Foundation of Love: The Gypsy Blessing 2 (27 page)

“I forgot all about it, but I received one earlier, too. I had just walked up to speak to Smith.” She rolled her eyes. “I thought it would be rude to pull out my cell and check it. By the time I heard the first reminder, I was... well, too
busy
with Smith to be able to look.”

After the two pictures he had received, and the one that replaced the first—none of which he had wanted Elizabeth to see—William understood why she kept the screen angled away from his sight. She wanted to look at it before showing it to him. He wondered how many of her photos she had not shared.

Elizabeth paled.

“What is it?”

“I’ll never put off looking at a picture again.” She handed the phone to him. “This would have been warning enough to prevent me from going into that trailer. I probably would have told him we’d wait in separate cars until you arrived.”

The photo showed the moment William had pulled Smith off her.

“I got almost the same one,” William said, then continued in his thoughts,
Except I wasn’t there yet.
“They sent mine earlier, though—while I was still on the plane.”

“My uncle said you were supposed to be landing around the time he called me.”

“I sent a text to Gardiner while you were...” He gestured to the bathroom. “For now, I told him only that the deal went through.”

She raised one eyebrow. “Are you really going to pull out of the investigation?”

He frowned. “I’ll have to talk to your uncle about it.”

“Well, if my opinion counts, I think you should continue.”

William’s expression became more serious. “Of course it does, but I’m surprised you feel that way.”

“It seems like Larry is finally stepping out from Dan’s shadow, and Dan is going to have to change his tactics or be taken off the case. Smith and the people he’s working for
must
be caught. It frightens me to think that anyone has paid for false reports without contacting the police. How many will do so in the future if we let it continue? Even if only one person is injured due to a careless mistake that a
real
inspector would have noticed and cited, it’s too many. There will never be as perfect an opportunity to catch these people as there is with Lambton. Besides, from what Dan told me, construction on Lambton Village would soon have to stop until the investigation is solved—no permits or Certificates of Occupancy are being approved without paying the
overtime pay
Smith spoke of.” She shuddered. “If I can be of any help, count me in.”

“Even after what happened just now, you’d risk being involved?”

Elizabeth nodded, and then smiled slyly with a teasing twinkle in her eyes. “I want to see that mansion built!”

~%~

William followed Elizabeth to the Bennett home. He didn’t tell her so, but he felt it necessary to make certain that Smith—and Dan—had not followed her home.

Elizabeth asked him to stay for dinner. “Afterwards, I’m determined to go through the rest of Elizabeth Darcy’s things in that trunk. Do you want to help?”

Do I want to spend hours alone with you? Yes, absolutely!
William answered aloud, “Sure.”

~

Elizabeth went in ahead of William, to give him a little privacy on his phone call to his sister to let her and Mrs. Reynolds know he wouldn’t be home for dinner. Upon walking in, she found her father in the great room, reading.

“Hey, Dad!” She came up behind where he was sitting on the couch and kissed him on the top of his smooth head.

“Hello, my Lizzy. How are things at the store?” Although he was still using a walker around the house, his speech had improved dramatically since his minor stroke.

“Everything’s fine. I’m late because I had to cover a meeting for Uncle Ed.” She came around the couch to face him. “Will is here; he’ll be in after his phone call.” She gestured toward the door. “He’s going to stay for dinner and then, if you don’t mind, we have some stuff to do in the library.”

He looked at her over his reading glasses. “Does it have anything to do with that big trunk you’ve brought down? I had forgotten all about it until I saw it there.”

“I thought it wouldn’t interfere with the walker in that corner... It’s not in your way, is it?”

“Not at all.” His eyes tightened. “As long as it’s not in view when the door is open, your mother will be fine.”

“That trunk upsets Mom?”

“Yes, any time she sees it, she becomes agitated. She feels she had wasted too much of her time on it. Didn’t your grandmother or mother ever tell you the story about that trunk?”

Elizabeth shook her head.

“Well, then, sit with me for a minute.” As soon as she was perched on the edge of the couch across from her father, he began, “Several days after you were born, the trunk was delivered to my mother by a messenger. Your name was already carved into the trunk, though the last ‘t’ had been left off. The messenger told her he’d come all the way from England to deliver the trunk in order to satisfy a very old agreement. He seemed quite relieved to be rid of the thing, in fact. He made your grandmother promise she would not give it to you until you were eighteen. Then he left.”

Mr. Bennett took a sip of water. “When your grandmother’s health was failing and she moved in with us, there were several items stolen from the moving truck. The police never recovered any of them. Although your grandmother was mildly upset about the loss of the other items, losing the trunk sent her into a panic. For quite a while, your mother and I took her once a week to all the antique dealers, flea markets, and pawnshops within driving distance, hoping to find it. When she became too ill to continue the search, she made your mother promise to do it for her.”

