Page 99 of Sacrificing the Untamed Lady Henrietta
“I am grateful for that.”
“You are?”
Aaron nodded. “I owe him more than an apology. I owe him the life that I denied him, though I did not mean to. Since I cannot offer him that, in its entirety, I would at least like to speak with him.”
“Well, he is bound. He should not cause too much trouble.”
“I thank you, My Lord.”
Ewan dipped his head. “I will wait until you are done, so that we may take him to the appropriate authorities.”
“Very well.”
“You may find me beyond the trees. Shout for me when you are done.”
* * *
Left alone with his son, Aaron could not help but stare in wonder at the man he had helped to create. Now that he looked closer, he could see hints of his own features in the face of Gerome. They had a similar nose, and similar lips, and perhaps their brows were akin. However, the eyes staring back at him were not kind ones. They held only hatred within them.
“I meant what I said before,” Aaron began, sitting beside the prostrate figure of Gerome. “I did come looking for you and your mother, but it was not safe, and the country was still in turmoil. There had been so much fighting that families had dispersed to the four winds. When I came back, you were gone. You see, I knew you existed.”
Gerome frowned. “You did?”
“A letter arrived upon my return to England, though it came a year after I came home. It must have been lost somewhere, but your mother sent it to the nearest address she could remember,” he explained. “The postal service managed to find me and gave it to me. By then, you had already been born, and you had already been moved.”
“She would not write to you,” he replied sourly. “She despised you, in the end.”
He shook his head. “She was sad, yes, but she did not despise me. The letter said that she was with child, and she hoped I would come back for her. A marriage had already been arranged for me, but my dear wife understood—she helped me try to find you. Only, as I say, it came to naught. We could not discover your location.”
“You abandoned us both. She died of a broken heart.”
“Close, but you are not entirely correct,” Aaron continued. “Your mother had always had a weak heart. She told me so, one night. It had been in her family for generations—a defect that could not be healed. Her mother had died the same way, and her grandmother before her.”
“How can you know this?” Gerome’s tone was tinged with intrigue, the anger softening ever so slightly.
“We talked in great depth about our lives,” Aaron said, remembering her. “I was young then, but I adored your mother. She was my first love, and a man does not forget his first love. Had the war not torn us apart, I do not know what may have happened, but I was a soldier—I went where I was told. Still, that does not change the affection I felt for Seraphine.”
“Youlovedher?” Gerome’s eyes widened.
“I thought you might think me insincere, but I truly did. I love my wife now, of course, but Seraphine was the first to find her way into my heart,” he replied. “I never forgot her, and I searched for you for many years before I gave up hope. Everyone I spoke to told me you must have died in the war or had died later in an orphanage of some disease or other.”
“How can I believe you?”
Aaron smiled. “As I said, I have the documentation to prove it. The papers are all signed and dated and tell the story of my search for you.” He paused uncertainly. “You see, two paths stand before you. Down one road, there is prison and a long sentence. Down the other, there is freedom. However, there are provisos to the latter. I cannot liberate you if you will seek to harm my daughter again, or anyone else that I hold dear.”
Gerome frowned. “You are even contemplating such a thing? Why would you do that?”
“Because you are my son, and because I understand why you have been brought to this desperate act,” he said softly. “The years in that orphanage hardened you, and I imagine that thoughts of revenge were the only things that kept you sane. I did this to you, and I have the means to remedy it… but you must not seek to harm anyone.”
“How could you trust me now?”
“Because you are my blood, and because you are Seraphine’s son.” He smiled. “She was a kind soul with a generous and forgiving heart. It failed her, but her character was sweet and loving. If you have any of her within you, then there may be hope for you yet.”
Gerome gulped awkwardly. “What would your proposal be?”
“That you come and reside at my home, and you live there with us for a while. Naturally, I will have to ensure that you are near, and that my men keep watch over you for some time. But I should like the chance to know you better, and to make amends for my mistakes.”
“So, I would be a prisoner in your home?” His eyes narrowed.
