Something Scandalous

“Elizabeth told me the same thing, and I believe you both. But just in case you two were getting…close, I thought it best that you should know.”

Will did not believe her. His father had loved his mother and bee

n devastated by her death. Only his stepmother’s love had brought him back from the loss. He never would have cheated on Will’s mother.

“I believe you should take your leave now,” Will stated firmly.

“Of course, Your Grace.” Richard stood and assisted his wife out of her seat. “We are both very sorry for any pain this might have caused you.”

Will refused to acknowledge Richard’s remark. He sat frozen in his chair, unable to do anything but think about what he and Elizabeth had done this morning. And over a week ago. She had yet to let him know if she thought she might be pregnant. There was a strong possibility that she was already with child.

After they left, he brought his hands to his temples. Rubbing his head, he thought more about the situation. To him, it just didn’t seem feasible. But Elizabeth never knew his father and had no idea what an honorable man he was. Will knew it was up to him to tell her.

He stood and slowly walked up the steps to her room. He knocked on the door but received no reply. Quietly, he opened the door and saw her facedown on the bed weeping. He closed the door and approached her.

“Go away, Will.”

He sat on the bed next to her and rubbed her back. Every muscle tensed under his hand. “Elizabeth, we need to discuss this.”

“What is there to talk about? Apparently, I am your sister,” she choked out. “Which means what we did just this morning was…”

Her tears broke his heart. “It was not incest, Elizabeth.”

She rolled over on her back. “How can you be certain? We have no proof of who I am!”

“I know my father. He would never have done such a thing.”

“You don’t know that. Until my father told me, I would have said the same thing about my mother.”

Will clasped her hand in his. “My father loved my mother with all his heart. When she died, I think he wished he had died, too. The only thing that kept him going was the children and his career.”

Elizabeth shook her head. “Any marriage can hit a rough patch that later makes it stronger. You would have only been a year old. Anything might have happened to pull them apart and you wouldn’t remember.”

“No, you are wrong.”

“Will, I went through the same thing when I found out about my mother. I denied the possibility and didn’t wish to believe the story. But my father had nothing to gain by telling me.” Elizabeth tried to reach for his hand.

Will pulled it away. “This is not the same. You heard the story directly from your father. We have no idea if Caroline is speaking the truth. The little I know of her, I would not believe her.”

She sighed. “You are right about Caroline, but we can’t possibly know the truth until we find my mother’s diary.”

Will stood up and paced by the bed. “Even then, there is nothing to say the information we need is in the journal. She might have taken her secret to the grave.”

“It has to be there, Will. I cannot bear it any longer. I must find out who my father was.” Elizabeth stood and wiped away her tears.

“It wasn’t my father.” Will stopped and stared at the beautiful woman in front of him. He wanted to drag her into his arms and kiss away her fears.

But he couldn’t do that any longer. While there was any doubt about his father, he had to stay away from her. But he had to do something.

“Let’s find that diary.”

Chapter 18

Elizabeth searched in the dining room, desperate to find a secret panel that might hide a journal. At least this time she had everyone’s assistance. Will had even questioned the servants to see if anyone knew of any hidden doors or panels. When the children arrived home, Will told their tutor they were done for the day. He then told them what he and Elizabeth were looking for so they could help. The children decided to search their rooms again for her.

By nightfall, they were no closer to finding the diary than when Richard and Caroline had left this afternoon. Elizabeth was starting to wonder if she had scoured the estates as carefully as she thought. Had she missed something there? She hadn’t spent a large amount of time on two of the estates because her mother rarely went to them. They were too far from London and not in the best condition. It made no sense that she would have hidden her journal at either home.

She had focused her energy on the manor home in Kendal and the estate in Hampshire. After spending a month in each house, she had thoroughly searched the homes and found nothing. She banged her fist against the wall of the dining room in frustration.