Chapter 8 #2
"And this," she said, gesturing to the second page, "was folded in with the letters. A receipt from one of my father's creditors, acknowledging the settlement of four hundred pounds. The payer is listed only as anonymous."
Nathaniel stared at the receipt, then back at the letter, the connection forming in his mind with the speed of certainty. "Miss Fairleigh," he said, and heard the shift in his own voice — something between astonishment and admiration that he could not entirely suppress. "You found this yourself?"
A faint color touched her cheeks, but she held his gaze. "I did."
The significance of what she had done was not lost on him.
These were her family's papers, her mother's private correspondence — things he would never have had access to, things no amount of inquiry through his own relations could have produced.
She had not waited for him to bring her answers.
She had gone looking for them herself, in the middle of the night, driven by nothing but her own instinct.
His estimation of her, already climbing, settled into something that was very close to admiration — a warmth that had nothing to do with the summer air.
He refolded the pages with care and returned them to her. "This is extraordinary. You have found evidence that I could not have found, Miss Fairleigh. These are your mother's words, your family's records. This corroborates what Lady Hargreaves hinted at — and more."
She took the pages back, holding them against her heart for just a moment before tucking them safely away again.
"Lady Hargreaves confirmed that your great-aunt knew of my father's debts and of their easing," she said, adding the second piece of evidence with the precision of someone building a case rather than merely reporting what she had been told.
"She mentioned that Lady Warrington had spoken of it at the time.
Now, with my mother's letter and this receipt, I believe we can say with some certainty that Lady Warrington was the benefactor who paid a portion of my father's debts. "
Nathaniel was quiet, his mind working through the tangled threads that her evidence had laid before him.
If she was correct — and he was increasingly sure that she was — then Lady Warrington had been the reason for Lord Harding's improved situation, albeit years ago.
Could it have been that, in seeing how her generosity had been treated — with Lord Harding simply returning to his gambling and foolishness — she had then decided to offer coin to his daughter instead?
"It may well be true," he said, as conviction settled into him.
"There are some relatives I could approach to ask about such a thing from Lady Warrington's side, if you would give me permission.
Between what you have found and what I might learn, I believe we shall have the full picture. "
She nodded but said nothing, though there was a light in her eyes that had not been there before — a quiet pride that suited her.
"It still does not answer the question as to why she gave you an inheritance, however," he said, trying to speak gently. "Mayhap it was so that you could be safe from your father's debts by having your own inheritance?"
"He is not permitted to touch even a single penny of that inheritance, should it come to me," Miss Fairleigh told him, a gentle glistening in her eyes telling him that she was now battling tears — although whether they were from relief at his understanding or sadness over her father's actions, he did not know.
"But why would she have singled both myself and my father out for such generosity?
We are not related, not in any way. It cannot be that I am simply favored because she chose me.
I — " Pinching the bridge of her nose, she closed her eyes and let out a ragged breath.
"I fear that if I offered that to the solicitor, it would not be what was required. "
"Let me speak with my relations," Nathaniel said again. "I will find out from them if they know anything of Lady Warrington's generosity to your father. That will give us clarity, if nothing else. And it may lead to the next step on this path we now tread together."
Miss Fairleigh dropped her hand and sighed, but offered him a small smile which chased away the tears in her eyes. "You are very kind, Lord Ashcombe. I thank you for your willingness to assist in this matter."
"But of course." Nathaniel resisted the urge to remind her that he had his own purpose in taking up her cause. "Now, are you to return to the ball?"
Her lips flattened, her back stiffening as she threw a glance towards the house.
"I think it may be best to take my leave," she said, as her hand fell from his arm.
"I do not know if I have the strength to paste a smile upon my face and go about the ballroom pretending as if none of their hard looks and unkind words do anything to injure me. "
A sudden resolve pushed itself upwards, through Nathaniel's heart, dissolving his restraint and forcing him to a fresh consideration of all that Miss Fairleigh endured.
Here he was, doing his utmost to protect himself and his family title whilst she, who had done nothing wrong, was being ridiculed and shunned by those who had chosen to whisper about her and make up their own story as to her good fortune. "I will go with you, if you wish it."
Her eyes flared, astonishment rippling into her face. "With me?"
He nodded. "Yes. There will soon be another dance, and I would be glad to stand up with you."
Miss Fairleigh went very still, a softness coming into her eyes.
"I know that you will wonder at my offering to dance with you," he said, his hands resting open and easy at his sides, his mind already made up.
"Yes, we have danced once already, but that was before I asked to aid you with this challenge set by Lady Warrington.
Since that time, I have had all of our meetings in quiet places without the notice of others — both, I told myself, to protect your standing and my own.
But I see now that I have been somewhat selfish in that regard. "
"Selfish?" Miss Fairleigh shook her head, her eyes glistening. "There is no selfishness within you, Lord Ashcombe."
"Yes, there is," he countered quickly. "I have seen the ton move back from you, and instead of making it clear that I have no accord with them, I have done the same.
But no longer." Lifting his chin, he looked towards the door that would lead them back to the ballroom.
"If you would accept me, Miss Fairleigh, I would walk you to the center of the ballroom and step out to dance with you, without hesitation nor concern as to what others might think. Will you accept me?"
For a brief moment, Nathaniel thought she might refuse given the way she dropped her head and closed her eyes.
Then, with a beautiful smile spreading right across her face, she lifted her hand and set it, lightly trembling, on his arm.
"I shall go with you, Lord Ashcombe," she whispered, a light in her eyes that had not been there before.
"I thank you. This means more to me than I can say. "