Page 41 of Forgotten No More

It was as if Brock knew exactly what troubled him. “I wish it to be that effortless.”

“You know you will always have shelter under my roof, or any estate endowed to me.”

“Yes, but living off another’s wealth and title is not the life any man seeks.”

“I am not saying you will stay in my spare rooms and eat my food forever, but right now you have the opportunity to attain what you desire without the fear of homelessness and an empty stomach. If in the end you decide to move back to Haversham and take over the vicarage, then at least you’ve explored other opportunities.”

His brother’s business venture and the potential for success stuck firm in his mind, only to be invaded by thoughts of Ruby—dressed in simple garb and smiling at him as she completed some domestic task.

How could she be what he wanted? It was likely she was up to no good, and in jeopardy of hurting everyone Harold cared for. She had secrets he could only guess at. And she’d made it very clear how she felt about him.

He should focus on one area of his life that was under his control. If he and William were successful in their venture, then other opportunities would be available to him—such as the potential financial security a wife and family would need.

“I will replace the items I broke,” Harold mumbled.

“See that you do.” Brock smiled.

Harold did not relish hiding things from his best friend, nor from Lady Haversham. The conflict between his loyalty to their friendship and his need to assess and discover Ruby’s motives was not an easy one to rectify.

If all went as planned with William, he would have enough funds and access to rare commodities to replace both the crystal he’d broken and the liquor he’d spilled. Now, he only need get the coin to his brother and arrange the necessary transport.

“Well, I see my job is done here,” Brock said. “I will leave you to sort your priorities while I retire upstairs to take care of my own.”

Harold barely noticed his friend’s departure from the room as he thought of the many plans still needing to be arranged—none of which included the alluring and mysterious Miss Ruby St. Augustin.

Chapter 17

“May I help you, Miss?”

It took a moment for Ruby to gather her thoughts as she stood facing a servant in Drake livery. “Yes, I am here to see…”

The butler stared at her severely as she racked her memory for a name.

She’d failed to ascertain the name of the girl she’d been ordered to pick up and take to Gunter’s for ices. “Ummm…the lady of the house.”

“My lord is not married.”

“Pardon my ineptness, but I fear I have forgotten her name.”

He cocked an eyebrow at her obvious discomfort before putting her out of her misery. “This way, please.” He stood back and allowed her entrance. “Lady Ellington will attend you in the parlor. I assume you know where that is.”

Ellington? That was an odd name for a girl.

Perhaps she’d changed her mind regarding alerting the authorities. It was quite possible Ruby would walk into the room and be apprehended immediately—and once again she’d left the Haversham townhouse without informing anyone of her whereabouts.

“I am familiar with the room, thank you.” It was only a short walk to the parlor where Lady Ellington had taken her and Harold after finding them in the dark, abandoned room farther down the hall. It was much more inviting here than the dim, sheet-covered study.

She still wondered how the girl came to live with Drake. Lady Ellington wore the clothes of a lady, spoke the refined speech of a lady, and most definitely carried herself as if above all others…but there was something off. The butler neither showed Ruby to the parlor nor asked if she’d like tea. Highly inappropriate treatment of a guest in a marquis’ home.

Maybe Ellington was a paid companion, as Ruby herself had been, or a lady’s maid. But a lady’s maid to whom? As far as she knew, the marquis had never married, and no close female relative was listed in Peers of the Realm.

Ruby had come partly for insight—information about the truthfulness of the gossip surrounding the marquis, his scandalous past, and especially about the man himself. Throughout the course of her search, this was the closest she’d come to having access to the entire home of a lord on her list. If she befriended Ellington, her access may very well increase substantially. Then she would quickly be able to cross the marquis off her list, his dubious past included.

The thought of this rakehell being her father scared the daylights out of her. Would it be worse to have no clue who her father was, or to have a man whose reputation at seduction—not to mention his extraordinary reproduction record—knew no bounds?

His deplorable treatment of her mother would make complete sense if he turned out to be the man she sought. But would her heart survive a biological connection to a man who was truly ruthless in his sexual pursuits?

Ruby took in the room she’d spent a few moments in the night before. Gone was the overpowering heat from a blazing fire; no heavy drapes blocked out the clear, mid-morning sunshine. The room had a sinister air about it before, a backdrop for dark dealings and midnight masquerading. Today, the room was almost pleasant.