"I don't know if I could ever forgive such a betrayal." Olivia shook her head while stirring milk into her tea. "It's too great."

"He had his reasons," Alice said. "They may not have been the best, but I can sympathise with him."

Looking down at the book in her lap, Ivy tried to remember if she'd got to that part of the story yet. She usually finished the book club's books quickly, but she was distracted since Sam left and only read half of it.

"What was his betrayal again?" she asked, only to be met by five sets of eyes staring at her. Making a wry face, she added, "Sorry. I haven't got through the whole book yet."

They were all sitting on a few picnic blankets in Ravenscroft's garden, enjoying another beautiful summer's day. For the first time in a few weeks, every member of the book club was accounted for, and they were discussing the latest book by one of their favourite authors.

"Did you not enjoy it?" Nell asked.

"I did. I just—"

"She's been busy pining after Mr Hemsworth." Lily grinned and leaned out of the way when Ivy swiped at her. "Our parents received a letter from him, but they won't tell us what it says."

Olivia squealed. "Ooh! Do you think he has hinted at his intentions of asking for her hand?"

"I don't know." Her cheeks burned, and she focused on the book in her lap. Was that what Sam's letter had said? It frustrated her that her parents refused to say anything.

"Judging from how nervous our mother is since receiving it, I think so!" Lily was much more confident than Ivy about the contents of the letter. If it was good news, surely her parents would have told her? What if Sam had said he would not return, and they were too worried about hurting her feelings by telling her?

A hand on her arm startled her. She looked up to see Nell giving her an encouraging smile. "I'm sure it's good news," she said. "Anyone with a set of eyes can see that Mr Hemsworth is utterly taken with you."

"Thank you, Nell. I hope so." She lifted the book in her lap slightly. "Let's focus on this for now. Fictional love stories are much easier to navigate."

An hour later, Ivy and Lily walked the three miles back to Orchard Cottage, with Darcy dashing back and forth whenever he found something new to investigate. As they rounded the bend near the cottage, Darcy suddenly rushed off, barking loudly.

"Darcy!" Ivy hurried her steps to follow the dog.

"What is he doing?" Lily complained.

Once Ivy got past the hedges and the front of the main house came into view, she stopped. A fancy carriage stood to the side and her parents waited outside the house entrance. Something about the tense set of their shoulders gave her pause. Something was wrong.

Then Sam stepped out from behind the carriage. He looked as handsome as she remembered in a tan raiding jacket and black breeches. Darcy bounced around him with his tail wagging at high velocity.

"Mr Hemsworth!" she called out.

He stopped, and his gaze met hers. There was no sign of a smile on his lips, and he looked unusually sombre.

"Miss Edwards," he said, taking off his hat and bowing slightly.

Was he being so formal because her parents were watching? She didn't care; she was just so happy to see him. Increasing her speed, she walked across the courtyard. The door to the carriage opened behind Sam, and a man and woman stepped out.

Sam knew exactly the moment Ivy saw Lady Wycliffe. Her steps faltered and her mouth opened slightly. A frown crept onto her face as she tried to make sense of what she saw.

It must be quite a shock, to see a woman that looked so much like her. He'd sent a message to ask the Edwards to prepare her at least somewhat for what was to come, but when he arrived a short while ago, they had admitted to being unable to do so. While it frustrated him, he could understand their reluctance to admit to their daughter that they weren't actually her parents. A lie so large, it seemed impossible to move past it.

How could he blame them? His lie had been for a much shorter time, and yet he dreaded the fallout.

The line between Ivy's brows deepened as she took in Lady Wycliffe's appearance. Anyone could tell this was a fine lady from the cut and quality of her green dress and the obviously fine carriage she'd emerged from. The older woman held steady even as her eyes gleamed with unshed tears as she drank in the sight of the daughter she thought she'd lost. Her hand gripped her husband's like a vise, as if she was forcing herself to remain immobile.

Turning to the Edwards, Ivy shook her head slightly. Mrs Edwards stood next to a stone-faced Mr Edwards, wringing her hands in front of her.

