Page 83 of The Heiress in Disguise
“She belongs to no one but herself,” Antoine said firmly. “Come, Angelique, I see no reason for you to stay here any longer. Let’s be on our way.”
He took her arm and led her from the ballroom, his mother and sister on his heels, and none of them looked back.
Chapter 38
Two Months Later
“Are you sure you want to go to all this trouble finding a job for Jane?” Antoine asked Angelique. The two of them were sitting together after breakfast, a routine they’d fallen into, drinking tea, and enjoying a warm fire. “I don’t think anyone would think less of you if you didn’t. After all, it’s thanks to her that you found yourself in as much trouble as you did. She very nearly ruined everything for us.”
“I know,” Angelique said. “But I can’t forget that she was one of my only friends for such a long time, Antoine. She apologized for what she did, and I’ve forgiven her. I don’t want to see her put out on the street now that she’s resigned her position working for my aunt and uncle. I believe that people can change.”
“Well, I suppose you’re probably right about that,” Antoine said. “And if seeing her in a secure position is what makes you happy, I’m glad to help you make the arrangements. I just hope you’re sure about the decision.”
“I’m very sure,” Angelique said. “Antoine, I’m so happy about everything you’ve done for me since my arrival here. Helping me pay for Molly and Peter to stay on and work here—”
“Oh, that was never in doubt!” Antoine said. “I know how much they’ve meant to you in all the time you were kept as a servant. I know that they were the only family you had for years. I’d never want to take them away from you. You need to have them with you.”
“I do,” Angelique agreed. “It just means so much to me to see that you understand that, Antoine. To know that you realize how much I need them by my side. I don’t think I would have been able to leave my family if I knew they were staying behind in that terrible environment. I would have worried for the rest of my days.”
“I quite understand,” Antoine said. “You don’t need to worry. I would never have left them behind, Angelique. I can see what their well-being means to you.”
“And for you to become such a friend to Grace as well,” Angelique went on. “It really is so very kind of you. I don’t believe she could have successfully stayed here with me in London if not for your help. Having your estate next door to ours has been such a joy.”
“I knew when she offered to help me find evidence against your family—her own family—that she might not be able to return to them,” Antoine said. “I knew that I might need to make provisions for her future. And I’m so glad I was able to do it.”
“So am I,” Angelique said. “Having her here with me has meant the world to me. And I would have hated to think of her stuck with my aunt and uncle now, after they know she betrayed them. They never treated her well, but I’m sure that now they would make her life a misery, and she doesn’t deserve such treatment.”
“No, I quite agree,” Antoine said. “I’m happy to have her here. And seeing what good friends the two of you have become to one another over the past few weeks has been a gift.”
“I agree,” Angelique said. “I think we would always have been friends in that way if we’d had the opportunity. It’s a shame we didn’t feel as though we could get close to one another earlier in our lives, but to have the opportunity now is a wonderful thing.”
“I wanted to speak to you about your family,” Antoine said. “But I wasn’t sure if it was something you would want to hear about.”
“About my aunt and uncle, do you mean?”
“Yes, that’s right. If you’re up for the conversation, that is. If you’d prefer not to discuss them, we can certainly avoid the topic.”
“I think you’d better tell me what you have to say,” Angelique said. “If you don’t, I’ll be plagued by curiosity about it.”
“Very well,” Antoine said. “I wanted you to know that I have information from my contacts in the countryside about their movements.”
“Tell me.”
“They’ve left your family’s estate—that is to say, your parents’ estate. Of course, the solicitor we hired told them they had to, but I know there was some concern over whether or not they would cooperate with the orders they had been given, and I thought you would be glad to know they’d gone.”
“I think perhaps it doesn’t matter to me,” Angelique said.
“Truly?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I don’t like to think of them living in my parents’ home, after the years they spent stealing from me.”
“Yes, I don’t like that either,” Antoine agreed. “That’s why I was relieved to have them out, and it’s why I wanted to make sure to tell you they had gone. I thought it would make a great deal of difference to you to know that they were out of that house.”
“I suppose it does,” Angelique said. “In a way, it does, that is. I’m glad to know that my parents’ house will no longer be in the hands of the people who wronged them—and who wronged me.
But as for the house itself, it means nothing to me. I don’t want it back. I know that this makes it my property, and I have the right to return to it, but even if I wasn’t as happy as I am here with you, I don’t think I would go back there. Unfortunately, it’s now the site of the unhappiest years of my life. I can’t live happily there. Not anymore.”
“I understand that,” Antoine said. “And you don’t need to return. Perhaps we can sell the place. That would make sense.”