Elizabeth tilted her head to the side. “You know, I
do
remember mom dragging us kids to antique shops and flea markets all over the state. I guess that’s why?”

Mr. Bennett nodded. “After a while, since your mother couldn’t find the one with your name on it, she began buying any antique trunk she could find, hoping to finally make your grandmother happy—she even had one carved with your name—but my mother always knew it wasn’t the correct trunk. The search continued until your mother brought home that one.” He gestured toward the library and chuckled. “I had never seen your grandmother that happy.”

Elizabeth just blinked at him in shock.

“So... William is staying for dinner, eh? Still ‘just friends’?”

So completely preoccupied by his story, it took a moment for Elizabeth to realize he’d spoken again. She answered distractedly, “Will would never be interested in me for more than that.” Sorrow fell over her features.

Mr. Bennett’s eyebrows rose up high in response.

When she realized what she had said, she blushed intensely. “I, um... I should let Mom know Will is staying for dinner. Be right back.” Elizabeth disappeared into the kitchen.

~

William knocked on the front door as he stepped through it. “Hello?”

Mr. Bennett raised his arm and waved him into the great room. “In here, William.”

After hanging his jacket on the coat rack, William joined Mr. Bennett, settling into a couch across from the older man. “How are you feeling, sir?”

“Much better. I wanted to thank you for taking care of Lizzy.” At William’s confused expression, Mr. Bennett clarified. “When she hurt herself at the picnic, and then having her stay with you during the storm.”

“It wasn’t a problem, Mr. Bennett.” They sat in a very uncomfortable silence for a minute or so before William spoke again. “A few of my men came over to remove the tree. The pool liner was torn in several places. It’s been repaired.”

Mr. Bennett nodded.

William felt stifled by the elephant in the room. They hadn’t discussed his not pursuing a relationship with Elizabeth since the ribbon cutting ceremony. Maybe it was time he addressed it. “I haven’t...” He took a deep breath and started again. “I’ve never...”

“Elizabeth told me.”

William opened his eyes wide in surprise. “I don’t understand.”

“Yes, she told me you could never be interested in her, so I assume you’ve listened to our advice.”

William found it difficult to breathe.
Could she
want
me to be interested?
Something about Mr. Bennett’s tone told him she might.

Mr. Bennett sighed deeply, and mumbled, “I’m not sure anymore... Which would cause her more harm?”

“The last thing I want to do is cause her harm, sir.”
Please don’t ask me to stay away from her completely. I don’t know if I could.

Mr. Bennett nodded. “I know.”

William was wondering if he had said
all
of that aloud when Elizabeth came into the room.

“Everything okay with Georgiana and Mrs. Reynolds?” Elizabeth wore a smile that could have lit up a city.

How can she smile like that after what she just went through at the trailer?

“Yes... They’re going to a movie.” William felt a little bit dazed.

Elizabeth furrowed her brow and tilted her head, as if questioning whether he was all right. William nodded slightly in response, and then glanced at Mr. Bennett, whose gaze was alternating between the two of them.

“Dinner will be ready in about a half hour. I need to change.” She gestured toward the stairs.

“Go ahead, Lizzy. I’ll entertain William,” Mr. Bennet replied.

Chapter
20

Once Elizabeth arrived in her room, she decided what she really needed was a shower. Certain that William would understand if she took a little longer, she grabbed some fresh clothes and headed for the bathroom.

As she massaged shampoo into her hair, washing away the remnants of her
meeting
, she hoped to purge all negative thoughts from her mind, as well.

It didn’t work.

What had she been thinking when she confided in her father that William could never care about her as more than a friend? True, her father seemed to think something more might happen between them, so it had only been right to set him straight. But from the look on her father’s face, she knew she had given away her own feelings for William in the process, and it upset him. Obviously, he was against the idea.

Somehow, saying it out loud like that made it more real. Now, not only was she mortified that her father knew of her feelings for William, but she was depressed, too.

Perhaps her father knew William had much more experience with women than she’d had with men, and he feared for her in that respect. William was certainly the type that women lusted after—tall, dark, handsome, and very rich. And when he let his beard grow out a bit... that scruffy look had never been attractive to her before she met William, but with
him
... well, he was magnificent no matter how well-groomed he was. Even while standing under the steaming water, she shivered.

She turned off the water, grabbed a towel, and opened the door a crack. She had to remember to call the electrician and have that fan installed! Her heart stopped when she realized she was standing in the same spot William had been in on that day... Yes,
magnificent
was the correct word.

