Austin didn’t seem impressed by Liam’s explanation, and he shrugged slightly as if the argument wasn’t worth his efforts. Sadie was as steamed as an English teapot, and not willing to just let this go. She glanced quickly at Breanna, ready to fire at Austin with all guns blazing, until she saw Breanna shake her head slightly. Sadie clamped her teeth together so hard her jaw hurt. Restraining herself took so much of her focus that she missed the first few words of what Liam was saying to Breanna.
“ . . . okay here while I check on my father?”
“I’ll oversee the search,” Austin said as he turned and headed out of the room.
That’s it? Sadie thought. Austin could come in and say those kinds of things and both Breanna and Liam were okay with just letting it go? Sadie’s blood was still sizzling in her veins.
“We’re fine,” Breanna said in answer to Liam’s question. Sadie hadn’t dared answer, afraid she’d breathe fire if she opened her mouth. “We’ll wait here—is your phone on?”
Liam nodded, looking a bit sheepish, and then left the room, closing the double doors behind him.
As soon as they were alone, Sadie dropped her arms, balled her hands into fists and let fly the things she’d been holding back. “Of all the arrogant, patronizing, pigheaded, arrogant—”
“You said arrogant already,” Breanna cut in. She walked over to one of the padded chairs the staff had occupied a few minutes earlier and plopped down.
“I can’t believe he said that,” Sadie finished, though Breanna’s interruption had thrown her off her rant. Shouldn’t Breanna be offended by the insinuations Austin had made? “Am I the only one who thinks he’s out of line? No matter who he is or what he’s done to help the earl he has no right to say things like that.” She watched Breanna for a nod or some other gesture to indicate she agreed with her mother, but Breanna just looked thoughtful.
“Who has the energy to be offended?” Breanna said.
“I do!” Sadie responded automatically, rapping her knuckles on the large desk next to her.
Breanna let out a breath and met Sadie’s eyes. “The reason Liam said what he said—about my not wanting the title—is because last night I told him I don’t think we should see each other after we get back to the U.S. I didn’t want to tell you about it until we got home.” She crossed her arms over her chest as if trying to comfort herself, or shield herself from Sadie’s reaction.
“What?” Sadie was stunned. Both at Breanna ending the relationship as well as her keeping it a secret. Sadie hated being out of the loop in regard to . . . well, anything.
Sadie really liked Liam. He was the first serious boyfriend Breanna had ever had and, despite the strange circumstances of his life, Sadie felt they were a good match, which was the first step in overcoming any difficulty in a relationship—well, except maybe this one.
Breanna continued, “It’s been a difficult decision to make, Mom, but as much as I care about him, I know I can’t live this way. And pretending that maybe I can isn’t going to make it any better. It didn’t work for his parents and I’d rather learn from their mistakes than make the same ones.”
“And you told him this last night?” Sadie asked, imagining what it had been like for Liam to hear that. Poor Liam.
Breanna nodded. “It’s been hanging between us this whole trip—whether we were working toward marriage somewhere down the road or not,” she admitted. “And although we’ve both tried to ignore that it was the whole reason for this trip, he finally asked me outright what I expected would happen between us now that I’d seen this part of his life. I couldn’t lie to him, Mom—even if it would have made the last bit of the trip easier. He deserved to know the truth.”
“That you can’t live this way?” Sadie offered, wanting to be absolutely clear on what had been said.
“That I won’t live this way,” Breanna clarified. “I didn’t ask him to give it up for me or anything, but you’ve always told me that my future is based on my choices. It would be foolish for me to expect that my feelings for Liam will always be enough to overshadow the fact that I don’t fit in here and I don’t want this lifestyle. I don’t want to run a household and manage servants. I don’t want to spend my life in a foreign country away from my family, friends, and career. And pretending to agree with social systems I just don’t feel are right would be giving up who I am. I won’t do that to me or to Liam. He deserves to find someone more worthy of his . . . station, or at least someone ready to try. I’m not that girl.”
Sadie was filled with pride mixed with sorrow at what this realization was costing her daughter. Love would not make all those other things disappear, but Sadie also knew that Breanna’s feelings for Liam wouldn’t go away because of her decision. What a heartbreaking reality. Poor Breanna. Poor Liam. “And what did Liam say when you told him this?” Sadie asked.
