Page 66 of Betting on a Duke
Chapter Twenty-Five
As they approachedthe open door to the small salon, Clarice heard several voices coming from inside. Her whole body trembled, and she fought back the sudden sick feeling in her stomach. She needed to be brave. She needed to be strong. As much as she wanted to run away and hide from guilt and embarrassment for what her father had done, she would not. Ramsbury and Anna had nearly lost everything because of her father. Also because of her. If she hadn’t come to Newmarket, none of this would be happening.
She had brought all this on them, and she didn’t know how to make it right. Even if her father was arrested for this, he probably wouldn’t receive any punishment whatsoever because of his title.
“Is everything all right?” Samuel asked as she stood outside the door. Samuel. Poor Samuel, who must also be battling guilt right now. Blaming himself, thinking that if he weren’t staying here, Ramsbury and Anna’s home wouldn’t have been the target of a vengeful earl.
“It will be, in time.” She forced one foot forward, then the other, until she found herself being introduced to Constable Everett. Once everyone was seated around Ramsbury and Anna on the settee, Ramsbury recounted the events of the night.
“I see,” Constable Everett said. “I sent my deputy to the stables to fetch the boy and put him in my coach, then guard him. I’ll question him on the way back to town, make sure he agrees to name the Earl ofPortsmouth as the one who hired him.”
Samuel said, “I have a theory. A hunch, really, but the coincidence is too much to ignore.”
He talked about the night Stanton Hall burned down, killing his family. Clarice’s chest hurt so much she found it painful to breathe as she listened to Samuel, his voice sounding sad and strained as he expressed his thoughts. She’d never even considered that the fire that night could have been set. Oh God, had her father committed murder against his one-time best friend, his wife, and heir? She wiped her itchy cheeks with her fingers and was shocked to find her fingers wet from her tears.
Finally, Constable Everett stood and said, “I’ll be on my way. I will send word in several hours after I have interrogated the lad. I will also send a letter to the Constable in Southampton, requesting that he do some digging into the burning of Stanton Hall.”
After the constable took his leave, Ramsbury and Anna stood holding hands. “We’re going to try and get some sleep. You two might want to do the same. I have footmen watching the outside of the house, so it should be safe to get some rest,” Ramsbury said right before he and Anna made their exit.
After the baron and baroness left, Clarice turned to Samuel. “I think that exhaustion you mentioned has finally set in. Can we go to your room and try to get some rest?”
They entered the room Samuel was using, undressed, climbed under the coverlet, and fell fast asleep in each other’s arms.
After they were rested, and in the days following the fire, there was much to be done. The friends of Ramsbury and Anna, along with Samuel’s friends, Greyson and Hunter, came and assisted with cleaning up after the fire in any way they could. The parts of the house not damaged by the flames were scrubbed, cleaned, and aired out.
All the while, Clarice waited anxiously for word on her father. Then the morning of the fourth day after the fire, while she andSamuel were having breakfast in the breakfast room alone, a footman entered and announced, “Constable Everett.”
“Forgive me for stopping by unannounced and so early in the morning,” the constable said as he bowed. “But I didn’t want you to hear this from anyone other than me.”
Samuel indicated a vacant chair. “Would you care to join us?”
“Thank you, Your Grace, but I must decline as I’m needed elsewhere as soon as I leave here.”
“Then we won’t keep you. Please tell us what news you have to share.” Clarice said, feeling jittery all of a sudden.
“I’m sorry to have to tell you this, Lady Chesterfield, but your father has fled to France.”
She gasped and covered her mouth in shock. She knew her father had many flaws, but she didn’t think being a coward was one of them. And his fleeing to France was as good as him admitting his guilt in the deaths of Samuel’s family and several servants. She tried to feel sad, happy, or anything, but when it came to the man who fathered her, she felt nothing at all.
“Thank you for coming and telling us,” Samuel said, which was good because she didn’t know what to say to the constable at all.
“I’m sorry for the bad news,” the constable said. “I bid you good day.” He turned on his heels and left, escorted by the footman.
When he was gone and they were once again alone, Samuel, apparently determined to change the subject, said, “Do you realize that the 1000 Guineas Stakes is tomorrow?”
“Yes. With everything that’s happened, I’m surprised you remembered.” She paused and took a sip of her tea. “There must be a ball tonight. Why haven’t you mentioned it?”
“I didn’t think you’d want to go.”
“You thought correctly. Do you think we can go to the Red Lion Inn for my belongings? Anna must be tired of me wearing her old clothing when I have a perfectly good wardrobe full at the inn.”
“We can do that, but first, I need to talk to Clover. She’s probably nervous about the race tomorrow. This is her first real race.”
Laughter escaped her as she asked, “You mean you are nervous?”
“As hell. Is it conceited of me to admit that I want to win again?”
“Not at all.”
