Betrayal of Innocence (A New Adventure Begins - Star Elite 1)

Vanessa barely stifled her scream as she whirled around at the sound of his voice. She stared at him in dismay.

“How long have you been there?”

“Long enough to know he went that way while you were thoughtful, and seemed glad to go,” Justin replied with a grin.

“How do you do that?”

“What?” He asked nonchalantly, well aware of what she meant. “It’s a knack.”

Vanessa looked at the path Reuben had just taken, but she had no intention of following him.

“Who is he? What’s wrong with him?” Justin asked with a nod in Reuben’s direction.

“Did you hear the conversation?” she demanded, then held a hand aloft before he could reply. “Wait! Were you behind us the whole time?”

“Mostly,” he replied carefully.

Vanessa hated it when he didn’t answer her questions but edged, and only gave her what he thought she wanted to hear.

“Reuben, is it? Tell me about him.” Justin’s voice was soft but no less of a command.

“There isn’t much to tell. It is rather a sad story, I am afraid. He arrived as a baby at the church orphanage two and thirty years ago. There was no name, so the matron at the orphanage named him after the vicar who found him.”

“Reuben,” Justin murmured, edging closer to her.

“His surname is Smith,” Vanessa sighed ruefully.

Justin lifted his brows at her.

“Not very original, I know, but it is the surname they give to children who arrive without knowing their surname. He has always been known as Reuben Smith,” she replied.

“Fair enough,” Justin sighed. He had no idea why he was so curious about the man. He wasn’t really, he just wanted Vanessa to keep talking. There was a hint of huskiness in her voice that deepened it a little. It reminded him of warm honey and was addictively sweet.

Besides, thinking about Reuben keeps my mind off the movement of those curved lips, he mused as he fell into step beside her.

“While at the orphanage, Reuben became good friends with one of the volunteers there, a young woman called Carlotta Hensridge,” Vanessa murmured. “Although Reuben grew up physically, his mind didn’t. He has stayed a child mentally, and that is evident when you speak with him. Because of the staff’s fondness for him, they offered him work at the orphanage when he came of age and it was time for him to move out. Most of the children there move on and start work somewhere, hopefully with accommodation thrown in. Because of Reuben’s problem, the matron decided to offer him work around the orphanage. They couldn’t pay him much, you understand? So, he did the garden, pruned the trees, did some of the manual jobs outside, mostly because he hated working indoors. In exchange for his work, he was paid in food, he had his laundry done for him, and had a small stipend he could use for new clothing, and whatever he wanted. Of course, they gave him help with that too.”

“Seems like a good bargain,” Justin replied.

“It was fine,” Vanessa said quietly.

“Was?”

“Like I said, he became very close to Carlotta. He seemed to worship her, would do whatever she asked of him without question. She helped him purchase the clothing he needed, and he always helped her. Then she met someone, got married, and moved away. Reuben changed almost overnight,” Vanessa replied.

“He doesn’t want to go to the orphanage anymore because she isn’t there,” Justin sighed. “It is a shame, especially if he had the help he needed. What is he doing now to look after himself? Does he get any help?”

“I think he is working at the vicarage cutting the grass, and digging the graves, but it is part-time work at best. It certainly isn’t enough to fill up his days, I don’t think. What else he does with his time is anybody’s guess. He simply refuses to go back to the orphanage.”

Justin pursed his lips. “Well, he has to find his own way in life at some point, I suppose. At least if he is in the village and does become unstuck, he can turn to the orphanage if he needs to. Let’s hope he does, eh?”

Vanessa smiled at his empathy. He didn’t know Reuben but was sympathetic to the man’s plight in a way that most people, even some of the villagers, weren’t. Despite his officious reason for being in the village, his understanding put a human touch to his professional demeanour she knew he wasn’t aware of. Vanessa knew she wouldn’t be able to see him as an investigator from London anymore. Justin was a man first, an investigator second, and that was that. Or would have been, if life was that simple.

When they reached Vanessa’s house, life proved considerably more difficult than either of them had anticipated.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“What on earth is wrong?” Vanessa cried when she entered the kitchen and saw her father leaning heavily against the kitchen table.