Page 51 of One Waltz with the Viscount

‘I have a sister. Selina. She came to London to find you a few weeks ago. At first she wrote to me every week, detailing her progress, or lack thereof. Then she stopped writing. She has disappeared.’

Sir William looked at her curiously. ‘You wish to have nothing to do with me,’ he echoed, ignoring her comments about Selina’s disappearance.

‘Nothing at all.’

‘You do not want to know what happened all those years ago?’

She hesitated and then shook her head. ‘I do not need to. It doesn’t make a difference. It does not change the fact that our mother was a wonderful and brave woman who raised us alone, on the outskirts of reputable society, despite having very little money and no support. It doesn’t change that you, for whatever reason, abandoned her. I don’t care if your motivation was money or love or power. It will not make a difference to my life one little bit.’

‘You just wish to reassure yourself that your sister is well?’

Sarah’s eyes widened. ‘You know where she is?’

Sir William considered for a moment. ‘A few weeks ago, a young lady approached me on the street. At first I dismissed her claims of who she was, but she was persistent. She was starting to make a scene, so I brought her back here.’

Lady Kingsley’s expression hardened, but she did not say anything. It would seem she did not approve of her husband’s decision.

‘You brought Selina back here?’

‘Yes. I questioned her closely, trying to work out her motivations. I am exceedingly wealthy, and it is not the first time someone has tried to claim a connection to gain an advantage. Perhaps money or a position in the household or something else entirely.’

‘What happened to Selina, after you satisfied yourself she was who she said she was?’

He grimaced. ‘It is a delicate matter. A man is not expected to be chaste, to live without some comfort before he is married, but discretion is important. I did not know what to do with my bastard daughter so I told her she must stay here.’

Sarah felt relief flood through her.

‘She’s here?’

‘Yes. She has been here ever since.’

‘I need to see her.’

Sir William regarded her for a moment, and then motioned for his wife to go and fetch Selina.

All the worry and fear from the last few weeks, the terrible thoughts she’d had, thinking Selina had been attacked in the street and her body thrown into the Thames, all those distressing thoughts rose together and she felt them lifting away. Selina was alive and well, staying with their father.

She heard a patter of familiar footsteps, then the door was thrown open and Selina rushed into the room, throwing herself into Sarah’s arms. The tears started to flow freely down Sarah’s cheeks as she felt her sister’s familiar form in her arms.

‘I thought I had lost you,’ she whispered.

‘Lost me?’ Selina asked, pulling away slightly. ‘Did you not receive my letters?’

‘Up until a few weeks ago, and then they stopped. I have been so worried.’

‘Shouldn’t you be in Kent, teaching those little children to play the piano?’

‘I thought you were dead, Selina! I couldn’t start a new job not knowing what had happened to you.’

‘You didn’t receive the letters telling you I had found our father?’

‘No.’ Sarah had a sinking feeling, and slowly she turned to face Sir William and Lady Kingsley.

‘It was a condition of Selina’s stay that she not tell anyone about her circumstances or whereabouts,’ Lady Kingsley said smoothly. ‘Naturally we checked her letters to ensure she was not inadvertently breaking her promise.’

‘You read my letters?’ Selina’s eyes widened.

‘And they destroyed them,’ Sarah said, seething.