A throb began in his forehead and he rubbed it with two fingers. “The last time I saw her was at the luncheon.”
A deep frown pulled on Sally’s mouth and she released a heavy sigh. “Oh, dear.”
“What’s wrong, Sally?”
“We haven’t seen her since the luncheon either. The last we knew, Tabitha had gone to her room. Yet when I checked on her an hour ago, she was not there. Her bed hadn’t even been touched.”
His first instinct was to worry, but then he recalled her words while they were by the tree. “Tabitha was upset and confused. I did speak briefly with her after the luncheon before I came home, and she’d mentioned she wanted to be by herself for a little while and think.” He shook his head. “I wouldn’t worry too much, Sally. Tabitha will return tonight, I’m sure of it.”
Nodding, the maid stepped backward as if preparing to flee. “I thank you, my lord. I shall inform her aunt.”
As Nic closed the door, he wondered why Tabitha wouldn’t have said something to her maid about leaving. Tabitha seemed like a responsible woman, so why didn’t she tell someone where she was going?
Once again, he felt as if he should worry about her welfare, but his broken heart and confused mind didn’t want any more complications. The best course of action would be doing nothing. Tabitha had wanted some time alone. He understood that better than anyone, especially now.
And as soon as Frederick came back from wherever he was, Nic would load the trunks on his coach that had been hidden inside his cousin’s barn all this time, and leave as soon as he could to return to Mayfair.
The past reminded him how long it would take to mend his broken heart.
Chapter Twenty
By late afternoon the next day, Nic was ready to strangle his cousin. Again! Where could that blasted man be? Where on earth could he have been all day and night? Of course, Frederick had done this before, which really hadn’t bothered him, yet because he now wanted to leave this place, he wished his cousin would come home immediately.
Nic had paced the length of the entire house at least a hundred times, but that only made him more impatient. Now he feared that when his cousin finally did walk through the front door, Nic would feel the need to wrap his hands around his cousin’s throat and squeeze.
The sound of a carriage pulling up to the front of the house jarred him out of his harmful thoughts. If he succeeded in choking his cousin—a man of God—Nic would certainly not be going to heaven…
He hurried to the window that overlooked the front yard and peered out. There were actually two coaches that had stopped in front of the house. As the door to the first vehicle opened and a head poked out, his breath caught in his throat. What in the devil was he doing here? Within minutes, several more familiar people had exited the conveyances.
His heart flipped with excitement and he rushed to the door, throwing it open. His best friend, Trey Worthington, and his lovely wife, Judith, led the promenade of Worthingtons from up the drive. Trevor and Louise came next, followed by Tristan and Diana.
Stepping out on the porch, Nic folded his arms across his chest. When Trey’s attention landed on Nic, the man stopped in his tracks as his eyes widened. Behind him, his brothers did the same, and even had the same dumfounded expressions. Gasps escaped all of them, sounding like a choir.
“I say, my good man,” Trey began in a teasing voice, “but I fear the world has indeed come to an end.” He glanced up at the sky. “In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised to see pigs flying, either.” When he met Nic’s gaze, Trey grinned. “But I admit, I find myself intrigued to discover why my wayward friend is dressed like a clergyman and is sporting a beard.”
“I must add my interest, as well.” Trevor nodded.
Tristan chuckled. “Actually, nothing that Hawthorne does surprises me anymore.”
Nic laughed, suddenly feeling lighthearted again. “Actually, I’m not Hawthorne, here. I’m Mr. Woodland, the good clergyman of this parish.”
Trey arched a dark eyebrow. “Oh, now I am intrigued…and slightly worried at the same time.” He glanced at his wife. “My dear, we didn’t come soon enough, I fear. Hawthorne is a lost cause.”
Nic gestured his hand toward the house. “Please come in and I shall settle your worries.”
Trey walked up to Nic and threw his arms around him, giving him a bear hug. “It’s been too long, my friend.”
