Cinders and Ashes (Cavendish Mysteries 2)

“You told him,” Amelia choked out. “Despite everything I said to you.”

She pushed hard against Sebastian’s chest, breaking free. “You told him.”

She shouldn’t be surprised really. If she was honest, a small part of her knew that he wouldn’t keep her secret.

“Wait, Amelia. Please, you must listen to me,” Eastleigh pleaded, moving towards them.

His daughter had changed a lot in the last five years. Her hair had matured to a rich sable colour. Her beautiful face had a porcelain glow that immediately made one want to stroke her cheek to see if she was real. Her feminine curves spoke of an elegant grace that was simply stunning. He was so proud of her, it made his heart ache. She was such a beautiful young woman; it was easy to see why Sebastian adored her.

“All I ask is that you give me a few minutes of your time. If you still hate me afterwards, I cannot say I really blame you considering everything you went through.” Barely restrained emotion made his voice shake.

Amelia had never seen such a look of abject fear on her father’s face, and it made her pause. The mental image of his aloof stance, his back turned towards her as he cast her aside rose unbidden in her mind. It was in stark contrast to the humble man who now stood before her. The man now standing a few feet away was her father from her childhood memories, but no longer her father.

A wave of confusion swept through her and she frowned, trying to make sense of the tumult of emotions that churned inside her. Quintessentially he was the same, although older. His hair was liberally peppered with silver, and there were fine lines around his eyes and mouth that hadn’t been there before. Although he was a tall, proud man, there was a slight stoop to his shoulders now that highlighted his age.

Sebastian tried to take her arm, but she was still stinging with the sense of betrayal that despite everything, he had once again gone against her wishes. She jerked her arm away and glared at him, resuming her seat on the chaise in wounded silence.

“Your father insisted on coming with us,” Sebastian informed her harshly. “Of course I told the man you were here. You are his daughter. You need to know the truth from his side of events. He deserves to learn what actually happened to you when you left the security of Eastleigh.”

He felt his own chest tighten with sympathy when Amelia raised wounded eyes to his, but he wouldn’t take the blame for Eastleigh’s determination to see his daughter again.

“If I hadn’t told him, Dominic would have. He has been trying to find you for years. Do you now realise there are two sides to every story?”

He knew by

the way she held his gaze, that he had sparked her curiosity.

“Do you not want to know what happened at home to push him to send you to Bath in the first place?

Despite her anger at him, Sebastian moved to squat down before her, taking her hand in his as he spoke. “For the sake of your future happiness, give the man a few moments. He has been riding for days to get here to see you.”

When she hesitated, he rose to pour a brandy, handing it to her silently before moving to sit beside her, silently offering support without pushing her. He watched as Eastleigh took the seat opposite, determination clearly etched on his face.

The conversation that followed was emotion-fuelled, as a humbled and regretful Eastleigh revealed that he had married his wife Henrietta, because he had been tied into a contract between the families. A contract that had been set up while he was still in the nursery.

Marriage to Henrietta had created an alliance that formed the vast Eastleigh wealth, but did little to fulfil his emotions. Unfortunately, that left him tied into a marriage to a woman he didn’t care for; hence they had only had one daughter.

After Amelia had been born, they had each gone their own way. Eastleigh had taken a mistress on the other side of the village that held his affection, and Amelia’s mother had taken lovers. Many lovers. As divorce wasn’t an option, they had agreed that they could see whomever they chose as long as they kept their lovers away from the house, and Amelia.

All had gone well, until Eastleigh had returned home from a business trip early to discover his wife in bed with Ballantyne. He had been angry that his wife had casually dismissed their agreement and, unable to continue to live with her any longer, began trying to persuade her to move into the dower house.

Henrietta had refused to go, hence the arguments. Eastleigh had suspected his wife was having her lover visit her in her rooms during the daytime regardless, but had no proof. It was inevitable that at some point Amelia would discover the truth, or worse, catch her mother in bed with her lover. It was a possibility he couldn’t countenance. He couldn’t bear his daughter to learn that her parents’ marriage was a sham.

Both had agreed that until they could resolve matters, Amelia needed to go away. Unfortunately the only place that had appeared practicable was to her aunts in Bath. He had no idea of the extent of their greed. Ignorant of the truth, he had offered them a very generous payment to take good care of his daughter, while he resolved matters with his wife.

Unfortunately Henrietta died, leaving Eastleigh to deal with the lover, and the resultant gossip. He had been aware that rumours were circulating in the village of Lady Eastleigh’s many bedroom visitors, and had resolved to keep Amelia away from the scandal. Left with no alternative, he had sent her to Bath anyway.

It had taken several months before gossip calmed down enough for him to consider sending for Amelia. From the letters he had received from his sisters, Amelia was having a wonderful time going to balls, soirees and the like, and was thoroughly enjoying the social scene in Bath.

He paused and looked at Sebastian when he scoffed at that. “I know the reality was very different.”

Sebastian stared at the older man. “Did you not want to see the truth for yourself? Did it never cross your mind that, having fun or not, your daughter might want to see you?” He couldn’t keep the disgust out of his voice. “She had just lost her mother.”

Amelia glanced across at Sebastian, surprised to see the anger clearly etched on his handsome face.

“I know, but as Amelia will attest, our last meeting was full of anger and pain. I didn’t want to dampen her newfound happiness by turning up unannounced, bringing unwanted and unhappy memories with me.” The older man shook his head remorsefully and turned back towards his daughter. “To my utter shame I decided to remain at Eastleigh, seemingly secure in the knowledge that you were enjoying yourself and having a coming out of sorts. If I had of known the truth-.”

He added that at first he hadn’t considered anything amiss when Amelia hadn’t responded to his letters. To begin with, he thought she had been too angry with him for being sent away. Then he had put her lack of response down to her enjoying her new lifestyle too much to remember her father, and the bad memories that were linked to him. After a while, he became suspicious but had to wait until winter had cleared, and the roads had become passable again, to make the journey to Bath.