Persephone’s mother nodded, “All right, but just for a little bit. You need to take your medicine and rest if we are to attend the other ball tonight.”
Persephone nodded, and her mother left the room. Eden hurried to Persephone’s side, and leaned over to give her a hug. “Are you feeling unwell? We can come back?”
Eden said, and Persephone shook her head, “No, I am fine. My mother thinks I am always deathly ill. She has thought that for my entire life. But I am fine.”
Eden smiled at her, “That is good to hear you aren’t ill. I do apologize for all the commotion last night.”
Persephone smiled, “It is just fine Eden. I loved it. It was all so exciting. Will you sit down and tell me all about it?”
Eden laughed, “I will. But first, Persephone, this is Lily. She is Cole’s sister.”
Persephone turned to see Lily standing off to the side, she smiled, “Hello! I have seen you before on his arm. But you are his sister? That is perfect, Eden thought you were his wife.”
Eden blushed, “Yes, I did.”
Lily laughed and stepped forward, “Yes, I am Cole’s younger sister. Not his wife. He isn’t married, at least not yet.”
She nudged Eden, and hugged Persephone. “I saw your dress last night. I think you looked lovely. Eden told me that this is your first season?”
Eden and Lily sat on a settee across from Persephone’s chair. Persephone nodded, “Yes, my one and only. My parents refuse to let me have another. They fear I am too ill. And that another season will take its toll on me. I promised them that if they let me have this one season, that I would never ask again. I just wanted to see what it was all about. To finally get out, and not be thought of as the sick girl all the time. The one who rarely goes outside in case there are spores in the air. I just had to see the gowns, the women, the men, the dancing. I have loved every moment.”
She let out a sigh, and Eden smiled. “I have never even seen you have so much as a sniffle. Nor have I seen you ill in any way, aside from the fact you sit in this chair.”
Persephone rolled her eyes, “I am not sick. I have never even felt sick in the least, but my parents are convinced I am. They are convinced that any tiny cough of sniffle will bring me to death’s door. They have been feeding me this lie since I was small, and everyone in my house is convinced I am going to die. That I have something wrong with my legs, and my back and that it will one day kill me. It’s why I am in this chair. I have never been allowed to walk, for fear of me breaking my legs. They say I am too fragile, that when I was younger, I would fall and break my bones. My mother has said that they were so thin when I was young, that they were terrified I would always break something again and again. So, I sit in my chair, day after day and have never had the independence of walking or anything. I wish that I could try. But I have no one to help me. No friends to speak with. I have never even spoken to someone outside of my staff or my family until I came here.”
Eden looked at Lily in shock. “You have never learned to walk? Did a doctor tell your mother there was something wrong with your legs? Is that why you broke a bone before?”
Persephone nodded, “He said that I have brittle bones. But they don’t feel brittle to me. I don’t know, maybe they are right. Oh well, you came to see me, and this isn’t why you did.”
She smiled and Lily and Eden laughed, they were still in shock but, Persephone obviously wanted to let the subject drop, so they did.
Eden told her all about the ball and what had happened. She showed her the ring and told her how Cole had asked her to marry him. Leaving out the details of what had happened before he had asked her in the carriage.
Then she asked Persephone if she would accompany them to the theater. Persephone squealed and jumped in her chair.
She clapped her hands, “The theater??? Yes! I would love to go! It is my dream to see the theater.”
Her mother ran into the room and went straight to her daughter. “Persephone! Are you all right? You are much too excited; your blood pressure is going to be too high. Oh dear, I knew this was a mistake with having that girl here.”
Persephone pushed her mother away, “I am all right mother, Eden and Lily asked if I would accompany them to the theater with them in two days. I know we only have the ball tonight and nothing else scheduled for this week. May I please go? It has been a dream of mine to see the theater, just once. If this is my only season, I want to go to anything I can. Please mother, please. They are taking the Marquess’s carriage, and he is going to meet us there. He has a box that we can sit in. I will be safe from the crowds of people. Please?”
The mother stood and put her hands on her hips. She tapped her foot and pursed her lips together. “Please mother, please? I long to see the theater.”
The mother finally let out a breath, “All right, if you insist on going, and you will be seen with the Marquess, then your father and I will acquire tickets to keep an eye on you from afar. That is the only way.”
Persephone nodded, “Thank you!”
She hugged her mother, and Eden and Lily left after planning to pick up Persephone in two days.
Eden was so happy that they had gotten to know her more, and she couldn’t wait to go to the theater.
Chapter Seventeen
Jacob
Newgate Prison, England Oct 1812
Jacob woke every day stressed. More than he ever had before. And that was saying a lot, seeing as he lived in a prison. He had finished his letter and waited for two days before Jack had come back.
His cell door opened, and Jacob sat up in his bed. Trying not to get his hopes up but failing. Jack came in the door and shut it behind him.
He put his finger to his lips and Jacob nodded. Jack moved further into the room and dropped to his haunches in front of where Jacob was sitting. “I have some news.”
