Page 68 of Enslaved to the Seduction of a Lady
“The man who took us in, Jack…” Luke looked down at his hands, saddened by the mention of his name, “he’s passed too, now.”
“I’m sorry,” Mary said, and when Luke looked up, she looked like she truly meant it. “Losing loved ones is the worst pain anyone can go through.”
“He was so good to us. He took us to his home, taught us how to look after ourselves. We both work for a Duke now, Jenny and I. She’s a maid and I’m head groom. So yes, I suppose you could say I have landed on my feet.”
“Good,” Mary said with a definite nod to the head. “I’m glad. And I’m glad you and that sister of yours weren’t separated neither. Would ‘ave been terrible ‘ard on you both.”
“Was our mother sad to see us leave?” he asked, his voice a whisper, almost not wanting to hear the answer.
“Of course she was! What a silly thing to ask. Poor Lola cried for days, but she knew it were for the best. She couldn’t give any of ya the life you deserved.”
“But she went on to have another child?” Luke asked.
“Aye.” Mary’s face was screwed up in distaste. “And what a rotter she turned out to be, and all. Mind you, it’s not surprising, what with who her father was.”
“Her father? What happened?”
“Your mother’s first husband turned up dead, not long after you left. She still mourned ‘im, even after what ‘e did to ‘er. But then she remarried. Got a taste for ‘em, she ‘ad.”
“A taste?”
“For bad men. That Jacob Reynolds was a whole lot worse than the first. Your mother went down ’ill after their marriage. Course, she stopped workin’, but he got her involved in all sorts of shady business, so he did. All sorts.”
Mary shook her head, her expression filled with anger and sadness all at the same time.
“What sort of business?” Luke asked. He shifted forward in his seat, intrigued, and the wood groaned again.
“Dunno exactly,” Mary said. “But ‘e was always up to some’in’. And then when Tina—”
“Tina?” Luke asked. He felt something twitch inside him, like a memory trying to get out but unable to find the way.
“Their little girl. Beautiful thing, she was. But when she were about… goodness, I dunno, nine or ten, they got ‘er involved in some scam. Jake came up with this plan to kidnap some rich Duke’s daughter, then demand a ransom.”
“Tina,” Luke said again, almost to himself. His breath shallowed and he looked away, trying to work out where he had heard this tale before.
“Didn’t work, of course. Some man they were working with and the rich girl fell from the carriage. He died instantly, and they assumed she had died too. Terrible tragedy, it was. Young Tina seemed to get over it far too quick—too like her father, I suspect. But Lola took it ‘ard. She couldn’t live with what they ‘ad done. Spent the last years of ‘er life in utter grief. Nothin’ I said got through to ‘er. She was lost to the world long before she passed, poor thing.”
“The girl who was kidnapped—”
“Daughter of a Duke, tha’s all I know. Your sister—Tina—she’s in prison now. I wasn’t in contact with ‘er by then, but the story goes that she went to this Duke’s ‘ouse and pretended to be the missing daughter. They took her under their wing and she became a lady, albeit in name only.”
“And then the real Victoria Heymouth returned, and revealed all.”
The realization of what had happened—and who his real family was—hit Luke hard. He had met his sister, Tina, many times, and she had never been pleasant. She had caused so much pain and upset in the family—in the entire household, even—and now Luke had discovered he was her brother.
He gasped for breath.
“You know?” Mary looked at him, surprised.
“The girl who went missing was the Duke of Salsbury’s daughter. That’s my employer. Victoria goes by the name Teresa now. And Tina… goodness, I’ve met her. I’ve met her so many times. She was—”
Luke trailed off, unable to finish his sentence, unable to stop staring at the spot on the floor.
“Well good riddance, I say. Glad she’s in prison now. She only ever brought ‘er mother heartache, not like you other three. And she’s ruined too many lives.”
“Yes,” Luke said, finally looking up at Mary. “Yes, she has. And my brother? Where is he now?”
“Who knows,” Mary said, shrugging her shoulders. “Once ‘e went off with that Duke, no one ever ‘eard from ‘im again.”
“Thank you, Mary,” Luke said, meaning it with all his heart.
“Keep in touch, won’t you?” Mary asked after a long silence. “Now you’ve ‘eard the tale, you’re gonna up and leave, too. But keep in touch. Seeing you is like seeing a little bit of my old friend once again.”
“I will,” Luke said. “I promise.”
