Regency Romances for the Ages

by Grace Fletcher

  “That was the point.”

  Manchester stepped towards her and Evangeline stepped back. She wanted to fall into his arms but then it would all come out. And that would have him pushing her away again. Evangeline couldn’t handle that. The hurt in her husband’s eyes almost made her run back to him but Evangeline stopped herself.

  “But why, Evie?” Manchester asked. “I loved you and I thought you loved me. We hadn’t been married that long and then you vanished? What am I supposed to think about that?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Manchester reached out and took her hand. It was like he was trying to see if she was real. Evangeline felt his cold hand close over hers and she couldn’t bring herself to pull away.

  “Please, Evie. Talk to me.” Manchester looked almost desperate. “Why did you leave me?”

  “I can’t tell you.”

  “If you loved me, you’d tell me straight. You always did before.” His hand tightened around her fingers. “The Evangeline I knew was never scared to say anything to me. You didn’t care about calling me Rob in private. I treasured that because that was the genuine you. I loved that. And this isn’t the genuine you.”

  Evangeline didn’t like seeing him like this. But the truth would have him turning away. She pulled her hand away and stepped towards the window, trying to put some space between them.

  “Maybe this is the genuine me and the other you knew was a façade.” She swallowed and tried to stop herself from crying. “I’m not about to tell you the reason why. All I can say is if I ran like I did and didn’t say a thing to you, it’s because there was a very good reason.” She was going to burst into tears and run into his arms if she wasn’t careful. “Please, just go.”

  “Evie…”

  “Just go!”

  Why was the stubborn man not going anywhere? He just would not listen. That was his main problem; he just didn’t listen. Evangeline had found it infuriating but loved him, anyway. Now she just wanted to hit him because he was making it so hard to keep her distance.

  “But we promised to love each other.” Manchester pointed out, coming towards her. “Have you forgotten that?”

  “And I don’t love you!”

  Evangeline hadn’t meant to say that. She had thought it would get him to leave. But now she regretted it when she saw her husband stop dead, his face going white. She wanted to take it back, but the damage was done. If it helped him leave her alone. She turned away, gripping onto the curtain.

  “Just leave,” she croaked. “Please.”

  She couldn’t look at him anymore. Not after breaking his heart like this. Evangeline could hear her husband leaving the room, the door slamming hard behind him. Then she sagged to her knees and burst into tears.

  Chapter 6

  Learning About His Child

  She didn’t love him. Manchester couldn’t believe it. The news just wouldn’t sink in. Evangeline didn’t love him.

  But Manchester couldn’t let himself believe that. Evangeline had been devoted to him. You couldn’t conceal love like that. He was naive when it came to emotions but not when it came to his wife. She had loved him back then and Manchester was sure she loved him now. Her reaction had said it all. His wife still loved him.

  But that didn’t give him the answers he wanted. She had given him nothing. Something else was going on and it had something to do with Evangeline’s family. It had to be. Manchester knew that there were rumors of her brother Edward committing treason and disappearing. Was that tied in to everything?

  He wasn’t leaving France until he got his answers. Evangeline was going to tell him the truth even if he had to drag it out of her. She had lied to him about not loving him, Manchester was sure. And he wanted to hear that again.

  “Monsieur?”

  Manchester looked up. He hadn’t got far from Evangeline’s house. She lived right next to the park and there was a bench at the edge of the grass. Manchester had sagged onto it and tried to get things into some order in his head. It didn’t make sense, and it was hiding the real reason Evangeline was here. He needed to know.

  There was a little fair-haired boy standing beside the bench. He was dressed well and looked to have suffered chickenpox very recently, red marks from the scabs still on his face. That aside, he was a very handsome little man. In his hand was a juicy-looking apple, which he held out to Manchester.

  “Would you like an apple, Monsieur? I picked it myself.”

  Where had he come from? Manchester couldn’t see any trees around. But he wasn’t about to be rude, so he took the apple and gave the child a smile.

  “Merci. You’re not looking very well.”

  “I’m much better now.” The boy’s eyes widened. “How did you know I wasn’t well?”

  Manchester indicated his face. The boy touched his cheek and giggled.

  “I’ve had the chickenpox. The doctor said I’m allowed to go out now.”

  “Good for you.” Manchester leant forward and lowered his voice. “I had chickenpox as well. But I was nineteen.”

  “Nineteen?”

  “Yes. It was not easy. I was in agony.”

  “I didn’t eat anything, but I was fine.”

  Lucky him. Manchester didn’t want to go through it again. He took a bite of the apple. It was good.

  “Where did these apples come from?”

  “From my garden.” The boy said proudly. “Ma said I could help Philippe pick them. I like helping outside.”

  Such a typical boy. Then he said something that had Manchester staring at him.

  “Are you English?”

  “Yes, I am.”

  The boy beamed and switched into such flawless English that Manchester nearly fell off the bench.

  “I can always tell. Mama taught me how to spot Englishmen. You don’t get many around here right now.”

  “I can imagine,” Manchester muttered. This boy’s mother was incredibly intelligent. “Is Philippe your brother?”