Jacob nodded, “All right,”
He was still weary, not certain if he should trust the man in front of him. “Yesterday, two men came to the prison. They were asking for a man named Edward St. Andrew.”
Jacob went completely still, the breath leaving his lungs, and his heart started beating hard in his chest. He could hear it pounding, and he was breathless.
“The warden told them there was no such man at the prison, that he had never heard of anyone by that name, and they left. I couldn’t say anything to them, but I wanted to. But I knew if I had, someone would surely notice. We aren’t ready to bring that kind of attention to ourselves yet. Are you ready to tell me your story? This can’t be a coincidence.”
Jacob shook his head, “I don’t know why someone has asked about that name,”
Jack held up his hand, “I know more than you think, but I can’t let you know what I know until you tell me what I need to hear.”
Jacob shook his head, “Will you deliver my letter first?”
Jack nodded, “I will. Do you have it ready?”
Jacob nodded, and pulled it out from his shirt. He was too afraid to leave it lying around, so he kept it on his person.
He closed his eyes and handed it to Jack. As soon as Jack saw the name written on the front of the letter, his eyes lit up. “I knew it. I just knew it. You are Jacob St. Andrew, aren’t you? Not Edward?”
Jacob nodded, “How did you know that?”
Jack sat down, and Jacob sat across from him on the ground. “I will tell you why later, but first can you tell me how an innocent man has come to be behind these bars? I know your brother was the one who was sentenced here, but it is you, not him that has served the time. Why?”
Jacob shut his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. It had been broken once, after one of his beatings, and was slightly crooked. “That is a long and horrifying story. My brother had a woman on the outside. His mistress that he had for years. One that he wanted to marry, but our father would never allow it. When he got put in here, he wasn’t allowed to write to our family. He was allowed no correspondence at all. Our father wanted it that way. Paid extra so t
hat he wasn’t allowed this luxury and left my brother in here to rot. So, he wrote to his mistress as she was the only one, he could send letters to. He wrote to her a lot and convinced her to help him break out of prison. But he didn’t want people to hunt for him. He wanted to live the life he was supposed to live. But he needed them to believe he was still here. So, since everyone believed he was dead, they needed me. Because I was the only one, they wouldn’t question. As we are so identical, Edward knew this would be the perfect plan. She and Edward bribed one of the guards to help them, both with him being able to send the letters he wasn’t supposed to send, and with getting him out and me in.”
Jacob took a deep breath, still angry that he was sitting in this godforsaken cell. “And certainly enough, the guard helped them. For a good sum of money, and a few tumbles in the woman’s bed. They lured me to London, under the guise that someone knew information about Edward and that they would send the stories to the papers if I didn’t come. And to spare my father the humiliation and shame of this, after he worked so hard to save our name from the scandal of Edward’s incarceration, I went. Much to my everlasting regret.”
He shook his head, and ran his hand over his face, his eyes stinging with unshed tears. “When I got to her house, she locked me up in for a few weeks until my beard grew in. They made certain I was stinky and dirty like Edward was, and as they snuck me in, they brought him clean clothes, shaved his face, cut his hair and made him look exactly like me. My brother and I are so similar in looks that a lot of people won’t even take a second look to see who was who. It worked to his advantage, and I took his place. Since he had gone crazy, and killed several men, including a guard, I was sent to the hulks. I was there for four years, a lot longer than what most men can survive, and after I got sick and almost died, they brought me back here. And here I have stayed. Knowing my brother was out there, quite possibly hurting the ones I loved, and taking over my name. I know deep inside that it isn’t just a possibility that he hurt my loved ones, but know he has. And I have had to sit in this fucking prison cell day after fucking day knowing he hurt my wife and my children all because I dared to be happy, while he was in here, miserable with his life, because he was crazy and decided to kill someone.”
Jacob put his head back and cursed. When he looked at Jack, the guard had his mouth open. “Goddamn it. I knew it. I knew that he did escape. I have been watching for years. Fucking years, just wanting to know this, and how he pulled it off. I knew he had done something. I came here to find out what.”
Jacob stared at him, “You knew he escaped? And that I was in his place?”
Jack shook his head, “I had a feeling. Like I said, you were so different that Edward was. Even when Edward was quiet and didn’t throw his daily fits, I still knew you weren’t like him. I was also assigned to find you. Your father knew something was wrong when you went missing for those months. He said you had left your wife and told her you were only coming to London for a short time, and then you disappeared. The letters stopped and he knew something was wrong. So, he paid me quite a bit of money to find you. He knew I worked with Scotland Yard, and I was his go to information man when your brother first came to prison.”
Jack looked up at Jacob and Jacob had to fight to keep the shock off his face. “He is the one who wanted me to keep him alive. To make certain he served his full sentence. To not get out of it by doing what he did. But, with everything going on in the prison, I had more duties than I was originally supposed to have, he slipped under my notice, going quiet, and not giving anyone any reason to suspect him with anything. During that time, he must have been planning this and then you took over in his stead. I have been working for years to try to get proof that your brother was actually not you, and he died before I could switch you back.”
