Page 29

M organ did not know what happened to his wife, but he intended to find out.

She had vanished into the night, without even leaving him a note.

None of the staff seemed to know where she was, with the exception of Mrs. Herrington who was not giving anything away at all.

She had been acting strangely with him since his argument with Dorothy, but no matter how many times he asked why, she did not reveal anything.

"Catherine," he said gently, sitting with her in her room, "I know that yourself and Aunt Dorothy are… well, things have happened, but we have to find her. Do you know where she is?"

Catherine shook her head, but Morgan could tell that she was keeping something from him.

"Catherine, I know that a lot has happened of late, but we can fix it. I love you, and I want our family to be happy. I know that what Dorothy said was unkind to say the least, but we still must know that she is safe. If you know anything at all, you must tell me."

"Well," she said carefully, unable to meet his eye. "Aunt Annabelle told me that she has gone to stay with her family for a while. She said that Aunt Dorothy did not want to see her, and so she is going away for a while."

Morgan wished that were the case, for her family would have undoubtedly sent her back again if it were, but it was more than likely simply a white lie that Lady Annabelle had used to make her not worry so much.

Catherine had been in a strange state for the last few days, unable to talk and unwilling to see him.

The only person that she wished to spend time with was Lady Annabelle, and already it was beginning to hurt him.

He had been the one to take her into his home and care for her, not Lady Annabelle, but he could not remind such a small child of that.

It would have been unfair for him to do, even if he truly was furious that it had been that easy for the lady that had once abandoned him.

"All right," he nodded. "Did she leave you anything?"

Catherine shook her head, and Morgan left her room.

He knew that, in spite of how little she had given him, he would have to speak once again with his housekeeper.

He knew that she was hiding something from him, but she was not letting up.

He found her in the parlor room, and closed the door behind him when he entered.

"Mrs. Herrington, I shall only have this conversation with you a final time. Where is she?"

His housekeeper turned to him, furious.

"Even if I knew," she said firmly, "I would not tell you."

"You do not have a choice. You are my housekeeper."

"I am your wife's housekeeper," she corrected, "and because of you, she has vanished. Do you think I enjoy doing all of this work alone? You told me to come to like her company, and I did so. You cannot now ask me to be pleased that she is gone."

"I never once said that. Where on Earth would you get such an idea? I am searching for her."

"Yes, and you never would have had to had you not been so cruel."

He looked at her, taken aback.

"I heard you," she explained. "I heard the way you spoke to her, and how you accused her of things that you and I both know she would never do. You married a good lady, one that would not say such despicable things, especially in front of a child."

"Catherine is not a little girl that lies."

"Catherine is a little girl that does not want to lose anyone else. She is already without a mother, and now she is without her aunt."

"She has Lady Annabelle."

"Your Grace," she gasped, "can you hear yourself? This is the very same lady that slandered you, and you are believing her over your wife. What has compelled you to do this?"

Morgan hesitated, not knowing how to respond. He was aware that his actions had been odd, but that was because his own situation had been so bizarre. What other man in England had such a predicament, after all?

"If you want to find her," she said firmly, "go and ask your houseguest. I do not know where your wife is, but without her I am far too busy to help you see that you have been fooled."

Morgan hated how disrespectful she was being, but he did not have any anger left in him.

In truth, without Dorothy he felt as though part of him was missing and he wanted her to come home.

He had never wanted her to leave in the first place, but by doing what he had done he knew that he had given her no other choice.

He did not want to talk to Lady Annabelle.

He had no interest in seeing her again until she left, but she had made a habit of bringing him things.

He would hide in his study, and she would arrive with tea.

He would hide in the glasshouse and she would bring him a book.

He did not want anything from her, by that point, other than a swift departure, but he knew she would not do that of her own accord, and with Dorothy missing, he did not want Catherine to lose both of her aunts because of him.

He remained in the parlor room and, as expected, Lady Annabelle soon appeared holding something for him.

"I am not in the mood for this," he protested, but she did not listen.

"You will want to read this," she said, pressing a letter into his hand.

"I found it in Catherine's room the night your wife left.

I have been waiting for the right time, but I can see now that there will not be one.

I do not know why she had given it to her, but I believe it is because she could not say it to you. "

He opened the paper, and read it quickly.

"My Dear Catherine,

I am writing this to tell you that you will not see me again. It is for the best, as I see now that I have only been standing in the way of your real family.

I am sorry for what happened. I wish that you had not seen it, for it must have been so frightening. It is for that reason that I have no choice but to leave. I do not like the person I was that night, and I do not want you to see more of it.

I will be seeking an annulment for the marriage, of course. Your uncle might not like it, but this is how it must be. I am not leaving you alone, however, for you have your Aunt Annabelle to take care of you. It is better this way, as she at least deserves you.

I will not see you again, but know that none of this was your fault. You have always been a wonderful niece, and I am always proud of you.

Yours sincerely,

Aunt Dorothy"

His hands trembled as he held the note.

"She has not seen it," Lady Annabelle explained. "I found it by chance, and kept it from her. I thought that you would appreciate making your own decision, rather than me doing something without your permission."

"Yes, that is most certainly appreciated. Thank you, Lady Annabelle."

"We are family now. Perhaps you might simply call me Annabelle?"

Morgan did not wish to speak to a lady other than his wife in such an affectionate manner, but she had a point. They were family, and he had to treat her that way whether he liked it or not. He nodded begrudgingly.

