Page 5 of One Wicked Secret
“Clara told you about the accident?” His sister refused to discuss it with anyone, least of all him. She had hidden herself away, seeing her disfigurement as another Dalton curse.
“She woke from a terrible nightmare. I soothed her and brought her tea. Keeping secrets is bad for the soul. She blames herself for what happened.”
It wasn’t her fault.
It was mine.
“What did she tell you?”
His world stopped as he waited for the answer.
“That she fell from Brambles while jumping a fence in the paddock.” Compassion flooded Elsa’s eyes. She never looked more beautiful than when she opened her heart to others. “Your father shot the poor horse because the fall left the beast lame.”
That was not what happened.
It wasn’t Brambles but Zephyr.
Daniel had been the rider, not his sister.
But he would not break the oath he made to Clara.
“I’m not sure the horse was lame.” He could say that much.
Elsa shivered like she sensed his father’s presence from beyond the grave. “Your father had a nasty temper. Doubtless he blamed the horse for hurting his daughter.”
“Blaming others was second nature to him.”
A strained silence stretched between them.
“There’s been a marked difference in Clara since we came to town,” Elsa boasted. “We’ve been here for almost a month. I needed time to gather the courage to confront you.”
“A month!” He pushed his hands through his hair and cursed his naivety. “But I only received your letter a few days ago.”
It was clearly stamped with the Henley postmark.
“I left it at the post office in Market Street. Mrs Abbott agreed to keep it safe until I sent word.”
Clever minx.
“Where the blazes are you living? What about Mrs Tate and Finnegan?” They were tasked with keeping his family safe. He would drag them to the Servants’ Registry and would rather rot in hell than give them a reference.
“We left while they slept. They’ve developed a fondness for one another. We let them believe we were heading for Chippenham but took the stage to London instead.”
Merciful Lord!
Finnegan could wrestle five men but had been tricked by two sharp-witted women.
“Why haven’t they sent word?”
“Perhaps they hoped to find us before you discovered we were missing.” She sharpened her tone. “You’ve not visitedThe Grange for months. They had no reason to think you’d visit anytime soon.”
“I had no choice. I had to stay away.”
“Because I’m worth nothing more than two shillings?”
He reached for her, but she stepped back. “You’re worth ten thousand times more.”
She blinked and shook her head in time with the distant strains of a reel. “I thought finding you would give me answers, but all I have is more questions. What aren’t you telling me, Daniel?” Clenching her dainty hands into fists, she cried, “Why is everything I’ve learnt about you at odds with what I’ve always believed?”