Nic pulled away and nodded. “Indeed, it has.” He took Judith in a small hug and placed a kiss on her cheek. She, out of all the Worthington wives, he felt comfortable enough to do this. They had become close while she was falling in love with Trey. “My lady, you are practically glowing. I swear you grow more beautiful every time I see you.”
She rolled her eyes. “And you, my lord, grow bolder with your flirtation every time I see you.”
“Only for you.” He winked.
Once they walked in, Trevor stopped in front of Nic and hugged him. “I must admit, I have missed seeing you as well.” He shrugged. “Your personality rather grows on a person, you know.”
Chuckling, Nic nodded. “I’ve been told that many times, Your Grace.” He took Louisa’s hand and kissed her knuckles. He really hadn’t gotten to know Louisa that well, but she made his friend very happy, and that was good enough for Nic. “It’s a pleasure to see you again.”
“And you as well, Lord Hawthorne.” Louisa displayed a caring smile.
When Tristan walked up to Nic, the two men embraced as if they hadn’t seen each other for years…but in reality, it had been about six months. “It’s good to see you, my friend,” Nic said.
Tristan’s gaze swept over Nic. “I sincerely hope you are keeping out of trouble.”
Diana bumped her arm against Tristan. “Come now, my dear husband. You know Hawthorne better than that. He’s always in trouble.” A twinkle lit her eyes when she grinned at Nic.
He laughed and nodded. “Listen to your wife, Worthington. She knows what she’s talking about.” He took Diana’s hand and kissed her knuckles. “It’s good to see you again.” Seeing Diana made him think of Tabitha, and once again, heaviness grew in his heart.
Once everyone was inside and seated, Nic stood against the hearth. “I still can’t believe you all came to see me.”
The brothers exchanged glances before Trey cleared his throat and looked at Nic. “The letter you had sent me was what encouraged us to come and visit.”
Confused, Nic tilted his head. “My letter?”
“Yes, about Tabitha.” Trey nodded.
“I’m aware what I wrote in the letter, but I’m not sure why my questions had all three Worthington brothers—and their wives—coming to see me.”
Trevor chuckled. “Well, when our wives discovered we were planning this trip, they convinced us they needed an outing as well.”
“That makes sense,” Nic said, “but I find I’m still confused to why you just couldn’t reply in a letter. Why did all three of you have to come see me? Not that I’m complaining, of course, it’s just that…I’m confused.”
“Obviously you’re very confused,” Trey answered as he motioned his hand toward Nic’s attire. “Look at the way you’re dressed. Now, I’m wondering why we didn’t come sooner. I fear, my good man, you have absolutely lost your mind this time. There is no way you could be a clergyman.”
Shaking his head, Nic flipped his hand in the air. “Long story short, my cousin—the clergyman—convinced me to help him catch a thief. Part of his plan was for me to play the clergyman role so that Frederick could sneak around after dark and spy on people.” He shrugged. “So that’s the reason for the facial hair, and for this ridiculous outfit.”
“Thank heavens you had a reason.” Tristan nodded. “I wouldn’t have ever believed you had given up your title as an accomplished rogue.”
“For the right woman, I would.” Nic practically whispered his answer, but he could see the others had heard. All three brothers wore shocked expressions—again, and their wives…well, th
ey were women, so naturally, they appeared very pleased to hear him say that.
“So tell me, Hawthorne,” Tristan said. “Why do you want to know about Tabitha? Your letter to Trey was very…eh…different.”
Nic narrowed his gaze on the middle brother. “Different? What do you mean by that?”
“Well, you see,” Trey answered for his brother, “your letter led me to believe that you might have feelings for Tabitha.”
A quick breath caught in Nic’s throat and this time, he nearly choked on it. Instead, he swallowed hard and shrugged. “As Tristan and Diana can probably tell you, I had gotten to know the young maid not too long ago. And of course, I wrongly accused her of murder, for which I will be forever ungrateful. When Tabitha arrived here in town, my first point of business was to make sure she knew how sorry I was. After that, we became friends, and I’ll admit that I began having feelings for her.”
