Chapter 25
Henry Parker called at Lord Rockwell's house to pay his respects and enquire after Lady Claire's health following her recent accident. Lord Rockwell was away from home, while Lady Emma was visiting Lady Westcliff, helping to organise the invitations for the ball celebrating Lord Blackwood’s recent promotion.
Lady Emma was determined to secure a prominent place at what promised to be the grandest social event of the season, where the immensely wealthy Marquesa de la Pena would make her long-awaited debut in London society.
“Thank you for calling to enquire after my health, Mr Parker. As you can see, I have recovered completely,” Claire said with a gentle smile.
“I am delighted to hear it, my Lady,” Henry replied sincerely. There was something about the sweet, timid young lady that filled him with unexpected tenderness.
“My father is out of town, and my mother is paying a visit to a friend. But please do not concern yourself. I shall tell them that you were kind enough to call.”
Not wishing to appear discourteous, Claire invited him to stay for tea, and Henry gladly accepted.
As they talked, Henry quietly looked around the elegant house where he had worked so many years before.
He was also eager to learn more about Claire and her parents.
What had become of Emma during all those years?
He knew that Reginald Sinclair despised his wife, and he could scarcely blame him.
Emma had always been cold, calculating, and capable of using anyone to obtain what she wanted.
What puzzled him most was how such a woman could be the mother of a young lady as gentle and angelic as Claire.
After nearly twenty minutes of pleasant conversation, Henry began telling Claire about his years in India. She listened with genuine fascination, asking the occasional question. Realising he had already imposed upon her hospitality for long enough, Henry rose to take his leave.
At that very moment, the drawing-room door opened.
Lady Emma had returned to tell her daughter that the modiste would be expecting her that afternoon to begin work on her gown for the ball.
Now that Claire was engaged to Richard Fitzwilliam, Emma was determined that her daughter should never again embarrass herself by dressing with excessive simplicity.
“Claire, I need you to see Madame Dupont this afternoon.”
Only then did Lady Emma notice that they were no longer alone.
“Yes, Mother,” Claire replied at once. “Mother, this gentleman is our new neighbour. He has called to pay his respects. He—”
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Emma,” Henry interrupted politely. “Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Henry Parker.”
He looked directly into her eyes, a faint but unmistakable smile upon his lips.
For a brief instant, every trace of colour drained from Lady Emma's face.
But she recovered almost immediately.
“Delighted to make your acquaintance, Mr Parker,” she replied calmly.
Claire and Henry continued their conversation while Emma found it impossible to take her eyes off the man who had made her so blissfully happy so many years before.
Time had undoubtedly been kind to him. He was still tall and broad-shouldered, carrying himself with the quiet confidence of a distinguished gentleman.
Like her brother-in-law Marcus, he remained in excellent physical condition.
More than anything, however, it was the way he looked at her that unsettled her.
His gaze still held the same love and devotion she remembered.
When Emma had discovered she was with child, she had deliberately begun an affair with an elderly Duke, hoping her husband would believe Claire to be the daughter of a nobleman rather than of a servant.
After Henry, she had never again taken a handsome young lover.
Now that she was past forty, matters had grown even worse.
Although she still retained much of her beauty, no young gentleman looked at her any longer.
Her lovers were now men of her own age or older—wealthy, coarse, overweight, and burdened with every imaginable vice.
Henry, for his part, could scarcely take his eyes off Emma. After so many years of dreaming of that moment, it had finally come. Very soon, he hoped, he would have the revenge he had imagined for almost a quarter of a century.
“I believe it is time for me to take my leave,” he said, his eyes never leaving Emma. “I hope you will honour me with a visit one day, my Lady. It would give me great pleasure to receive you in my home.”
“Thank you for your visit, Mr Parker,” Lady Emma replied with a smile that bordered upon flirtation. “I am quite certain we shall see one another again very soon.”
