Page 51 of The Wise Daughter

Aaron sank lower into his chair and covered his face, no longer caring whether he maintained his composure when Carver entered.

“Has something happened, Your Grace? I was told Miss Lacy and her father left.”

The words stung his ears, though he already knew their truth.

“I cannot marry her, Carver. I’ve just learned she has been deceiving me.” Aaron stayed silent for several minutes, rubbing his face just to feel something besides the ever-tightening knot in his chest.

A heavy hand gradually descended on his back, Carver’s attempt to be comforting. “This is not your fault, Your Grace. You’ve been in mourning. Your judgment was clouded when you entered into the engagement, just as I warned you. This will be difficult for a time, but the way ahead is clear.”

“Is it, Carver?” If Carver could see the path ahead, Aaron didn’t understand it. He couldn’t see anything. He reached into his pocket and clenched the letter Nora had written to his solicitor.

“We must start by announcing the end of your engagement, Your Grace. We shall confirm with Mr. Cornell that Miss Lacy was in clear violation of the marriage settlement. There can be no question that she deserves nothing you so generously promised in that contract.”

Aaron shook his head. “But her reputation.” Everyone would discover the truth eventually, but he wouldn’t make a spectacle of her. He had promised to protect her.

Carver’s voice echoed in the back of his thoughts. Did her reputation deserve protecting when she had tried something so devious? Aaron didn’t know.

Carver removed his hand from Aaron’s back. “Her reputation is her business, and she must face the consequences of her choices, just as you must now face the consequences of yours.” He cleared his throat. “We must attempt to repair the damage she has caused.”

“Damage,” Aaron mumbled under his breath.

What cared he for money when the woman he loved was a liar?

The real damage was inside. If Nora was truly that dishonest, Aaron was no judge of character, no judge of when to extend mercy or when to give his heart.

He was broken, and he didn’t know how to repair himself.

“Take heart, Your Grace. You discovered her deceit before you married her. We should be glad she is gone.”

Somewhere inside, Aaron was furious at Carver for speaking so, but his rational side couldn’t find any reason to argue with him. “Did you really dislike her so much, Carver?”

Carver was silent for several seconds, then spoke so matter-of-factly, so casually that Aaron felt insulted though he couldn’t say why.

“I tried to allow Miss Lacy a place here, for your sake, but I never really trusted her. I know you’re discouraged, but we’ll recover perfectly well, I suspect. I hope Your Grace will consider accepting my advice again, starting with this. You should rest. Leave the work ahead to me.”

Back to their old arrangement then. Little wonder Carver seemed so pleased.

This all suited him perfectly well, but as Carver went on repeating his pompous gems of advice, Aaron couldn’t stop thinking about Nora.

The betrayal he had initially felt was overwhelming, blindingly so.

He rubbed his temple, still unsure how much the opium might have been affecting him, but to hear Carver speak of Nora as if he had always known she was a criminal shook Aaron out of his groggy wallowing.

Nora was so good. There had to be a mistake in this, a dreadful misunderstanding. Nora would have questioned everything, just as she had questioned the accusations against Mr. Rowe.

So will I.

Without knowing who he was, Nora had pulled him from the mud before he was swept down the river.

That was their shared secret, one that Carver had never known.

She had offered up her beloved horse when he needed it, even though she had lost everything else.

She had dropped to her knees and begged to be a servant.

He had lost half his heart to her that night and the rest in the short time they had spent together.

He looked at the letter again, the words so stark, and though the seal of his signet ring was easy to discern, he didn’t really know what her handwriting looked like. Perhaps she did not even write it. He crumpled the letter in his fist. The more he considered it, the less the letter made sense.

There had to be more to the story than what the solicitor sent.

Nora wasn’t the sort of woman to engage herself to man after man for the sake of money.

Even if those men had given her father money, she might not have had anything to do with their transactions, and though money had been a consideration in their own engagement, he had seen how much it troubled her.

