AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I am more than honored to serve as a reference for you,” Matthew told her. Bre smiled in gratitude. It hurt to see Matthew, it reminded her of Henry, and a part of her wanted to ask what her ex-fake fiancé was up to, but she refrained.
“How have you been?” Matthew asked her softly. Bre felt the pity from his voice permeated her soul. Returning to London felt like a gamble, especially considering several months ago her face was splashed all over every gossip magazine in the country, but the beauty of such a large city is that when you aren’t in the news cycle for a while, people forget about you. In small-town, Pennsylvania, where news is slow, people remember that your fiancé was pictured out with another woman only a month after your supposed engagement.
“I’m doing alright,” she told him honestly. “Some days are better than others, and I’ll be glad to be back working.”
Matthew nodded. “It looks like there’s something else you want to say,” Bre said. She hoped it wasn’t about Henry. She was certainly not ready to hear about how quickly he managed to get over her.
“I’m not certain if you want to know,” he said, confirming her suspicions that his news was in some way about Henry.
“I’m not certain either, but the cat’s out of the bag, so you might as well share,” she told him in a testy tone.
“It’s about the charity,” he told her. Bre’s face knitted together in confusion. When Matthew told her he had news, she expected something more salacious.
“What about it?” she inquired curiously. When she left, the charity was the last thing on her mind. Thinking of it only brought a bad taste in her mouth as she considered how awful Henry’s mother made her feel sitting at that table.
Matthew hesitated, “Lady Sienna Marlborough has taken over as head of the board. Henry’s mother released a statement saying she simply could not give the project her full attention, so the family decided to fund it while Sienna operated it full-time.” The news drove a dagger into Bre’s already bleeding heart.
“I’m not shocked,” she said. “Sienna made it clear she wanted Henry, and it looks like she got him. The charity is just her way of making it known. After all, it would be inappropriate for them to be engaged to quickly after we ended.” Bre did not mean to sound so bitter, but it was hard. Bre loved Henry, despite his flaws, even after everything, she cared deeply for him. Sienna loved what marrying the Duke of Rochester would do for her. The thought made Bre sick.
“The Duke does not appear interested in her,” Matthew said. “He does not appear interested in much these days. He works till all hours of the evening, and then, comes home and locks himself in his suites. The public speculated about him and Sienna, that’s died down. Impossible to gossip about someone who is not seen.
“He’s probably trying to keep himself out of trouble. His Parliament position was at risk even before we got involved. Another scandal and he’s done.”
“I don’t know Henry, obviously,” Matthew told her. “But perhaps you should speak to him. If for nothing more than to get closure.”
“I got all the closure I need from Henry,” Bre told Matthew uncertain in her own heart that her words were valid. She didn’t want to see Henry, worried that he’d be able to convince her that all was well even though being in his life hadn’t necessarily made her happy.
“Are you certain? It seems to me that running away for several months and wrecking your life is hardly closure,” Matthew told her.
Bre’s frustration rose at his comment. Everywhere she went, it seemed someone had an opinion about how she should have handled Henry’s betrayal. Her mother thought she needed to stay in the states, that she had no business being with someone like Henry, the papers felt that she—the gold-digging American— finally got her just desserts, and now Matthew appeared to feel as though she should give Henry a chance.
“You weren’t singing this tune when I left,” she reminded him.
“When you left, I was unaware of the entire situation,” he told her before pulling a manila folder out of his briefcase. “Now, I find myself better informed.” He slid the envelope across the table so that it sat directly in front of her.
“What’s this?” she asked gingerly picking up the folder confused. Her lunch meeting took a weird turn.
“After you left, I did some digging. Working at Rochester House for as long as I have, has allowed me to make certain connections. When I saw how bloody bummed the Duke appeared, I felt terrible for encouraging you to return home, especially when I considered all you lost. I wanted to make it up to you.” Bre remained confused even as Matthew continued. “That file contains a list of everything I uncovered about Lady Sienna Marlborough. Apparently, Lady Marlborough’s history is quite explosive.”
Bre’s moth dropped at Matthew’s words. “Matthew…” she paused, unsure of what to say. The gesture was a kind one, but having a file containing all of Sienna’s dirty deeds did not change the facts that she gave herself a man incapable of love. “I appreciate what you’ve done, but I’m not sure this changes anything. Our problems weren’t all about Sienna,” Bre told him truthfully thinking back.
“Ultimately, Sienna and his mother, and even Henry at times made it clear I don’t understand how their world works, and I have no business being apart of it.”
Matthew finished his tea before standing from the table. “Breanne, if you wait for someone to give you permission for anything in life you’ll be waiting a very long time. Life is about taking chances, and love is about setting aside our personal upsets for the ones we love,” he said before gathering his things.
“What should I do with this file?” she asked as he took off towards the door.
“Keep it. Perhaps, it’ll make you feel better to see that even a young woman who everyone believes belongs is still unhappy with herself,” he said before walking out the restaurant.
Bre groaned out at his cryptic words before shoving the folder in pure. She did not plan to look past the first pages, content to allow Sienna Marlborough’s secrets to be her own. After all, whatever the file told her wouldn’t change anything, and Bre needed to finally move on from Rochester House and the man within it.
“To a fresh start,” she said to no one as she downed the remainder of her coffee and took off for her final interview.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“I’m so proud of you, darling,” Henry’s mother said the morning of the Royal Ascot. “In these past months, you have managed to turn your life around so vastly that the other members of Parliament have gone from wanting your seat to praising your new initiatives,” she boasted.
Henry said nothing refusing to give his mother the satisfaction of acknowledging her words. She believed her push towards marriage changed him, made him more serious, and cemented his future legacy. And, perhaps, in a way it had. After all, his mother’s ridiculous list brought him to Breanne Reynolds, a woman who made Henry want to be a better man. Life with Bre felt like a breath of fresh air after being deprived of oxygen for so long.
