you, actually. I wanted to tell you straightaway, but I haven’t even told our father I’m in London yet.”
He stroked his hand along his jaw. “He saw you earlier tonight, when we were speaking. He didn’t seem to know you.”
And now her pain and humiliation were exposed. “No, he didn’t. I don’t know if he didn’t recognize me or chose to ignore me. I haven’t seen him in a very long time.” She decided to tell him the rest, or part of it, anyway. “My mother died when I was eleven, and our father sent me to a boarding school. I was there for four years, during which time he never once wrote or visited.”
“What an utter blackguard.” Worth shook his head. “I’m sorry, Miss Whitford.”
“Beatrix, if you please.” She shrugged. “It seems as though you should call me that.”
“I’ve always been Worth, but my sisters—my other sisters—called me Jamie. You can choose whichever one you prefer.”
His other sisters. Did that mean? Warmth spread through Beatrix, and her chest constricted as her throat grew raw. “Jamie, I think,” she managed to say, hoping he couldn’t hear the croak in her voice.
“I can’t believe he just abandoned you at that school. I’ll say it again. What an utter blackguard.” He looked at her in concern. And sympathy. She’d never imagined this reaction. “What did you plan to do?” he asked.
“I’d hoped to impress him. Clearly, that hasn’t happened.” She put her hand on her waist. “I loved him very much when I was younger. I missed him and hoped there was a reason he didn’t visit. Perhaps he just missed my mother so much that he couldn’t bring himself to see me.”
Jamie snorted. “My apologies. You must not remember him very well. He’s not the sort to harbor such tender feelings. The fact that you heard him telling your mother he loved her is astonishing to me. I think I recall him telling me that perhaps once.”
Beatrix felt sick. She’d spent years planning for an impossible fantasy. “Honestly, I don’t know what to do.”
His features hardened with determination. “You’re going to go and see him, and I’m coming with you. Tomorrow, unless you’d prefer to wait.”
He wanted to accompany her? “You’d really come along?”
“Of course. Whether he doesn’t recognize you or is ignoring you, this is a matter that requires support.”
She dropped her hand to her side, blinking at him in disbelief. “I never expected this response. I’m…overcome.”
“Well, I’m just glad you told me the truth. When I thought you were merely uninterested, it was a blow.” At her laugh, he smiled. “It’s far more palatable to my self-confidence to know you’re my sister.” He winked at her. “Shall I pick you up tomorrow, or would you like to meet at Father’s?”
That he referred to Ramsgate as “Father,” as if he was their shared parent, which he was, filled her with an indescribable joy. “I’ll meet you there.”
“Three o’clock?” When she nodded, he continued. “You know where?”
“I do.” Oh, how she knew. It would be impossible to go and not think of Tom right next door. In fact, she was desperate to tell him about this development. But would she have the chance?
“Excellent.” He held out his hand. “May I?”
She put her hand in his. “Yes.”
He gave her hand a squeeze. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Then he turned and left, leaving her to stare after him in wonder.
This had been an abysmal night. Or had it?
She smoothed her hand down her dress and felt the bracelet in her pocket once more. Removing the item, she placed it beneath a chair, as if it had fallen off the woman’s wrist. Never mind that she probably hadn’t even come into this room. Ah well, it was the best Beatrix could do. She decided to categorize the evening as somewhere between mild disaster and slightly successful.
She’d lost Tom, but had apparently gained a brother. Perhaps tomorrow, she’d gain a father too.
Except Tom had never really been hers to lose. They’d shared some wonderful, exciting moments. She would remember them, and him, always. And in so doing, she would try never, ever to think of what might have been.
Thomas couldn’t shake the feeling that Beatrix had meant something permanent when she’d told him goodbye last night. Not once, but twice.
Was it because he knew the truth about her and her “siblings”? Or was it something else?
He’d watched her leave the ballroom with her half brother and desperately wanted to know what had happened. As much as