Page 53 of The Marquess' Disguised Heiress
Could it be Amelia?
She shook her head, not wanting to think about it. Without wasting any more time, she ran her fingers through herhair to make it look presentable and used the flower oil she had made earlier to scent her skin and hair. Feeling a little more presentable again, she took the grand staircase to come down since the family was absent from the house, wanting to reach the kitchen quickly.
“George must be back by now,” she whispered to herself, smiling at the thought of it.
Just as she was about to turn a corner to make her way towards the kitchen, she noticed a very familiar shock of brown hair and a glimpse of George’s white shirt disappearing down a passageway.
Her eyes narrowed because she knew the passageway was a secret shortcut around the house, and only someone who knew the house well would be aware of it.
“Is it George?”
Completely confused, she followed him quickly but found the passageway empty. Unperturbed, she continued to look around but found George to be nowhere, hence she made her way back to the kitchen. To her surprise, he was standing rightin the middle of the little party, chatting away with Ralph and Marcus, his smile widening when his gaze fell on her.
Eliza breathed a sigh of relief, knowing she must have imagined it. What business would George have snooping around the Russel house after all?
Chapter 14
The moment Eliza walked back into the kitchen, her confused blue eyes searching for him, Alexander knew he had been right. While coming downstairs, she had seen him disappear into the passageway, but gauging the situation quickly, Alexander had returned to the kitchen before she could.
All he needed to do was behave as if nothing had happened because the relief on her face was enough to tell him that she did not think it was him in the house.
After all, according to Eliza, he was just a stable boy named George who had no reason to snoop around the Russel house.
Besides, he had already found what he needed. After excusing himself from the kitchen, Alexander had quickly made his way directly towards Edgar’s study, completely shocked at what he had found out. The documents he had needed were lying in plain sight right in the bottom drawer of Edgar’s desk, waiting for Alexander.
The papers clearly stated how Edgar’s sole finances were being met through Eliza’s inheritance, along with a copy of thelate duke’s will, which stated how everything belonged to his daughter, except for what legally went to the new heir.
It even contained the deeds to all properties, which mentioned how the country estate went to the heir as per legal rights, but the London estate belonged to Eliza. Moreover, bank details, which mentioned Edgar stealing Eliza’s inheritance, were also included.
Even though those documents were more than enough, Alexander still needed more proof to make sure the Russel family was properly held accountable for their crimes. And for that, he would need to wait a little longer.
He had been tempted to steal the documents right then, but that might raise too many questions. For now, he was simply glad about finding them so he would be able to use them later when the time was right.
The fact that Edgar had not even bothered to hide those documents was evidence of how careless the man was, comfortable enough to think that no one was on the verge of discovering the truth behind his money.
Edgar certainly believed that his sin of stealing his niece’s inheritance would never be found out, but Alexander was not going to let this go.
He would make the Russels pay.
“George.” Eliza came to stand beside him, her smile intact. The faint scent of flowers, which always lingered about her, filled his senses, making him heady with desire for her.
“Beth.” He smiled back, nodding.
He had not failed to notice Eliza’s growing affection towards him or at least towards George.
Whenever Amelia had tried to come close to him, he had been able to see the anger and jealousy on Eliza’s face, even when she was trying to do an excellent job at hiding it. She had failed miserably before him, warming his heart towards her even more.
“The games are over?”
“Yes.” Alexander nodded, not breaking eye contact. “The family must be about to return. Dinner time is almost over.”
“You are right.” She blushed, quickly looking away. He had noticed how she could never hold eye contact with him, her shyness setting his heart aflutter.
“I must head back before someone discovers I have been gone too long.” he placed the glass of ale in his hand back on the counter before turning towards Eliza, “Mind walking me out?”
“I would love to.”
Alexander quickly said goodbye to everyone else present, finally making his way outside the kitchen, where Eliza was already waiting for him. He was glad she had still not mentioned anything about seeing him inside the house, making him sure that she must have believed it to be a hallucination.
