“I still can’t believe your parents wanted to marry you to pompous Dolan. Are they mad?” Addie said, shifting the topic.
Clara smiled at her gratefully. How her husband’s ex-lover had become such a close confidant she didn’t know, but she would always be grateful.
“They thought connecting our family name to his would be beneficial. Anything past that was irrelevant.”
They all stared at her sadly. What could she say?
“Again, I will always be grateful to Sam for stepping in, but our marriage is far more practical than what you all are envisioning,” Clara explained.
Mercy sipped her punch, thinking about it and finally said, “Perhaps in the moment of his proposal but afterwards he could have begged off. Jack and I would have made sure you were taken care of.”
Clara sighed, slightly annoyed by their insistence and said, “I know you all want this to be more, but Sam, himself, set the terms of our marriage and then left for Liverpool with his mistress. He said he wanted me to have freedom. I doubt he has thought of me since his departure.”
Mercy frowned and said, “He has not been himself. Jack is worried about him. His letters have been short and to the point. Jack is actually in Liverpool now visiting because he is so concerned.”
Mercy’s news startled Clara. This whole time she envisioned Sam in Liverpool being his normal happy self. Was she wrong?
“Has Jack returned?” Clara asked.
Mercy shook her head.
“It is very unlike Sam to be short or not his normal pleasant self. He hates for people to see him like that which is why he is probably hiding out in Liverpool. But to say he hasn’t thought of you I think would be far-fetched. If anything, I would say it was the complete opposite,” Annie said quietly.
“Then why haven’t I heard from him?” Clara said, her voice cracking with more emotion than she meant to reveal.
Annie shrugged and smiled sadly. “Being happy and charming has always been Sam’s way of dealing with trials and tribulations. It is his armor against all the bad things he has seen in his life. I can only think of a few times that he didn’t use that facade in difficult situations, and it was normally when he had the most to lose.”
Clara wanted to believe that perhaps there was more to Sam’s absence than indifference but too much time had passed without a single word from him.
“Has he asked about me in any of his letters?” she asked Annie, Sophia, and Mercy.
They all looked away and Clara knew the answer was no.
Addie sighed loudly and said, “He does think of you.”
Clara glanced at her, startled she was so sure. Addie flushed and looked down before looking back up at her. “I have a confession and I probably should have told you sooner. It was Sam who asked me to seek you out. And he just sent me a letter asking how you are.”
Everyone gasped, including Clara. “Clara, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. When he asked, I thought I would meet you once and that would be it. I didn’t expect us to become such good friends,” she said looking contrite that she withheld her secret for so long.
“Why would Sam write to you?” Sophia asked, confused.
“We are acquaintances,” Addie explained. She then shook her head and added, “We are getting distracted. My point is I think he does care for you. Why he is off in Liverpool, I have no idea. Perhaps Annie is right.”
Clara’s mind whirled with all the information she had learned. Why would Sam not write to her directly? Why did he want Addie to befriend her? Clara shook her head. “None of this means he cares for me more than a friend.”
“It shows he is worried about you and perhaps cares for you more than you think,” Sophia pointed out.
Clara didn’t know what to think. She was now even more confused. She glanced over at Addie, whose face was clouded with distress.
“Thank you for telling me,” Clara said to her.
Addie reached over and squeezed her hand. “Please forgive me for not telling you sooner. I have genuinely enjoyed our friendship.”
She wanted to be angry at Addie, but she couldn’t be. This woman, who she had never been kind to, had come to mean so much to her. Clara squeezed her hand back. “As have I.”
Addie squeezed her hand one more time and looked around the table mischievously. “We have discussed Sam to death. Time for discussion is over. We need to set a trap.”
Clara frowned at Addie. She did adore this woman, but she was also more theatrical than any other lady she knew.
