Page 40 of Fortune’s Final Folly

He set his hand on hers and squeezed gently. He could not begin to fathom how it felt to have a person walk into your life and tell you that everything you knew about yourself was wrong. That everything you’d grown up believing was not the truth. That every person you loved had kept secrets from you.

Glancing at Kate, Joshua saw her nod to the countess, her gaze transfixed on the woman.

“When they returned to England, my grandfather took a position as a steward with Baron Oderton. Years later, my mother fell in love with the baron’s son, my father, Eugene Banesworth.”

“What a marvelous tale.” Dolly turned to Kate, her grin mischievous and one Joshua knew well. “Can you imagine, Miss Kate? Oh, true love is a blessed thing, is it not, Joshua?”

His late grandmother’s companion had never been known for her subtlety when she took a notion to heart.

“It is,” Joshua muttered.

“And what of you, my lady?” Dolly continued, smiling in A’laya’s direction. “Have you ever wed? From the looks of Kate, her father was a dashingly handsome man, indeed.”

Joshua silently chastised himself for not having a word with Dolly before she entered the room. He’d only wanted the countess to know that Kate had not been residing under his roof without a proper chaperone.

A’laya stared down into her tea, steam still rising from the untouched cup. “I did, though I cannot confess it was a marriage based on love.”

Joshua winced, knowing some of what was to come.

“The Earl of Holderness was a dashingly handsome lord, but he was not a kind man, nor an attentive husband.”

“We certainly know a few of those types, don’t we, Joshua?” Dolly’s mouth pinched in a tight frown, and she shook her head. “I have known a few rascals in my day, I can assure you, my lady.”

A’laya looked up at her daughter, and Joshua would have been a fool not to notice the look that passed between the pair. If he were a betting man, he would guess that it was the first of many the newly acquainted women would share in the days—and years—to come.

“I wed young, and my naiveté was to my detriment—and Katherina’s.” The countess brought her cup to her lips and took a short, tentative sip before lowering the tea once more. It was only after a deep breath that she spoke again. “Before long, I was with child, and my husband had abandoned me at his family’s home in Oxfordshire. It took many, many years before I even so much as laid eyes on the man again.”

“You’ve seen him?” Tension had Kate sitting up straight as if a rod had been placed in her spine. “When?”

A’laya’s eyes narrowed, and Joshua sensed the woman’s unease for the first time. “It was only a few years ago. He arrived by ship, and I got the barest glimpse of him. But you were not with him, and so, he mattered naught to me.”

Dolly had fallen silent, never one to revel in the misfortunes of others.

“Did you know anything about your father’s or his mother’s duplicity or of the time when she took you from me?” A’laya’s question was barely a whisper. “What have you been told?”

“Nothing.” Kate’s voice was resolute. “While I always sensed I was different, I was never told that the vicar and his wife were not my true parents—though they loved me as if I were theirs.”

The conviction in Kate’s words must have given the countess pause because she did not immediately speak again.

They’d spoken of A’laya’s past—what she knew, where she’d been, and everything she’d lived through, but they’d not talked about Kate. She hadn’t been cursed with the same fate as her mother. Kate had been loved and well cared for.

“I feared as much, though I must admit I am relieved to know you had a proper upbringing, even if I was not there for you.”

“It was not your fault,” Kate said, holding her mother’s stare for several seconds before looking away.

Joshua wondered where they all went from here as he took in Kate, the countess, and Dolly. They were a motley group with far more in common than most.

So much needless hurt between them. So many lost years. There was no way to gain any of it back, and he was reasonably sure they’d never know the reasoning behind all of it. Why had A’laya’s husband abandoned her? Why had the duchess taken Kate from her mother and sent her away? And where was Pierce De Vere when it all happened?

Joshua had known Kate for years—even though several of those had been in the capacity of mere acquaintances—yet he could not envision his life or his future without her as a part of it.

Joshua couldn’t walk away.

Bloody hell, he couldn’t imagine a morning without her nestled in the carriage with him as they sped across London to Cheapside.

He was utterly in love with her.

With each day, with each new challenge, Joshua needed her more.