Chapter 31
The rest of that day seemed to speed by in a haze of activity. Rufus had sat back down on the bed and excitedly demanded that Ella tell him every bit of her tale from beginning to end, from the moment she had decided to be an interloper at the ball to the very moment he had rescued her.
He had been amazed at every turn and even more amazed that she could ever have thought that he would be angry with her, or even think her undignified for the eavesdropper that she clearly was.
Rufus did not think her undignified at all, but adventurous and spirited and beautiful. He laughed and laughed throughout the whole thing, only becoming serious when the depths to which his old attorney had sunk became clear.
He really had been prepared to put his master at risk, although Ella was keen to ensure him that the man had sounded most ill at ease with it. And she had pointed out what a terribly overbearing and intimidating character the Earl could be, especially to those who were beneath him.
In the end, Rufus had decided that he must see Henry that day. He must talk to him and tell him that he knew it all and ask him why he had done it.
And so it was that he left Ella in the room once more so that he could ride out to the home of Henry Mercer.
When Henry’s housekeeper showed Rufus into his small but neat drawing room, the look on the old attorney’s face clearly demonstrated that he knew that all was known to his master.
“Your Grace, I know why you are here.”
“Good, I am glad that you know, and I am glad that we do not have to discuss every detail of it. But I do know everything, Henry. Everything except for why .”
“I needed the money,” he said simply. “I have made some very poor investments of late and have found that I have now very little to sustain me in my old age when I can no longer work. I realize that that was not your fault, but my own, and yet I could see no other way out. Forgive me, Your Grace, but I knew that it would hardly matter to you which of the young ladies you finally married, for you would never love any of them. And so it was that I dropped hints, very subtle hints, each time I introduced myself to a prospective father of the bride. It may not surprise you to know that the Earl of Dandridge was the only one who picked up upon it. He seized upon it, in fact.”
“Tell me, Henry, tell me that he brought pressure to bear.”
“I wish I could blame him entirely, Your Grace. I wish I could play the misguided innocent and have you forgive me, but I cannot. I knew what I was doing from the very first, and when it progressed so very far, I had no idea how to get out of it. I have no excuses, and I shall not try to make any. But I do apologize, Your Grace, because I truly am so sorry.”
“I know you are, Henry,” Rufus said and paused for a moment, not trusting his voice to remain steady as he spoke. The emotion was so great that it took him by surprise. He remained there standing in the middle of Henry Mercer’s drawing room like a silent statue for some moments whilst he gathered himself. “And I do forgive you.”
“You forgive me?” Henry said incredulously, and it was obviously the last thing he had expected to hear.
“I forgive you if you will forgive me,” Rufus went on quietly.
“But there is nothing that I ought to forgive you for, Your Grace. You have done nothing wrong, and you never have.”
“If I had been a better friend to you, Henry, I would have known of your worries. I would have known of your financial mistakes, and you would have felt able to speak to me on the matter. If I had been a better friend to you, Henry, the matter of money would not have been an issue. It would have been a small problem for me to solve.”
“You have always been a good friend to me, Your Grace, as was your father before you.”
“But not such good friends that either one of us took the care to find out about your life away from Hillington Hall. Well, all of that is going to change, my old friend.”
“You mean …?”
“Give yourself a few days to get over things, and let us go back to where we were before. What do you say? Shall I see you in the study at Hillington Hall come Monday?”
“Of course, Your Grace. Truly, I do not know how to thank you.”
“Well, you might be able to assist me with a brand-new problem, my dear chap,” Rufus said, loudly light-hearted and keen to dispel the awkwardness. “For you see, I have stolen the Earl of Dandridge’s stepdaughter, and now I do not know what to do with her,” he said with an elaborate shrug.
“You have stolen her , Your Grace?” Henry looked so shocked that Rufus could only laugh.
And then he settled himself down in the armchair opposite his old friend and attorney and began to tell him everything.
When he had finished at Henry Mercer’s home, Rufus felt much more light-hearted. He knew that he could have blamed Henry and nursed his own feelings of betrayal always, but what good would it serve? He had not been entirely blameless in the whole thing, and it was clear that Henry had not known what else to do. He would not banish him for one error; for one error in so many years was surely something that ought easily to be forgiven.
He felt relieved that he would see him again, that things would continue as they had always done. Honesty was certainly the best policy, and he had told the truth every bit as much as Henry. It had cleared the air between them and had done so much to make it right again.
As he began to head for home, he decided that he would use a little more of that honesty. He would not pressure her, but he would go straight up to that room and tell Ella Winfield exactly how he felt about her. And, if she chose to go out into the world on her own and make her life as a governess, he would do whatever he could to help her. He would open his heart, tell the truth, and accept whatever fell out of the whole thing.
By the time he reached her door and knocked loudly on it, his nerves were almost as high up as his spirits. But still, he determined that he would say all of it, tell her everything, come what may.
Ella was sitting on the bed wearing the breeches and shirt and waistcoat, clearly tired of mooching about the room in his old robe. She was reading one of the books that he had left to keep her company whilst he was away, and she seemed fully engrossed.
“Can I interrupt?” he said with a smile.
“Yes, of course, Your Grace. Did everything go as planned? Have you seen Mr Mercer?”
“Yes, and we have straightened the whole thing out between us.”
“Really?” She closed her book and sat bolt upright on the bed full of interest.
“He was suffering from a dreadful financial worry, and I genuinely believe that things got away from him, got out of hand before he knew quite what to do about it.”
“And so you have forgiven him?” she said gently, her bright blue eyes staring up into his own.
“I have forgiven him, and I have asked him to forgive me. For if I had been a true friend to him, Henry Mercer could have come to me with his problems instead of trying to solve them in a most convoluted fashion.”
“Violet was right about you … you really are such a very good man.”
“I like Violet better and better every day,” he said and laughed. “As I like you better and better every day.” He stared back into her eyes and was pleased that she did not look away.
“You do?” she said quietly.
“Ella, I know we have had a most peculiar start, but I feel as if I have come to know you very well. And I realized something today, something that I would like to tell you.”
“What is that?”
“I realize that I have only truly been in love twice in my life.”
“Twice?” she said quizzically.
“Yes, and it turns out that both times it was with the same woman,” he said and reached around her to pick the golden mask up from the nightstand. He gently placed it against her face and tied the little ribbon at the back of her head.
She chuckled, such a sweet sound, and he found he could do no other than pull her into his arms and kiss her. And when she kissed him back with equal passion, Rufus knew that he had finally found what he had sought for so many years.