Why can’t he just say what he means?
“Could you tell me then, how I may help you?” Adeline said.
“I did not say that I was looking for the daughter of Lord Harston,” Pike said, “but that is, in fact, what I am tasked with. Despite the time that has elapsed since the crime took place, Lord Harston has insisted that Bow Street look into it. May Iask what your role is in the household? There was mention of a child?”
“I am governess to His Grace’s daughter.”
“For how long?”
“I have just been appointed.”
Pike nodded.
“You have seen no one either here or in the village who seems out of place or is a stranger?” Pike asked.
“Not at all.”
“What was your position before becoming governess to His Grace’s daughter?”
“Lady-In-Waiting to the Dowager Duchess.”
“For how long?”
“Two years.”
Adeline did not lie or hesitate. Pike nodded again, then rose.
“There is no danger to you or the child. Rest assured.” He bowed again. “My apologies for troubling you. May I leave my card? Should you see anyone suspicious, do not hesitate to write to me.”
When he left, Adeline remained in the study, her hands cold and breath shallow. The net was drawing tight. Her father’s accusations had taken root, poisoning the law against her. Theft was one thing. She had stolen nothing, but it was an easy accusation to make. What other crime had she been accused of? Lies, but lies from a powerful man carried enough weight to ruin her utterly.
I must leave Greystone. For Louisa’s sake. For Winston and Cordelia. But also, for myself.
However impossible it felt, however her heart rebelled, she must go before the truth crashed down upon them all.
Chapter Sixteen
“Lavender!” Winston called out to the butler as he strode to the door, flinging on his overcoat.
The butler appeared with Winston’s hat and gloves.
“I am going into London to consult with Mr. Epping at Gray’s Inn. He has papers for me to review. I probably won’t be back for dinner.”
“Very good, Your Grace,” Lavender intoned.
Winston told himself that leaving Greystone for London was a matter of business. His solicitor, Mr. Epping, had hinted that certain accounts would bear a closer inspection. But the truth, the wretched truth, was that he could not endure another day in Adeline’s presence. Not without cracking and confessing all.
The words burned in his chest. They clamored for release. Every time he saw her, the urge to openly share his feelings swelled upwith the same force as his manhood when his body was pressed against hers. The physical attraction was overpowering enough, but it was not merely her beauty. Not just the curve of her smile, the lilt of her voice or the sparkle of her eyes that plagued him.
It was her bond with Louisa. He had seen it growing, day by day, with all the stealth of ivy winding up old stone. Louisa, who had been deprived of a mother’s care these many years, leaned toward Adeline with a trust and warmth that was perilously close to filial. It unsettled him. It tempted him. And it inflamed him. The thought of his daughter having such a mother-figure--gracious, intelligent, and compassionate-- was one that touched upon his deepest anxieties and his greatest longings.
She has been without a mother for most of her life. She has no memory of her mother. A girl needs a mother, doesn’t she? How can a man such as I fill that gap?
So, he ran. He ran for solitude and to escape the temptation of Adeline. The carriage bore him toward the city, through the swelling village of Kensington and around the borders of Hyde Park. Outside, the sound of cows and birdsong was replaced by the rattle of carriages and the raucous cries of hawkers.
He stared out at promenading ladies in gauzy gowns but saw only Adeline.
She has the nobility of a queen. A light in her eye that says more for her wit than every sonnet ever composed by Shakespeare.
