AllFreeNovel
Share Us
CHAPTER22
Mac had been quiet since the conversation at dinner had steered toward smuggling, and Pippa was concerned about what this could mean for the Blakemores. The men remained in the dining room after the meal’s conclusion while Pippa followed Mabel into the foyer.
“That man is impertinent,” Mabel said softly, leaning close to Pippa as she spoke. “Sitting to dine with us like that? He ought to have refused. It would have been the polite thing to do.”
“He is clearly not concerned with politeness.”
Mabel nodded absently. “Do you know what debt he has come to collect?”
Pippa shook her head. “I know nothing of him short of what he told me when I met him in town. He’s a law man.”
“A law man who has come to collect? Something is not adding up.” She glanced over her shoulder toward the closed door of the dining room. “Do you think the Blakemore men have been smuggling in the cove like Mr. Ainsworth seems to believe? I’m certain he was targeting them with that comment.”
Pippa held her breath. If she was going to reveal her late-night antics to Mabel, now was a good opportunity. But if she did, would Mae revoke the freedoms she willingly gave Pippa now and keep her locked in her room? It was better not to risk it.
“Would it be so awful if they were?” Pippa asked instead.
Mabel seemed to think this over. “People in town don’t seem too bothered by it. I believe it goes against Mac’s morals, but I know people have been getting away with it for years, and it does provide affordable goods to those who need it.”
“Or wine to our father.”
Mabel smiled faintly, but her mind was elsewhere.
“You do not seem convicted in your opinions,” Pippa pressed.
“Perhaps because I cannot make up my mind. I can see both sides to this situation.”
“As can I,” Pippa said. She would not admit to her sister how very much embroiled she was in the whole of it. She had a feeling Mac would never approve, and she did not like the idea of making him think less of her. She respected him far too much.
And to think, when she first believed William to be in trouble, she had offered to fetch Mac and his reputation to assist. As if Mac would help in a smuggling endeavor. The thought was humorous now, and a small smile tugged at her lips.
“Did you think of Gram’s warning during dinner?” Mabel asked, holding the door open to the drawing room before closing it behind them.
“Yes,” Pippa admitted. But she’d also thought of the moment when she’d hit Mr. Ainsworth over the head and how that had implicated her in the smuggling. She had a feeling Mabel would be generally less intrigued and far more angry if Pippa were to admit that now, however.
“And do you still hold it against the men? After spending some time with them, I wonder if perhaps you’ve been a bit hasty in your dismissal of the Blakemores.”
Pippa looked sharply at her sister. “I did not hold it against them...well, I suppose I did initially. I’m not sure how I feel any longer. Gram does not seem bothered by it.”
“Gram came from a different era, Pip. They saw things much differently back then than we do now.”
“Does a change in perspective make the actions themselves any different? Our perspectives shift, but have they shifted in the proper way, or are we now in the wrong?”
Mabel lowered herself onto the sofa, her lips flat and eyebrows bunched. “I’m not sure. I suppose we would think our way to be correct because it is how we were raised to think. Gram would undoubtedly think her way correct. Who’s to say which is better?” She jutted her chin out just a little. “I would like to think that with time comes wisdom, but I wonder if there is truth in both ways of thought. We must discern where the truth lies.”
“So you mean to say that there is no clear answer.”
Mabel grinned. “There is certainly no clear answer. I suppose this comes down to trusting ourselves and our own morals. We are good people, Pip. That counts for something, and it means we can listen to the whispers in our hearts.”
But the whisper in Pippa’s heart was hardly a whisper any longer. It nearly shouted William’s name, and the man had proven to be less than savory.
Or had he proven it yet? He deserved an opportunity to defend himself, surely. Though she’d attempted to give him that before, and he’d acted as though he had no inclination why Lily would even imagine a liaison between them.
Pippa didn’t know who to trust, and it made her heart ache wearily.
The drawing room door opened, and the men stepped inside. William’s cool blue gaze sought hers, and Pippa had difficulty looking away. Mabel moved beside her, and it shook her from her William-induced trance. She looked away and found Mr. Ainsworth watching her with mild interest before he looked to William.
Oh, drat. They’d shared a look, and Ainsworth had noticed. This could not be good.
