Page 39 of An Earl's Scandalous Return
Seraphina started breathing hard, and she folded her arms across herself as she thought.
“You do not need to apologise. I’ve never thought such a fine lady would wish me to come and live with her. But as you said, there is much to think of. And now that I have read the letter and know the truth, I know things and have answers to questions I have always wondered about. Gregory had done right by me, of course. He had raised me well, but I occasionally felt like I was a nuisance to him.
He was not always warm and loving like the other fathers. I thought it was simply because of the loss of my mother, but now we see it for what it is. I hate the feeling that he kept me just for revenge, just for money.”
“Well, it could be that he did a terrible thing, such as taking you from your mother, but there is also the chance that it was not so nefarious as all that. I suppose we don’t know all the reasons he did this, Seraphina,” Edward said.
She glanced up at him, glad for his comfort.
“I suppose we don’t. But I cannot just leave the man I’ve known to be my father all my life. I would really like the chance to try to speak to him, to get the truth out of him. I want to know why he did this to me and if there was some good and happy reason that he took me in. Can you understand that?”
“Yes, of course I can understand that.” Arabella smiled at her, reaching out to place her hand on Seraphina’s folded arms. “I only wish you to be safe. Is your father a violent man?”
Seraphina shook her head.
“Oh no. Cold, perhaps, and harsh at times. Never violent. It is true that he is partially lame on his right side, so he cannot move very quickly.” Sighing, she stood. “Thank you, Arabella and Edward, for showing me the letter and telling me all. And thank you, Arabella for your invitation to join you in London. If you could only give me time.”
“Certainly,” Arabella said. “Perhaps we wait two days. Then you meet us on the morning of the third day here in the church if you wish to join us. We will have everything ready, and you can come with us right away.”
“Thank you. I know I may have cause to regret it, but I can’t simply leave without knowing the truth. I need to get it from the source. I need to hear it from his lips.”
Arabella nodded.
“That would be good for us too. For then, we could know the truth as well. I could know the truth of my – our father before we leave for London. We could go and live without any weight or regret upon our shoulders, and my brother could be married to his beloved. For now that we know the truth, your father has no longer power over us.”
Arabella shrugged.
“Well, unless my father did what he did to your mother, but I think that very far-fetched. And if you come to live with us, it could make everything better.”
Edward helped Arabella rise to her feet. “We will let you be and think it all over. Perhaps we shall see you on the morning of the third day.” With another smile, she left, and Edward nodded at her on their way out. Seraphina put her hand on the back of the pew to steady herself, and she closed her eyes.
She would need as much courage as she could muster.
Chapter 42
After a few moments to herself, Seraphina left the church nervous, tingles in her belly and tension in her muscles. But even after seeing the concerned look on Arabella’s and Edward’s faces, she knew this was the right path. They could at least understand that the truth would set her free.
It would set them all free, and even if she was about to embark upon a new life in London with her new sister, she still needed to know why on earth her father, or rather, Gregory, had done such a thing and had taken her from her true life.
By the time she reached the doorway of her home, she had worked up enough courage. With a breath, she opened the door. Her mouth opened as soon as she did, ready to ask him as soon as she entered. She shut the door behind her, but her father rose from his chair and glowered at her.
“You are not to leave this house any longer, Seraphina. Not without my permission.”
Instantly, her cheeks coloured with fury. She pushed off the door to walk towards him.
“Whyever not?” she asked.
He put his hands on his hips and leaned on his left leg a bit more. She could tell his right leg was paining him.
“I am your father, and I will tell you what to do and how you should do it. You cannot fight against me, for I’m the one who has brought you up, paid your way, and taught you everything. And this is how you treat me? You question whether or not I am your father? You meet with strangers in a church where anyone could see you?”
“What?” she asked. “You followed me? Or someone else came and told you what I was doing?”
He put his hand on the back of the chair and shifted a little. “Yes, I followed you. Your question was so strange that I thought something must have happened. So, I followed you as any good father would.”
Turning away from him, Seraphina went and sat in the other chair and stared into the empty hearth.
“You need not pretend any longer. I know who you are. I saw the letter you penned and know your handwriting like no other.”