As far as she knew, her father and William got along well. William had even visited several times in the hospital and at rehab, and again since he’d come home. She hoped now that her father knew how she felt about the man, he wouldn’t hold it against William—that she hadn’t ruined the friendship developing between them.

Elizabeth grabbed her hair dryer and turned her head down to dry her hair more quickly.

Her thoughts returned to her lack of experience.
Experience
? Who was she kidding? Actually, just about anyone could claim more experience with dating than she could with the scant handful of dates she’d manage to gain in college. She had plenty of experience with having male friends, but when it came to spending time with men who were boyfriends, she knew nothing.

Standing upright once more, she found her brush and tried her best to style it, though she knew it would do little good. Her hair always did whatever it wanted.

Even though she now understood that Dan had bullied the boys at school to stay away from her, she couldn’t deny that it probably would have been no different if Dan had minded his own business. Based on what happened at college, it might have been worse.

The few boys she dated in college had seemed to have one thing in mind, and one thing only. At the time, she had almost been relieved that she was considered attractive enough for men to want
that
from her. Almost. But then she remembered how often she had heard certain men described as “chasing anything in a skirt.” She always knew there was an unspoken addition to that statement—that sort of man didn’t care what the girl looked like or what kind of personality she had. And really, the behavior of the guys she had gone out with had proved that’s all it had been—she was a female with abundant curves and that’s all they had cared about.

When the first boy had asked her out on a date, she had been so happy to have a guy interested in her that she had jumped at the chance. The evening had ended up in a wrestling match. Thankfully, with a little knowledge about what a knee could accomplish, she had won. Thinking it had just been that boy’s personality, she accepted an offer for a date with another guy, but the same thing happened. After something similar happened a third time, she swore off men. Those guys had not been truly interested in
her
... They had preyed on her, she felt, because of her obvious naivety.

Just like Wickham had done to Georgiana.

Richard had teased her in the past, saying, “Lizzy don’t need no man for nothin’.” But it was true—she certainly didn’t need to be treated that way. She wanted respect and wasn’t going to settle for anything less.

After finishing up with the hair dryer, Elizabeth applied a dash of mascara and blush.

At least she knew that William wasn’t that kind of man. William had shown her the respect she craved... but that was it. Except for the one time in the conference room when she had thought he was going to kiss her, he seemed interested only in her friendship. It was obvious that she had mistaken his intentions that night, because she had heard enough from her sister and friends through the years to know that he would have tried to kiss her again if he liked her. Wouldn’t he?
Of course he would have.

She had been gratified that, when he was disturbed by talking about Wickham and upon receiving that photo from the gypsies, he had sought out a hug from her. Yes, he trusted her enough not to make more out of his hugging than it was, and she was determined not to let him down. He cared about her in some way, though it wasn’t the way that would make her happiest. She could be content with William’s embrace now and then when one of them was extremely upset... and judging by everything going on in her life lately, that might end up happening quite often.

Elizabeth scrunched her nose at her reflection. “That’s the best it’s going to get!” Slapping off the light switch, she headed downstairs.

It didn’t matter that her father knew how she felt about William, as long as William never found out.
That
would ruin everything.

~%~

William was sitting across from her at the dining room table—sandwiched between her mother at the end and Lydia to his right. Of course, Lydia was sitting just a little too close, but William couldn’t move away without his plate ending up either on the floor or in her mother’s lap. He had already gone to the bathroom three times to take a break from the situation. The third time, as he returned, her mother had provided Elizabeth and her father with quite a hearty laugh when she suggested William should see a urologist.

Lydia granted him her most flirtatious look. “My boyfriend is about the same height as you are. I like tall men.”

“I
did
warn you, William,” her mother declared, “that Lydia would see other men until you decided you were ready to settle down. It sounds like things are becoming serious between Lydia and her boyfriend. You should have heeded my advice.”

Elizabeth tried not to laugh when William looked at the ceiling, as if requesting help from above.

Elizabeth took hold of the opportunity Lydia had provided. “Speaking of your boyfriend, Lydia, does he ever intend to return to work? I’ve been trying to have a meeting with him for weeks now, but he never seems to be there.”

“
I
gave him permission to take some time off to see to some family matters, Elizabeth.” Her mother gave her a stern look. “I am part owner of the business—I have that right!”

“Francis, I put your name on the legal paperwork with the understanding that I was to approve your decisions. I made it clear that Lizzy is acting in my behalf. She has final say in all business matters.” Her father turned to Elizabeth. “Please don’t tell me the boy is being
paid
for his time off.”

