The Bet

Strangely, Mabel didn’t turn to face him. Instead, she continued to fuss over Estelle with a diligence he would worry about later.

“Everything that goes on around here is strange,” the housekeeper replied evasively.

Myles knew immediately that there was something but the housekeeper wasn’t prepared to tell him just yet. He opened his mouth to speak but when his gaze fell to Estelle, he closed it again. Later. He would get the facts about what she had seen from Mabel later. Right now, he was starkly aware that his father was waiting for him downstairs.

Estelle’s stomach lurched when she lifted her gaze and realised Myles was watching her.

“Thank you,” she mouthed.

Myles smiled. With a nod, he quietly let himself out.

Even though he had met her less than an hour ago, Myles was already disturbed at his ever growing need not only to protect her but to remain with her. Not only that, but he wanted to find out as much about her as he could, and not entirely because of her missing memory. His curiosity was personal. He wanted to know who she was, where she had come from, how old she was; all of the mitigating facts that were deemed important in order to get to know someone, and decide whether they could be a part of his life. In spite of sternly warning himself that it was foolish to allow his sense of duty to stray into personal territory, his gaze had fallen to her ring finger. He had been more relieved than he had expected when he had found it without a band. What that meant, he wasn’t quite sure.

Purposefully ignoring the flurry of attraction that flickered to life within, he went in search of his father. Now that Estelle was receiving the best care he could provide, Myles went to tackle the next biggest problem in his life; why he had received a letter saying his father was on death’s door when he wasn’t.

CHAPTER SIX

“Who is she?” his father demanded when Myles entered the study a few minutes later.

“Her name is Estelle. She is new to the village, and has been staying with her grandma.” Myles sighed. He crossed the room and sat down, relieved to be able to rest for a while.

“What’s her grandma’s name?”

“Wynne,” Myles replied.

“I know her. She lives on the other side of the village next to the cove.” Barnabas sighed; a little disappointed

that the girl was so impoverished.

While her clothing and hair had already hinted at there being a somewhat wild side to her character, he hadn’t banked on her being so badly lacking in social status. Still, a union was not impossible. Stranger things had happened to families before and, when his son behaved in such a proprietorial way toward any woman as Myles had toward the young woman, Barnabas knew it was best not to dismiss any probability until all avenues had been thoroughly investigated. If there was a chance he could persuade his son to marry and produce an heir, even if it meant Myles marrying someone like the beautiful yet untitled Estelle, Barnabas would fully support it.

Right now, you have bigger problems under your roof, Barnabas mused, and turned his attention back to his son, whom he suspected would be able to provide him with some of the answers he needed.

“What’s going on?” Barnabas demanded.

“With you or Estelle?”

“Let’s talk about your friend first,” Barnabas replied. “Seeing as I know I am alright.”

Myles snorted but didn’t reprimand his father about his assumption of a connection with Estelle. He carefully explained how he had met her the first time, culminating in his running her over this evening.

“It was too late to avoid her,” he finished.

“She was fleeing them, you say?” Barnaby asked. He stood up to pace before the fire; always a credible sign that he was in a bad temper. “I am not having that behaviour on my land.”

“I know,” Myles replied. “But it isn’t wise to go out there in weather like this. Even if I could find them, what could I do when the fog is so thick it is impossible to identify anyone? They certainly looked sinister enough to terrify her so much that she ran and didn’t recognise the pain in her feet.”

“I wonder what she had done to draw their attention to her in the first place?” Barnabas murmured.

Myles threw him a sharp look, slightly perturbed that his father would consider Estelle guilty of anything. “I don’t think she had done anything. She may have been in the wrong place at the wrong time, and stumbled across them doing something illegal.”

“Like trespassing,” Barnabas finished for him with a nod.

Myles agreed. “I am convinced she had nothing to do with them. She was fleeing them, father. I only caught sight of her face a few seconds before she fell beneath the curricle but she looked absolutely terrified. That, I did see. If she is guilty of anything, I shall eat my hat.”

“Don’t think with your pants, boy,” Barnabas scolded. In spite of his chastisement, he suspected that Myles was right. However, he didn’t know the young woman well enough to be able to say whether she could be trusted or not. “Her grandma is a village elder. She has been a part of the village for as long as I have. While I would vouch for her, I cannot say the same for her grand-daughter. I had no idea Wynne Matthews had anybody stopping with her.”

Myles squinted at the fire while he contemplated the layout of the village. He knew where Wynne lived. Her home, while humble, was neatly kept, well maintained, and pretty. It was located just off the harbour, which explained why Estelle had been up on the bluff when they had first met.