Jacob held up his hand, “Edward is dead? Truly?” Jack nodded, “I found your grave out in the country a few years back. I have been trying to fit all the pieces together for a very long time, and seeing your grave, I knew I was on to something.”
Jacob gave a sigh of relief, knowing his brother could no longer harm his family.
Jack continued, “Since then, I have been working to get you released, but I needed to know for certain it was you, and that I wasn’t crazy. But, every time I tried to get close to you, someone was always with me. I didn’t want to talk to you until I knew for certain that I had all my facts straight, so that I can also go to the warden and the courts to appeal your case. I kept finding more evidence and building your case so you can go free. And now, there is someone looking for Edward. I need to know why. Why after all this time someone is trying to find Edward. So, I am going to deliver your letter, and I will find out. But know this Jacob, I will do everything in my power to get you out of this prison. If it is the last thing I do.”
Jacob just nodded. He didn’t know what to say to this man who had seen what most refused to see. And while he was weary, and frightened it wouldn’t work the way he hoped, he knew that he had to trust.
Chapter Eighteen
Cole
London, England Oct, 1812
Cole spent his day doing research and getting ready for the night that he had planned for Eden.
He wanted to wine and dine her and get to know everything about her. He knew their relationship was not the most conventional, and that they were moving fast, and yet he didn’t care at all.
He had known from day one that she was his other half, his soulmate, and his life. He had loved her from afar for all these years and he was done loving her from afar. She was here in his house, and it was going to stay that way.
Cole berated himself all the time for his stupidity in fearing he would ever hurt her. He wasn’t the sort to hurt the innocent, and he was still mad that it took him all this time to realize it. He would never make that mistake again.
He was putting some books back on the shelf when his butler came in the library, holding a silver tray that held a letter on it. Cole rolled his eyes, not needing all the fanfare that his butler did with everything he did, but he loved that his butler was so very proper, even when he himself wasn’t.
His butler, Gladstone cleared his throat, “My lord, this letter has come for you in the post.”
Cole reached out and grabbed the letter off the tray, “Thank you, Gladstone,” the man nodded, and left the room.
Cole looked down at the letter in his hand and smiled when he saw who it was from. His friend Cabe.
He had lost contact with him for the last few months, mainly because Cabe had gone to the country and refused any and all post.
He had been injured in the war, and Cole knew he had wanted to be alone, to get well again, and to work on his leg.
Cole was one of the few who knew about Cabe and his leg. Knew how injured Cabe had been, and how he suffered.
Opening the letter, it said,
“Cole, I wanted to write to you, to see how you are faring. I wanted to let you know how much I appreciate your correspondence, even though I didn’t read it until months later. It has taken me some time to come to terms with everything, but it was nice to know I had people, even when I didn’t want them around. I have worked hard on myself, trying to get my thoughts my own again, and I worked extremely hard on my leg, and now can walk almost normally. I wanted to let you know that I am in town for a few weeks getting my new prosthetic leg fitted. And, I would like to see you if that is possible. I know I haven’t been the friend you needed, and I understand that. But I wanted to thank you in person for taking the time to come see me when I returned. It meant something to me, knowing that I had a friend, when I needed it the most. I wanted to hear about your life and how you are. I am hoping that you have finally decided to claim that girl of yours. I hope you are well, please send me a response at your earliest convenience.
Cabe Michael James
Earl of Thornhill
Cole smiled. Grateful to hear from his dear friend after all these months. Knowing he wanted to tell Cabe that he finally
claimed Eden and hopefully invite Cabe to their wedding. He hoped his friend would come. He went to the desk in the library, sitting down to write a letter to Cabe and gave it to a footman to deliver the letter.
He was happy that his friend was in town, only for a short time. He wanted to know about how Cabe had recovered, how he fared with his new leg.
He thought about that as he went about his day, getting everything ready for his night with the love of his life.
That night, Cole had made certain that Lily was away for the entire night. He had made the arrangements with Burk to take her to a musicale and then Burk would take her to see the children at the orphanage.
Apparently, a few had come down with bad fevers, and some had lingering coughs that refused to let up, so Lily wanted to be there through the night to check on them and take care of those who needed her most.
Cole was grateful to Burk in that moment. Burk wanted time alone with Lily, just as Cole wanted time alone with Eden.
It was a perfect solution. Cole knew it wasn’t proper in the least for Lily to be seen with Burk alone, but Burk had assured him that Brooks would come along as a chaperone, and that they would be with Mary at the orphanage, so nothing untoward would happen.
Cole smiled when Lily had gone, not so willingly with Burk. But, knowing that Cole had told her about the musicale, and that the children were suffering, she went.
Eden had come downstairs, once again dressed in one of the gowns Cole had commissioned for her. This new one was deep purple, and did wonderful things to her eyes, and made her hair shine. She had left it down, only a small band holding her waist length hair out of her face. Cole led her to the dining room, where two places had been set.
The Marquess Who Adored Me Page 16
