Chapters (71)
- Copyright Notice
- Dedication
- Part One
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Part Two
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Part Three
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Part Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Part Five
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Fifty-Seven
- Fifty-Eight
- Fifty-Nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-One
- Books by Barbara Taylor Bradford
- About the Author
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For a moment, she thought of fibbing, but she changed her mind. He had known her all of her life, knew her inside out, and anyway, he had a good sense of humor, and she liked to make him laugh.
Taking a deep breath, she said, “I’m a lady’s maid.”
He stood looking down at her, obviously flabbergasted, and then he noticed the laughter in her expressive eyes, and began to laugh himself.
After a moment, he said, “You are joking, aren’t you? Pulling my leg?”
“No, I’m not. That’s what I’ve been doing since I got to Leeds. I am a lady’s maid.”
There was a moment of silence. Robert looked slightly stricken, and without another word he led her into the small study he favored, closed the door and said, “You owe it to me to explain everything.”
Forty-Eight
Moira sat down on a chair and said, “I’m sorry I’ve caused you anxiety. Please forgive me.” She looked at him pleadingly.
“There’s nothing to forgive, and perhaps I should have tried harder to seek you out. But it was very unclear what had become of you, once the house was sold, and your mother’s other cousins and I were at something of a loss as to who you could be staying with. And I’ve had a lot of business to deal with,” he explained with a smile, sounding chagrined.
“You always do; you’re tireless.” Opening her purse, she took out an envelope and handed it to him. “My mother told me to give this to you.”
“Thank you. How have you been surviving? Do you have any money?”
“A little, enough to manage at the moment. Mother gave me all she had left before she died, but that was used on the traveling.”
He nodded, and said quietly, “So tell me everything that has been happening to you, please, Moira.”
“It was Lawrence who put me off coming to you at Bolton Manor. He had managed to convince me you were all against me, because I’m illegitimate, and because scandal surrounded me. He said my mother and John Clairemont flouted all the rules of decency and you were furious—”
“But that’s not true!” Robert exclaimed, cutting across her. “I loved Henrietta, and I knew she had had a difficult life with Lord Andrew, Lawrence’s father. He frittered her fortune away, and it was a relief for everyone when he died. Though he turned a blind eye to the love affair with John, he wouldn’t release her from the marriage, and she couldn’t leave you and Lawrence.” He let out a long sigh. “Do continue, my dear.”
“Through the Irish friend, Tommy, I managed to get to Leeds, as I just told you. I was taken to Mrs. Wilson’s house, and she gave me a job and a roof over my head.”