Isaac took another step into the room, throwing her a curious look. “Why?”
She pressed her lips together, a secret burning behind her eyes. Fortunately for Isaac, Prudence didn’t seem to be the sort of young woman who could keep one. “She was quite upset this morning. I wanted to accompany her to the ruins, but she wished to be alone.”
Upset?Isaac’s heart sank. Why would she have been upset? He had been up half the night, unable to sleep because of how eager he was to see her again. What about the night before could have upset her? Had he spoken too freely…or kissed her too thoroughly? She had been the one to kiss him first, so that couldn’t be the reason. He would hate himself forever if he had done anything to frighten her. “Trelowen ruins?”
Prudence winced. “Perhaps I should not have said that.”
Isaac’s skin grew cold with dread. “Is she hiding from me?”
The fact that Prudence didn’t answer immediately made Isaac’s heart sink further. She crossed her arms, a hesitant wrinkle on her forehead. “Well…I rather think she is hiding from everyone.”
Isaac drew a deep breath, steeling himself for the worst possible news. “What happened?” He eyed her secretive features. “What do you know?”
Prudence sat on the settee, stroking the terrier’s head. She sighed. “Last night I overheard Sophia’s conversation with my mother in the library. I did notmeanto eavesdrop, but I was on my way up the stairs when I heard Sophia return home. I wanted to know if she had been sneaking off to Morvoren House.” She blinked innocently. “I learned about the smuggling, and that our father was not only aware of it, but he was involved.”
Isaac scowled. “Involved, how?”
Prudence shrugged. “Storing items, providing routes, securing profits of his own through our estate. It is no wonder Percy wanted to steal my inheritance for himself.” Her eyes darkened with anger. “I listened to every word Sophia told my mother about what he did. Wicked scoundrel. I don’t know why I ever liked him.” She lifted her chin.
Isaac’s head was spinning. If the late Mr. Hale was involved in smuggling, then why would he be so opposed to Sophia marrying into the Ellington family? Hisownbehavior could have tainted his daughters’ reputation just as harshly.
He needed more answers.
Finally, Prudence seemed to remember the topic of their conversation. She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Sophia thinks you would never marry her because of what our father did.”
Isaac shook his head firmly. “My own grandfather was involved in smuggling.”
“There is more.” Prudence sat up straighter. Her eyes were heavy on the corners, much like how Isaac remembered her father’s to be. “Surely I am not supposed to tell you this, so you must promise that you will love my sister no matter what.”
Isaac’s heart raced. “Nothing could convince me not to love Sophia.”
She inspected his face with scrutiny.
“Nothing, Prudence.”
She sighed, giving a nod of approval. She glanced at the door again before leaning forward and whispering her secret.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Sophia was not entirely insensible. She had brought one of Mama’s maids with her to the ruins of Trelowen castle. As a result, she was not quite as alone as she would have liked to be.
Her eyes stung with tears as she tried to focus on the paintbrush in her hand. She had been debating between paining the ruins or the view from the window. It was fascinating to think that the people who had once lived there had seen exactly what she was seeing now, but through a sheet of glass. Now, all that remained of that wall and window was an assortment of stones, a rectangular hole in the ruins of what was once a grand, beautiful place.
Sophia’s heart ached as she dragged the bristles of her brush over the canvas. The blue paint would separate the sky from the sea. Now she had to decide which one to paint first, but her mind was soaring from thought to thought aimlessly. Her legs were heavy. Her heart was on the brink of a ruin of its own.
She pulled the brush away from the canvas, casting her gaze around the desolate pile of stones that barely resembled a castle. After hearing Mama’s secret the night before, Sophia had convinced herself that she and Isaac were destined to be muchlike Trelowen. No matter how grand and beautiful their love had once been, it could not last forever. She had tried to rebuild their ruins, but they continued to crumble in front of her. It would be a pile of rubble once Isaac knew what her father had done.
She could barely see the canvas as she painted, her eyes blurred with tears. She had been trying to decide how to tell Isaac what she had learned. She would not obey all of Mama’s requests. Isaac deserved to know what had happened to his grandfather, even if it meant he would see her differently. Even if it meant he would not want her.
Was Mama right? Would Isaac change his mind about marrying her if he knew the truth? How could she live in Morvoren house when her own relation was the one to take the life of the previous master? The very thought made her ill. She imagined the sorrow on Isaac’s face when she told him, and it broke her heart to pieces.
She added a dark bird to the sky, blending white paint into the blue to make the clouds. The maid who had accompanied her was walking on the beach down below, enjoying a moment free from the confines of Lanveneth, no doubt. She must have sensed Sophia’s desire to be left to herself.
The wind caught Sophia’s hair, and she pushed it aside, accidentally smearing the end of her paintbrush across her forehead as she pulled her hand back.
“Drat,” she muttered.
A voice from behind made her jump. “Sixty guineas.”
