Chapter Fifteen
Lisbeth paced back and forth, waiting for Justin.
Her brother had been meeting with business associates when she arrived at his townhouse unplanned.
The butler had shown her to the drawing room to wait.
It was strange to be in this building as a guest. This was where she’d grown up with Thomas.
His mother had been the housekeeper here.
Justin would be upset if she ever said she was a guest aloud, as he insisted that this place would always be her home.
A petty part of her whispered, it should be; she’d given up enough for it.
She sighed, pushing the thoughts away. Lisbeth had made peace with her decision to leave Thomas in Tuscany. She wouldn’t dwell on it.
Yet, it was the cause of all that was happening now. The door opened, and Justin strode in. Her brother epitomized what an earl should be. His bearing and dedication could never be questioned. Their father had passed a few years ago, and her mother spent most of her time, by choice, in the country.
Lisbeth wondered when he would marry. Justin seemed to have no interest. He spent most of his time involved in business deals to increase the earldom’s financial portfolio.
She sometimes suspected that he felt working hard was his penance for having begged her to leave Thomas and marry Nicholas.
Desperation had forced him to collect her in Tuscany.
She suspected he never wanted to feel that way again.
The family had been so broke, and the only way they could fix it was by sticking to the arrangement their father had made with the Lusby family.
Usually, ladies came with dowries, but Nicholas’s family had agreed to pay her father a large sum of money once she married their son.
Lisbeth wasn’t aware that her family had been on the verge of losing everything when she ran off with Thomas.
“Has he arrived?” Justin asked, taking her away from her thoughts.
She shook her head. Lisbeth hadn’t spoken with Justin since before she departed on her trip to retrieve the tablets.
She’d not wanted to endure any of his questions about Thomas.
Justin blamed him for their running away.
It didn’t matter that she’d explained it was her decision.
He always insisted that Thomas should have felt obligated to make sure they were doing the right thing.
“Do you think he is here to see you?”
“I don’t know.”
Justin stalked to a side table and poured himself a drink. He held a glass up to her, but she shook her head. Sighing, he said, “The best we can hope for is he gets wrapped up in his admirers, and you are forgotten.”
She flinched at his words, and he frowned. “I’m sorry, Lisbeth. I didn’t mean to be so harsh.”
Lisbeth shrugged. “I know why you are saying that. I think if he sees Alice, he will quickly deduce that she is his.”
“Damn it,” Thomas muttered.
“I plan to tell him about Alice as soon as he arrives.”
Justin’s eyes flared with alarm. “What good would that do?”
“Thomas deserves to know the truth.”
He took a sip of his drink. “He should not have been gallivanting across the world with a young lady.”
A sigh escaped her. “Justin, I’ve told you repeatedly that I was the one who planned everything. I wanted to find Benjamin Calvert and work with him. It wasn’t Thomas’s idea.”
“Would you have gone without him?”
She didn’t respond. Justin’s lips twisted in a smirk. “No, you wouldn’t have. You two were always bad for each other.”
Annoyance flared in her. “We were not. Neither of us expected Father to be broke. Excuse me for not factoring that into my dreams when I was eighteen.”
They were both silent, but eventually, Justin sighed. “I’m sorry for being abominable. I hate that you are in this situation, and my request all those years ago is the cause of it.”
“I will take that drink now,” Lisbeth said. “You didn’t have any other options. We both know that.”
He handed her a glass of wine. She took a sip, her stomach filled with worry. She had to tell Thomas. It was the only option. “I asked his mother to send me a missive when he arrives.”
“I want to be there with you when you tell him.”
Lisbeth’s eyes widened. “I’m not sure that is needed or helpful.”
He scowled. “I promise not to give him the thrashing he deserves.”
Any interaction between Thomas and Justin wasn’t a good idea.
Justin loathed him. He hadn’t before she found out she was pregnant.
No, he’d felt sympathy for Thomas. Yet, the moment she’d confessed she was carrying Thomas’s child, he’d begun to rage about him.
Lisbeth suspected it helped him deal with his own guilt about the awful decision she had to make in Tuscany.
“I think it would be better if I spoke to him alone.”
Her brother clenched his jaw in annoyance. She walked to him and placed her hand on his. “This is something I need privacy to explain. I know you are concerned, but this isn’t something you can do for me.”
Justin nodded jerkily. “If he hurts you, I will destroy him, no matter how famous he is.”
*
Thomas stood in front of his mother’s townhouse. His heart ached because he suspected that she already knew the truth about Lisbeth’s oldest child. This would be the first time he’d visit his mother in ten years, and it was likely to end poorly.
Hell, he’d never even been to this house before. His mother had purchased it seven years ago. She’d retired from housekeeping once he began to do well. Initially, he’d sent her money every month, but after a while, she wrote to him to stop, stating it was too much and that she had more than enough.