“He’s not a
boy
, Daddy!” Lydia protested.

“That is for certain.” Her mother smiled at Lydia in agreement. “George is a very charming young man.”

“I have a couple of his paychecks, Dad.” Elizabeth looked at Lydia with resolve. “I’m not going to hand them over to
anyone
before I meet him and discuss the matter with you again.”

Her father sent his wife a stern look. “You mean that
boy
has used the charm you mentioned to get you to pay his wages while he takes time off?”

Lydia huffed at his repeated derogatory usage of “boy.”

Her mother returned her father’s glare.

Elizabeth cleared her throat. When her father looked her way, she glanced at William, who was currently showing extreme interest in his apple pie.

Lydia spoke up again. “I’ll make sure he comes to see you on Monday, Lizzy. He should be back late Sunday night.”

“Where has he been all this time?” Elizabeth asked.

“California.” Lydia shrugged. “It had something to do with his inheritance.”

William’s phone rang with
that
tone. His head snapped up, and he met Elizabeth’s wide-eyed gaze. She gestured with a nod that he should look immediately, as they had agreed upon earlier in the day.

William excused himself and rose from his chair. Elizabeth’s phone rang just as William had passed out of sight.

“If you both got a message at the same time, it must have something to do with the Lambton Project. Is something wrong?” Her father looked concerned.

“That
is
possible, Dad. I should take it. Excuse me.” She followed William out the door.

By the time she got to the great room, William was sitting with his head in his hands.

“What is it, Will? Are you okay?”

“Yeah,
I’m
all right, but—”

Elizabeth met his gaze. He looked gorgeous, as always, but not
all right
, though even the greenish tint to his skin at this moment became him.

Anxious as she was to find out what had unnerved him so badly, she knew she should look at her own picture as soon as possible. She looked, gasped, grabbed William’s hand, and dragged him to the library.

As soon as the library door closed behind him, she asked, “Tell me... What was yours?”

William started pacing. “Do you know what meeting I came home from today?”

“I assumed it was a business meeting at your office in the city.”

William shook his head.

Suddenly, Elizabeth understood. “Wickham has been found! You met with him?”

“I went to see him myself as soon as my man called... in California.”

“Wickham
is
the same man as Whiccam, our employee and my sister’s boyfriend, isn’t he? His
inheritance
is the money you’re paying him to stay away from Georgiana!” Elizabeth sank into the nearest chair. “He’s been right here, under our noses, all this time—ever since he went missing.”

William nodded. “As soon as he left us at Longbourn, he must have started attending Lydia’s school. She goes to the community college nearby, doesn’t she?”

“Yes.” She started pacing. “But that doesn’t make sense... She said she had a boyfriend named George before that, so he must have met her
while
he was going to Longbourn University. Lydia goes to a dance club in a little town halfway between Meryton and Longbourn sometimes. I bet they met there.”

“It’s possible.”

She stopped pacing suddenly. “Will, did you get pictures of him and Lydia in the office and the warehouse, too?”

He shook his head. The expression on his face made her knees weak, so she sank into the nearest chair.

“He swore he’d take revenge on me... What kind of damage has he done to my sister... to my family’s business?”

“What do you mean, take revenge on
you
? For what?”

She took a deep breath. “Revenge for putting an end to his plans for Georgiana. I thought Anne or Richie would have told you about the phone calls.”

“
You
told me he called and said some nasty things about my family...” His eyes widened. “You
did
; you told me. He said you’d regret helping Georgiana, but...” He sighed and shook his head. “How could I be so stupid? Of course he’d meant he’d take revenge.”

“What you don’t know is that he left a message once, too. Anne heard the message and told Richie all about it.” She could see William’s anger rising. Although she wasn’t sure, she had a feeling that part of the reason behind it was that he hadn’t been informed. “Will, don’t be angry that no one told you. You and I weren’t exactly
friends
back then. I didn’t want them to tell you because I didn’t think you’d believe it after what you accused me of.”

~

God help him, that hurt. He knew it was unintentional and the pain was deserved, but it wounded and shamed him right down to his very core. How could he ever have accused this woman of being in league with Wickham? How he must have hurt her by doing so.

“I’ve tried my best to forget all that. I’m so sorry, Elizabeth. I—”

“I know all about Caroline Bingley, Will. It actually makes a bit of sense that you’d be suspicious of all women’s motivations and that you’d be afraid others could do things as deceitful as she had done. Don’t worry about it. I don’t hold it against you.” She rolled her eyes. “Okay, I’ll admit that I did at first, but not anymore. You’ve become much more reasonable with time.” She smiled slightly.