Page 105 of Heartbreaker of the Ton
“Steady on, love—I’ve got you.”
Etty opened her eyes to find herself in the arms of Lady Arabella’s husband. Arabella herself had risen and fixed Sawbridge with a hard stare, the kind of withering look that had seen off suitors who’d dared approach her—the look that was the precursor to a put-down.
“I think it’s time you and I retired to the library, Sawbridge,” Whitcombe said. “I didn’t bring you here to insult my wife’s guests. In fact, I’m beginning to wonder why I bothered to bringyou here at all. I should have left you in that ditch you fell in—or better still, thrown you in the Serpentine.”
Sawbridge opened his mouth to reply, but Whitcombe approached him, a flash of steel in his blue gaze, and the other man struggled to his feet. They approached the doors, and before they exited, Sawbridge glanced over his shoulder at Etty. He gave a wink, then let Whitcombe lead him outside.
Etty withdrew from Arabella’s husband’s grip.
“You all right, love?” he asked. “Don’t take no notice of that man.”
“I’m quite all right, Mr. Baxter,” Etty replied. “I just didn’t expect to hear…”
“I know,” Lady Arabella said. “And we need not mentionhisname again. There’s no need for him to touch our lives anymore. We have both suffered at—”
“Dunton,” Etty said, wincing. “I must speak his name, for if I am afraid to, then I’ll never be free of him.”
Arabella took her hand. “Dunton,” she said. “You and I have both suffered at his hands—but he cannot hurt us again.” She squeezed. “Why don’t you come and live with Lawrence and me?”
Etty glanced at Mr. Baxter, whose eyes had widened. “Bella, are you sure?” he asked. “What with the baby…”
“Of course I’m sure!” Arabella huffed. “Etty is my best friend. You know what Dunton did to her.”
He nodded. “Of course, love. That man has much to answer for. Miss Howard, our home is yours, if you wish it. The children will adore your Gabriel—and it’ll be good for him to have young ’uns to play with.”
“B-but, Frances…Loveday…” Etty said. “I cannot abandon them.”
“We wouldn’t expect you to,” Arabella said. “We have plenty of room at Longford Hall. Youandyour friends could have a new life—a fresh start.”
“But I’ve given my sister a new lifehere,” Eleanor said. “Juliette, you’re welcome at Rosecombe as long as you wish. Monty will come around, eventually.”
Etty took her sister’s hand. “Dear Eleanor, you are too good,” she said. “Your one failing is that you assume everyone else to be as forgiving and openhearted as yourself. I cannot stay where I am a problem to be solved, or a burden to be shouldered.”
“You’re no burden.”
“Or a sinner to be forgiven.” A sob rose in Etty’s throat, and she wiped the moisture from her eyes. “I have faced my sins—and asked forgiveness from those whom I have sinned against. And now I wish to find peace. But how can I find peace if I am to be forever reminded of my sins? I will never look upon you, Eleanor, without knowing what I did. Your husband…”
“Monty will grow to love you as I do,” Eleanor said.
Etty shook her head. “Your husband will never be able to look upon me without remembering what I did to you. Perhaps he can forgive, but he’ll never forget. And neither will I. If I am to begin again, I must leave.”
Eleanor drew Etty into her arms. “Dearest sister!” she cried. “I only want you to be as happy as I.”
“The difference is that you deserve your happiness, Eleanor,” Etty replied. “But don’t judge your husband too harshly. He acts out of love for you. And until I can find another to love me as fiercely as he loves you, then I can never find your happiness.”
“You will find love,” Eleanor whispered. “But you must find a man todeserveyou. Such a man is rare.”
“That he is,” Etty said. A tear splashed onto her cheek, and she wiped it away. “But I didn’t deserve him.”
She choked as her throat tightened, and Eleanor placed a hand on Etty’s cheek. “Sister?”
“You see—I know that I can never truly begin again with a clean conscience, with others who have borne the brunt of my sins. Not even those who professed to love me in spite of everything could truly forgive me for what I did to you.”
Eleanor’s eyes widened. “You mean—you fell in love?”
Etty nodded.
“With whom?”
