Page 64 of Forgotten No More

“I would like to help.”

“And dirty your pretty clothes? I think not.” William chuckled. “This thing looks as if it hasn’t been scrubbed since that last nail was driven into place.”

Harold eyed his brother as he removed his waistcoat and rolled up his sleeves. “You think I am incapable of a little manual labor?”

“Oh, little Harry is all a-fluster now,” William teased goodheartedly. “You are welcome to lend a hand, it is only that I did not want to keep you from any important dealings about town.”

He sensed his brother was testing him—and Harold would pass. Jumping on to the vessel he asked, “Well, sir, where do you suggest we start?”

Chapter 26

Ruby slammed the door behind her, overwhelmed at all there was to think about, and longing to dwell on nothing. Her tears as she’d fled the marquis’ house had surely wiped the cover from her bruised cheek. The trip back to Lord Haversham’s home had passed in a blur, thanks to her ceaseless sobbing. To draw as little attention as possible Ruby had lowered her head, making eye contact with no one. A few times she’d bumped into strangers—with a quiet apology she’d continued on, seeking her room and a place to hide.

She wished she could forget all she’d heard, somehow erase it from her memory and go back to a simpler time.

Before she knew of her mother’s deceit.

Before she’d lied to her best friend.

Before she’d been blackmailed.

Before she learned of her sister—a pickpocket.

And certainly, before she learned her father was a rake of the highest order. A man so despicable he saw no person as exempt from his cruel words, even his own flesh and blood.

She slipped onto the seat before her dressing table and looked at the face reflected back at her in the mirror. Unrecognizable, the face looking back at her held defeat, devoid of all strength. Robbed of the one thing she’d held dear all these years—her ability to push forward, no matter the situation.

But all she wanted now was to flee everyone and everything, disappear and return to the anonymity that had been her life thus far. If she weren’t in London, surrounded by people who only sought to perpetuate false ideals of themselves, then she could focus on what truly mattered.

At this moment, she did not have the faintest idea what that actually was. She’d lost sight of who she was, where she was going, and what her future would hold.

What had she thought to gain by coming to London? She wasn’t capable of the task she’d set for herself, nor had she been prepared for the outcome.

She’d made a mess of everything.

She only hoped it wasn’t too late to clean up the disaster that had become her life. Dipping the cloth in the bowl of water on her table, she cleansed the cream hiding the bruise on her cheek. The injury had turned black and blue almost immediately, then varying shades of purple, but now tones of green infused her skin, signaling the healing had begun.

As her bruise would fade, so would her troubles if given time.

Ruby knew she was changed. Going back to the country mouse she’d been or hiring herself out as a companion to another lady in town would no longer suit her.

The door behind her slammed open, hitting the wall with such force that the mirror before Ruby shook, threatening to fall from its perch.

“Ruby, you will never guess…” Vi’s words stopped when their eyes made contact in the mirror. Her friend’s excitement vanished. “What happened to your face?”

Neither of them moved, or said another word. Vi stood frozen, an evening dress draped over her arm as Ruby continued to stare at her friend in the mirror, her hand cradling her injured cheek as if to conceal the evidence.

“I said, what happened to you?”

Ruby didn’t know what to say—what needed to be said to reassure Vi she was all right, there was nothing to fret over, and to leave her room without uttering a word to anyone, especially Lord Haversham.

“Do you think I have not noticed your sneaking about?” Vi asked, breaking their eye contact. Relief flooded Ruby as Vi moved to the bed and laid the gown down. “I have given you space—time to work on what has been bothering you, weighing you down. I’ve been patient, waiting for you to come to me and share—”

“It is not like that, Vi.”

“Then tell me what it is like. Why you have been so distant, why you came to London, why you leave the house through the stables only to return hours later by hired hack. Please,” Vi threw her arms into the air. “By all means, tell me what I did to cause you to lie to me. To use me for whatever you are after here in town.”

Vi was mad, spitting mad, and Ruby knew that she alone was responsible.