Heir Reclaimed by Grayson Aubrey

Author:Grayson, Aubrey
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-12-19T00:00:00+00:00

Eleanor’s mouth dropped open. The nerve of Barbara... Or possibly Cordelia...portraying yesterday’s scene that way. If anyone had acted inappropriately, it had been the two of them, gossiping like a couple of common fishwives. But still the words stung as though she had been in the wrong, and she realized it must have been this way for Jonathan. All the talk of him, always in the papers and always lies. She had thought he should just brush it off, but now that she was experiencing it for herself, she could concede that it hadn’t been that simple.

Desperate for a new line of thought, her eyes moved to the next article. There was a summary of a dinner and ball held the previous evening by a military man Eleanor didn’t know. And then a list of all the upcoming society events, including the Westons’ ball on Monday.

Still restless, she flipped the page and came upon a page of advertisements for all things. Rooms to let for ladies. Tulips for sale if the purchaser would only bring his own shears. A family looking for a governess.

But there in the bottom corner of the page was something that finally caught her attention. It was just a series of letters, with a bit of punctuation thrown in.

“LTZNLBKMENQJIDOOUZORKMACA/ BTJOVPKUGDQKXSTBHPRSZM/ ZZRGKJRUJVYGGSARTVADW. 5.”

Her heart started to beat a little faster at the idea of a puzzle to solve. Was this a secret code? She and her father used to play little games with ciphers. Substituting the alphabet for a backward version or for one that started with “E” for Eleanor or “P” for Papa. But this looked more complex than the games they used to play.

She heard a commotion in the hall and guessed that Amelia had arrived. They had agreed to breakfast together before calling on Lady Weston to review the details of the ball. Truly, Lady Weston had the thing well underway, and she didn’t need them at all. Eleanor suspected she was simply including the sisters out of kindness. Which made Eleanor like the woman all the more.

She carefully tore the cipher from the newspaper and tucked it into her pocket just as her sister stepped into the room.

Unbidden, a grin rose to her lips. “Amelia. I still haven’t gotten used to seeing your beautiful face!” She rose and embraced her sister.

“I know what you mean. It is the same for me. Just imagine that just a few short years ago, we were so used to seeing one another that I used to pray that you and Susannah would marry young just so I could have some time away from you!”

“You didn’t!”

“I did, and don’t try to pretend you always loved the sight of me, either. I remember being scolded for breathing too loudly!” Amelia’s expression softened her words.

Eleanor chuckled. “Well, we were sisters, weren’t we? But now I know what being separated from you is like, feel free to breathe at any volume you wish.”

Amid their giggles, Eleanor directed Amelia to the sideboard.

“Excellent!” Amelia said.

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