Chapter Nineteen

CHAPTER NINETEEN

T hat morning, the first thing that awaited Alistair on his desk was the letter he was expecting. He could think of only one man for the job, and he delivered, just like Alistair knew he would.

He hastily opened the letter, and started to swallow the words hungrily, looking for the information that might ease Hannah's mind. However, what he discovered was the exact opposite.

The man in question is not a merchant at all, the letter read. He is a captain in the English guard. He is known as a rowdy man, a troublemaker. There are several people here in London to whom he owes money.

"Ah," Alistair nodded to himself, tugging at his chin pensively with the tips of his fingers. "It is always about money," he sighed.

He got up and walked over to the window. He wasn't expecting to see anyone, but there was Hannah, playing with Luna. He watched them for a few moments, unable to take his eyes off of her. He was not thinking about the letter, but rather of her, how he wanted to join her and listen to her tell him all sorts of silly stories, while he would drink in the sight of her. He was slipping. That much was obvious. He was on dangerous ground, and he was falling for his wife.

That meant that, in a way, he was betraying himself. He promised himself he would remain true to the promise of avenging himself for the blackmail that pushed him onto this path. However, now it seemed that fate had different plans. Plans that made him forget all about that anger in favor of the most anguished emotion of all: love.

Suddenly, she looked up. His heart clenched, as if that one look could reveal all the commotion inside his heart. He regained his composure quickly, gesturing at her to come up. She nodded silently. It was the perfect opportunity to invite her to come up to him, so he could reveal his findings to her.

Several minutes later, she was seated at his writing table, opposite him, eagerly waiting to hear what he had to say. His heart was still beating madly, and it had nothing to do with the letter in his hand. Her eyes revealed impatience and he didn't want to keep her waiting long. Also, it gave him a reason to focus on something else other than his own torrent of emotions.

"Did ye find anythin'?" she asked, anxiously.

"Aye," he nodded. "But it isnae good."

"What do ye mean?" Her eyes widened in shock.

It was obvious that the point of checking on Colby was to make sure that the man was truly who he was, and that Olivia's heart would not be broken. Now, that seemed inevitable.

"It would be best for ye to read this letter yerself," he said, sliding the letter over to her across the polished surface of the table.

It took her only a moment to read the whole thing. He could see her jaw tighten under the strain of this newfound knowledge. He couldn't even imagine how she must be feeling now, knowing that she would be the bearer of the worst news that was bound to break her sister's heart.

"Are ye certain of this?" she suddenly asked, locking her gaze with his.

"Aye," he nodded, not taking offense. "This is the man I trust to do all me work of this kind. When I need to find out more about someone's past, he always delivers. He has yet to steer me wrong. If he says that this man is nae a merchant, odds are he isnae."

Hannah sighed heavily placing her open palm on her forehead. "I didnae mean any offense," she apologized. "I just…"

"Ye were hopin' that this was a mistake," he finished her thought.

She bestowed a weak, but grateful smile upon him, which he valued more than anything. He looked to the side, at the flowers which were starting to wither, but he decided to keep them there until they were dead and dry. He didn't want to throw them out. They were from her.

Then, he looked at her again. "What do ye want to do now?"

"There is only one thing to do," she said, matter-of-factly. "We need to speak to Olivia."

"We?" he asked. "Daenae ye think that this might be better discussed between two sisters?"

"Nay," she shook her head. "I… I want ye to be there, with me. Will ye?"

He could hear fear in her voice, hope, and other emotions he could not quite recognize, because it was all an amalgamation. She loved her sister dearly. And only now could he finally understand why she said that she wished Olivia would leave. If she left, she would not be able to see Colby Johnstone any longer. In other words, Hannah already sensed that there was something wrong about that man, and this letter proved that she was right. So strong was her sisterly love, that she was able to see through that man's cunning disguise.

"If ye want me there, I will be there," he smiled reassuringly. "But ye need to do all of the talkin'. Olivia will listen to ye."

Hannah shook her head. "I doubt she will listen to anyone right now. That man is all she sees."