  “No, sir. Philippe is the gardener. He works for Mama.” The boy’s smile widened. “He is very nice. So is Aurelie. I have a nanny, Juliet, as well. They look after me while Mama works.”

  “Your mother works and she has servants?” Manchester had never heard of that before. In spite of his foul mood, he was softening to the boy. It was like looking at him in the mirror when he was a little boy. “Does your mother spend much time with you?”

  “She does, but she’s always working hard to make sure we stay where we are. Did your mother spend time with you?”

  “A bit,” Manchester admitted. “Not much. I was looked after by a nanny myself.”

  “Was she nice?”

  “She made sure I didn’t send the house into ruins with my shenanigans.”

  The boy frowned.

  “What does she-thing-gummy mean?”

  “Doing things I shouldn’t be doing.”

  The little boy giggled.

  “Mama says I get up to silly things as well.”

  “At your age, I’m not surprised.” Manchester took another bite of the apple and sat back, patting the seat beside him. “Have you always lived here? It’s a nice area.”

  “Only for a year or two.” The boy hopped up onto the bench and sat back, swinging his legs off the edge. “I was three when we moved here. We were living in someone’s guest room when I was born. Mama had to work at the bottom when she first moved here.”

  “Well, your mother’s certainly come a long way.”

  Manchester was intrigued. A hard-working woman had started at the bottom and got to the point where she could have servants look after her child. And she still went to work. That was a woman worth knowing. It would be almost something Evangeline would do had she been lower on the economic ladder.

  “Why are you here, Monsieur?”

  “Hmm?”

  Manchester hadn’t realized he had wandered off into his own thoughts. The boy was giving him a curious look.

  “Why is an Englishman in Paris?
Isn’t it rather dangerous for you?”

  “It is, sort of.” Manchester sighed and stared out over the park. “I’m looking for a woman I used to be married to. She disappeared without warning and I’ve been looking for her ever since.”

  “How long have you been looking?”

  “Five years. Nearly six. We had only been married three months.”

  “Five years?” The boy’s eyes went wide. “Hey, that’s how old I am! I’ve just turned five. That is a long time.”

  Something started turning in Manchester’s mind. Something wasn’t right here, and it was prodding at the back of his mind. What had the boy just said that made it click?

  “Richard!”

  A woman Manchester recognized as Evangeline’s maid, the woman who had tried to make him leave earlier, was standing on the stoop to her mistress’ house. She frantically beckoned the boy to her.

  “Get in here now! You’re not supposed to be out here on your own.”

  “But, Aurelie…”

  “Now, Richard!”

  Richard sighed. He didn’t look like he wanted to move.

  “I’d better go. Mama’s going to get upset.” He hopped off the bench. “I enjoyed talking, Monsieur. I have not met many Englishmen.”

  Manchester couldn’t help but smile.

  “Thank you for your company, Richard.”

  “And you, sir.”

  Richard bowed quickly at him before hurrying off. Aurelie ushered him furiously towards the stoop. Just before he went inside, Richard turned back to Manchester and gave him a smile before he disappeared inside.

  That was when it hit him.

  His smile was exactly like Manchester’s had been when he was a little boy. Looking at him really had been looking like a younger version of himself.

  Evangeline had said she wanted to call her children Beatrice and Richard after her maternal grandparents. And the boy was Richard and going into the same house Evangeline lived in. That was no coincidence.

  He had just turned five? Manchester’s heart sank. That would mean Evangeline was with child when she had run. She had left him pregnant with their son. And she had never told him.

  Manchester didn’t think the betrayal could get any worse.

  ***

  Evangeline knew she had to get out of there. She could see Manchester hanging around outside her house. While her servants knew the real reason she was here, she couldn’t afford any of them telling him. And they would once Manchester turned on his harsh side. When he had his commanding side come to the forefront, nobody could get away from it.

  Except Evangeline. And, even then, she was struggling.

  She slipped out the back way and went back to the shop. Maybe she could hide out there for a while and come back when she was sure Manchester would be gone. Richard was happily picking apples in the back with Philippe; the gardener could keep him occupied. Evangeline hoped her husband never saw his son.

  That hurt a lot to think that. If Manchester knew he had a child, he would do whatever he could to get them back. Or even just Richard. Evangeline couldn’t handle that. She would not lose her son and she would not tell Manchester the real reason. Both would destroy her.

  Evangeline ducked into the shop, much to Jessica’s surprise, and started busying herself in the back room. There wasn’t much to do but Evangeline didn’t want to go home and face her husband yet. Chances were he already knew about her shop—he was very resourceful—but it meant she had a momentary respite.

  Or so she thought. Evangeline came out of the back room at the same time Manchester came in. Jessica had been about to go to him when she saw her employer come onto the shop floor. Evangeline knew her expression was bad if it had the young girl scurrying into the back. Or maybe it was the look at Manchester that did it. He had a thunderous look on his face. Evangeline had never seen him this angry before.

  Her heart sank even more. She knew why he was angry, too.

  “I know about my son, Evangeline.”

