter, he went out riding almost every day. I love horses, too, but between expecting Dorothy and then giving birth to her, I didn’t join him. We did do a lot of walking when the weather was nice, though.”

  “Maybe we can convince Warren and Iris to let their children go outside once in a while to enjoy the fresh air,” Virginia teased.

  “We can hide coins around the park and have the children search for them,” Opal added.

  Iris let out a good-natured groan. “We’re not that awful, and you two know it.” Then, with a grin, she continued, “It would be fun to hide coins in this room and have our children search for them when they’re older. It’d be like a treasure hunt.”

  “I will admit that particular game would be a fun one,” Virginia said.

  “I will, too,” Opal agreed. “We should do that in another year.” Catching sight of Warren, Guy, and Landon entering the drawing room, Opal rose to her feet. “I think dinner is ready.”

  Iris and Virginia glanced at the doorway as their husbands entered the room.

  “The butler said it’s time to eat,” Warren announced.

  Two maids followed the gentlemen into the room and went over to the children. “We’ll watch them while you have dinner.”

  Opal gave her daughter one more smile. “I’ll be back soon.” Then she handed her daughter to one of the maids.

  “I’ll take good care of her,” the maid said.

  Did Opal’s hesitation in handing her over to Iris’ maid show on her face? She had hoped no one would pick up on her apprehension. Up to this point, she hadn’t spent much time away from Dorothy. Yes, she had a new maid who was very kind and helpful to take care of her daughter, but this was the first dinner party she’d attended since her daughter’s birth.

  Virginia came over to her and offered her an understanding smile. “Once you become a mother, your world is wrapped up in your child. It does get easier to spend time away from your child, though. I promise.”

  “I know you’re right,” Opal replied. “And we’ll only be apart from them during dinner.”

  “Which is why we get to include our children in our dinner parties.”

  Opal returned her smile. Virginia really did understand her. It was important that Opal be the best mother she could possibly be, and she knew part of that was the ability to let her child be her own person. She couldn’t hover over Dorothy all the time. It was going to be a challenge to find the balance between being a mother who was an active part in her child’s life while also allowing her child the freedom to develop her own personality. She supposed as long as Dorothy knew she was loved and safe, that was what really mattered. And she and Landon had built a home where Dorothy would know those things.

  Landon walked up to her and placed his hand on the small of her back. “Are you ready?” he softly asked.

  “Yes, I’m ready,” she replied.

  “I love you, Opal,” he whispered and then kissed her cheek. “You’re a wonderful wife, and you make a wonderful mother.”

  Knowing he spoke from his heart, she gave him a grateful smile. “I’m glad we’re together. Maybe we didn’t get married in the traditional way, but I really believe it was fate that brought us together.”

  “I think that, too.”

  He gave her another kiss, and then the two followed the other couples to the dining room.

  If you would like to learn more about Opal’s background, I include it in The Earl’s Wallflower Bride.

  Helena, Melissa, and Chloe are arranging marriages, but not all will go smoothly on the way to a happily ever after…

  Warren Beaufort, the Earl of Steinbeck, prides himself on having the best of the best. From his furnishings in his townhouse to his clothes, he chooses everything with the intention of impressing others. And more than that, he has amassed a fortune that is the envy of many in London. One thing he lacks, however, is an heir. In order to get the heir, he’ll need a wife.

  Lady Iris, the Duke of Hartwell’s daughter, has money, but she lacks both grace and looks. One thing she does have, however, is the good sense to know a gentleman like Warren is all wrong for her, which is why she’s horrified to learn she’s been matched with him for marriage. But the Duchess of Ashbourne and her friends assure her that she and Warren have so much in common they are an ideal match.

  Having no way out of the marriage her father has arranged for her, she has no choice but to marry Warren. While she might have to give him the heir, she will never, under any circumstance, give him something far more precious…her heart.

  You can find more information about the book here: https://booklaunch.io/ruthannnordin/theearlswallflowerbride

  Coming Next in the Marriage by Fate Series:<
br />
  Married In Haste (Marriage by Fate: Book 2)

  Next is Miss Ava Baynes’ story. She will marry Brad Bachman, Earl of Youngtown.

  Lord Youngtown wants to marry. Though he tells everyone it’s because he needs to start on the matter of getting an heir, deep down he’s a romantic at heart and longs for a love match. A simple scandal not of his doing gives him a lady who isn’t the kind of lady he wants…but it might give him the lady he needs.

  Reserve Your Copy of Married In Haste!

  All Books by Ruth Ann Nordin

  (Chronological Order)

  Regencies

  Marriage by Scandal Series

  The Earl’s Inconvenient Wife

  A Most Unsuitable Earl

  His Reluctant Lady

  The Earl’s Scandalous Wife

  Marriage by Deceit Series

  The Earl’s Secret Bargain

  Love Lessons With the Duke

  Ruined by the Earl

  The Earl’s Stolen Bride

  Marriage by Arrangement Series

  His Wicked Lady

  Her Devilish Marquess

  The Earl’s Wallflower Bride

  Marriage by Bargain Series

  The Viscount’s Runaway Bride

  The Rake’s Vow

  Taming The Viscountess – coming June or July 2017

  If It Takes A Scandal – coming September or October 2017

  Marriage by Fate Series

  The Reclusive Earl

  Standalone Regency

  Her Counterfeit Husband

  Historical Western Romances

 

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