“Into hiding? I do not understand. I thought she was in Italy. This baby—she does not have a baby. She would have told me. She did not have a baby.”
“She did,” he said. “She did have a baby. Oh, Clara, there is so much you do not know. Has she told you anything about a courtship?”
“A courtship? Yes, there was this man she met who wanted to take her to Italy to meet his family. She was going there with your other cousin as a chaperone. She has been writing to me with tales from Italy for some time now. Although I haven’t heard anything since… a month or so ago.”
“Yes,” Julian replied. “That is the one. Although he was not a count. His uncle was. And she did not go with our cousin. She went on her own and without my permission. She left me a message, saying she would return after their grand tour, and she might be married by then. She was full of wit and vigor when she wrote me that letter.” He shook his head. “So reckless, always so reckless.”
Clara nodded. That was her friend. Arabella’s parents had died when she was only four years old, and she’d been brought up by Julian’s parents. They’d coddled her and given her everything she wanted which had turned her into a bit of a hot head who did whatever she pleased.
“I heard from her since then, but her letters were sparse and devoid of such glee. I imagined her courtship had soured, and she didn’t want to tell me.”
Clara’s jaw dropped. “The letters she wrote me sounded similarly devoid of all her usual vigor and sharp, keen observations. They were dull. I assumed it was because she was with the gentleman she adored so much and that she did not have time to write properly. I thought she only wrote as an obligation because she knew I was unwell. Or worse, that she was somewhat embarrassed of me.”
“Embarrassed of you?” he said. “Why would she have been?”
“Because of my situation.”
He shook his head. “No, do not say such things. What happened to you was not your fault. It could have happened to any great lady.”
“Not twice over,” she said.
He shook his head. The baby in her arms stirred but did not start crying again.
“It does not matter. What of Arabella? Why do you think that this baby is hers? Do you have any indication other than what this man told you?”
“Yes,” he said. “A month ago, she returned to London with the child. It was quite sudden. I had gone to give a speech at parliament, and when I returned, she was there in the drawing room with the child. She told me that she and the gentleman had fought and that he would not let her leaveItaly after she discovered she was with child. He monitored her correspondence to ensure she did not attempt to run away. When the child was born, she fled and returned to England.”
“What?” Clara said. “She was held prisoner? Is that what you are saying?”
“It seems so.”
“Who was this man? He must be the one who is a danger to her and the child.”
He sighed. “She didn’t tell me. I tried to convince her to tell me more, but she did not. She stayed with me for two nights. I told her that I would ensure she was safe. All she needed to do was tell me the man’s name, and I would ensure that he would not harm her again. However, two days later, she was gone again.
“She left me a letter to let me know that she had relieved me of a substantial amount from my purse and a few items around the house. She said that she was going to take the baby somewhere safe and that she would contact me once it was safe to do so. I have not seen her since.”
“Goodness gracious,” Clara said. “So, the fact that the baby is here?”
“It must mean that it was no longer safe wherever she had taken him. We must take care of the baby. We must protect him.”
Him.The baby was a boy.
“How do we do that?”
“There is only one way,” he said. “I do wish that he had not handed the baby into your care in front of all these people the way that he did.”
“Yes,” she said. “Everybody will think that the baby is mine.”
He took a deep breath. “Which could actually work to our advantage. Do you trust me?”
Truthfully, she wasn’t quite sure if she trusted him or not. She scarcely even knew him anymore. To think they had danced earlier, and he hadn’t even once mentioned that her best friend was missing! However, right now, in this moment, they were the only two people on earth who knew whose child this was, and whatever else she thought of him, she knew that he loved Arabella.
Arabella had always spoken so highly of him, of the man who was like a brother to her, the man she trusted with everything. Or the man she had trusted with everything, except for this one thing she hadn’t trusted Clara with either.
“I suppose I do,” she said.
“Good,” he replied. He placed one arm around her and walked her back toward the door. They opened it, and by then a largenumber of people had congregated there. He took a deep breath and looked as composed as ever though she could sense the effort beneath it.
