Page 58 of The Marquess' Disguised Heiress
“In Eliza Gordon. He asked me questions about her.”
“He asked me things, too. We had a conversation while we danced.”
Victoria burst out laughing at Margaret’s comment, knowing the masked stranger could not have had an intelligent conversation with Margaret. She was almost sure he only danced with her because he felt sorry for her since there could be no other reason for it.
“Really?” Victoria said smugly. “What kind of questions?”
“He told me how he remembered this estate used to belong to the Duke and Duchess of Gordon, and they had a daughter named Eliza. He asked me if she was one of our cousins and if I knew where she was or if she was even alive. I simply evaded the question.”
Victoria’s eyes widened as she realized these were the exact same questions he had asked her as well, making her realize how he was doing nothing but fishing for information. Victoria stood up, extremely worried, unsure of what this could mean.
It certainly could not be a coincidence that a strange man came to their house with his identity concealed, asking questions about Eliza Gordon, and later, he was seen with her by not just one but two people.
Something was clearly not right about this.
The parlour door opened, and their mother walked inside, making Victoria breathe a sigh of relief. If someone could get to the bottom of this matter, it was her mother.
“Why are you pacing about, dear?” she asked, walking inside and taking a seat on the empty sofa. Without wasting a single second, Victoria repeated everything Amelia had told her and the questions the masked stranger had been asking both her and Margaret.
Just as she had expected, her mother’s worries grew with every word as she took it all in.
“We must do something, Mother,” she coaxed, sitting beside her.
“We must not jump to conclusions this quickly, Amelia,” her mother advised, sitting straighter, “We must do a little more digging. You need to ask Amelia to keep an even closer watch on Beth so we can see what she is up to and promptly decide what needs to be done. Understood?”
Victoria nodded. She was glad to finally have found something that might finally push Eliza out of this house for good.
Chapter 16
Quickly tiptoeing out through the back gate of the estate, Eliza stepped into the woods, breathing in the early morning air. Now that it was summer, she could wake up much earlier and had been doing just that for the past one and a half weeks.
It was only four in the morning, with just very few servants awake and about the house, which meant she could sneak out easily and enjoy her early morning walks in peace.
Although, the walks had not been as cheerful as she had wished them to be.
Eliza continued down the familiar path she took every day, completely aware of every single bend in the road as she made her way forward towards the hill at the end, where she spent time waiting for the sunrise.
She sighed deeply, looking around the woods for any sign of George, but she knew it was in vain. He had been absent for about a week, making Eliza wonder why he had not been walking the earl’s dogs early in the morning.
She had been looking forward to seeing him for a very long time, and he had been absent for too long now. Even the masked stranger had left her a note about one and a half weeks ago that he would be away for business and would not be able to see her for a little while.
She couldn’t help feeling disappointed at these developments, not wanting to be away from either of them.
“You must stop thinking about them, Eliza,” she whispered to herself in the empty forest, finally beginning to climb the hill.
The sky was already beginning to turn a deep shade of pink, the darkness disappearing. This was what she loved about watching the sunrise from the top of the hill every single day, the changing of these colours. It almost felt as if she was watching a painter working on his masterpiece before the painting came to life with every passing second.
She sat down at her usual spot towards the very top, her eyes on the skies above. At this hour of the morning, everything felt magical, and she even stopped missing George for a little while.
Nature inspired her in a way, and lately she had been sitting here, simply singing to herself. The beginning of the day filled her with hope and delight, making Eliza feel special.
She had been telling herself how she owed it to her parents to live fully without letting anything ruin her heartiness and kindness. She was going to make the best out of the life she had been given without being bitter about it. That was the most she could do.
“I am going to be just fine.” She breathed in the fresh air, the sky already illuminating with light above her, and closed her eyes to savour the moment.
The light falling on her face suddenly turned into a shadow, and Eliza opened her eyes, almost afraid of what she might find before her, but to her surprise, she was met with an extremely familiar pair of russet-coloured eyes.
“George!” She shouted his name, unable to control the huge smile appearing on her face and threw herself in his arms after standing up. “I have missed you so much!”