"But this letter proves that his intentions arenae pure."

"I honestly daenae ken if she will even believe us," she admitted, sounding defeated. That is why I need ye there, to assure her that the contents of this letter are genuine, and that this man is a liar."

"All right," he nodded. "I will do me best."

"I just hope that our best will be enough to get her out of the clutches of this man," Hannah said woefully. "I honestly daenae ken what he even wants."

"He is in debt," Alistair reminded her. "He is probably hopin' to marry Olivia, for access to me and me wealth."

"That has to be it," Hannah agreed. "I daenae see what else he could possibly want with her."

"If that is the case, then the problem is easily solved," Alistair concluded. "If we cannae convince her to stop wantin' him, we have to show him somehow that he will nae get anythin' from us."

He noticed that he said us. Because, after all, his wealth wasn't just his own any longer. It was hers as well. At least, as long as they were married. A surprising thought blossomed inside his mind. He hoped that they would continue to remain married for a long time, that Hunter's blackmail would not change what Alistair had with Hunter's sister. It was all wishful thinking, hoping even, but for one precious moment, he allowed his heart to dream.

"Maybe we could mention this somehow next time he visits?" Hannah wondered. "Which should be today," she frowned.

"He's been here every single day," Alistair pointed out something they both knew. "It is too much by any account."

"Isnae it?" Hannah asked. "I thought I was bein' overprotective, because with Hunter gone, I have to take care of her. But this letter proves that I was right all along."

"Always trust yer gut, Hannah, always," he advised her. "That is what got me this far in life. People will betray ye, but yer gut never."

She looked at him sadly. "Have ye been betrayed before?"

"Aye," he nodded. "It isnae a good feelin'. But ye survive."

He couldn't handle the way she looked at him. So lovingly, filled with tenderness and sympathy. He wanted to grab her into his arms and never let her go, so she could kiss away all those aches left from betrayals he had suffered in life. But he couldn't do that. He couldn't become so vulnerable before another person, especially the sister of the man who was blackmailing him.

"Come," he suggested. "It's best we find Olivia immediately and tell her the news."

Hannah had to admit that this wasn't what she was expecting. She needed reassurance regarding this man who had her sister completely bewitched, and now it seemed that he was a fraud, and God knows what else. Hannah shuddered at the thought that he was able to look at them so easily and lie to them to their very faces.

She and Alistair found Olivia in her chamber, reading a book. Silently, she was probably waiting for the moment when their visitor would arrive, as he did every single day at roughly the same time. That meant they had two more hours before his arrival.

"Olivia, there is somethin' we need to discuss with ye," Hannah said, feeling the weight of this conversation already bearing heavily upon her soul.

"What is it?" Olivia asked, closing her book and straightening in her chair, which sat by the open window.

"We need to speak about… Colby," Hannah revealed.

"Colby?" Olivia frowned. She already didn't like the sound of this.

Hannah wondered if perhaps she made a mistake in asking Alistair to come with her. Perhaps Olivia was now seeing it as an attack on her and her love for Colby. But the truth was that Hannah needed Alistair by her side. She needed him for support, because this felt like the most difficult thing she ever needed to do: break her sister's heart.

"Aye," Hannah nodded, turning to Alistair, who smiled reassuringly. "I came to Alistair for help about him, and we tried to find out more about him and his family, just so we could be certain that his word is honorable and that his promises could be trusted."

"Ye went behind a man's back?" Olivia asked, seemingly to clarify what happened in the last couple of days.

"Nae one went behind anyone's back," Hannah shook her head. "If anything, he was the one doing that."

"What do ye mean?" Olivia sounded confused, so Hannah rushed to explain.

"We found out that he isnae a merchant at all," Hannah spoke calmly, although everything inside of her was boiling. "He is a captain in the English guard."

Olivia thought about it for a moment, then she shrugged. "Is that all?"

Hannah was shocked. "What do ye mean is that all ? He lied to ye."

"Perhaps he was a captain of the English guard and now he's a merchant, or the other way around. But the bottom line is that one isnae worse than the other."

