CHAPTER 7

Two hundred years later, Ellie woke with a start, tears streaming down her cheeks. The dream had felt so real. She found she was almost embarrassed to think about the love made between Matthew and Elizabeth. That is, until she remembered the similarities to her experience with Matt the day before. Maybe she should invite him over for a walk in the garden.

Slightly shocked at her own forwardness, Ellie smiled, wiped her tears away and climbed out of bed. She couldn’t wait to see him again. She dressed in a white blouse and soft gray slacks, tugging her curls back into a loose tail. She knew she had to go about her day, but her skin was still warm and glowing where Dream Matthew had touched Elizabeth. She could still feel it as if he were touching her. Oh, what she wouldn’t give for a lover like that. Ellie blushed, her entire body flushing as scarlet as her hair.

There was no need to be embarrassed, she scolded herself. It wasn’t as though she were a prude or anything. She had taken lovers before. And yet, she had never been with a man as talented at pleasure as Matt…or Matthew. Dream or reality, she had never been satisfied so many times in a row.

And boy, was she glad no one could read her mind right now. She would be mortified if her scandalous thoughts were known. Sweet, shy, Ellie Fitzgerald. No one would believe she was capable of such thoughts. She couldn’t stop the giggle that escaped her lips. Oh, how wrong they were.

Breakfast was on the table when Ellie walked into the dining room. The staff had prepared a full meal. Eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, gravy, and toast. A heaping plate of pancakes sat in the middle of the spread next to a glass container of syrup.

Ellie’s stomach grumbled and she smiled sheepishly up at Reginald as he entered the room. “Good morning, ma’am,” he greeted her, pulling a chair out and beckoning her forward. “I do hope you’re hungry. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and I do say you will need it to keep a sharp mind about you. I can’t imagine any of this has been easy for you.” She appreciated how warm and kind his voice was. He almost reminded her of her father. If her father was a butler, that is.

Obedient as always, Ellie sat down and placed her napkin in her lap. “This looks wonderful, Reginald, thank you.”

“My pleasure my lady. If you need anything, all you must do is ask.”

Ellie bit her lip. “Reginald?” she called before he had reached the door. “May I ask you something?”

“Certainly.”

Taking a deep breath, Ellie forced herself to be brave enough to ask the question she was dying to know the answer to. “What was my mother like?”

To her pleasure, Reginald’s lips curved in a warm smile. “Ah, sweet Anne. She was a beauty, that one. And a handful. Couldn’t trust her around the tarts, that’s for sure, ma’am. She had a liking for them. I was very sorry to hear that she passed.”

Ellie glanced down at her lap, hoping he couldn’t see the grief in her eyes. “Yes. Cancer. It was awful.”

“You were young then, if I remember.”

“Thirteen.”

“Ah. Tragic. However, if I may?” He pointed to a chair.

Delighted, Ellie nodded. “Oh, yes! Please.”

Reginald bowed before taking a seat. “If you like, I could regale you of your mother’s childhood, entertain you while you eat.”

“That would be wonderful,” she said, beaming. He spent the next twenty minutes speaking of her mother’s childhood, telling her stories of innocent mischief; sweets stolen for the kitchen, linens taken and turned into forts. His fondness for her was evident. For the first time in thirteen years, Ellie felt close to her mother again. She had never dreamed that to be possible.

“Why did she leave?” she asked the butler, hoping it would be to find adventure or to chase true love.

Yet, Reginald’s features became gloomy and sad, as if he had dreaded this very question. “I’m afraid, ma’am, that she had no choice. You see, she became involved with a man. Nobody could say who. And at first, she seemed captivated; utterly in love. There were hearts in her eyes when she talked about him, and a skip in her step whenever she went off to meet him. She was barely over twenty, and everybody, myself included, was thrilled to see her so happy.

“Everybody, that is, except your grandmother.”

Ellie frowned. “Why?”
One line creased Reginald’s brow. “Madam Hargrove believed the young man to be after Anne’s fortune and inheritance. It caused quite the row between your mother and grandmother, I assure you. They didn’t speak for nearly a month. And when Anne became engaged to her mysterious suitor, Madam Hargrove threatened to cut her off.

“As you can imagine, this did not go over so well with Anne. She believed herself to be in love with this man. So much so, that she ran away with him, though she wasn’t gone terribly long.

“The young mistress returned to Hargrove House within a fortnight, thoroughly heartbroken. She spent days in her room, crying; completely inconsolable. Nobody could reach her, not even your grandmother.

“Finally, after nearly a week, the suitor came to call. Anne refused to see him. There was much shouting, if I remember correctly, and he only left when Madam Hargrove threatened to set the dogs on him and call the authorities. As it turned out, Madam had been right. The young man was only after Anne’s fortune. When she no longer had access to the Hargrove inheritance, he became cruel and violent. Anne only managed to escape back home with her life.

“For days, there was no more mention of her suitor. Anne became more herself, little by little, and, as the days passed, the haunted look left her eyes. But the man was not gone for long.

“Gifts began showing up wherever she would go; roses, trinkets, sweets. They would find her at the house, at church, even at University. And each time, Anne would grow more and more frightened, until finally, she convinced her mother she needed to leave, and fled to the Americas. He had driven her from everything she loved; her home, her family. All for the love of her money.

“Your grandmother was devastated. Anne was her only daughter and she hated to see her go, but she knew it was the only way to stop the man’s advances. She spoke to Anne through letters, though, sadly, she never saw her daughter again.”

Ellie, who had sat enraptured as the butler spoke, wiped the tears from her eyes. “That’s terrible.”

“Ay, ma’am,” Reginald agreed gravely, “it is. Yet, Madam Hargrove believed it to be the only way to give her beloved daughter a safe and happy life.”

“And you don’t know who he was?”

The butler shook his head. “I’m afraid not, ma’am. Your grandmother knew, I believe. I only saw him once, myself. Though I did learn later that he was, in fact, a Dabney.”

Ellie sputtered into her tea. “Dabney? As in Lord James Dabney?” Why was that not surprising?

Slightly alarmed at her reaction, Reginald nodded. “Yes, ma’am. An elder cousin to the Lord Dabney that stopped by here yesterday, I believe.”

Ellie felt her heart begin to race. So many connections. Herself, Elizabeth, now her mother. The connection between the Hargroves and the Dabneys couldn’t be a coincidence. Could it? “Reginald,” she said slowly, trying to decide whether to ask or not, “was my mother ever involved with the McKinnon’s?”

To her surprise, Reginald laughed. “The McKinnon’s, why yes, dear girl. Anne and Meredith McKinnon were the best of friends. Nigh inseparable. In fact, I believe her nephew is the historian at the St. Margaret’s Museum you visited yesterday.” If she wasn’t mistaken, there was a bit of a mischievous twinkle in the old butler’s eye.

Ellie blushed with embarrassment. “Oh. Well, yes, I did meet him for a moment or two. As a matter of fact, he agreed to help me look up some history about the family during the Regency Era. I hope to use it on my dissertation.” Rising, she pushed back from the table. “Speaking of my dissertation, may I use the library for my research? I’m sure the Hargroves have some wonderful information about that period.”

“Of course, ma’am,” he said, standing as well. “Hargrove House belongs to you, as does everything within her walls.”

“Great.” Reaching for his hand, she clasped it between both of her own. “Thank you, Reginald. You make a lovely breakfast companion.” Leaning in, she brushed a kiss over his cheek, pleased to see the old butler’s cheeks turn rosy pink. “Would you be so kind as to show me the library?”