Filed To Story: Alessia Mistaken as Mistress Book PDF Free
If they had been in that compartment that night, they might still be alive. So you see, I am responsible for their deaths. That is something I will live with for the rest of my life.
That and the lies. I lied to you and pretended to be Claire so that I could take advantage of you until my leg was healed and I was able to make it on my own.
Enclosed you will find a list of all the items I have taken with me. As soon as I am settled and have a job, I will repay you for the clothing and food and the time spent in your home.
I can never repay you for your kindness, nor for the sin of lying to you and for the loss of your son and brother. I can only tell you how very ashamed and sorry I am.
I don’t know if you can find it in your hearts to not hate me. For the things I have done, I hate myself.
You have no reason to believe me, but now you must see I have nothing left to lose, so I want you to believe this: Stephen was a good man. He knew how to love. He was a son and brother to be proud of. I was but a stranger, and he and Claire showed me kindness. You would have liked Claire, I know. Cherish their memories.
Sincerely, Alessia Thornton.
Alessia folded her letter with the list inside and sealed them in an envelope. On the outside, she carefully penned Nicholas and Leda’s names, then tucked it under her pillow.
As soon as Nicholas was gone in the morning and Gruver returned, she’d place the note in plain sight and leave.
Nicholas arrived home early, in a good mood and hungry.
“Mr. Halliday, sir,” Penelope said. “Your mother requested that I ask you to join her in the parlor as soon as you arrived home. She has a guest.”
To his surprise, he found Judith Marcelino. His mother appeared decidedly uncomfortable.
The young woman wore a vivid green dress, something resembling all the fabrics Claire had given to the iron workers’ wives. The bodice bore a plunging neckline, and he drew his eyes from the area she strove to accentuate to her pale green cat eyes.
“Mr. Halliday,” she said, offering her ungloved hand. “I’ve been waiting for Claire most of the day. We had an appointment.”
“And she’s not here?” he asked.
“She left me a note that she’d gone to the Cranes’,” Leda said. “But she always returns by now. And she’s taken William with her, which is unusual.”
“Well, she is his mother,” he stated.
“Yes,” she agreed. “And the Cranes are no longer sick, so I guess it’s normal for her to go calling and take him along. She does enjoy visiting them.”
“But she’s always back by now?” he asked.
“Yes. She always oversees dinner. And it’s odd that she’s forgotten her appointment with Miss Marcelino. That’s unlike Claire.”
His mother seemed truly upset over Claire’s lateness. To set her mind at rest, he’d summoned Gruver.
“Gruver, did you have a time agreed upon to bring Mrs. Halliday home from the Cranes’?”
“I didn’t take her to the Cranes’. But I did take her to Youngstown.”
“Youngstown! And when were you supposed to return for her?”
“She said she arranged for transportation home, sir.”
“Where, specifically, did you drop off Mrs. Halliday?”
“Specifically?” He swallowed. “At a jeweler’s.”
“Why there?”
“She asked me if I knew where she could sell jewelry for the best price.”
Nicholas’s mind ran in circles. What jewelry was she selling? And why? She had no need for money. The whole thing sounded so bizarre-as though she were running away. But why would she?
If she was all he’d originally suspected, had she met someone and run off with him? But why would she keep it a secret?
He turned and looked at his mother. She stared at him in disbelief.
“Oh, you poor dears,” Judith said. “I was afraid of this. I came to warn you, but it appears I’m too late.”
Nicholas moved to stand before her. “What do you mean?”
She stood and moved her body directly beside Nicholas’s. “I knew Claire back in New York, and she always went with the fellow with the most to give. Don’t take it personally.” Tucking her arm through his sympathetically, she allowed her generous breast to brush his coat sleeve. Nicholas couldn’t help but get an eyeful when he looked down at her.
He moved away.
“I’d check for the silver and jewels,” she added with a knowing sidelong glance.
“Why, Claire wouldn’t-” Leda began.
“Wouldn’t she?” Judith cut her off. “You didn’t think she’d run out without so much as a by-your-leave, either, did you?” She moved to sit beside Leda and take her hand. “Oh, you poor thing. I know how distressed you are.” She touched the fingertips of one hand to her own chest in a dramatic gesture. “And rightfully so. I can’t bear to think of that dear sweet baby with that irresponsible woman.”
Leda’s gray eyes opened wide, and she stared from Judith to her son in shock. “You don’t think-oh my…”
Nicholas sat beside his mother, placed his arm around her shoulders and glared at Judith over the top of her head. “You’ve seen her with the baby, Mother. You know she’ll take good care of him.”
“Oh, yes, I’m sure she’ll take care of the Halliday heir,” Judith said quickly. “He’s worth a fortune, after all.”
“What was your business with Claire?” Nicholas asked her quickly, before she could say more to upset his already distressed mother.
“She owed me some money. I can see I’m not going to get that now.”
“What did she owe you money for?”
“I made her a loan to help her out of a scrape back in New York. She kept saying she’d repay me.”
“How much?”
She eyed him consideringly. “Let’s not worry about that right now. You have enough on your mind, what with the baby missing and all. I’ll leave you to-to tally your valuables.”
Nicholas tried not to let his mother feel his distress. The Marcelino woman rubbed him the wrong way. Or was it his own humiliation rubbing him raw? He’d been deceived but good, and the fact rankled.
“Gruver, see Miss Marcelino out.”
Gruver directed a scathing look at the woman. “My pleasure.”
“Now, do call on me to do anything I can,” she said in a sugary-sweet voice, and patted the reticule she’d been holding snugly beneath her arm. “I will be praying for your little William’s safety.”
Nicholas waved her off and Gruver ushered her from the room.
“I can’t believe Claire would have done this, Nicholas,” his mother said shakily. “Can we be sure something dreadful hasn’t happened to her?”
“You heard Gruver, Mother. She left of her own free will.”