The Heart's Appeal by Jennifer Delamere

Author:Jennifer Delamere
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Historical Fiction;Man-woman relationships—Fiction;London (England)—Fiction;Love stories;Christian fiction;FIC042030;FIC027170;FIC027270
ISBN: 9781493413638
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2018-01-04T05:00:00+00:00

Michael was awakened by a loud knocking on the outer door. He fumbled in the dark for a match to light the oil lamp, his mind scrambling to think what could be the matter. Whoever wanted him at this late hour could not be bringing good news. He could only think the worst—that something had happened to Corinna or David.

By the time he’d made his way to the door, Rawlins was already there, unlatching the bolt. Michael watched as his valet opened the door about a foot and peered out into the dark passageway. “Who’s there?”

To Michael’s surprise, he heard a woman’s voice on the other side of the door. “Please, sir, is Mr. Michael Stephenson here? I must speak to him right away!”

Rawlins turned to look at Michael for instructions. “It’s a woman, sir. And a man is with her.”

Before Michael could respond, the woman poked her head through the door. “Are you Mr. Stephenson?”

Michael tightened the sash on his dressing gown and ran a hand through his hair. But there was no way to look presentable after being roused from bed in the middle of the night. “I am. Who are you? Have you come from the Barkers?”

But even as he asked, he couldn’t think why they would send two servants to deliver a message. Certainly they wouldn’t send out a young girl like this, for she looked no older than twenty. Her clothes also looked very damp. He couldn’t account for that, as both the day and evening had been fine.

His mention of the Barkers did not even seem to register with her. She rushed forward and said, “Oh, thank God we’ve come to the right place!”

By this point Rawlins had also admitted the man. He was a grizzled older gentleman with shabby clothes, holding a tattered hat in his hand. He remained just inside the door while Rawlins kept a suspicious eye on him.

Michael looked at the woman, still flummoxed. “May I ask what your business is with me?”

Looking at him with wide, hopeful eyes, she said breathlessly, “My name is Caroline Bernay. My sister is Julia Bernay. You know her, I believe?”

The mention of Julia brought all sorts of new questions to mind, and no less worry. “I know her. But why—”

She launched into a rapid-fire explanation. “I don’t live in London. I’m only here for a week. I’m a nanny—oh, that part doesn’t matter. I was spending the afternoon with Julia, and we went to someplace called Bethnal Green to help deliver a baby, but we were out late and got caught up in a fight and—oh! Now she has been taken off by the police!”

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