  Chapter 7

  Custody of the Heir

  How? Had he looked in the windows? If he had seen Richard, there would be no denying it. Richard looked exactly like Manchester when he was a child. She had seen his childhood portraits. There would be no mistake.

  “Let me explain…” she started, but Manchester held up a hand. He was angry, angry enough to have his hand shake.

  “What is there to explain?” He didn’t raise his voice, and that was bad. Evangeline would rather he shouted at her. “You ran from me and you kept my son from me.”

  “I didn’t choose to run while I was with child.”

  “Unless there was an obvious reason.” Manchester’s jaw tightened. “That Richard isn’t my child.”

  Evangeline gasped. How could he think that? She couldn’t think of anyone but her husband. He was all she had thought about for the past five years.

  “He looks exactly like you. If you know about him, you’ve clearly seen him.”

  “I don’t know what to think anymore, Evie.” Manchester shook his head, and he began to pace, running his hands through his hair. “I thought you loved me and we were going to grow old together. Now I find you’ve run out here, somewhere you said you never wanted to visit, and worked for a living while raising your son. Our son.” He swung around on her. “And you never thought to tell me?”

  Evangeline said nothing. She couldn’t. Whatever she said was going to make him even angrier. She could feel the tears pricking at her eyes and blinked them back. Now was not the time to lose her composure again, not when she had just gotten it back.

  “I’m leaving Paris soon.” Manchester had stopped pacing and was glaring at her with such a scowl that it made Evangeline shiver. “As soon as I get back to England, I’m going to advise my solicitor that I’ve found you. And I’m going to send you the papers to attend court in England.”

  “Pardon?”

  “I’m taking my son.”

  Evangeline began to panic. That was her nightmare. Losing Richard to anyone would be the end of her world. He was her life. She could feel herself begin to hyperventilate.

  “No!” she choked. “Please! I beg you, you can’t do this.”

  “You kept him from me, Evie! Richard is heir to my dukedom. Because of my status and position in Society, it won’t be difficult to get Richard into my custody.” Manchester was now sneering at her. “You will never see him again.”

  Never see her son again? Evangeline didn’t think her husband could be so vindictive. She ran to him, falling to her knees in front of him.

  “Please, don’t!” She grabbed at his hand, which didn’t respond to her tightening grip. “Richard is my life. I do everything for him. Please, Rob, reconsider. Richard will be heartbroken if he never sees me again.”

  Manchester practically snarled at her and Evangeline recoiled back from him. She had never heard him sound like that before. It was the first time she had been frightened of the man she had married.

  “You should’ve thought about that before you kept him from me,” he snapped. “The judge isn’t going to like that at all.”

  Evangeline couldn’t get up. She had lost strength to stand. She started sobbing, the thought of losing her son was the worst possible nightmare becoming a reality. He couldn’t do this to her, surely? But from the look on Manchester’s face, he was certainly going to do it.

  “Robert, please,” she begged. “Don’t do this.”

  “What do you expect me to do?” Manchester shouted. “Let you carry on as normal? Walk away and pretend I never saw you. You know I can’t do that.”

  “If you remotely loved me, you wouldn’t do this.”

  Evangeline realized she had said the wrong thing again. Manchester’s face went red, and he advanced on her. Evangeline tried to stand but she couldn’t as Manchester knelt before her, looking like he wanted to hit something.

  “Remotely loved you?” Her husband snorted. “I’ve always loved you, Evie. That’s the problem. That h
as never faded, even when my feelings for everything else turned bitter and pushed everyone away. Even when I locked myself up in the house. I still love you. I want you back with me.” He rubbed his hand over his face and looked torn. “But you’ve made your feelings clear. You said you don’t love me and I have to accept that. I won’t force you back. But you can’t force me away from my son. He will come back with me.”

  Evangeline didn’t know what to say. He still loved her, even after what she had done. She did not deserve a man like this.

  If only she hadn’t had to hurt him like this.

  Without warning, Manchester grabbed her head and kissed her. It wasn’t a loving kiss but Evangeline could feel the passion in it. It was barely controlled and she couldn’t stop herself from kissing him back, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and allowing herself a moment in his arms.

  No sooner as she relaxed against him then Manchester was pulling away, standing up so abruptly that Evangeline was sent sprawling. Her husband looked wild-eyed and about to explode. Then he managed to regain his control and stepped back, his expression turning into a blank mask.

  “I probably won’t get another chance to do that. But that will be the last time.”

  Then he stormed out the shop, leaving Evangeline on the floor.

  ***

  It wouldn’t be long now. Manchester had been waiting for this moment for two months now. Richard would finally be coming home with him. And Evangeline would be out of their lives for good.

  This should be a joyous occasion. Manchester had a son, and he was going to get him in his custody where he should be. Richard would grow up to be the next heir and Manchester wouldn’t have to worry about marrying again. He was completely off marriage now. This should be a happy time for him.

  So, why did it feel like the worst possible thing in the world if this was doing the right thing?

  Manchester looked up from the letter he was writing to find Harold standing in front of him. His butler didn’t look anything other than his usual blank expression.