“You’ve already done so much, Delphine. You’ve proved your loyalty to Eloise a hundredfold.”
He liked Delphine. They had become an unlikely pairing in the search for Alice but were united by a common goal – helping Eloise escape the nightmare she found herself in. Delphine’s loyalty was unquestionable, and Jackson was glad to have her company in this and everything else they had shared together in their hunt for Alice. At his words, Delphine blushed and smiled.
“I wasn’t so keen on the idea at first, Your Grace. You and Her Ladyship getting married, I mean. I was worried about it. She confided in me, you see. She told me everything, how you had promised to marry her to save her from Lord Crawford, and how she was going to marry you so that you’d be able to secure your inheritance.”
Jackson smiled. He could imagine the conversation between Eloise and her maid. It had all seemed a most remarkable plan at the time – fantastical, even.
“I don’t think many would approve of it. But it wasn’t to last. Even as I spoke the words suggesting a ruse, I wondered if there might be more to it than that. I never stopped thinking about her, her beauty, her charm, her intelligence… I fell in love with her the moment I laid eyes on her, even as I tried to convince myself otherwise,” Jackson confessed.
In light of everything that happened, he now realized there had been no ruse – not in his heart. He had fallen in love with Eloise on the night of the Mayfair Ball, and that love had only grown stronger with every passing moment. There was no doubt in Jackson’s mind as to his feelings for the woman he desired most in the whole world. He was in love with her, and that love drove him forward in his ardent desire to save her from Lord Crawford and his wicked plans.
“I believe she felt the same, Your Grace. She fell in love with you that night. There was never a ruse, only the truth of two hearts entwined. That’s why all this is such a tragedy. Her father gave her an ultimatum, she had to find a man to marry before the end of the Season. In you, she found that man, and if only….” Delphine trailed off, and an embarrassed look came over her face.
“It’s all right, Delphine, you can say it. If only I had stepped up to the mark and done what I should’ve done, if only I’d asked her to marry me properly instead of dilly-dallying around the matter for so long. I knew I loved her, and I knew I wanted to be with her. Nothing else should’ve mattered.” Jackson cursed himself again for his foolishness.
The walk in the park, the visit to the theater, the opportunities they had had. He had thought more of pleasure in those moments than their future happiness. But things were different now. This was no fleeting love or hasty courtship. This was a matter of life and death. If Eloise married Lord Crawford, two hearts would be broken – hers and Jackson’s. They were meant to be together. He knew that, and he would do anything to make it so.
“I’m sorry, Your Grace. I didn’t mean to be rude,” Delphine apologized, an awkward expression on her face.
Jackson smiled at her.
“Sometimes, Delphine, a man like me needs to be told the truth. You’re entirely right. I should’ve stepped up to the mark. I failed Eloise spectacularly, and for that, I’m terribly sorry,” he admitted the fact as much to himself as to the maid.
But Delphine smiled at him and shook her head.
“No, Your Grace. You don’t need to be sorry. You made Her Ladyship the happiest I’ve ever seen her. And now you’ve brought fresh happiness to her. You’ve done what she was beginning to believe could never be done. You’ve found her sister, and you’re going to reunite them. Just a few more days and all this hardship will be at an end.” Delphine reached over and took Jackson’s hand in hers and squeezed it.
He smiled at her and nodded.
“You’re right, Delphine, enough of this wallowing in my self-pity. We’ve got things to do,” he declared as their carriage drew up outside his uncle’s house.
The thought of seeing Eloise that day spurred him on. He would send word to Alice immediately and have her come to London in time for the wedding. The hour of reckoning was fast approaching, and Jackson would do anything he could to bring it to pass and rescue Eloise from her fate.
CHAPTER29
Eloise was staring at the piece of paper that Jackson had tossed to her. She lost count of how many times she had read it over. The words were imprinted on her mind. She examined every letter, every curl, every dash. It seemed incredible to think how just these few words could be the realization of everything she had longed for since the morning she had discovered Alice’s disappearance.
“I’ve found her,” she read, repeating the words over and over again.
It was the day before the wedding, and Eloise had heard nothing further from Jackson. She did not know if he was close by, or far away, or what finding Alice would mean. She wondered if Jackson would appear with Alice at the house, and pictured the look of shock on her father’s face if he did so. An uneasy truce had settled on the house in the days following the visit to Madame Jonquil’s. Eloise had been forced to parade the dress in front of Lord Crawford and her father, both nodding approvingly and expressing similar sentiments to Penelope and Claudia.
“Ivory suits a wedding gown,” Lord Crawford had emphasized, and there had been no question of its cost.
But tonight, Eloise was to dine with her father alone. It felt like the last supper, the final moment of calm before the following morning brought with it sorrow. Or did it? Eloise had every hope of rescue. Something was going to happen – the arrival of the note promised as much. She had faith in Jackson, even if she wondered what form her rescue would take.
“Dinner is served, My Lady,” Anderton said, appearing in the drawing room just as the clock on the mantelpiece struck eight O’clock.
“Very good.” Eloise rose from her place by the hearth and closed the small volume of poetry she had been attempting to read.
Her mind was on other things, and she glanced out the window across the street for the hundredth time that day. Dusk was gathering, and she longed to know when Jackson would come and take her away. It all seemed so simple. He would arrive with Alice, perhaps on horseback, the door would be flung open, her father would cry out in rage, and Jackson would sweep Eloise into his arms and she would be reunited with her sister.
“Don’t be so foolish,” she muttered to herself as she made her way to the dining room.
It was a small mercy to dine alone with her father that evening. Lord Crawford and his sisters had insisted on remaining at the house until late on previous nights. But the night before the wedding was considered unlucky, and Penelope and Claudia had taken Lord Crawford back to their lodgings to spend the night there. They would next see one another at the church the following day. Time was ticking, and Jackson was running out of time.
“The time approaches, Eloise,” her father said, as she entered the dining room.
He was not talking about the start of their dinner, Eloise knew that, and she gave a curt nod and sat down at the table. A footman brought in a tureen of soup, and Eloise’s father took up his spoon and began to eat.