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“You are not a wicked man, Simon. Just a desperate one.”
“And convinced that the loss of your brother was due to me. I cannot say that I would not act in a similar fashion if I believed as fervently as you clearly do, such a thing,” Harold said.
Simon nodded slowly. “I must thank you for those words. But that sentiment is dragged from me. This changes nothing. I acted dishonorably, but I still believe you to be no better than a murderer. You have clearly seduced my sister.”
“Fallen in love with,” Alice said. “And I, him. No seduction has taken place other than a mutual attraction that has deepened with every meeting.”
Simon waved her away as though she were talking nonsense.
“You cannot see it but I can. I acknowledge the nobility of your actions in regard to the crime I committed. It is the act of a gentleman. But, a rogue can act in a gentlemanly fashion from time to time and still be a rogue.”
Alice threw up her hands in exasperation, stalking away from her brother.
“I just do not know what to say to convince you. You are blind to reason.”
“Come with us,” Harold said quietly.
Both Hathway's looked at him. He stared at Simon.
“We will leave immediately for London and then for my docks on the Thames. There will be a ship, there always is. I will override its captain’s plans and have it take us to this place in Wales, where your brother was last seen. Where one of your household staff was asked to witness the signing of some kind of contract. By ship, we can be there in a day if the wind and tides are with us. We will discover what happened there. And if you still wish to hate me…”
“Then you will not see me return to this house,” Alice interrupted. “I swear it on Mama and Papa’s memory.”
“Emotional blackmail,” Simon muttered. “You know I cannot tolerate the idea that you would leave and not come back.”
“You interrupted me, darling,” Harold said calmly. “I would not break apart a family. Particularly where three siblings such as you have only each other in the world. I know what it is to be alone, bereft of any that share my blood. I would not see Alice go down that road. Or, even you, Simon.”
“What are you saying?” Simon asked.
Alice wanted to ask the same question but a terror now gripped her. It sank claws deep into her soul. She had a feeling that she knew what Harold was about to say and wanted to cover his mouth, to stop him speaking the words.
“I am saying that if we do not discover the truth behind Eloise’s death and the missing part of Edward’s story, then I will forsake Alice forever. I will forsake England. I will leave and you will never be troubled by the Clauder name again.”
CHAPTER50
Harold stood on the prow of the Seamaid, supporting himself by a rope that secured a sail. Ahead the flat, gray road of the Thames stretched to a horizon marred by black clouds. A sliver of sunlight remained, a bright band in the sky. He heard soft footsteps on the deck behind him and turned to see Alice. She had not spoken to him since he had made his bargain with Simon.
Reckless and impulsive. I should have discussed it with her before we even arrived at Lindley, instead of allowing myself to indulge in passion. It must have hurt her so badly to hear me ready to leave her.
She stood next to him, looking out at the river ahead of them, her face inscrutable. He could see she had been crying.
“I regret not talking to you first,” Harold eventually said. “But it is the only way. I will not be the reason the Hathway family broke apart.”
“It was like a slap in the face. Do I mean so little to you?” Alice said.
“Did I say that? Do you believe I would be capering into the sunset?” Harold challenged.
“I do not know what is in your mind. I could not have voluntarily offered to give you up, the way you did me.”
“I would be cutting off my right arm. I would be done with society and love. My life would be one of solitude and loneliness and that is all I would deserve,” Harold said. “It is not a prospect I relish or agree to gladly.”
“Then why say it?” Alice demanded. “In God’s name, why risk our happiness when we have only just found each other?”
“It is the only honorable thing to do. Your family should be your bedrock. They are your blood. If being together means that you are forever cut off from them then…we cannot be together. I hope that what we find at our destination will prove my innocence. If it does, then I am going nowhere without you.”
“And what if, despite what we find, Simon still refuses to accept it?” Alice demanded.
Harold stared into the distance and did not answer. Alice wept, clapping a hand across her mouth to stifle the sound of a sob.
