Page 27 of The Rules of Courtship (Hearts of Harewood #3)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

SAMUEL

Rule #27: Only put your faith in those who prove they are worthy of it

Samuel had not been prepared to find Ruth and Oliver locked in an embrace. The way their bodies had held fast to one another made clear how deeply their emotions ran. The sight had slammed him in the chest with two quick thoughts in succession. First, pain, because he was not quite over his feelings for Ruth, regardless of what he wanted to tell himself. The second, sadness. How long had Oliver loved Ruth? Had he only been hiding his feelings because Samuel could not seem to hide his ?

Samuel schooled his face into a neutral expression when they reached their horses. Ruth had insisted on accompanying them, and as she was already in her habit, there was no reason for Oliver to refuse her. Wycliffe had offered to come lend his support as well, but he needed to saddle his horse and would be along shortly .

They mounted their horses and set off for Boone Park, silence between the three of them.

“How many are there?” Oliver asked, guiding his horse across Wycliffe’s fields. The concern on his brow had not left since being discovered in the music room, and Samuel feared he was in for an uncomfortable private conversation later.

He was glad to have something else to focus his attention on. “Three. A woman who claims to have been married to Captain Rose and her two children—both daughters. The older seems about Ruth’s age. The younger does not seem old enough to be out yet, but is probably near being old enough for it.”

Had the family arrived only a few weeks ago, Oliver would likely be wondering if he was about to meet his sisters. Now, Samuel was glad for the knowledge that made it clear these young women were cousins to them both.

“Are you afraid they have fabricated the whole of it for a chance at Captain Rose’s fortune?” Ruth asked.

Samuel felt his neck heat. “That is what my father believes. Eliza’s father is more open to the possibility they are telling the truth. It is merely suspicious because this was the family who has been caring for Captain Rose during his illness.”

Ruth gasped.

Oliver looked at him sharply. “You ought to have led with that,” he said dryly.

When they reached Boone Park, they each dismounted and left their horses at the stables.

Oliver marched ahead with purpose, Samuel and Ruth falling behind him. There had been such a great many changes for their family recently. It was evident the weight had fallen on Oliver’s shoulders, but he had borne it with equanimity. Watching him now, it was clear he had grown stronger. His back was straight, his posture sure. Where he had usually been meek and quiet before, now he appeared confident. The change was a welcome one, and Samuel assumed it had something to do with Ruth .

This morning, when Oliver had left Boone Park, he had not been standing so tall.

They entered the drawing room to find the women seated on the sofa, with Mother, Father, and Uncle Charles seated around them. No one had been speaking.

“Mrs. Rose, I presume,” Oliver said, striding forward as though he owned the house. Well, Samuel supposed he did.

It was a bold move, taking the woman at her word before so much as speaking to her, but it was very like Oliver to offer the benefit of the doubt.

The woman rose, her curly hair drawn back and secured behind her head. Her gown was simple but made of quality material, and her daughters were younger versions of her, with similar gowns and the same curly brown hair. Samuel searched their features for evidence of his uncle’s influence, and he thought he might have seen it in the shape of their eyes, but both girls looked very much like their mother. The same small noses, same wary expressions.

He could possibly believe he saw a resemblance only because he wanted to believe they were telling the truth.

Introductions were made. Oliver offered the kindness of calling the woman Mrs. Esther Rose, her daughters Miss Rose and Miss Penny. Samuel watched the expressions of his family members, noting the scowl on his father’s face, the way his jowls pushed low and unhappy.

“Forgive our surprise, Mrs. Rose,” Oliver said. “We had not been informed of…” His words trailed off.

Esther smiled. “William felt it was important to keep the secret to protect you. I was…already with child when we met on board a merchant ship returning to England, when he was bringing you home to your grandmother.” She paused, looking at her daughters. Her posture was straight, her strength evident. This was not a woman to be trifled with. “I was escaping an unfortunate situation, and by the time we were married, scandal ha d not evaded me entirely. William had already told the world of his deceased wife and newborn son—he could not have announced a second bride so quickly without calling attention to the situation. He felt it would cast a light on Diana and bring others to guess the truth.”

“That is reaching,” Father snapped. “If he had married you so long ago, he would have told us.”

Esther’s smile was tight. “Perhaps. But he did tell your mother shortly afterward, and she was displeased with the union.” Esther looked at her daughters. “William chose to protect us.”

“By forcing you to remain a secret?” Uncle Charles asked respectfully.

She faced him, her posture rigid and proud. “None of my neighbors are ignorant about the state of my marriage. William often spends—” She stopped, swallowing. “ Spent his leaves at home with us, and his holidays when he could.”

It certainly explained why Captain Rose had spent little time in Harewood. Had he never considered that his choices, while made in the effort to protect Oliver, actually had the potential to hurt him more? It could not have been easy for Oliver to feel so abandoned by the man he believed to be his father. And yet, in the spirit of protecting him from scandal and the title of illegitimacy, Captain Rose had allowed the farce to continue for nearly thirty years.

In actuality, Samuel didn’t know which was better—to live believing one’s father wanted nothing to do with one, or to go about life with a stain. Illegitimate children dealt with persecution, and it would not have ceased when he became an adult. It would have affected his relationships, marriage prospects, and business dealings.

Father huffed, his cheeks mottling red. It was clear this woman posed a great threat to his imagined inheritance, and he was panicking. “Why did you not admit the truth when we arrived to bring him home?” he asked.

“It was not my place to share. As I told you, William informed his mother of our marriage. She was displeased, finding him disloyal to Diana’s memory while they were in the middle of making everyone believe he was Oliver’s true father. She asked he keep it to himself until she could contrive what was to be done. Initially, we believed a year needed to pass and then we could announce our marriage, but as we already had a daughter, we did not know how best to handle it.”