Or was she merely a skilled actress?

Aaron groaned. How desperately he wanted for there to be some explanation that would confirm Nora’s innocence.

The letter had hurt him immensely, but he could not simply stop his feelings for her the way he might blow out a candle.

He would not give her up until he knew with certainty what had really happened. He would discover the truth.

When he looked up, he saw Carver watching him closely.

“While you rest, Your Grace, I’ll prepare a short announcement for the papers, something tactful, but clear.

Mr. Cornell can ensure that your accounts and investments are secure.

We can even tear up the marriage contract.

” Carver sounded almost jovial, but he might as well have been talking to Aaron’s shadow. “Your Grace?”

Aaron rose from his seat. “Send for my horse.”

“Your horse? What? Now?”

“Now.”

Aaron ignored the worried look on Carver’s face.

“It’s the middle of the night. You need rest, Your Grace. Tonight is obviously taking its toll, and it’s clear you’re still unwell from last night’s feats. Let us look on these matters after a good night’s sleep with the bright light of tomorrow, shall we?”

“No, Carver. This cannot wait.”

“You’re determined to go out? This late?”

“Most determined.”

“But even without considering your health, the ball is still underway.”

“More than half the guests live in the castle. The rest used to. They’ll manage without me, and you can take over any needs in my absence.”

“But Your Grace–”

“I must speak with Nora. I have too many questions, and there are too many facts that contradict this letter.”

Carver slowly nodded. “Very well. At least, have a drink to calm your nerves.” He took a glass from a nearby cabinet and mixed and poured.

Aaron took the drink without thinking and downed it in one gulp, expecting it to wet his tongue. Instead, it left a strange taste in his mouth. “Thank you for understanding, Carver. I can’t leave these matters behind me until I resolve all doubt.”

“Pardon me, Your Grace, but what is there to doubt? She wants your money and she lied about it. Attempting to steal fifteen thousand pounds might only have been the beginning of her deceit.”

Aaron studied Carver for a very long time. His steward, so composed now practically swaggered with confidence. “Carver, I never told you she asked for fifteen thousand pounds.”

Carver stopped suddenly. His face paled only for a fraction of a second before he regained his composure, but Aaron didn’t miss it.

“I’m sure you must have told me, Your Grace.

Consider all the burdens you’re bearing, and now you’re mourning the end of your engagement.

Little wonder you forgot mentioning a small detail like that to me. ”

“It isn’t small, and I didn’t forget. That letter was sealed when I received it. How did you know? Did you have something to do with the letter?”

Carver’s nostrils flared. “After all my years of service, you find one miniscule reason to doubt me, and now you think you understand everything?”

“No, I know I don’t understand everything, but now I’m paying attention to all the reasons I do have to doubt you, reasons I’ve been ignoring.

Until now.” His mind raced as pieces of the puzzle clicked into place.

“I’ve listened to your explanations, but they don’t make sense anymore.

All this time. You’ve been the one keeping the books, managing so many of my affairs, covering your lies.

Why don’t you start being honest with me and explain what, exactly, you hope to gain through this deception. ”

A wave of nausea hit Aaron and rolled beneath his feet, making him catch himself on the desk.

Carver approached slowly. Aaron could see his limbs trembling.

“Listen to yourself, Your Grace. You’re being unreasonable, which is why,” he said slowly, “I took the liberty of adding a sleeping draught to your drink. The doctor left extra should you need it, which I daresay you do. I was rather generous with the dose this time.”

“Carver!” Aaron’s limbs grew heavy just thinking about his veins being flooded with more opium.

“It’s for the best. Your father wanted me to look after you. I couldn’t let you talk to Miss Lacy in this state. Every time you talk with her, she meddles with your logic.”

“Is that why you set fire to her room?” Aaron was taking a risk.

He didn’t know what he was going to do, especially if Carver had drugged him, but he would at least learn the truth.