"Ivy!" The youngest, Lily, came up behind her sister before coming to a full stop, her eyes widening as she caught sight of the visitors. "Ivy, why does that woman look like you?"

"M... Mother?" The vulnerable tone in Ivy's voice as she questioned Mrs Edwards nearly broke Sam's heart. "What is going on? Who are these people?"

Mrs Edwards burst into tears. "I'm so sorry, Ivy! We wanted to tell you, but..." She drew in a shuddering breath. "We didn't know how."

With no clear answer from her parents, Ivy turned to him. "Sam? What are you... Why did you bring these people here?"

He steeled himself for what was to come, feeling like the worst kind of person to upend her life in this way. "Ivy," he said softly, wishing he could take all the pain and confusion from her. Instead, he had to be the one inflicting it. "I haven't been entirely honest with you. I'm a private investigator and I came here for a case."

Ivy's blue eyes glanced at Lady Wycliffe before returning to him. "What was the case, Sam?" Her voice was an octave higher than usual, and there was a thread of steel in it he deserved.

"They had tasked me to find out why money was being sent to this address for the last twenty years." There was no point in dragging it out and forcing her to keep questioning him, so he forged on. "I discovered the dates matched you coming into the Edwards' lives, and that the Earl of Highwood had been to see you here. It all pointed to you being his illegitimate child until I met his daughter. It would appear that you're her child, and the earl hid you from her because she was unmarried when you were born."

Lady Wycliffe took a hesitant step forward. "I was told you were stillborn," she said quietly. "If I had known you were out there, I would have searched for you until the end of the world."

Ivy shook her head. "No. This can't be." She turned to the Edwards. "Mother? Father?"

Mrs Edwards was busy crying into her handkerchief, so Mr Edwards responded. "It's true, my darling. I had met the Earl of Highwood in my work as a solicitor in London a handful of times for some business ventures. We were expecting a child around the same time you were born, and Highwood was desperate to save his daughter's reputation. He devised this plan where we could pretend to have twins, and he gave us Orchard Cottage and a stipend so you would grow up lacking for nothing."

"We lost the child," Mrs Edwards said in a thick voice. "But you were such a blessing in our lives, and we took you in as ours. Because I had so recently been with child, no one questioned your arrival."

"Moving to Tilbury where no one knew us helped, too." Mr Edwards raked a hand through his thinning blond hair. "We're so sorry, Ivy. You were never meant to find out. I didn't know Highwood never told his daughter about the arrangement."

"In our eyes, you've always been our daughter," Mrs Edwards added, before bursting into tears again.

Ivy looked from the Edwards to the Wycliffes, then back again, still shaking her head. Tears glittered in her eyes. "No," she whispered. "No, this cannot be."

Before anyone could react, she turned on her heel and ran. Darcy immediately followed, and a moment later, the two of them had disappeared around the hedges. Everyone stared after her, and Sam cursed softly under his breath. He supposed it had gone about as well as it could be. They had just dropped a terrible revelation on her. Anyone would struggle to accept such news.

Lily shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. "Should I go after her?"

"I'll do it," Sam said. "It's at least partially my fault."

Viscount Wycliffe stepped forward, his dark brows drawn. "Are you sure that's appropriate? There is no chaperone."

"I think, considering the circumstances, we can allow some leeway," Lady Wycliffe said. "They are obviously close, and Mr Hemsworth knows her better than we do. He might be exactly who she needs to speak to right now."

Mrs Edwards nodded. "I don't think she will wish to speak to either of us right now." Her gaze met his. "Please, Mr Hemsworth. Bring her back home."

"I'll have a horse brought around." Mr Edwards disappeared towards the stables, presumably to find a stableboy.

Sam inhaled deeply. He had to find Ivy and he would answer every question she had. Assuming she would even speak to him after his betrayal. The wounded look in her eyes as he told her who he was haunted him as he readied to leave. How could she ever forgive him after he had brought her whole life crashing down around her?

~~~~~~