“This is my townhouse, and I will do with it as I please,” her father replied. “Now, let us finish breakfast before our food grows cold.”
Simone shook her head. “I am not hungry.”
“You are being stubborn, just as your mother used to be,” her father said. “You need sustenance. Sit and eat.”
She reluctantly returned to her seat and reached for her fork and knife. As she pushed the food around her plate, Simone felt her emotions whirling inside of her. She felt betrayed by her own father. But was that fair of her? It had been two years since her mother’s death, and it wasn’t uncommon for a gentleman to take a mistress.
But that didn’t mean she had to accept this woman into her home with open arms.
Simone snuck a glance at her father and felt annoyed that he appeared perfectly collected. How could he be so calm with what he had just told her? Her whole life had turned upside down, and she was angry.
However, she did have a question for her father. And she saw no reason to wait any longer. “Whatever happened to Grandmother’s estate?”
Her father looked uninterested in her question as he picked up the newssheets. “I’m not quite sure,” he said. “A distant cousin inherited the estate. Why do you ask?”
“No reason,” Simone replied. Her father was lying to her, but why? She didn’t dare press him. At least, not right now.
Clarke entered the room and met her gaze. “Mr. Bolingbroke has come to call,” he informed her. “Are you accepting callers?”
Simone turned towards her father. “May I receive Mr. Bolingbroke?” she asked. She wanted to leave, and this was the perfect excuse to escape this conversation with her father.
“You may,” her father said as he continued to read the newssheets. “I shall send in Mrs. Fernsby to act as a chaperone.”
Simone rose and headed towards the drawing room. She found that she very much wanted to see Caleb. He would understand, and he was very good at making her feel heard. As if she had a voice. Whereas her father was constantly trying to take it away.
Caleb stared out the window as he waited for Simone. He was pleased with the progress that he was making with her, and he found that he was rather eager to see her. Yet, with every passing conversation, every touch, his feelings for her deepened- a disconcerting development considering theirpartnership. He didn’t dare act on them since it would ruin everything between them.
Simone entered the room, and he could tell something was wrong. She smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Good morning,” she greeted. Her words sounded cordial enough, but there was an underlying sadness to them.
Caleb closed the distance between them and asked, “What is wrong?”
Her eyes grew guarded as she asked, “Why do you suppose something is wrong?”
He lifted his brow. “Do we truly have to do this song and dance?” he asked. “We both know that something has upset you.”
It was as if his words allowed Simone to relax because her shoulders slumped. “It is my father. He just informed me that he intends for his mistress to live with us, and she will reside in my mother’s bedchamber.”
“I’m sorry,” Caleb said, unsure of what else he could say.
“I am angry, and frustrated, knowing this stranger is going to take the place of my mother,” Simone stated.
Caleb reached for her hand, hoping his touch would comfort her. “No one can replace your mother.”
“I should have assumed my father would eventually move on, but it has only been two years,” Simone said. “And just think of the scandal that will ensue when thetoncatches wind of this.”
“It will not be ideal,” Caleb agreed.
Simone glanced down at their hands. “Am I left to mourn my mother alone?” she asked, her voice soft.
Caleb’s heart lurched at the pain that he heard in her voice and he hoped he could find the right words to ease her suffering. “I do believe a part of you will always mourn your mother. It proves that she was a woman worth loving.”
Bringing her gaze up, Simone’s eyes were moist. “I just wish I could change the past.”
“Don’t we all?” he asked. “But our past is what defines our future. You are extraordinary because of what you were forced to endure.”
“I don’t feel extraordinary,” she said.
Caleb smiled. “I have never met another person like you. You didn’t allow other people to decide who you were. You decided that for yourself,” he said.
