"I found her too late to know her."
"What do you mean?"
"You didn't know her memory was failing?" Damon tapped his head. "She was living in a world of her own up here."
"No, I didn't know. But perhaps it was a blessing for her, relief from the ill will she harbored. I'm surprised Uncle Giles never told me. He and I were close and kept in touch. Maybe he didn't know about Mother's condition either."
"How did you come to marry Cyril instead of my real father?"
"He was a bought husband, a tenant farmer on our estate, who was paid handsomely by my mother to marry me-enough to buy his own farm in the islands. Mother was furious that I'd fallen from grace, and that I'd done so with a married man who couldn't make it right. But Brian and I were deeply in love. You can't fight love, darling."
"You can when you must."
"But I didn't have the will to. And I've never regretted the results. You. And Cyril was a good father to you. He was even a good husband to me for a few years. He loved us both, even knowing that you weren't his. But his realization that he couldn't really make me happy began to fester, which caused him to drink-and that led to his gambling. The profits he made from his crops just went to pay off his gambling debts. And he kept demanding more money from me."
"Agatha gave you money before kicking you out of her life?"
"No, she was going to send me off penniless, but my grandfather, even as angry as he was at me, gave me money before I left. But what I'd done caused a rift between him and his brother, Giles, because Giles introduced me to Brian, his neighbor in Essex. My mother and grandfather both blamed Giles for not chaperoning me properly."
"Then why would your grandfather leave me this property?"
"It's been in the Reeves family for centuries, but it's not the entitled estate. Giles has that-and I know he will be delighted to reinstate you as his heir when he learns the astounding news that you are alive. Soon after you were born, I wrote to Uncle Giles, told him of you, and he informed his brother, my grandfather. Sadly, my grandfather died without reconciling with his brother. But a male heir is still a male heir, illegitimate or not, and I was married before you were born, which took the edge off that."
"I know where Hawke took you, but I still don't understand why you left me that day, why you didn't return for months. Did you leave so you could be with Brian?"
"Damon! Of course not. I'd had no contact with him since I left England because I thought he was still married. I didn't know he'd been widowed. I left because Cyril thought I had an endless supply of money when I didn't. It was just a matter of time before he found it and squandered it. I felt I had no choice but to take us away before that happened. I was afraid for your future. I wanted you to attend university."
"You could have hidden your money where he couldn't find it. You could have told me we were leaving the island, instead-"
"You were so young! I was afraid you'd tell Cyril."
He realized he was blaming her now. First Hawke, now her, when it was ultimately his own fault that he hadn't gone with her that day. "I'm sorry. I just feel robbed of all the years I could have been with you, too."
"Yet I did come back for you that year. I waited a month for Captain Hawke to return to help me retrieve you. When he didn't, I hired three men to escort me back to collect you, but they robbed me of all but a little of my money, and I had to get a job in Port Antonio to earn passage. That's when I wrote to Giles to tell him how dire my situation had become. I thought he would just send me money. He sent Brian instead."
"I can't believe Cyril would tell you that ridiculous tale of my death. Did he know you were back and sent me away so I wouldn't be there?"
Sarah frowned. "Possibly. He had many friends in that town, and it took Brian hours to find a carriage to drive us to the plantation. But we weren't coming to steal you away. As Brian, your real father, is the Marquis of Marlowe and he was with me, there was no doubt that Cyril would have had to give you to us. I know you loved him, might even have fought to stay with him, but, Damon, he is not your real father. You belonged with me, should have been with me all these years. You might forgive Cyril for that dastardly lie, but I can't. I didn't get to see you grow up!"
///
She started crying again. Damon was torn between wanting to comfort her and still being angry over what she had revealed. He was a bastard. And, oh, God, how ironic that Jack had named him that. His chances with her had just dropped a hundredfold.