“To the vicarage of course, so we can discuss our next move with Sophia and Edward.”
Excitement flowed through his veins as he helped Felicity into the carriage. As reckless as his decision to circumvent his parents’ approval on a matter that could impact all their lives, it was also liberating. For once, he felt free, like he’d cast off the shackles he’d worn since birth and escaped the rules that had governed his life thus far.
He gave the coachman directions and leapt in after his sister, eager to be on his way before anyone had a chance to stop them and ask where they were headed. With only two miles between Eastgate Abbey and the town of Ramcroft, they reached their destination swiftly.
Jack opened the door and alit, then handed Felicity down. Forcing a moderate pace even though he was tempted to race toward the front door, he tempered his impatience and guided Felicity calmly up the garden path.
“Ready?” he asked. When she nodded he reached for the knocker and gave the solid wood door three loud raps. His stomach fluttered and his heart raced. This was it. They were finally going to make things right – cement a plan and undo the mess he’d caused. Four people’s happiness hung in the balance, his own included.
The Fenmore maid of all works named Gertrude answered his call. “The family’s in the parlor with a visitor. I’m sure they’d be happy to have you both join them.”
“This visitor,” Jack inquired while he removed his hat and Felicity took off her bonnet. “Anyone we might know?”
“Possibly,” Gertrude said. She took his hat and Felicity’s bonnet and set the items aside on a table. “It’s the Marquess of Maypoole. Recently arrived from London, from what I gather.”
Jack stilled in the process of shucking his greatcoat and met Felicity’s gaze with a frown. Jack had encountered Maypoole at his club a few weeks prior, and although the two weren’t friends, Jack had stopped to offer his condolences on the passing of Maypoole’s father. It had been a brief conversation but the marquess had mentioned his intention to visit this corner of England soon and had promised to call at Eastgate when he did. Jack had not been aware of his acquaintance with the Fenmores though. Odd that.
Then again, if memory served, Mr. Fenmore had a distant cousin attached to some branch of the peerage, so maybe this was how they knew each other. He shrugged and hung his greatcoat on the coatrack, then helped Felicity do the same with her pelisse.
“Please show us in,” he told Gertrude who promptly led them through to the parlor. Exhilaration bubbled through him with each step he took. He could scarcely wait to see Sophia again. Already it had been two days since he’d last spoken with her, which was much too long now that he knew she loved him as fiercely as he loved her.
Gertrude opened the parlor door and announced their arrival. “Lord Hawthorne and Miss Felicity have arrived.” She stepped aside so Jack and his sister could enter the room.
“How good of you to join us,” Mr. Fenmore said in an uncommonly strenuous tone. He immediately stood, as did Edward and Maypoole. All three men had been occupying various armchairs while enjoying tea with Mrs. Fenmore and Sophia who sat on the sofa. Mr. Fenmore gave the marquess a hasty look before returning his attention to Jack and his sister. He cleared his throat. “You are most welcome. Please, Miss Felicity, come have a seat.”
Edward immediately gestured toward the chair he’d vacated, then offered Felicity his hand to help her into it while she greeted the rest of the occupants in the room. A few whispered words passed between them, Jack noted. A flush brightened Felicity’s cheeks, instilling in him a certainty that she and Edward were indeed meant for each other.
He swept his gaze toward Sophia and instantly frowned in response to the startled look in her eyes. Was it just him, or did the atmosphere seem rather strained? Tempered by the awkward feeling of having intruded on an important meeting, he kept his attention on the woman he loved. “Miss Fenmore.” He dipped his head in greeting, then quickly acknowledged her mother before giving his attention to Maypoole. “Welcome to Ramcroft, my lord. I trust your journey went well?”
“Indeed.” Maypoole stiffly accepted the hand Jack offered and gave it a firm shake. “I had intended to come a bit sooner but then a complication arose with regard to my father’s will. Apparently a cousin of his wished to contest part of it, but all of that has been cleared up now so here I am at last.”
“I’m glad of it,” Jack said even though he wasn’t sure anyone else felt the same. It was awfully hard to gauge their emotions.
“Thank you.” Maypoole’s expression grew somber. “My father has everything to do with it. Turns out, he had quite the confession to make on his death bed.”
“Oh?” Jack accepted the cup and saucer Mrs. Fenmore gave him and took a quick sip. Perfect.
“Apparently, my brother and I are not his only children.” Maypoole’s eyes darkened. His lips flattened into a hard line. “My mother perished in childbirth while my brother and I were away at Eton.”
“I’m sorry,” Jack told him.
Maypoole’s answering snort surprised him. “According to what we were told, the child – a daughter – died from influenza a few months after. Only that wasn’t true. My father just couldn’t stand to be near the person who’d taken the love of his life from him. So as soon as the infant outgrew her wet nurse, he travelled with her to these parts, placed her in a basket, and left her inside the church for strangers to find. Thankfully the agent I hired to track her down has proven to be a competent fellow.”
Jack froze, the tea he’d just drunk like a lump of lead lodged in his throat. He stared at Maypoole, then at Sophia, and once again at Maypoole while the enormity of what had just been revealed sank in. Sophia the orphan, daughter of only God knew who for most of her life, was a marquess’s sister?
“I still don’t understand how he managed it,” Mrs. Fenmore said. “There must have been questions. Did you not suspect anything?”
Maypoole shook his head, his expression somber. When he spoke, bitterness laced every word. “Like I said, my brother and I were absent. Rather than returning home that year for the holidays, our father came to collect us. He said he had to escape the memories crowding him at every turn – that he needed to spend some time with us alone, away from it all. We had no cause to doubt him. As for the servants, those in senior positions were fiercely loyal to him. As proven by the fact that his valet was able to make his voice crack whenever he mentioned my father’s struggle to keep my poor sister alive. Knowing the truth – how unjustly he treated her – is eating at my very soul.” His eyes clouded with deep regret. “I have to make this right.”
Jack’s stomach tightened, then unclenched as his shock subsided. Although the deception clearly angered Maypoole, this was actually excellent news – the best he’d had in years. For if it were true, then there really was no reason for him not to marry Sophia. His father would no longer have any cause to object. Which meant they could have it all – the happily ever after they wanted and the inheritance he would have had to give up otherwise. Not to mention that he’d avoid the potential scandal he might have faced if he married a woman with no connections.
Maypoole took a deep breath. “Naturally, I have no wish to break up what looks to be a happy family. My intention is not to insist Sophia leave the home she has known all her life or the people who have been kind enough to love her. But as my sister, she will have certain privileges. For the sake of establishing these, I’d like to make her existence known to the peerage. Officially, that is.”
“Thank you, my lord,” Mr. Fenmore said with marked hesitation. “You are…most generous.”
“I am merely attempting to right a terrible wrong,” Maypoole said. He shifted his gaze toward Sophia. “I am terribly sorry for what has happened, Sophia.”
“It’s quite all right.” The strain in Sophia’s features suggested it would take time for her to adjust to Maypoole’s news. Yet to Jack’s amazement, she faced her brother with gentle dignity. “If it hadn’t, I never would have met the Fenmores, and I can assure you, my lord, that I am most grateful I did.”