As innocent as she was, Claire had no notion of what had just passed between them, though she could not help noticing how unusually gracious her mother had been. Lady Emma was rarely so cordial with strangers.
A few moments later, Henry took his leave, while Claire went upstairs to prepare for her visit to the modiste.
Emma, however, remained lost in thought.
She found herself wondering how Henry had managed to become such a wealthy gentleman. Yet another question occupied her mind even more insistently.
Could she make him her lover once again and enjoy the devotion he had once lavished upon her?
◆◆◆
Elizabeth felt her father gently wipe away her tears with his handkerchief before kissing her forehead.
“My dear daughter, this is one of the happiest days of my life. There are so many things we must talk about, so many things I long to tell you.”
“Father, believe me, I have just as many questions,” Elizabeth replied with a laugh through her tears. “But first we must go to Mother. Aunt Eleanor was terribly worried about you.”
“You are right, my dear girl. Let us go to your mother.”
Marcus and Elizabeth hurried back to the house and went straight to Eleanor's bedchamber.
The moment they entered, Eleanor rushed into her husband's arms and embraced him tightly. Then she turned to Elizabeth, gathered her into her arms, and whispered, “Thank you... thank you so very much, Elizabeth.”
“You are welcome, Mother. I could not allow Father to ruin his life. As I told him, I do not wish to lose either of my parents just when I have found them.”
Seeing the astonishment on Eleanor's face, Elizabeth continued,
“I know I did not grow up with the family to whom I truly belong because of the selfishness and wickedness of …others. Even so, I feel honoured and deeply grateful to be the daughter of two people who have loved one another so faithfully for all these years. Thank you... thank you both for giving me life.”
Unable to contain their emotions, Marcus and Eleanor embraced their daughter and covered her face with affectionate kisses.
Eleanor was still very weak. She held Elizabeth close for several minutes, weeping with happiness. The strain of the past few days had exhausted her so completely that she nearly fainted.
Marcus gently helped her back into bed, and he and Elizabeth lay beside her.
For the next two hours, Marcus and Eleanor told Elizabeth the story of their lives.
She learned how close Eleanor had come to dying while giving birth and saw for herself the scars her mother still carried.
Marcus spoke of the long months he had spent in prison and of how he had lost all desire to live after being led to believe that both the woman he loved and their little daughter had died.
Eleanor also told her daughter about the true nature of her first marriage and how Daniel Campbell had become the brother she had never had, always encouraging her to develop her talents and pursue her interests.
They laughed, they cried, and at times they simply held one another in silence. Yet, despite all the pain they remembered, the three Sinclairs were finally together as the family they had been denied for so many years.
Elizabeth, in turn, told them how she had discovered the truth. What hurt her most, she confessed, was realising how selfish and cruel the man she had called Father for so many years had truly been.
At last, however, it was time for Elizabeth to return to Longbourn. Before leaving, she wished to explain the plan she had formed.
“The best thing is that Mr Bennet does not know I have discovered the truth.
I shall pretend that nothing has happened.
Mother, you must tell him that you have decided to renounce all claim to me and that I shall remain at Longbourn.
After Jane's wedding, you and Father will return to London, while I shall stay here.”
“No,” Marcus replied firmly. “I shall not allow my daughter to remain that man's servant.”
Eleanor watched Elizabeth smile at her father's overprotective behaviour and gently sought to calm him.
“Marcus, why do we not hear what our daughter has to say?”
Elizabeth smiled gratefully at her mother before continuing.
“In London, you will have time to discover what can be done. Father, you told me that Uncle Reginald already has a plan. Speak to him. Besides, I shall come of age in less than two months. As long as I remain here, Mr Bennet will suspect nothing, and that will give us time to find the best solution. It will only be for a few weeks. What do you think?”
“I do not like it,” Marcus replied at once. “My daughter belongs by her parents' side.”
“If you have ever wondered why you are so stubborn, my dear Elizabeth, I believe you now know the answer,” Eleanor said with a smile as she kissed her husband's cheek.