“I cared about her. Deeply.”
“Cared?” Diana continued her questions. “As in past tense? Do you still care for her now?”
Gritting his teeth, Nic raked his fingers through his hair. Why did he suddenly feel as if he were on trial? All of them looked at Nic as if they were appalled he could have feelings for a mere maid. “Actually, Diana, I still do have feelings for her, although she has already told me it could never go any farther. Simply put, she doesn’t want my affections.”
Although it hurt him to confess the truth, these people were his friends, especially the brothers. They would understand Nic’s heartache. Apparently they had liked Nic’s answer, because their shoulders gradually relaxed.
Confusion filled Nic once more. None of this made any sense. He could understand Diana’s concern, because Tabitha was a close friend, but why the others? Whyall threeWorthington brothers?
Taking a deep breath, Nic moved away from the hearth and to the window. He leaned against the wall and folded his arms. “Now will someone be so kind as to tell me why this matter is so important to you? Why does Trevor and Trey care about how I feel in regards to Diana’s friend? And why did you all feel it important enough to travel all this way to come talk to me?”
Tristan stood and hesitantly moved toward Nic. The middle brother’s eyes never left Nic’s face. “Well, you see, Hawthorne.” He scrubbed his hand over his chin. “About six months ago Diana and I discovered a secret about Tabitha. In fact, it was the very evening I was stabbed. Remember that?”
Nic nodded. “Yes, I recall you telling me about that night.”
“Well, Tabitha saved me, along with my beautiful Diana, but Tabitha had been harboring a secret for many years. That night was when she told us about who shereallywas.”
Nic wasn’t sure he liked the direction this conversation was taking. The beat of his heart pounded a different rhythm. Even the palms of his hands were moist with uncertainty. Did he really want to know? Would it change his feelings at all? She had been hiding something from him, but obviously, she didn’t feel it important to tell him. “What’s her secret?”
Tristan stopped in front of him. “You remember when my father was alive and all the scandals he’d created and all the affairs he’d been in?”
“Of course. I think all of London knew about that man.”
“Well, you see,” Tristan continued, “Tabitha came from one of our father’s affairs. She’s our half-sister.”
Nic gasped for air as his mind tried to absorb what Tristan had just confessed. Glancing at the others around the room, Nic realized this information was true. All of them nodded as they met his gaze.
“She’s your sister?” he asked his friend.
“She is.” Trey moved from his spot beside Judith and stood beside his brother. “Believe it or not, we are very happy to finally have a sister. In fact, we had arranged a story that would welcome her into our family, but Tabitha was the one who needed more time to deal with everything.”
Tristan nodded. “We had planned to tell everyone that she was Father’s recently acquired ward, and that she had come to us to launch into Society. By telling Society that story, we knew they’d accept her without questions asked.”
Nic remained silent for a few awkward minutes as he tried to grasp the shocking information. This was the reason her status had changed from being a maid tohavinga maid beside her. This was the reason Tabitha’s wardrobe looked more expensive. He was certain his kind and benevolent friends would have given their sister a yearly allowance. And…this explained why he always felt he’d known her—that she looked familiar.
Yet it didn’t explain why Tabitha still thought of herself as a maid. She kept repeating how a marquess and a maid could never love each other the right way. So what was really keeping her from following her heart? Was there something about him she didn’t approve of? Could it be possible that she still hasn’t forgiven him from when he accused her of murder?
He shook that thought out of his head. That couldn’t be it. She did have feelings for him! Her body had responded to him like a woman who was attracted to a man. Her passionate kisses had told him how much she desired being in his arms, and even her tears had told him how heart-broken she was over the thought of a marquess and maid not being able to love each other.
So why had she ended it with him? Unless…
He held his breath. Perhaps she wasn’t as worried about being a maid as being an illegitimate child from a duke. She was probably extremely embarrassed.
Chuckling, he shook his head. “The puzzle pieces are starting to come together now. Tabitha is a secretive woman and would never tell me why she came to North Devon looking like a true lady with a maid by her side. She even held herself a little straighter than she had as a maid. Of course, her charming sense of humor and attitude didn’t change much from when I’d first met her.”
“Lord Hawthorne,” Diana said, coming to stand by her husband, “I’m still very apprehensive about your feelings for Tabitha.” She laid her hand on Nic’s forearm. “She was treated badly while working for Lord Elliot, which I’m sure you’re aware of, but she has a very tender heart, nonetheless. She doesn’t need it to be broken again. Please understand.”
He smiled at her. “Actually, I do understand. However, she was the one who ended everything. Yesterday, in fact. She doesn’t want to see me again, I’m afraid. She wants to find a man to marry that’s closer to her station in life. She made it perfectly clear that I wasn’t going to be that man.” He threw up his hands in surrender. “So you see, your worry and your trip, was wasted, because nothing will ever become of my feelings for Tabitha. Ever.”
Diana gave him a pathetic smile and squeezed his arm. “No, Lord Hawthorne, our trip was not wasted. It’s good to see you again, and having the Worthington brothers visit with you is what they’ve wanted to do for quite some time.”
The tenseness in the room seemed to disappear as the brothers all started talking at once, and to each other. Laughing, they each put blame at the other for the reasons they had to come see Nic. He, however, didn’t believe a word of it. Obviously, they were very content with being married and having happy homes filled with children, so why should they worry about Dominic Lawrence at all?
He laughed and participated in the banter going around the room, but deep in his heart, he felt lost and lonely. Seeing his friends and their wives again reminded Nic of what he’d wanted—what he’d been thinking about having with Tabitha lately. And how he was never going to get that with her.
A knock came upon the front door, and he excused himself and went to see who had come. When he opened the door and peered into the frightened eyes of Miss McFadden, his heart dropped. Why would she seek out the clergyman at his home instead of waiting for Sunday to speak with him?
“Good morning, Miss McFadden. What a surprise to see you.”