Her home wasn’t in the posh area of Mayfair, but it was a beautiful location.
Baker Street had become fashionable in the last few years, and Thomas couldn’t help but feel pride that he’d contributed to his mother being able to afford this place.
Her townhouse was not the most elaborate, but he didn’t expect that. It wasn’t in his mother’s nature.
The door was thrown open, and his mother stood there with tears in her eyes. “My housekeeper said a man was standing out front, staring at the townhouse. I suspected it might be you. All of London is gossiping about your return.”
They would fight inside, but all he wanted right now was his mother’s embrace. He held out his arms, and she rushed to him. “My boy is finally home.”
He stepped back, and tears streamed down her face. She reached up and grasped his cheeks. “Who knew you would grow into such a large man. You left here such a slender boy. I understand now everything the serials wrote about you.”
A bark of laughter escaped him. He’d only felt anger of late, so the sound felt foreign to him. “I finished growing later than expected.”
She smiled and stroked his cheek. “Come inside. We have much to discuss.”
Briefly, he’d forgotten Lisbeth’s treachery, but it all came roaring back. He followed his mother in. She guided them to a drawing room decorated in subdued colors, and he spotted the hand-sewn curtains that could only be her own. “This place suits you.”
She squeezed his hand. “I couldn’t have purchased it without your support. All the money you’ve provided me, I invested wisely.”
He nodded, and she asked her housekeeper to fetch them tea. Thomas couldn’t prevent the corners of his mouth from tilting upwards. The housekeeper now had one of her own. She sat and noticed his smile. “Yes, it was strange at first, but now I’ve grown accustomed to Mrs. Donnelly.”
Thomas nodded, unsure how to begin. She said, “I’m assuming you’ve come back for Lisbeth.”
Fury and anger welled in him. He had. What a foolish man he’d been! “It doesn’t matter why I came back. She—”
They were interrupted by Mrs. Donnelly re-entering the room. She laid out the tea and some small sweets before departing. His mother lifted a brow. “She?”
“I have a child,” he bit out.
She didn’t deny it or express surprise, and Thomas’s heart shattered. His mother had known. She frowned. “Thomas, what happened when you and Lisbeth were young was so complicated.”
He scowled. “You are on a first-name basis with a duchess.”
“She planned to tell you.”
“I just spent weeks with her, and trust me, revelations of truth were no part of our time spent together,” he snarled.
His mother took a sip of her tea, and he stood, pacing back and forth. “She had very few options.”
Thomas stopped and glared at his mother. “She had the option to let me raise my child.”
His mother sighed. “With what money? The two of you ran off but, at the time, had nothing.”
He closed his eyes, hating that his mother was justifying Lisbeth’s awful choice. “Have you met her?”
His mother bit her lip as if trying to formulate her words.
It was like someone had taken a knife and stabbed it into his chest. Had Thomas known he had a child, he would have returned to London immediately.
He would have insisted that Lisbeth marry him.
Finally, she said, “I’ve spent time with Alice since she was three years old.
I ran into them out and about. I knew immediately. ”
Thomas shook his head, the anger hissing and snapping within him. His mother rose and walked to him. “This is an opportunity to start anew. You have both always loved each other.”
He looked at her incredulously. Whatever he felt for the lying duchess was gone. It had shriveled up and died the moment he saw his child. Thomas stepped away from his mother. “I have no desire to start fresh with her. She will abide by my choices regarding our child. That is her only option.”
His mother frowned at him. “Thomas, do not let hurt and anger destroy the potential of the life you’ve always wanted.”
He scoffed. “I’ve lived a spectacular life.”
“You have loved Lisbeth since I started working at the Earl of Adnin’s townhouse. The moment you saw her as a six-year-old boy, and she was five.”
Thomas refused to allow her words to dull his anger. “That was a long time ago, Mother. We are both very different people.”
She frowned. “What do you mean to do?”
He didn’t answer. “I have to leave.”
She grasped his arm. “Thomas, I’m sorry, but you have to understand there was no other choice.”
“Yes, because she wanted to be a duchess.”
His mother shook her head. “You know it isn’t that simple.”
“I have to leave. I can’t believe you have known this whole time.” He shook her hand off.
Thomas stalked out of the townhouse. It hurt that his mother kept Lisbeth’s secret from him. He couldn’t believe he had a daughter. Lisbeth wouldn’t get away with this. No, he alone would determine what would happen next, and she would have to go along with his plans.
Any warmth he felt for his ex-love vanished. She’d betrayed him in a way that was unforgivable. Pain pierced his heart as he thought of his mother’s role in the entire sordid fiasco. Hopefully, over time, they could mend their relationship.