Page 32 of An Earl's Scandalous Return
Chapter 34
Arabella, still fuming a bit, paused in her walk away from the inn to see a small shop at the edge of the village. It looked cozy and comfortable, and her curiosity to see inside bid her forward. When she got closer, she could see that it was a bookshop, very tiny, and she wondered if it catered to the visitors who came to the inn rather than the inhabitants of the village themselves.
Smiling to herself, she pulled open the door and was assaulted by the strong smell of leather, paper, and dust. She hurried inside, eager to ease her frustration, disappointment, and heartbreak. There was a bookseller who looked up at her approach. He greeted her warmly but continued his business, and she could peruse the small shelves at her leisure.
She had brought her own book on this venture, but now it was soon finished, and she would need something else for the various long rides they would take after they discussed their next steps in finding Gregory. Pulling out a more adventurous title, she grinned.
There is no one to tell me now what I may do or not do.
While she had loved her father dearly, he had always wished her to act with decorum and decency. Alvin was less strict in his beliefs, and he left her to her own devices. But now that her father’s secrets had come out, she felt justified in choosing something a little more salacious than usual.
For my father certainly was not above reproach.
She paid for the volume and then slipped back outside into the late morning sun, watching as a carriage was driving past. But it was not just any carriage; it was the one she and Edward had been using.
Arabella held up a hand and called out. Could Edward have gone somewhere in a carriage? At least he was returning to the inn, or at least in that direction, and had not left her forever on her own as she’d feared.
The driver, Sampson, glimpsed her, and then, with wide eyes, he pulled on the reins to slow the horses.
“Ah, My Lady!” he called, forgetting the plan only to address her as the non-titled Mrs Sheffield.
With a bright face and sparkling eyes, Sampson jumped down from his seat as soon as he could.
“His Lordship asked that I come after you.”
“Why?” Arabella asked, holding her book in one arm as a fearful realisation came to her. “Oh no, is he hurt? Must we send for a doctor?”
“Oh no, no, nothing like that.” Sampson waved away her concern. “We were in the village market getting more fruits and vegetables, as you know he likes to do.”
Arabella admitted to some relief at this news. At least he had not gone out on his own to search for Gregory, thinking her too much of a hindrance.
“And?” she asked, eager to hear his news.
“He found her, he says.”
“Found who?” She was beginning to lose patience.
“He thinks he’s found your near twin, so he says.” Sampson shrugged, and Arabella thought for a few seconds.
“My near twin,” she repeated to Sampson’s furious nodding.
“So, will you come?”
“Yes,” she replied in a daze and entered the carriage with Sampson’s help before he rode off again.
If he has found my near twin, then perhaps he thinks it is my father’s child.
She put a hand to her lips. It was a great supposition, but if Edward felt this woman looked enough like her to warrant him sending Sampson after her, it was at the very least possible. They were in Maidstone, after all, and she might be able to lead them to Gregory.
But at the same time, as a little hope sparked inside her, so too did fear. Her father’s actions were not confirmed, but if she saw this woman, and she did end up looking just like her, then perhaps it would mean it was all true. That her father had impregnated a woman without marrying her and without the knowledge of his other children.
Did that mean the accusation of murder was true as well?
Chapter 35
After Edward asked the young woman that question, he knew that he’d been able to get to her. She’d looked at him with confusion but also understanding. He could practically hear the ‘yes’ on her lips.
Slowly, he took a step towards her. “Like I told you, I know this sounds mad. It also sounds mad to me, but we are here for a reason. But if you wait a little longer, I think you’ll have answers to questions you might have wanted to know for years, maybe without even realising it.”
