Page 9 of The Heiress in Disguise
“What do you mean?” Angelique asked. “I thought you liked this job.”
“I like the money,” Jane corrected. “I have no particular attachment to this place—I’d be as happy to work anywhere if they were paying me well. You and I should seek employment together. It would change both of our lives. I could guide you in finding work—I know it’s intimidating when you’ve never done it before, but it’s not as hard as it seems.”
But Angelique shook her head. “It’s a lovely idea,” she said. “But I couldn’t bear to leave my parents’ house behind, and I certainly can’t allow my aunt and uncle to take what should be mine by rights.”
“All they do is take things that should be yours,” Jane countered. “Why should this be any different?”
“Because I have to put my foot down somewhere,” Angelique said. “I couldn’t stop them from taking my mother’s clothes or from kicking me out of my room and forcing me into the attic. I can’t even stop them from trying to change my name.
But they won’t throw me out of my childhood home. I have every right to be here, and I’m going to stay, even if staying means allowing my aunt and uncle to treat me like an unpaid laborer. Somerset Manor is my home. That’s one thing they can never take away from me—my memories of growing up there and the connection I feel to the house. It will always belong to me in my heart, even if it belongs to my aunt and uncle by law.”
“That’s moving,” Jane said. “And I suppose if you feel that way about it, youshouldstay.”
“I couldn’t leave,” Angelique said. “Itwouldbe nice to earn a wage, working day in and day out the way I do, but it wouldn’t be worth what I would have to give up.”
“I can’t imagine what that’s like,” Jane admitted. “I’ve never felt tied to a place like that. When I think of the house I grew up in, all I feel is relief to have gotten out.”
Angelique was quiet. She knew that Jane’s upbringing had been different from her own. Angelique had years of happiness with her parents that she could look back on—it was a light that brightened even her darkest nights, just as her friend Antoine had once promised her it would be. But for Jane, things weren’t like that.
Jane’s father had been cruel to her, and to her mother and younger siblings. Angelique knew that Jane had felt like a parent in that family for most of her life. It made sense that she would feel freer now that she had gotten away, and it made sense, too, that she would place such value on the idea of having money to send home to her family.
Angelique knew her situation was very different. She didn’t really need money. As heartless as her aunt and uncle could be, they did provide for all her needs. She had never been and would never be without food, a place to sleep, or clothes to wear. The fact that she wasn’t living the life of a marquess’s daughter was sad in its way, but that life was gone. Nothing she could do now would ever bring it back to her.
Angelique couldn’t be the daughter of a marquess. But shecouldbe—she was determined to be—the daughter of David and Claudine de Bourbon Spencer. No matter what life threw at her, she would remain her parents’ child and would be someone they could take pride in.
If they could see her now, she was sure they would be appalled at her living situation, but she was equally sure that they would be pleased with the way she was handling things. They would be glad to know that she hadn’t allowed despair to pull her under, and they would be glad that she was keeping their memories alive inside her.
As long as I can wake up each day and live a happy life, I am doing right by my parents, and they will never be disappointed in me.
It was thoughts like that that allowed her to feel pleased about her time in London. Even with her dreadful relatives by her side, the stay here would be a gift, and she was determined to make the most of it.
Chapter 4
Back in his own home, Antoine changed out of his servant’s apparel. He went to his study to pour himself a drink.
His valet, George, was in the study unpacking some of the books Antoine had brought to London with him and placing them on shelves. He looked up at Antoine’s arrival. “Would you like me to step out, Lord Exeter?”
“No, stay,” Antoine said. “I need to talk to someone about everything that’s just happened.”
“As you wish,” George said. He closed the door to the study behind him.
“George—will you have a drink with me?”
George inclined his head.
Antoine knew that it was an odd request for a valet, but George was more than just that. He was Antoine’s closest confidante. And right now, what Antoine needed most of all was someone to talk to, to go over all the details of what had just happened at Darlington house.
He needed reassurance that he wasn’t being foolish. Or, if he was being foolish, he wanted someone to tell him so. Then he could stop thinking about the girl he had seen coming out of the stables.
Because thatcouldn’thave been Angelique.
It couldn’t have been—right?
“Did you find what you were looking for at Darlington House?” George asked as Antoine poured the drinks.
“No.” Antoine pushed one of them toward George. “I was looking for answers, and all I found were more questions.”
“I’m not sure I know what you mean,” George admitted.
