“Are we wrong to help Miss Sutherland?” Fredrick asked.
“Now that I saw their treatment of Miss Sutherland, it makes me want to help her even more,” Anette replied.
“Good, because I do believe we are doing the right thing.”
Anette smiled. “I was hoping you would say that because we have a lot of work ahead of us.”
Chapter Five
With the morning sun streaming through the windows, Emilia sat on her bed and stared at the door that led to her father’s bedchamber. Did she dare go in? She wanted to, but she was afraid of what she would find.
But whatever she found couldn’t be worse than not knowing.
She could do this. Rising, she retrieved her wrapper and headed towards the door. Her hand stilled on the handle and she took a deep breath for courage.
Emilia slowly turned the handle and pushed the door open. Her father’s bedchamber was dark and had a musty smell to it. The burgundy-papered walls were much more masculine than her bedchamber.
She walked over to the windows and tossed open the drapes, allowing light to fill the room. A four-poster bed sat in the center of the room and a writing desk was placed adjacent to it. That is where she wanted to start.
Crossing the room, she sat down on the chair and opened the top drawer, removing a stack of papers that had string tied around them. She untied the string and perused the papers. Thedocuments were plans for a boarding school for underprivileged girls.
She wondered why her father would want to open a boarding school. As she examined one of the documents, she saw the proposed name of the school-Mrs. Hembry’s Seminary for Young Women. Why would he name the school after her mother?
Emilia would need to speak to Mr. Rymer about this at once. Perhaps he could shed some light on the boarding school.
She placed the papers down on the desk and reached for the bottom drawer. As she slid it out, she couldn’t quite believe what she was seeing. The top page of a very large pile of papers was a detailed sketch of her mother’s face.
Tears came to her eyes as she perused the sketch. She had no images of her mother and she knew that she would cherish this sketch until the end of her days.
Why did Sir Charles have this sketch? Did he sketch it himself? If so, how did he create such a perfect rendering of her?
As she started rifling through the pages, she saw that they were filled with images of her mother. Some were of just her face, and others captured her whole person. But they all seemed to perfectly capture her essence, especially the eyes. They were a gateway into her soul, and they reflected the kindness that her mother always expressed.
She heard a door close and it was followed by a familiar voice, “Emilia.”
“Lily,” she greeted. “I’m in here.”
A moment later, her friend appeared in the doorway. “Was I shown to the wrong bedchamber?” she asked.
“No, this was Sir Charles’ bedchamber,” Emilia shared. “But I found something that is most extraordinary.”
Lily approached the desk and looked at the sketch in her hand. “That is beautiful. Who is that a sketch of?”
“My mother,” she replied, “and there is a whole stack of them.”
“Did Sir Charles draw them?”
“I think so,” Emilia replied as she placed the papers onto the desk. “At least, I hope he did.”
Lily retrieved a sketch and held it up. “The detail is exquisite.” She placed the sketch down and continued. “I must admit that I am dying to know why you brought me here. Your note was rather vague, but you said it was of the utmost importance.”
Emilia rose from her seat. “I have had the most remarkable change of fortune. It turns out that Sir Charles was my father and I inherited his estate. All two hundred thousand pounds of it.”
Her friend’s eyes grew wide. “You are rich.”
“I am, but I need your help.”
“What help could you possibly need from me?”