"But he lied to ye!" Hannah exclaimed, repeating the same thing.

"Maybe he did, and maybe he dinnae," Olivia defended him with all her might, just like Hannah thought she would. "Did ye ask him to explain?"

Hannah was taken off guard by the question. "No."

"See?" Olivia frowned. "Perhaps he would have had an explanation if ye had cared to ask him."

"How could he explain a lie?" Hannah was adamant. "And who knows what else he lied about?"

Olivia kept shaking her head at her sister. "It was obvious to me from the first day that ye dinnae like him. But I never thought ye would go to such lengths to keep us apart!"

"I daenae wish to keep ye apart, Olivia, please believe me," Hannah spoke as calmly as she could, although this was becoming increasingly more difficult with each exchanged word. "I merely wish to keep ye safe."

"And ye have been doin' that by chaperonin'," Olivia pointed out. "If ye wanted to ken anythin' about Colby, all ye needed to do was ask. He would have told ye the truth, I am certain of it."

Hannah sighed. This conversation was obviously not getting them anywhere. What was worse, she felt that by pushing this further, she would also push her sister away, right into the arms of that man, which was the last thing she wanted to do.

"If he dinnae tell the truth about his work, what makes ye think he told ye the truth about anythin else?" Hannah asked one last time. "It would have been so easy to lie to ye because ye believe every word he says."

"I believe him because me heart believes him!" Olivia was now standing in the other corner of the room, and it seemed that she was in direct contrast with Hannah and Alistair, who stood opposite her. They were on different sides of this matter, and Hannah feared that they were growing more and more apart with each passing moment.

"This is true love, Hannah," Olivia said, looking incredulously at her sister. "Ye ken nothin' of that. Ye cannae ken because yer marriage was arranged. Ye dinnae ken each other. But we… Colby and me, we love each other, and ye are tryin' to keep us apart!"

Hannah looked helplessly at Alistair. She didn't know what she expected of him. If she herself could not force Olivia to see sense, she doubted Alistair would be able to. However, then, she heard him speak.

"It is true what ye said," Alistair stated. His words immediately calmed down the storm brewing inside the confines of these four walls.

"It is?" Olivia sounded softer, more pliable.

"Aye," he nodded. "We should have spoken to him as well and asked him about all this. Perhaps there is a reasonable explanation."

"Of course, there is," Olivia was certain of it.

Hannah could not believe what she was hearing. She brought Alistair here to be on her side, not on Olivia's. But one look at him revealed exactly what he was doing. He was merely endeavoring to calm Olivia down by agreeing with her, because she refused to see reason. That man had her wrapped up around his little finger. They needed her to see them as her allies, not her enemies, and Hannah was working in the opposite direction. He needed to bring them back on the right path.

"We can ask him when he comes today," Olivia looked at Hannah victoriously.

"That isnae a good idea," Alistair shook his head, sounding even more reasonable now.

"Why?" Olivia wondered.

"Simple," Alistair shrugged. "We've been arguin', all of us. We need a clear head to discuss this. So, it's best to just sleep on it and discuss it with him tomorrow or some other day, levelheadedly. Doesnae that sound good?"

Olivia thought about it for a moment, then she nodded. "Aye. Could we do it like that, Hannah?"

Hannah could do nothing else but agree. "Of course, Olivia," she smiled at her sister, walking over to her and taking her by the hand. "All I want is to see ye happy. Please, believe that."

"I do believe that," Olivia smiled back. "But I also ken this man. Me heart kens him."

Hannah inhaled deeply. "If that is the case, I shall believe ye."

"Thank ye, dear sister," Olivia squeezed Hannah's hand gratefully. "I ken ye mean well."

Hannah felt like this conversation didn't end the way she hoped it would. Olivia was still as infatuated with that man as she was before it. However, Hannah knew that something was wrong. She knew that she needed to be more vigilant and stay with her sister and Colby the whole time, not letting them out of her sight. In addition, she would listen to all their conversations from now on.

Because that man was hiding something. She just didn't know what.