Page 69 of My Gentleman Spy
Will crossed the floor to the dressing table and set the candle down. He was in search of clues, anything which would reveal something of Hattie. Apart from a few simple personal items such as a hairbrush and a hand mirror there was little of note. He opened the drawers, only to discover they were all empty. The wardrobe and tall boy held but a few items of clothing and some old books. He considered thesituation.
“Of course, she has few possessions here in London, the rest of her things are still on-board the ship bound for Africa,” hesaid.
He was two steps short of the doorway when his sixth sense kicked in. Turning on his heel he headed back to the bed and dropping to his knees peered underit.
“There you are mylovely.”
Under the bed, was a pink painted wooden box. Will shuffled further under the bed, finally getting his fingertips on the box, and slowing inching it towardhim.
Satisfied with his efforts, he sat back on the floor and considered the box. What treasure would he find inside? He flipped the handle on the side but the lid remained shut. He spun the box around and saw the lock. True to form Hattie had lockedit.
“Time for the tools of the trade,” hesaid.
Reaching into his jacket pocket he pulled out a small knife and set to work picking the lock. In under a minute he had the box open. Page after page of half written letters filled the top of the box. He picked the first oneup.
Dear William, I am so verysorry
Hattie had crossed out his name and changed it to Will, then crossed that out and made it Mr. Saunders. Repeatedly she had tried to write him a letter of apology. At the bottom of the pile on top of a large wrapped parcel was a folded and sealed letter. Will skillfully slid the knife under the seal and separated it from thepaper.
He licked his lips, surprised to find that they were dry, as was the rest of his mouth. He could not remember the last time he had been this unsure ofhimself.
If he opened the letter and read it, then he would have crossed some invisible line. Breached hertrust.
“You have taken over her home and are rummaging through her things Mr. Saunders. I think we can forget about any moral arguments at this point,” he chidedhimself.
He unfolded theletter.
Minutes later he folded it back up and sat eyes closed, wondering just how much it had taken for her to pen thewords.
He put the letter to one side, he would reseal it before putting it back. From the bottom of the box he withdrew the brown paperparcel.
On the top in neat, clear writing was a card penned, Mr. William Saunders EsqLondon.
He did not need to open the soft parcel to know what lay inside. Hattie had wrapped his greatcoat intending to return it tohim.
Unexpected relief trickled through his veins. He had doubted himself over her more than once, but now Hattie had finally begun to show her truecolors.
Will opened the letter once more. Her apology was sincere, but it was the rest of the missing details which worried him. Not once in the letter had she mentioned her brotherEdgar.
Something was holding her back from seeking help from her family. What had happened within the Wright family for her not to approach her brother forassistance?
The look on her face as she had watched Edgar and his wife at St. Paul’s had beenheartbreaking.
Edgar Wright had not struck Will as any sort of cad during the short time Will had spoken with him. Instead, he appeared to be a friendly, decent man who felt comfortable in making a fuss over his wife and newborn child inpublic.
He was the man whom Will would need to deal with when it came to the plan he had for a future withHattie.
“First things Will. Find a way to talk to her without scaring her off. Then you can deal with thebrother.”
