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His concern grew as he studied the dark shadows beneath the old woman’s eyes. “Is everything all right?” He knew it was not even before she spoke.
“I am afraid not,” Adelaide murmured and explained what had happened last night.
“How is she? Has she seen a doctor? Has the magistrate been informed?” he asked in rapid succession.
His blood had turned colder the more he heard. By the time Adelaide lapsed into silence, he struggled to resist the urge to storm upstairs and see for himself that Ursula really was unharmed. It shook him to realise just how important Ursula had become to him in the short space of time he had known her, but didn’t question it. Somehow, the possessiveness that surged through him just felt right. She was the other half of him; if something happened to her, well, it also happened to him.
“She was extremely shaken as I am sure you can imagine. I have cancelled all social engagements for the next couple of days, and have workmen in changing the locks on the windows as we speak,” Adelaide assured him. “I have sent word to the magistrate but have yet to hear back from him.”
Trenton nodded but didn’t really give a damn about the house. It was of little consequence as long as it was a safe place to live in. Before he could ask about additional security, Ursula swept into the room.
“Good morning,” she said, relieved that Trenton was there. She had heard his voice in the breakfast room and hurried to see him without thinking. Just having him in the house made her feel safer.
Trenton stalked across the room toward her with a dark scowl of concern on his face. His hands were actually trembling when they captured hers. “How are you? Your aunt has just been telling me what happened.”
“I am fine, thank you,” she croaked in a voice that shook with emotion.
She sighed in relief when he escorted her across the room as though she was made from the finest porcelain, an
d took a seat beside her.
“What did he look like?” He asked when she was settled.
“I don’t know,” she replied quietly and carefully explained what little she had seen. She had no idea why she was going in to so much detail but, now she had started to talk, the words just flowed.
Unlike Adelaide last night, he wasn’t pushing for her to see a doctor, take sedatives, drink alcohol, or make any attempt to offer meaningless words of comfort. Instead, he focused on everything she said and remained patiently silent while she talked. He nodded thoughtfully a couple of times, and asked Adelaide several questions about the house security, locks on the doors, that sort of thing. It was some time before he appeared satisfied that everything that could have been done had been done, and he settled back against the seat to drink his tea.
Once silence had settled around them, he noticed the plethora of flowers littering practically every surface within the room.
“It seems that you have had lots of well-wishers.” He was a little put out that he had apparently been the last one to find out about what had happened.
“Those aren’t from well-wishers. Those are from her secret admirer,” Adelaide declared with a frown. “We had thought, well –”
Ursula closed her eyes and silently prayed that her aunt wouldn’t humiliate her.
“Don’t you know who they are from still?” The husky rumble of Trenton’s voice made her look at him.
Some small ray of hope that still lingered within her suddenly withered and died when she realised he wasn’t hinting at knowing something she didn’t. Instead, there was a dark scowl on his face, as though he was offended that the admirer hadn’t made his identity known. She slowly shook her head.
“We thought it might be Brampton, or Alfred Sinnerton,” she replied. She winced when his brows lifted. “Apart from you, those are the only two men who have repeatedly made their acquaintance.”
“Sinnerton?” he repeated as he started blankly into the fire. “I can see Brampton doing something like this, although not so often. He is a little too selfish to be so generous with his money. However, Sinnerton?” He slowly shook his head. “I cannot believe for a second that he would do something like this. He just doesn’t have the gumption to be this forthright in his manner.” He turned to look at Ursula. “Has anybody else paid you a lot of attention of late?”
Besides you. She hoped her thoughts didn’t show on her face and quickly turned her gaze away as she shook her head.
“Is there anybody who has made his interest known back in Yorkshire?” Trenton was a little unnerved at how important her answer was to him. Tension thrummed through him while he waited for her answer, although what he would do if she said ‘yes’ was beyond him.
“I have several male acquaintances, most of whom I grew up with, but I cannot think that they would do something as outlandish as send flowers to London,” she replied thoughtfully.
“I am positive that it is someone here, Trenton. We just don’t know who,” Adelaide added.
“If I am not being too presumptuous; what do the cards say?” he asked. If he was honest, he wasn’t convinced that someone like Ursula didn’t have a veritable army of suitors out there somewhere that she wasn’t aware of.
“I think the handwriting looks too effeminate for these to be from a man,” she mused thoughtfully as she handed him the cards she collected from her room.
A sudden knock on the door drew everyone’s attention.
“I’ll go and take tea with them,” Adelaide sighed when Isaac announced the arrival of several of Adelaide’s friends. “I will see you again soon, Trenton. Meantime, maybe you would like to come to dinner with us?”
