Captain Jones's Temptation - Audrey Harrison Page 0,63
whole of the journey from Exeter to Corless House. Samuel never relaxed once as they travelled; Esther kept a brisk pace, and he was terrified that a lapse in concentration would see her unseated or thrown from her horse. When they saw the gatehouse a number of hours later, Samuel could honestly say he had never been so happy to see a place in his life.
The gatekeeper greeted them warmly, but his smile soon turned to a frown when he took note of his mistress. Sending an enquiring look to Samuel, but receiving only a look of impatience, he opened the gate quickly and let them through.
Samuel at first thought Esther had not noticed they had arrived home, but then he observed that her carriage was not as stiff as it had been. That was something at least.
Dawson was through the front door the moment the horses came to a halt.
“Miss Hardy! We weren’t expecting you so soon.” The butler paused, but then went to his mistress’s side. “Miss Esther! What is amiss?”
“She has had some news that has shocked her,” Samuel said quietly. “She insisted on leaving Exeter, but I think it would be best to send for the doctor.”
“No. No doctor,” Esther said, allowing Samuel to help her down. “He can only deaden today, not the past nor the future.”
“Deadening today might not be a bad thing,” Samuel said. His arms remained around her waist, supporting her.
“No. Dawson, I need to speak to you and Cook. Could you join me in the drawing room?”
“Of course, Miss Esther,” Dawson said, using the name they had used when she had first joined them.
Samuel led Esther to the drawing room and once more poured her a glass of brandy.
Esther accepted the drink but smiled a little. “Are you trying to get me drunk, Captain Jones?”
“If you will not allow me to seek a sedative to help, the only option I have is to let the brandy ease your pain.”
“I am not in pain,” Esther said, looking at him. It was torture to gaze at the man she had finally admitted to herself to being in love with but now knew she could never have a future with. She had considered herself unworthy of a respectable marriage when knowing that her parents had eloped and been disowned. That was bad enough, but now – now she was base-born. The illegitimate daughter of a gentlewoman, certainly, but one who had thrown her family over for a good-for-nothing. Added to that, she had owned a gaming hell. Esther would never be received in polite company if it were to become common knowledge. It was a miracle it had not already, for Sophie certainly did not have any family loyalty.
“Perhaps not physically, but there is still pain nonetheless,” Samuel said. His usual flippantness had completely disappeared. Esther would have found the change amusing if she had been able to recognise it.
Dawson and Cook walked into the room and closed the door behind them. Both looked wary and concerned.
Cook was the first to speak. “Whatever has happened?”
“How much of my past do you know?” Esther asked. “I need to know the truth.”
Crossing the room, Cook took Esther in an embrace. “Enough to know that I thank the heavens every day that you were sent to us before any harm could come to you.”
Her words caused the dam to break. Esther clung to Cook, sobbing into her shoulder, her body shaking with the force of the release.
Cook stood, stroking Esther’s back and letting her cry. Dawson and Samuel looked at each other in helplessness, each wanting to help but at a loss as to what to do.
It seemed a long ten minutes for those who had to witness the upset, but eventually Esther calmed. Sniffing and apologising, she accepted a handkerchief and wiped her face. Cook sat her down on one of the sofas and sat next to her.
“Now, I understand why you needed that, but it’s time to put the past behind you and keep it firmly where it should be. A memory, nothing more.”
“How can I? I now know what I am, what I came from. Everything has changed,” Esther said.
“Oh no you don’t, young lady. You will not take on the responsibility for decisions others made, or what you had no control over. You are not so foolish as to do that, but you have always been looking over your shoulder as if afraid of what was coming to catch you up, and it