“She was catching on to things much swifter than I was, wasn’t she?

She suspected you. Whatever you do to me, Carver, you haven’t fooled her. ”

“I’m sure her pride will keep her away. I’m not worried about her anymore.”

“But you were,” Aaron pressed. “And I think you still are. In fact, I can’t tell whether you fear her more than you despise me. Why do you despise me so much, Carver?”

Carver pounded the desk. “You should stop talking now, Derricott! If you were half so observant as that chit, you might have noticed I’m your–” He stopped himself, clamped his mouth shut and breathed heavily.

“No. I won’t satisfy your curiosity. Not now.

Not after all these years. All you need to know is that I’ve seen to every detail.

The dukedom will be mine and you will be dead. ”

Ice crept over Aaron. “Every detail? Like new servants who wouldn’t be suspicious of you? Who you could manipulate and steal from with lowered pay?”

Aaron fought off the next wave of nausea. He wanted to know more, but the sooner Carver left, the sooner he could escape to the secret passageway. He just needed to stay alert long enough.

Carver, however, shook his head as a menacing glee rose to his eyes. “After all these years, why not tell you? Why not let you die with a full understanding of how much the Derricotts have wronged my family?”

“My father was good to you.”

“Your father was my uncle! My father’s own brother. He should have done better for me.”

This news ran through Aaron’s limbs like lightning, enough to rouse him from the stupor he had been on the verge of slipping into. “How can that be? My uncle never had children. He never married.”

“My dishonorable father may have never wanted a wife, but he still eloped with my mother. Unlike your mother, she conceived right away. I should have been legitimate, but he had the marriage annulled before I was born and turned her away. He wouldn’t recognize me as his son. My mother and I were outcasts.”

“But my father knew.” Aaron put the pieces in place. “He took pity on you and gave you a place here, didn’t he? Why would you turn on him?”

“Oh, he took pity on me. He certainly did, a pitiable boy born out of wedlock. Why would he recognize his relationship with me when my own father wouldn’t?

Your father made me a servant! I should have inherited my father’s estate when he died, but who did it go to?

Not his son. Everything went to your father, making the fortune you inherited even more vast. That is why I despise you.

That is why I made sure your most precious trinkets were stolen first, anything that reminded me of how much you and your family loved one another. ”

“My father was kind. I’m certain he meant to help you.”

Carver scoffed. “How would you know? I did every odd job imaginable at this castle from mucking out the stables to emptying the chamber pots. I broke my back for years before you were ever born. In my childish ignorance, I thought, perhaps if the duke and duchess never conceived, he might recognize me eventually. Years went by. I gained some seniority and was trusted with more important tasks. Then you were born.”

Aaron trained his eyes on Carver, fighting the tiredness.

“It took me ten years to work up the courage to try to kill you.”

Aaron instantly understood. “When I was ten. The fire in the stables. That was you, wasn’t it? That’s when my father sent me away.”

“That was a complication. I realized I had been too hasty. So I learned restraint and bided my time.”

“We could have been friends, Carver. You could have confided in me.”

Carver’s lip quivered. “As if I wanted your friendship! What nonsense. What delirium of speech! Neither you nor your father were ever my friend. Neither of you ever attempted to understand me or my plights.”

Aaron’s eyelids would only open halfway. “And whose fault is that? You chose to keep secrets and let them fester until they poisoned you from the inside out.” His head spun, but he forced himself to stand. He was determined to stand till the last.

At this, Carver started laughing, a deep, sinister laugh. “I trust it won’t be long until you fall asleep. Goodbye forever, Derricott. I’m finished with you.”

Carver removed a key from his pocket and gave it a little wave before stepping out and jiggling it in the keyhole.

As soon as he was gone, Aaron stumbled his way to the secret passage, unsure of how long he could remain conscious as his legs grew less sturdy and his mind foggier. He came very close to curling up on the floor when the wood panel he had his sights on slid open, and out stepped Nora.