“He’s been raised for this, Mom,” she said, waving her hand at the opulent library. “He came to the States when he was young but he was still the son of an earl. Even when the people around him didn’t know, he knew. He’d always planned to return to England when he needed to fulfill that responsibility—that’s why he never became an American citizen, remaining true to the Crown, I guess. His duty and responsibilities were something he and his father talked about a lot, but he didn’t expect to come into the title for a long time—Liam’s grandfather lived to be eight-six years old and had been the earl for over forty years. His father has only been an earl for eighteen. To have it happen this soon changes everything.”
“Everything?” Sadie asked.
Breanna dug into her pocket, producing a hair band. She pulled her hair into a ponytail at the base of her neck. It was her usual hairstyle at home, but she’d worn her hair down most of the week. Sadie knew that Liam loved Breanna’s long dark hair, especially when she wore it so that it cascaded over her shoulders and down her back. “Liam called Portland his first life. It was his chosen life and he expected to enjoy it to its fullest before the earldom reached out for him—just as his father had. Becoming the tenth Earl of Garnett would one day become his second life.”
Breanna kicked off her brown leather clogs and flexed her toes encased in brown-and-white striped socks. She seemed to be making a point, proving that she was not a countess. It hadn’t crossed Sadie’s mind that Breanna had been trying to act any part this week, but she had worn her nicer jeans and kept her hair down. For Breanna that was perhaps as much role-playing as she could stomach. She was done now—the pretenses were over. The thought made Sadie a little bit sad.
“It reached out to him sooner than he expected,” Sadie summed up when it felt as though Breanna might not continue.
“And he’s chosen to take its hand,” Breanna said with just a touch of annoyance. She picked up one of the lemon cookies still sitting on the tray and shoved the whole thing in her mouth.
“But, really, does he have a choice? He’s the heir,” Sadie admonished while Breanna’s cheeks bulged out like a chipmunk. She came around the front of the desk and leaned back against it—telling herself that having another cookie was a bad idea even if Breanna had had one. It was always hard to focus when there was food around, and she’d been doing so well up until now.
Breanna looked up at her mother and met her eyes directly. “You’re the one who says we always have choices.”
Sadie hated it when her children used her own words against her. “This might be a little different,” Sadie said. “Can he turn it down?” She finally picked up a cookie, but tried to do the ladylike thing and just nibbled the edges.
“Why not?” Breanna asked. She waved a hand toward the double doors. “You met Austin—or Lord Melcalfe,” she added with derision. “That’s the kind of man Liam needs to be. Liam can barely talk to the staff let alone hire, fire, direct, or chastise them. For all his saying he was raised for this, he’s not ready for this kind of responsibility and if he truly cares about the earldom he would want it to go to someone who could preserve its heritage—its English heritage.” Breanna sighed. “Liam has lived in the U.S. for almost sixteen years and his memories of England revolve around boarding school and summer vacations spent with a governess. He doesn’t have what it takes to manage the holdings of the earldom. As much as I love the man, even I can see that. He’s a zoologist, and a good one at that. He doesn’t belong here any more than I do, but I can see it and he can’t.”
“You love him?” Sadie asked, lifting her eyebrows and putting the cookie down on the tray. Her thoughts had been adequately hijacked. She’d assumed as much, but hadn’t heard Breanna say it outright.
Breanna paused and seemed to sink into the chair a little bit. Her eyes filled with tears, causing Sadie to hurry across the room and sit on the arm of the chair. Breanna turned her head into Sadie’s shoulder. “Oh, why couldn’t he have just been a zoologist in Portland?” she asked in a quiet voice. “And have annoying parents who traveled the country in a Winnebago with a yappy little dog? I’d have even settled for half a dozen siblings who made holidays a nightmare so that we always fought about having to visit them.” She sniffed and Sadie stroked her head as she cried. “Why did he have to be the son of an earl? Of all the rotten luck.”
Sadie wasn’t sure there were any answers to Breanna’s questions, so she said nothing—something she didn’t do very often. For nearly two minutes they stayed that way, then Breanna pulled away, wiping at her eyes that were only slightly red. It was as much of a breakdown as she’d allow herself. Breanna stood up and took a deep breath, working hard to get over her emotions.