“What kind of feelings?” Diana asked quickly. Her eyes were larger and locked on to Nic.
“I cared about her. Deeply.”
“Cared?” Diana continued her questions. “As in past tense? Do you still care for her now?”
Gritting his teeth, Nic raked his fingers through his hair. Why did he suddenly feel as if he were on trial? All of them looked at Nic as if they were appalled he could have feelings for a mere maid. “Actually, Diana, I still do have feelings for her, although she has already told me it could never go any farther. Simply put, she doesn’t want my affections.”
Although it hurt him to confess the truth, these people were his friends, especially the brothers. They would understand Nic’s heartache. Apparently they had liked Nic’s answer, because their shoulders gradually relaxed.
Confusion filled Nic once more. None of this made any sense. He could understand Diana’s concern, because Tabitha was a close friend, but why the others? Why all three Worthington brothers?
Taking a deep breath, Nic moved away from the hearth and to the window. He leaned against the wall and folded his arms. “Now will someone be so kind as to tell me why this matter is so important to you? Why does Trevor and Trey care about how I feel in regards to Diana’s friend? And why did you all feel it important enough to travel all this way to come talk to me?”
Tristan stood and hesitantly moved toward Nic. The middle brother’s eyes never left Nic’s face. “Well, you see, Hawthorne.” He scrubbed his hand over his chin. “About six months ago Diana and I discovered a secret about Tabitha. In fact, it was the very evening I was stabbed. Remember that?”
Nic nodded. “Yes, I recall you telling me about that night.”
“Well, Tabitha saved me, along with my beautiful Diana, but Tabitha had been harboring a secret for many years. That night was when she told us about who she really is.”
Nic wasn’t sure he liked the direction this conversation was taking. The beat of his heart pounded a different rhythm. Even the palms of his hands were moist with uncertainty. Did he really want to know? Would it change his feelings at all? She had been hiding something from him, but obviously, she didn’t feel it important to tell him. “What’s her secret?”
Tristan stopped in front of him. “You remember when my father was alive and all the scandals he’d created and all the affairs he’d been in?”
“Of course. I think all of London knew about that man.”
“Well, you see,” Tristan continued, “Tabitha came from one of our father’s affairs. She’s our half-sister.”
Nic gasped for air as his mind tried to absorb what Tristan had just confessed. Glancing at the others around the room, Nic realized this information was true. All of them nodded as they met his gaze.
“She’s your sister?” he asked his friend.
“She is.” Trey moved from his spot beside Judith and stood beside his brother. “Believe it or not, we are very happy to finally have a sister. In fact, we had arranged a story that would welcome her into our family, but Tabitha was the one who needed more time to deal with everything.”
Tristan nodded. “We had planned to tell everyone that she was Father’s recently acquired ward, and that she had come to us to launch into society. By telling society that story, we knew they’d accept her without questions asked.”
Nic remained silent for a few awkward minutes as he tried to grasp the shocking information. This was the reason her status had changed from being a maid to having a maid beside her. This was the reason Tabitha’s wardrobe looked more expensive. He was certain his kind and benevolent friends would have given their sister a yearly allowance. And…this explains why he always felt he’d known her—that she looked familiar.
Yet it didn’t explain why Tabitha still thought of herself as a maid. She kept repeating how a marquis and a maid could never love each other the right way. So what was really keeping her from following her heart? Was there something about him she didn’t approve of? Could it be possible that she still hasn’t forgiven him from when he accused her of murder?
He shook that thought out of his head. That couldn’t be it. She did have feelings for him! Her body had responded to him like a woman who was attracted to a man. Her passionate kisses had told him how much she desired being in his arms, and even her tears had told him how heart-broken she was over the thought of a marquis and maid not being able to love each other.
