“I have failed you, my daughter.” He squeezed her hands, tears rolling down his face, eyes filled with despair and regret. “I failed this family.”
“Pa, don’t talk like that!”
“You are so oblivious to the truth, Elaine. You do not understand anything.”
“How can I possibly understand anything when no one deems it fit to enlighten me?”
The tears kept coming. Sobs hitched in his throat. Elaine stood, worry replacing everything else.
“Pa, you can explain it later, when you are calmer.”
“I must tell you now,” he tried to get out. He attempted to resist her efforts to tuck him back under the covers but it was futile. “I have held on to this for long enough.”
“You have tired yourself out. Rest for a while and when you awaken, you may tell me everything.”
Elaine saw the struggle on his face, fighting the exhaustion that had clearly come over him. She hated to see him upset like this. Not only did it break her heart, but it only lessened their time together because it always tired him out. It may be hours before she gets the chance to talk with him again.
Fatigue ultimately overcame him, and Edward fell into a deep slumber. As soon as it did, that heavy weight of sadness fell over her once more. Elaine struggled to keep it at bay but her father’s last few words had only made it worse.
Was everyone keeping something from her?
***
“Where are you headed?”
Michael drew to a halt at Clarissa’s appearance. She crossed her arms and gave him a stern look, not moving from the threshold of his study. He tried not to sigh.
“I shall be back shortly,” he answered noncommittally, attempting to step around her. But she didn’t move.
“I hope that means you are going to Suthenshire House,” she said. “It has been days and you have been holed up in your office ever since.”
“That is because I had things to do,” he explained as calmly as he could. Right now, Clarissa stood between him and the conclusion of his four-year investigation and he was seriously considering removing her by force.
“Are you still plotting your revenge?” she asked with wide eyes. “Michael, haven’t you learned your lesson?”
He’d learned enough to last him a lifetime. He knew the truth of everything now. The truth in Clarissa’s warnings, the truth of what happened four years ago, the truth of his heart. He’d spent days without leaving his office, crossed between berating himself and seeing it through to the end. And he came to realise that he couldn’t possibly give himself fully to Elaine if he still had this hanging over his head. He had to lay it to rest. He had to make sure it was set aside so that there was nothing standing between him and the lady he loved.
And he loved her. With all his heart and soul, he was deeply in love with Elaine. And he hated himself for how long it took him to realise that.
“I understand your worry,” he said to his sister. “And because of what happened, I am committed to putting this all behind me. I poured over everything I had and found a clue that I missed. I intend to settle this right now.”
“And then?” Clarissa asked, raising a brow.
“And then, I shall mend things with the woman I love.”
Her frown finally cracked into a smile and she stepped out of the way. “May I accompany you when you do?” she asked. “There is something I need to do as well.”
Michael would have questioned her about it if he hadn’t been in such a hurry. Instead, he pressed a chaste kiss on her temple. “I’m sorry, Clarissa. For everything.”
“You were already forgiven, Michael. Now go and win her back.”
He nodded seriously and hurried out the door. He knew there was a chance that all was lost. The hurt he had caused Elaine may never be remedied. She may never trust him again. He might have ruined the only chance he had at true love.
But he wasn’t going to listen to those thoughts. He had to focus on his current course of action first.
Nearly thirty minutes later, his carriage pulled up to the modest house of Mr. Thomas Plauser. Mr. Plauser had no clue Michael was coming. Michael suddenly realised that he might not even be home.
He trudged up to the front door and knocked. Then waited. After a minute, he moved to knock again when a middle-aged man opened the door, blinking in surprise.