"I will say, though," she giggled, "that it is strange how she proposed that she seeks an annulment and you and I become Catherine's parents. It is kind of her to suggest it, but rather sudden."

It was at that moment that Morgan had passed over the word ‘annulment' completely. He looked back, and his breath was knocked out of him. Dorothy had no intentions of returning, and as he did not know where to find her, there was nothing that he could do.

"I need to be alone for a while," he said firmly.

"Morgan, what you need is support," she replied gently, brushing her fingertips against his arm. "I am here to help you."

"I do not need your help. I need my wife."

"Your wife has left you. She has abandoned you and our niece because she was unhappy. Young ladies do that. I will not do that to you a second time, not now that I have grown so much."

"How clear must I be that I do not care for you?" he snapped. "I want my wife, and you are not her. You are only here because Catherine thinks highly of you, but when I look at my staff and see how miserable you have made them all, I want to change my mind about showing you kindness."

"That certainly is a strange way to talk to the sister of the lady your brother killed.

Do you know what that did to my family? It destroyed us, and my father to this day refuses to believe it happened.

He locked himself away all day, refusing to do anything but weep.

We lost everything, and for years I continued on trying to help my family.

We never knew why she had done it, and when I learned the truth I thought that we might at last be able to find a way through. "

"And that is why you are here, yes? It has nothing to do with Catherine, and wanting to meet your niece. You only want a nice household to stay in, and to avoid going home."

"I have never truly lied about that. I am here for the sake of my family, and if that affects your own then so be it."

At last, there it was. He knew that the crueler side of Lady Annabelle still had to exist, but he had not expected her to give herself away, not after she had done so all those years before.

"I want you to leave," he instructed. "You may say goodbye to Catherine, and then you will return to your family. I have to rebuild what I have, and I cannot do that with you here."

"You are not being fair. The girl needs me. I am the closest thing she has to her mother. I know that you were happy to forget about her, but I am not. I never did."

"I did not forget about her. I did not know who she was. From the moment I found her, I planned to write to your family, but Catherine did so first. If you wish to call me responsible for what my brother did, then I will not stop you, but you ought to remember your own part in it."

"I had no part in it. I had nothing to do with you."

"No, but you cannot help but imagine what sort of family would make a young lady so frightened to tell the truth about her pregnancy that it was easier to run away entirely."

"How dare you," she snapped. "Would you say that to Catherine, if she were here right now?"

"That your family did not care for her mother? She already knows as much."

At last, she was silenced. She glared at him, and he met her gaze.

She was the first to look away, flustered and scarlet.

Morgan looked at her with almost sympathy, but then he looked back on everything that had happened.

Everything had been peaceful until her arrival.

Dorothy and Catherine loved the company of one another, the staff adored his wife, he adored his wife.

Then Lady Annabelle came, and Dorothy began to speak lowly of herself again.

The staff were not as happy, and then the accusations started.

The Duchess, who had never seemed to him like someone that could be unkind, and his own wife, who he had not believed simply because of who had accused her.

It had never occurred to him that his niece had been alone with Lady Annabelle before he arrived that day.

He left Lady Annabelle standing there, and went to Catherine's room. He found her standing at the window again, shaking.

"What has happened?" he asked.

She turned to him, her cheeks stained pink with tears streaming down them.

"Uncle Morgan, you are going to hate me."

"Catherine, I could never hate you. You know this. What is it?"

He made his way to her, reaching out to take her in his arms. She fought against him for a moment, thrashing in his arms, but then she gave in. She went limp, crying loudly against him. He stroked her hair and soothed her for a while, waiting for her to exhaust herself.

When she did so, he placed her on a chair and crouched in front of her, looking at her with gentle eyes.

"Whatever you have done, we can fix it. I know that things have been difficult, but there is nothing that you could break that I could not mend. I certainly could not hate you for anything, either."

She nodded, looking at her lap.

"It is my fault that Dorothy has gone."

"No, it is not. The fault is mine, for I should have listened to her before she–"

"No, Uncle. That is the problem. She did not say anything to me like that. I lied to you. I lied, and you will never forgive me for that. I have kept so much from you."

She began to cry again, and though he was in shock from her confession he did the only thing that he knew to do, which was to console her. When she was calm once more, he left quickly to fetch her some water. She took it shakily, and began to drink it.

"Oh, Catherine, this has not made me hate you. It has not made me angry, either, only confused. I do not understand; why would you say such things about her?"

"Because," she whispered, "Aunt Annabelle told me that, if I did, she could stay with us longer. She said that you wanted to make her leave and never come back, and that if I said bad things about Dorothy, she could stay."

If Catherine were not there, he would have lost his temper entirely. He would have charged through the hallway, grabbed Lady Annabelle by the shoulders, and forced her out then and there.

But Catherine was there, and so he could not. He was also aware that Lady Annabelle could well make good on her threat and ruin them, which he could not have. The ton did not know of Catherine's existence, and the scandal that would erupt was not something that he could overcome.

He needed to find his wife, and he could not leave his niece alone again.

"Come," he said quickly, "we are going away for a while."

"What about Aunt Annabelle?"

"She will stay here. It is only for a few days."

She nodded, and immediately followed him out to a carriage.

"Where are we going?" she asked, as they pulled away.

He did not know how to answer her.