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Chapters (71)
  1. Copyright Notice
  2. Dedication
  3. Part One
  4. One
  5. Two
  6. Three
  7. Four
  8. Five
  9. Six
  10. Seven
  11. Eight
  12. Nine
  13. Ten
  14. Eleven
  15. Part Two
  16. Twelve
  17. Thirteen
  18. Fourteen
  19. Fifteen
  20. Sixteen
  21. Seventeen
  22. Eighteen
  23. Nineteen
  24. Twenty
  25. Twenty-One
  26. Twenty-Two
  27. Twenty-Three
  28. Twenty-Four
  29. Twenty-Five
  30. Twenty-Six
  31. Twenty-Seven
  32. Twenty-Eight
  33. Twenty-Nine
  34. Thirty
  35. Thirty-One
  36. Thirty-Two
  37. Part Three
  38. Thirty-Three
  39. Thirty-Four
  40. Thirty-Five
  41. Thirty-Six
  42. Thirty-Seven
  43. Thirty-Eight
  44. Thirty-Nine
  45. Forty
  46. Forty-One
  47. Forty-Two
  48. Forty-Three
  49. Forty-Four
  50. Part Four
  51. Forty-Five
  52. Forty-Six
  53. Forty-Seven
  54. Forty-Eight
  55. Forty-Nine
  56. Fifty
  57. Fifty-One
  58. Fifty-Two
  59. Fifty-Three
  60. Part Five
  61. Fifty-Four
  62. Fifty-Five
  63. Fifty-Six
  64. Fifty-Seven
  65. Fifty-Eight
  66. Fifty-Nine
  67. Sixty
  68. Sixty-One
  69. Books by Barbara Taylor Bradford
  70. About the Author
  71. Newsletter Sign-up

Moira nodded. “Lawrence accused me of taking her jewels. I hadn’t. Also, I was frightened by his growing animosity and his threats.” Moira swallowed, and felt a cold chill run through her. “He threatened to report me to the Constabulary for theft, and said they would come and arrest me. When I said I would come to see you, he struck me, shook me and threw me down on a sofa. I was terrified; I thought he was going to strangle me—kill me, actually. He was so enraged. Then he locked me in my room.”

“But he’s your half brother; you grew up together. I simply can’t understand why he behaved in such a brutal way.” Robert was incandescent with sudden anger, furious with Lawrence, and couldn’t wait to confront him, take him to task.

“Lawrence has a violent streak. He’s like his father, Lord Andrew Fitzgerald Chandler. I lived through many of his rants with Mother. Anyway, when I mentioned your name again, he told me you were all ashamed of me because I was illegitimate. He called me Mother’s bastard, and said that none of her cousins wanted anything to do with me, that you wanted me out of the family.”

Moira sat back, and realized her eyes were moist. She brushed her hand against her face. In a low voice, Moira said, “Lawrence told me that it was my misconception that anyone in Mother’s family cared about me. He added that you didn’t, that you couldn’t stand me.”

Robert’s face changed. Again a look of rage crossed it, and he exclaimed, “I can’t believe this. He lied! Henrietta loved you more than anyone in this world, except for your father, of course. It was unbearable to us all that she was already married to Andrew, then tragic when your father was killed. Lawrence knew how special you were to them. But I’ve always sensed hatred emanating from him. Lawrence has the air of evil around him and I’m afraid he resented your place alongside him in the family.”

“You are right. The night he attacked me, and locked me up, I knew I had to leave. I was terrified he would bring the Constables to arrest me. So I packed a bag during the night and left at dawn, climbing out of my window. Tommy, one of our grooms’ son, helped me—he was taking the boat to Liverpool.”

“Why didn’t you come to me? Or to one of your mother’s other cousins?” Robert asked, a troubled expression in his blue eyes.

“Because I believed Lawrence. I felt that without Mother, I was an outcast, a stain on the family honor.” Moira’s eyes had filled with tears. “And I had almost no money, only a few pounds left after I paid the boat passage. It was much more expensive than I realized to come here. I was scared.”