“I’m sorry,” Sadie said as Breanna walked to the windows behind the desk. Breanna folded her arms and looked out over the manicured gardens that could have been hers. She was beautiful, framed against the window, her strong cheekbones and full lips lit by the cloud-filtered amber light of evening. Sadie watched her from the arm of the chair. “I’m really sorry for both of you.”
“Thanks, Mom,” Breanna said with a grateful smile, glancing over her shoulder before looking back at the English sunset. “I’m so glad you came with me. I’d have been lost without you this week.”
“I didn’t do much.” Sadie shrugged her shoulders, though she always liked a sincere compliment.
“You were my buffer,” Breanna said, turning to face her. “And you let me enjoy this trip and keep my head on straight. Had it just been Liam and me—well, I might not have been able to be quite so objective and that would have made everything worse. It’s better that this is over now rather than later when we’ve both let our expectations grow.”
Sadie knew she wouldn’t want Breanna to be anything less than honest with Liam, but that thought caused her to wonder about something. “Have you told Liam you love him?” she asked.
Breanna paused, then shook her head. “We’ve both said . . . things, but not that exact word.” She looked at her mother strongly, staring down her nose slightly. “And you do not have my permission to tell him in my place.”
“Of course not,” Sadie said, offended that Breanna would think Sadie would share her personal thoughts. She’d only do something like that if she felt she had to. “I just wondered if he knew.”
“I wasn’t sure I knew until this trip. How ironic is that? I come here and simultaneously determine I am in love with a man I can’t share a life with.”
Sadie felt her own throat thicken with emotion to hear Breanna say such things, but she knew her emotion would only make it harder for Breanna. She thought back to the earlier comment Breanna had made about being glad Sadie had come so as to spare them both the ongoing pain of facing such a sad turn of events.
“Well, I’d have never forgiven you if you’d have left me behind,” Sadie teased, trying to lighten the mood. “And though I’m sad things didn’t work out differently between you and Liam, I’m glad we came. I mean, the English trifle alone was worth the trip. Do you think I could sweet-talk Mrs. Land into making it for us again? There ought to be some perks to staying a couple more days, right?”
“English trifle,” Breanna repeated, not taking the opportunity to change the subject as she looked back at the window. “Maybe that’s all this has been for me—trifling with something foreign.”
Sadie didn’t like any negativity associated with English trifle—it was too delicious for that—so she threw in her own symbolism. “But just like trifle, life comes in layers. This happens to be one of yours and so long as you learn the important things that ensure the next layer is just a little sweeter—well, then it’s not wasted.”
Breanna gave her a look that showed she wasn’t buying it, but then she let out a breath. “Well, this layer has us caught in the middle of a murder mystery without a body.”
“Which no one believes we really saw,” Sadie added, disappointed that Breanna didn’t appreciate her analogy.
“And without a Big Mac in sight to help us cope.”
Sadie was poised to offer up another lecture on the wonderful aspects of English cuisine when the door to the library opened. Austin entered with a thin, gangly looking teenager following behind him. The young man looked as though he were wearing his father’s clothes, as they all appeared too big for him. Sadie was trying to determine who he could possibly be when Austin introduced them to him.
“Breanna and Sadie Hoffmiller,” he said formally. His eyes rested on Breanna for a moment and he looked concerned, something Sadie wouldn’t have expected he was capable of. Sadie wondered if he could tell she’d been crying. Breanna’s whole face didn’t get blotchy like Sadie’s did, but her eyes were still a little red. Breanna looked away from his gaze and after a moment, Austin continued. “This is Inspector Colin Dilree with the Police Authority of Exeter. He’s here to take your statements.”
~ ~ ~
Inspector Dilree? Sadie thought, looking over the man in hopes of finding even the smallest sign of authority she expected from a homicide inspector. She saw none. Instead, he looked as though he’d dressed up as a detective for Halloween.
The inspector smiled, showing a slight gap between his two front teeth which made him look even younger. He hurried forward and held out his soft little hand. He wasn’t much taller than Sadie, which meant Breanna had several inches on the man. “Pleased to meet you,” he said, shaking Sadie’s hand quickly before letting go. He seemed very excited to be here, which worried Sadie at least as much as his adolescent appearance. “Pleased to meet you,” he repeated as he shook Breanna’s hand as well.