“It does sound like a complicated situation,” Uncle Charles said.

Esther gave him an appreciative glance. “Years passed without William’s mother giving us her blessing. She did not see how announcing our marriage would do anything but cast a light on Oliver, as he and Arabella were born within a month of one another. William decided a split from his family was the best thing for us. Only out of respect for his sister Diana, whom he adored, did he maintain a relationship with Oliver.”

“Yet he wanted to return to Boone Park when he was dying,” Oliver said.

She turned compassionate eyes on him. “Only so you could be told the truth. He felt it needed to come from him, or you may never learn of your true parentage. We have been caring for him for months.” She glanced at her daughters. “We intended to accompany him when he came here, but Penny was ill, and I feared she had contracted William’s illness. We did not wish to spread it to your family.”

“You are well now?” Oliver asked the younger daughter—their cousin, by all accounts.

Miss Penny nodded. “Indeed. It was only a cold, but we did not know that at the time.”

“We had not been aware any of your family was ill,” Father said skeptically. “Seems rather convenient to me. ”

Esther straightened her spine defensively and glanced toward Samuel’s father. “We did not inform you. We feared it would impede your decision to bring William here.”

“You must be tired,” Ruth said, stepping forward. “It is a long journey from Thistledale, I believe.”

Esther shot her a grateful smile.

“Forgive me. Of course.” Oliver drew in a breath. “I hope you will stay with us here.”

“We do not wish to impose. Mr. Dale asked us to arrive tomorrow for the reading of the will, but we felt it was important to come early and explain.”

Father made a grunt, which everyone ignored. Samuel’s neck heated in embarrassment, but what could he do about his father’s childish behavior?

“It is no imposition,” Oliver promised. “We are glad to meet you. I will see to it that rooms are prepared straight away.” He glanced at Samuel, his eyebrows raised, and Samuel nodded in return. He was happy to find the housekeeper and pass on Oliver’s instructions.

Samuel faintly listened to the conversation continue as he left the room and located Boone Park’s housekeeper. She had already begun preparing rooms, assuming it was the way things would be.

“Thank you,” Samuel said, leaving her to return to the drawing room. He turned the corner and came upon his father, veritably seething.

“She is here to take it all,” Father hissed. “We cannot allow it.”

Unease roiled low in Samuel’s gut. “What do you intend to do? You cannot fight a legally binding document.”

“We can prove coercion or lunacy. He has been with them for months. How do we know this woman did not plant the idea in William’s mind and conceive the entire plan?”

“A certificate proving her marriage, I suppose, would do the trick,” Samuel said. His father didn’t have a leg to stand on, and his antics were growing old.

“I refuse to allow her to steal what is rightfully ours.”

Samuel shook his head, turning to walk away. “None of this is rightfully yours,” he muttered.

“What did you say?” Father asked.

“You are wasting your time.”

Father laughed darkly, walking toward the door. “We shall see.”

Samuel watched him go. He had a terrible feeling his father was up to something, but he had no idea what it could be.

When he turned back toward the drawing room, he nearly collided with Ruth. She glanced down, pink bleeding into her cheeks. “Forgive me. I should not have come, so I am trying to make a quick retreat and find my father before he joins us.”

“You will nearly be part of this family, Ruth,” Samuel said, proud of how level his voice sounded. “You are more than welcome here. It is good that you see some of our faults, so you understand what your future will hold.”

“I am no stranger to the Rose family eccentricities,” she said, possibly thinking of his parents and their absurdities. Or perhaps she was thinking of him, which was a lowering thought.

“Indeed.”

Ruth was turning to leave when she hesitated and faced him again. “Are we…that is…are you and I…”

“We are well,” he said, putting her out of her misery. “Do not fear that I am irrevocably heartbroken at seeing you and Oliver together. I’ve had time to grow accustomed to the idea of your union these last few weeks.”

Relief fell over her face. “You are not angry with us?”

His chest tore in two. “How could I be?” he countered, his heart pounding. He had his mysterious letter-writer, after all. Though he could not very well tell Ruth so. He wanted that to remain his own secret, to protect it for now. He fancied himself in love with the author of those letters, but for all he knew, she was nearing fifty years old and had already finished raising children his age. He had no notion of who the woman was, and now the person he had spent the last few years imagining as his wife was going to marry his closest friend and cousin.

It was not an easy situation to navigate, but his pain would help no one, least of all himself. Managing a smile, he started to walk Ruth to the door.

She turned abruptly, resting her hand on his arm. “We will remain friends, I hope.”

“Of course, Ruth.”

“Good.” She let out a sigh of relief, her eyes darting back toward the drawing room. “I worry for him.”

“ As do I, but Oliver will pull through. He is the most level-headed of our lot.”

“I agree.” Ruth chewed at her lip and glanced over her shoulder. “But you will look out for him, anyway?”

His smile softened. After years of enduring her rebuffs and censure, after every conversation between them had bent around humor, the authentic love in her eyes was enough for his resolve to strengthen. She loved Oliver, and Samuel could not stand in the way of anything for his most deserving cousin. His pain felt mended, if only a little. But it shone like a small beacon of hope that he would not feel this way forever.

“I will look out for him,” Samuel promised.

Ruth flashed him a grateful smile and hurried down the steps, holding the train of her riding habit in her hand, to meet her father on the drive before he could dismount.

Samuel turned back inside, letting the door close behind him, and hopefully leaving his feelings outside as well.

He was ready to move on.