Page 60 of An Unwilling Earl
“He wasn’t feeling well, so he stayed at home. Are you still interested in finding my Charlotte?”
My Charlotte. Interesting wording considering the woman had treated Charlotte so horribly.
“She’s a woman of twenty years. If she wants to forge a life of her own, then I don’t see how we can interfere in that.”
Her eyes darted about until she leaned ever so slightly toward him. “She may be twenty years in age, but mentally she is far younger than that.”
Well, then. This was an interesting turn of events. Lady Morris was going to claim that Charlotte was not of sound mind. Very interesting, and also very dangerous for Charlotte if the authorities chose to believe her aunt.
He raised a brow when what he really wanted to do was take a step back and breathe fresh air. Lady Morris smelled stale. “Is she unstable?”
She hesitated, her gaze flickering around. “She cannot be on her own. She is not capable.”
“I see why you are so keen on finding her then.”
“I’m worried about her. She cannot take care of herself.”
“Then finding her is imperative. I was not aware when you first came to me.”
She straightened and squared her shoulders. “I did not want to start any rumors. It’s a terrible thing to have a ward who does not possess her full faculties. It’s wearing on the family. Poor Edmund had to play second fiddle while I cared for Charlotte.”
For someone who lived and breathed the Bible she could certainly twist her beliefs to fit her narrative.
“I’m sure it was a burden.”
She sniffed. “We all have burdens we must bear, Mr. Baker—my lord.”
“Certainly, but yours seems more burdensome than most. Charlotte is not even your own daughter.”
“She is still family, and therefore I must care for her.”
“Of course. Very noble of you.”
“As you can imagine, caring for a child who is not mine and whom I had not anticipated having guardianship of takes a toll on certain finances. I wouldn’t be able to pay you much to find her.”
Ah, the frugal witch.
“Don’t worry about that. Everyone should take on charity work once in a while.” As he had anticipated, she did not like being referred to as charity. Her eyes flashed and her nostrils pinched, and he swore he heard her gnashing her teeth. “Have you gone to the police to report her disappearance?”
“This is a private matter, Lord Ashland, and I prefer to handle it as such.”
Because if you went to the police they would discover that your son is a killer?
“They have resources that I do not have.”
“She cannot have gone far. She has no money, nor does she have the wits to survive on her own.”
Ah, but that was where she was wrong, and Jacob felt that the woman knew this.
“Lady Morris, might I ask you something?”
She hesitated, but he had her in his clutches. She was desperate to get Charlotte back, afraid of what her niece knew about her monster of a son. She would tolerate Jacob for as long as he was useful to her. “Yes?”
“Aren’t you worried that something awful has happened to Charlotte, what with all of the women they are finding in the river?”
“Charlotte is much better than those women, and she does not venture to the parts of the city in which a man like that, a man who kills those kinds of women, would be. I’m sure she is safe. Probably hiding.”
Jacob tilted his head. “Hiding? Why would she be hiding?”
