Page 41 of Fortune’s Final Folly

He’d fooled himself into believing his work in Cheapside enabled him to discover who he was and what he wanted for his future. That wasn’t true at all. Because Joshua wouldn’t be himself without Kate.

Suddenly, he realized they could be anywhere—Cheapside, Bond Street, even on the open ocean in a rowboat. As long as she was by his side, Joshua would know his course.

“Mayhap I should show the countess to her bedchamber for the evening.” Dolly pushed to her feet, somehow sensing they all needed time to think, arrange their thoughts, and begin the conversation anew later. “I’ve had the peach chamber prepared. It is next to Miss Kate’s and has a lovely view of the gardens.”

When Joshua and A’laya stood, Kate rose, as well, smoothing her palms down her skirts.

She paused for only a second before crossing the scant few feet separating her and the countess and wrapping her arms around her mother. The two women remained in their embrace for several moments, and he noticed that they whispered into each other’s ears before Kate squeezed one last time and stepped back.

A’laya smiled warmly, bid Joshua a good evening, and told Kate she looked forward to seeing her in the morning.

Joshua wanted to push Kate to go with her mother, but the selfish part of him longed for her to stay with him. He didn’t say a word when the two women, Dolly in the lead, departed the room, leaving the door open in their wake.

Joshua observed Kate watching them bustle from the room, her shoulders stiff, and her breathing shallow.

Kate drew in a deep breath the moment Dolly and the countess exited the room. Once again, she was astounded by the fact that everything could change while remaining unchanged at the same time.

She had a mother, yet she’d always had one—an adoptive mother.

She had a past, a heritage, generations of family—and though she hadn’t known of her heritage, it did not alter her memories of her childhood, it only enhanced them.

So much came into focus the more her mother shared about her past—their past. She wanted to know everything, craved an understanding of who she was and where she’d come from. Even learning of the earl’s duplicity where A’laya was concerned did not stave off her need for more details.

Barbados?

As the countess had spoken, Kate had searched her memory for the nation’s location.

If she remembered correctly, it was a smallish isle along the shipping routes of the many trading companies’ vessels that traveled to places far removed from England.

“My lord?”

Kate focused on the doorway her mother had departed through to where a servant stood, a parcel in his hands.

“Evans.” Joshua nodded. “Good evening.”

“Gregory from your office delivered this a few moments ago.” His stare settled on Kate for a brief moment before moving back to Joshua. “He said it arrived after everyone had departed.”

Joshua took the large envelope and turned it over in his hands.

Kate sank back onto the lounge where she’d sat before, stock-still while her mother had spoken so openly to all of them, relaying tales of her tragic past. She would never forget the feel of the older woman in her arms when Kate had embraced her. She’d been rigid as if she hadn’t expected the hug. Kate honestly hadn’t realized her course of action until her arms were around her mother, and the new scent of the countess embedded itself in Kate’s memory. She smelled of open air and…wild flowers mixed with leather, likely from her long ride to London.

The scents were new to her because Kate hadn’t traveled outside of London in all the time she’d lived there. The pungent smell of the crowded London streets and burning coal was as common to Kate as the scent of an old book, its paper tainted by years of handling.

“Kate?” The concern in Joshua’s tone cut through the fog surrounding Kate and her thoughts. “Kate, are you unwell?”

“My apologies.” She leapt to her feet, surprised that while her head swam and felt weighed down by a dense haze, her body was quick to action. “I should leave you”—her eyes flitted to the open parcel in his hands—“to your work.”

His brows drew low. “The parcel is for you. Well, it was addressed to me, but the letter inside is for you.”

“For me?” She glanced past Joshua, but the servant had departed the room, closing the door behind him. Joshua held out the letter, but Kate could not bring herself to take it. “Are you certain?”

“It arrived from the bank. And, yes, it is addressed to you.”

She stared at the missive and then up at Joshua. He nodded, giving her the courage to take it.

There was nothing she could learn that could shock her more than discovering the countess’s existence.

Finally, Kate grasped the envelope and read the erratic script on the outside. It was faded and nearly illegible, but Kate could make out her name.