“There is only one reason why you would want to keep such a thing a secret,” Edwin pointed out. “You were planning on doing something wicked.”
The thought of someone writing to his sister with the intention of harming her in any way made Edwin furious. He felt helpless just sitting here, unable to do anything else but read the letters this scoundrel had been writing to his sister, right under Edwin’s very own nose. He could not take it. He felt like punching a hole in the wall to get this rage out of his system somehow, but he managed to control himself. He didn’t want to frighten Lydia. He didn’t want her to think that he wasn’t able to control his actions.
“Don’t think in such a manner.” Lydia tried to calm him down. “Rachel is out there, waiting for us to find her.”
“Us?” He lifted his gaze to meet hers. Once again, there was that word.Us.
“Well… yes, us,” she sounded a bit confused but quickly regained her composure. “I am your sidekick, am I not?” she smiled.
“You are,” he smiled back. “You are also –” he started, but the door suddenly burst open, and his mother appeared.
Her eyes floated from him to Lydia then back at him. He could see the disgruntlement in them. She was displeased with something.
“Mother, we found letters,” he told her, pointing at the heap in his lap. “Rachel had a secret admirer. We fear he might be the reason she disappeared.”
Her eyes widened at this knowledge, but she didn’t say anything at first. She waited for a moment or two then finally spoke.
“We shall discuss that now, Edwin,” she spoke calmly with a note of disapproval, “but Lady Lydia’s presence here at this hour is highly inappropriate. Needless to say, that you are also here alone, unchaperoned.”
“But we are simply going through Rachel’s –”
“I know,” she cut him off. “I understand what you are doing, and no one is more grateful to Lady Lydia than I am. However, she is a young lady herself, much like Rachel. A young lady needs to pay close attention to her reputation, lest it becomes… tainted by rumor.”
Edwin understood what his mother was aiming at. The two of them were alone in a chamber with the doors closed. Not even her lady’s maid was here to upkeep propriety. His mother was absolutely right. He wanted Lydia’s help. He needed it. But the last thing he wanted was to ruin her reputation in any manner.
“You are right,” he said, standing up, and Lydia immediately followed suit. “I shall see her out.”
“Make sure you do so,” his mother nodded with something that resembled a smile but did not quite blossom into one.
“Your Grace,” Lydia curtsied before the Dowager Duchess, who nodded in return then left the room, making sure to leave the door open.
“I’m sorry,” Lydia said, looking about herself anxiously.
“It is I who should apologize to you,” he corrected her. “I forgot myself. It won’t happen again.”
“It is fine,” she smiled. “I’ll go find Susannah and go home.”
“Lydia?” he started as if wanting to interrupt this silly apologizing, which was utterly unnecessary. He didn’t feel like either of them had anything to apologize for. They didn’t do anything wrong. In fact, they did everything right. They found out Rachel’s secret, and now, hopefully, they were one step closer to finding out where she was. His heart leaped with joy at this realization.
He hated the fact that society made him feel like he had done something wrong. He wanted to be in Lydia’s company. He relished it. She was a wonderful young lady with an even more wonderful head on her shoulders, the same head that would help him find Rachel. However, he knew that society would not see it as nothing. He had to let her go, at least for now.
“Thank you for everything,” he managed to muster.
She smiled so brightly that it illuminated the entire room. “It was my pleasure,” she replied.
What a true pleasure it was, only he dared not say that. Instead, he helped her find Susannah, and then, he walked them both to their carriage. He saw them off, wondering how on earth he would ever let her out of his life again once this mystery was brought to an end.
CHAPTER12
Lydia was still combing her hair when the door to her chamber suddenly burst open, and her two sisters entered, giggling something to each other.
“What on earth is the matter with you two?” Lydia frowned at their reflection in the mirror.
They pretended not to hear her question. “There is a visitor here for you,” Selina announced importantly to which she turned her gaze to Anna’s, and they both burst into a chuckle again.
“A visitor?” Lydia inquired. “Who is it?”
“A young man,” Selina said mysteriously.