Elara looked at her cousin and felt a sudden, unexpected tightness in her throat. She had not realized until that moment how much she had needed to hear those words.
“Perhaps,” Elara agreed quietly. “Though,” she added after a beat, unable to help herself, “This does not mean I trust him entirely. I will cooperate with him, but I will keep looking for clues on my own until Augustus is found and I have the truth in my hands.”
Caroline nibbled her bottom lip, and Elara knew right away that her cousin still had at least one more question.
“Go on, cousin,” Elara sighed.
Caroline looked up at her, her eyes shining with worry.
“It is just… what if you have gone to all this trouble, only to end up in such a predicament, for it to be true that the Duke had nothing to do with Evander’s death? You have changed your entire life on this one shred of a possibility, Elara. What if it is wrong?”
Pain slithered through Elara’s chest at the thought.
“Then I have ruined my life for nothing,” she answered softly.
She then looked up at her dear friends and found nothing but pity and fear in their eyes.
“I must apologize for how strangely this visit has unfolded,” Elara said as she stood up. Caroline and Bridget quickly rose with her, as if they already knew what she was about to say. “I believe I need to lie down for a while, but thank you for coming. I promise our next visit will be much better.”
“Of course it will,” Caroline replied, doing her best to seem optimistic as she drew her arms around Elara. “Please take care of yourself. We will speak of something else next time. See your rooms and the garden you spoke of.”
“Yes, of course,” Bridget agreed as she hugged Elara next.
Elara forced a smile as she bid them goodbye, but the moment they left the parlor, her smile faded as she plopped heavily back into her chair. She was not at all sure of the angry feelings buzzing inside her, but she was sure that somehow, some way, Evander was alive.
I just have to find a way to prove it.
Chapter 13
Three Days Later
“You are a very sweet baby, you know,” Elara murmured, adjusting William in her arms. “You are quite possibly the sweetest creature I have ever seen. Unlike your gruff uncle. Though I suppose we shall not hold that against you.”
“If I may say so, Your Grace, that is quite a lovely picture, that is.”
Elara looked up from William as she heard Mrs. York’s voice and found the housekeeper smiling at her affectionately. She could not help but smile back. William had that effect on her, making her feel at ease and cozy whenever the baby was in her arms.
This morning, she had wanted to show him the gardens, so after a leisurely stroll together, she had taken a seat at the patio table and had begun telling William fairy tales.
“He is a handsome little boy, is he not?” Elara asked by way of agreement.
“And you make a beautiful mother,” Mrs. York praised, stepping closer to the two. “His Grace is so blessed to have found a lady who clearly loves children as much as you do.”
Elara’s heart twinged with discomfort at Mrs. York’s words, but she hid it behind her smile. While it was true that Elara loved children, she did not believe she would have any with the Duke. Not if their deal worked out.
“Can I help you with something, Mrs. York?” Elara asked, changing the subject.
“It is the little Lord’s feeding time, Your Grace,” Mrs. York answered, holding out her arms for William. “I have come to deliver him to his wet nurse.”
Elara frowned slightly as she looked down at the sweet baby in her arms. Every day she spent with him, she felt herself fall a little more in love with the little boy, and to her surprise, she felt a wave of jealousy that she could not feed him herself.
“I shall take him to his nursery,” Elara offered, rising from her chair.
Mrs. York appeared most pleased at that, bowed her head politely, and fell into step with Elara.
“It is good that you are getting to know the little Lord,” Mrs. York said, smiling down at the baby. “However, I must confess I am most displeased with his guardian at the moment. I have been keeping house for the Duke of Ashworth for all my years, and I have never known him to be so absent.” She clicked her tongue disapprovingly. “One does have to wonder where exactly a newly married man finds it so necessary to be, day after day, that he cannot find his way back to his own wife!”
Elara let out a small laugh, as always delighted by the housekeeper’s sharp, honest tongue.
