Page 36 of A Duke to Save Her

After their morning encounter, the investigator had gone off to pursue other inquiries, and now he was shown into the library, where he gave a curt bow and came to sit opposite Jackson by the fireplace.

“I’m sorry you didn’t get the information you needed this morning,” Jackson said, offering the investigator a brandy.

“It’s quite all right, Your Grace. I’ve known such barriers and obstacles many times before. But the refusal of your betrothed’s father to have anything whatsoever to do with his own daughter’s disappearance set me thinking.”

“About what?” Jackson demanded.

He remained determined to help Eloise, despite the setbacks that had occurred. In his more fanciful imaginings, he had wondered as to the possibility of breaking into the house to free her. They could flee north, or to the continent. If only the two of them had the opportunity to marry, then the matter would be resolved.

“Illegitimacy, Your Grace. Did Miss Snowden ever mention the possibility of her sister not being her sister?” Arthur asked.

At these words, Jackson sat up straight in his chair and looked at the investigator in surprise.

“No, she didn’t,” he replied, somewhat sharply.

He was unsure whether to feel somewhat insulted by this insinuation on Eloise’s behalf. What was Arthur implying? Was he questioning the honor of Eloise’s mother?

“I mean no offence by it, Your Grace. But in these sorts of situations, one must be certain to investigate all possibilities. Why would Alice’s own father be so unconcerned about her disappearance? Perhaps it suited him,” Arthur put forward.

Jackson thought for a moment. Eloise had never suggested anything other than to say her sister was her sister. She had spoken of their mother and their father. The thought of a scandal had not occurred to her, or so it seemed, and neither had it occurred to Jackson.

“But… are you saying you’ve found something?” Jackson queried.

Arthur nodded, and from his pocket, he pulled out a roll of parchment, on which were written several names and dates in a curling script.

“I took the liberty of visiting a number of orphanages in the city,” Arthur said, handing the parchment to Jackson, who peered at it with a critical eye.

A number of Alices were written there, next to dates that corresponded roughly with the time of Eloise’s sister’s disappearance.

“But they all have different surnames,” Jackson commented, looking up at Arthur with a puzzled expression on his face.

“Yes, but I doubt she’d have used her real name. Perhaps not even her Christian name, though one often finds the Christian name retained in these sorts of cases,” Arthur pointed out.

“But are you saying Alice was sent away? I don’t understand why,” Jackson said, still feeling thoroughly confused, even as he was willing to hear the investigator’s reasoning.

“Well, it’s not as uncommon as you might think amongst the aristocracy. An illegitimate child sent away. It can be all too obvious when a child grows up as to the unnaturalness of their lineage, the shared looks, or lack thereof, are the clearest indicators. It’s only speculation, Your Grace. But I’m convinced we may have a lead, the fact of the Viscount’s lack of compassion for his missing daughter. Perhaps he wanted her to disappear,” Arthur said.

Jackson was uncomfortable at the thought of casting aspersions, but he could not deny the possibility of what Arthur was suggesting. There had been no sign of Alice amongst the ton, and an abandoned child could well have found themselves at the door of an orphanage, of which there were many in the nation’s capital.

“Very well. Pursue your investigations along those lines. But I still don’t know how I’ll ever come to see Eloise again. Even if I do find her sister, I doubt I’d be permitted to reveal the truth to her by Lord Crawford,” Jackson muttered.

“You must forgive me, Your Grace, but that’s for you to see to. I can’t help you with that. But if we can find Miss Snowden’s sister, then perhaps the other difficulties will see to themselves,” Arthur concluded.

Jackson nodded. He was not entirely convinced by the investigator’s words, but neither did he wish to give up hope by abandoning Eloise to her fate. If there was a way to rescue her, then he would find it, even if it meant losing everything he had in the process.

* * *

As Eloise and Delphine rode in the carriage away from the Viscount’s house, Eloise could not help but feel relieved at what had happened and the manner of their escape. Their disappearance would not be discovered until the morning, and by that time they would be far away and making for Bath. If Jackson followed immediately, then they could be married by the very next week and all their troubles would be over.

“I don’t care how angry my father becomes when he finds out I’m gone,” Eloise huffed, and Delphine smiled.

“It always puzzled me why he wasn’t upset when your sister disappeared, My Lady. It was as though he didn’t care,” she said, and Eloise nodded in agreement.

Delphine was right. It was a thought which had often crossed her mind, too. There had been an outward show, of course. Visitors had called, offering their condolences and promising to help in any way they could. But as for anything practical, her father had done next to nothing to seek the whereabouts of his daughter. It was as though he had not cared she was gone, and Eloise had never seen him shed a tear on her behalf.

“I don’t think he did,” Eloise murmured.

She had thought about that fact a great deal, and that had led her to think back to the memories she had shared with her sister – ones that had shown little love between father and elder daughter. Whilst Eloise had always been close to her father – a fact she lamented now in the face of his overriding cruelty – she had never observed that same affection between him and Alice. He had never treated her as a daughter he loved and cared for. Far from it, they had always seemed distant, more acquaintances than family.

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