Page 21 of Earl, Enemy, Husband?

‘It all happened such a long time ago. It might be difficult to trace.’

‘I will also ask my mother, though I doubt she will be of much help.’

‘Your mother still lives?’

He looked at her in surprise. ‘She does. She lives in Bath.’

‘Oh. I thought she might be deceased, since I have hardly ever heard her mentioned.’

His father’s fault. ‘She and my father did not get along. They lived apart for most of their marriage, once they had their heir.’

‘I see.’ She looked shocked.

‘My mother did not approve of my father’s rakish lifestyle and removed to Bath not long after I was sent to boarding school. I stayed with her in the school holidays when I was not spending time with my father in his hunting box. He moved there after a scandal that caused him to leave London for good.’

‘And you have no brothers or sisters?’

He shook his head. ‘I don’t think my parents saw each other often enough for any more children to arrive. They truly despised each other.’

‘How awful for you.’

He shrugged. ‘I was used to it.’

Clearly, he didn’t like talking about his parents. Given what he had said about them, she did not blame him.

‘What about your parents?’ he asked.

She almost felt embarrassed to tell him after hearing his story. ‘Mother adored father and he was devastated when she died. While he was disappointed that they did not have a son, he has had no interest in marrying anyone else.’

‘It sounds idyllic.’

‘We were happy. Things changed somewhat after Mother died. Father retreated into his books. As the oldest, I had to care for my sisters, who were very young when she passed away.’

‘That must have been difficult for you.’

‘I suppose you could say that.’ She had de facto become a mother at the age of twelve. She had promised her dying mother to take care of her sisters, and she had tried her best.

Sometimes she felt angry that she had gone from child to adult in the blink of an eye. But it was not her sisters’ fault, nor that of her father. It simply was. And she had made the best of it. The fact that there had been no-one to guide her footsteps along the path to womanhood had led her to make a dreadful mistake. But there was nothing to be done, so she must simply get on with things as they were.

A thought occurred to her. ‘Have you checked your attics for papers? Sometimes things get stored away in trunks and chests and forgotten. Or the library might have some cupboard or other used for storage.’

‘To be honest, there could be something in the library, but it is an utter disaster. It would take months to sort through the mess.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I am not sure what happened. Books are heaped in piles, while half the shelves are empty. There are maps everywhere. It looks as if it was hit by a hurricane. It will take me weeks if not months to go through it all and I have so many other things requiring my attention.’

‘Perhaps I could help you sort it out.’ She should stop chattering. Why would he need her help to look? He was perfectly capable.

He looked surprised and doubtful. ‘Do you mean that?’

‘I do, if it will help. Who knows? It might hold the answer we are looking for.’

‘We can work on it when I get back from London.’

Time was wasting. If they did not find something soon, there would be no chance to get her sisters introduced to London Society this year, if at all. ‘Why don’t I make a start in your absence? All you need to do it tell Mrs Spragg that I am doing some research on the history of the family.’

He gave her an odd sort of glance. ‘Very well. Start whenever you wish.’