So why had she ended it with him? Unless…
He held his breath. Perhaps she wasn’t as worried about being a maid as being an illegitimate child from a duke. She was probably extremely embarrassed.
Chuckling, he shook his head. “The puzzle pieces are starting to come together now. Tabitha’s a secretive woman and would never tell me why she came to North Devon looking like a true lady with a maid by her side. She even held herself a little straighter than she had as a maid. Of course, her charming sense of humor and attitude didn’t change much from when I’d first met her.”
“Lord Hawthorne,” Diana said, coming to stand by her husband, “I’m still very apprehensive about your feelings for Tabitha.” She laid her hand on Nic’s forearm. “She was treated badly while working for Lord Elliot, which I’m sure you’re aware of, but she has a very tender heart, nonetheless. She doesn’t need it to be broken again. Please understand.”
He smiled at her. “Actually, I do understand. However, she was the one who ended everything. Yesterday, in fact. She doesn’t want to see me again, I’m afraid. She wants to find a man to marry that’s closer to her station in life. She made it perfectly clear that I wasn’t going to be that man.” He threw up his hands in surrender. “So you see, your worry and your trip, was wasted, because nothing will ever become of my feelings for Tabitha. Ever.”
Diana gave him a pathetic smile and squeezed his arm. “No, Lord Hawthorne, our trip was not wasted. It’s good to see you again, and having the Worthington brothers visit with you is what they’ve wanted to do for quite some time.”
The tenseness in the room seemed to disappear as the brothers all started talking at once, and to each other. Laughing, they each put blame at the other for the reasons they had to come see Nic. He, however, didn’t believe a word of it. Obviously, they were very content with being married and having happy homes filled with children, so why should they worry about Dominic Lawrence at all?
He laughed and participated in the banter going around the room, but deep in his heart, he felt lost and lonely. Seeing his friends and their wives again reminded Nic of what he’d wanted—what he’d been thinking about having with Tabitha lately. And how he was never going to get that with her.
A knock came upon the front door, and he excused himself and went to see who had come. When he opened the door and peered into the frightened eyes of Miss McFadden, his heart dropped. Why would she seek out the clergyman at his home instead of waiting for Sunday to speak with him?
“Good morning, Miss McFadden. What a surprise to see you.”
“Yes, I suppose it’s wrong of me to come to your home, but I really needed to see you.” She glance
d over her shoulder at the coaches. “I fear I’ve come at a bad time, too.” She moved her stare back to him and continued, “But it can’t be helped. We really need to talk.”
He didn’t want to walk all the way to the church, so hopefully because he had guests here, it would be proper to take her into Frederick’s study and speak privately with her there. “Of course. Please come in.”
Once she stepped inside and he closed the door, he turned and led her to the study. As he passed the sitting room, his guests looked his way with curious eyes. He paused at the doorway and told them, “Please excuse me for a moment. Something important has just come up and I need to speak with this lady.” He looked at the girl. “Come, my child. Let’s adjourn to my study.”
Murmurs from the brothers echoed in the room. Nic took a peek inside once more before walking away. He noticed how hard it was for his friends to keep a straight face. Trey and Tristan held grins behind their hands, and the women had turned their heads as so their snickers were not noticed. He tried not to grin, himself. If the roles were reversed, he’d have been cackling with laughter and rolling on the floor by now.
He hurried the girl into the study before she noticed his friends’ reaction and commented on it. Once inside the room with the door closed, he sighed and folded his arms. “Now tell me, what has you in such a worried state?”
“My family has decided to send me to my aunt’s place in North Yorkshire until after the baby is born, which is the right thing to do.”
He nodded. “Yes, that is very good.”
“But as I have pondered this and everything else that has happened with David, I realized something that might be important. That’s why I knew I must tell you. I’ll be leaving tomorrow morning for my aunt’s, and that’s why I’m here now.”
The Sweetest Secret Page 20