Page 79 of Sacrificing the Untamed Lady Henrietta
“Just when I thought you were showing some progress, you go and say something like that,” she retorted. “Is a father not supposed to love and support his daughter? Is he not supposed to admire her, rather than scorn her every move?”
It was Aaron’s turn to look shocked. “You think I do not care?”
“If you did, you would not seek to lay blame upon me for something that is evidently not my fault.”
“I am tired, Henrietta. I did not mean—”
“No, I think you did. I think you are convinced that my apparent misbehavior has resulted in this threat against me.”
“Henrietta, I—”
“Admit it, Papa!”
He stilled, his eyes turning sad. “I care about you, Henrietta. I have always cared, and I always will.” He heaved out a sigh that seemed to shake his entire body. “And no, I do not believe you are to blame for this. I should not have said so—the letter has thrown me for a loop, somewhat. I think you should cease your foolish endeavors, that much is true, but I do not think you have brought this on yourself. That is entirely my doing. I ought to have given Mr. Booth a recommendation. Had I realized how unhinged he was, I would have done.”
Is that… an apology?She hardly dared believe it. Even if there was no “sorry” within his speech, the subtext was undeniable. It was the closest thing to an apology she would ever receive from him.
Just then, Tabitha and Ewan entered, dissipating the tense atmosphere. Henrietta contemplated hiding the letter from her husband, but he had already seen it.
“Another one?” he asked, worried.
“Yes. It would appear that we have annoyed Mr. Booth.”
“The devil is watching us somehow,” Aaron hissed.
Henrietta nodded. “We believe there may be someone at home who told him of your arrival here,” she said, fixing her gaze on her mother. “And I have an inkling that Seth knows of my visit to his family yesterday. That revelation is easy enough to decipher—his sister did not keep her promise.”
Aaron frowned. “His family?”
“Yes, we happened upon his sister yesterday,” Ewan explained.
“That is not possible.”
“Whatever do you mean, Papa?” Henrietta asked.
“Mr. Booth does not have any family,” he replied firmly.
“He does—we met his sister,” Ewan assured, but Aaron simply shook his head again.
“Then she is not who she said she was. You see, Seth came to me, seeking employment, after the death of his sickly mother. He had used all his worldly means to pay for her funeral and had been left with nothing. As for a sister—he told me that he had had a sibling, once upon a time, but she had died in infancy. This was verified by those who knew him, in the town. Indeed, they remembered the tragedy in which she was killed; a carriage went astray from the road, and she was trampled beneath the hooves of the escaped horses.”
Henrietta turned to Ewan, who had blanched in shock. They had been fooled in the simplest way—they had allowed themselves to believe Mr. Booth, and he had conned them both.
Chapter 30
After breakfast, Ewan and Henrietta took a carriage into town. It pulled up outside the dingy terrace, where Henrietta had apprehended the young woman named Isobel. To get to the bottom of the lie, the house had seemed like the best place to visit.
Ewan got out first, helping his wife down the unfolded steps. He could sense the anger bristling from her. He had not enjoyed the revelation that he had been fooled, but Henrietta had taken it much harder.
“Did you tell me everything about your encounter yesterday?” he asked, as they approached the house.
She narrowed her eyes. “That wretch lied to my face. She told me she had lost a child. I feltsorryfor her, for heaven’s sake! I even offered her my apologies for the tragedy she had endured, and all the while she was lying through her teeth.”
Ah, so that’s what has wounded her so deeply.He had come to realize that Henrietta felt things in a much more poignant way than most people. He supposed it was part of her difference—the unique demeanor that made her so intriguing and delightful. It pained him to see that it had been used against her, for he knew that was how people became hardened. He did not wish that for her.
Henrietta brushed past him and rapped hard on the door.
Silence echoed.
