Rowan was too stunned to speak. He was utterly baffled. The ticking of the grandfather clock in the corner of the drawing room seed to echo like thunder in the silent space. A man of his power and standing was rarely caught off guard, but the sheer brutality and scope of the young woman’s words had completely knocked the breath from his lungs.
He swallowed hard, feeling the dry, tight lump in his throat. He slowly lowered himself back into his armchair, gripping the padded armrests tightly to control his emotions and his composure. His knuckles turned white against the fabric.
"Please explain, Miss Flora," Rowan said. His voice was low, careful, and entirely stripped of its usual commanding edge. He leaned forward, his eyes locked onto her tired face.
The young woman nodded. Her hands were still trembling in her lap, but she took a deep, steadying breath.
"Three years ago," Flora began, her voice quiet but clear in the grand room, "Lord Farrington brought a guest to the estate. It was the forr port commissioner. Lord Farrington introduced Lady Celine to him. The old man took a liking to her imdiately. He loved that she was young and innocent. He looked at her like a piece of at at a butcher’s shop."
Rowan felt a sickening twist in his stomach. Celine had only been twenty years old at the ti.
"Lady Celine was terrified, but she was also proud," Flora continued, a sad smile touching her lips. "She blatantly refused his advances and stord off to her room. She wept for hours. She told she was never going to allow that old man to touch her. Instead, she made a drastic choice. She decided she would give herself to Edward."
Flora looked down at her hands. "Edward and I were friends. We grew up together in the countryside. He was a stable hand, but sotis he helps in the house. He was a kind, handso young man, and he loved Lady Celine deeply. I was their middle man, helping them exchange letters, being their confidant when the other is unable to see them. I told Lady Celine that it was a very bad idea. I warned her that her father would kill them both if he found out. But she insisted she would do it. She wanted to ruin her own value so the old commissioner would not want her. And she did it."
Rowan closed his eyes for a brief second. It was a tragic, desperate act of rebellion from a trapped girl.
"For a few weeks, we thought it had worked," Flora said, her voice dropping to a softer tone. "The port commissioner didn’t co to the estate again. Celine and I thought her rebellion worked. We thought it was finally over. We thought she was safe. Until one night."
Flora leaned forward slightly, the mory playing clearly in her mind as she relayed the story Edward had once told her in secret.
"Edward was a very smart young man," Flora explained. "He was quiet, and people often forgot he exists. One evening, Edward was tending the horses late. He overheard Lord Farrington discussing a terrible plan with one of his n."
Rowan leaned forward slightly. "What plan?"
"They were planning how to forcefully take Celine," Flora revealed, her pale eyes widening with rembered terror. "Lord Farrington was going to allow the commissioner to take her from her bed in the middle of the night and carry her away to his private manor. In exchange, the commissioner promised to grant Farrington absolute protection over his illegal shipping routes. He was willing to force a marriage on his daughter for his greed. They even proposed a specific date to carry out the act. They were going to drug her tea and carry her out in the dead of night."
Carcel, who had been standing silently by the window, let out a harsh, disgusted breath. Rowan simply tightened his grip on the chair.
"Edward ca to that night, pale as a ghost," Flora continued. "He told everything. He said he had only a week before they carried out the act. He knew he had to save her, but he was just a stable boy. He had no money and no power. So, he decided to fight the Earl the only way he could. He decided to find proof of the smuggling."
Flora’s voice filled with a quiet pride for her fallen friend.
"Edward knew the Earl locked his most private docunts in the study. But he needed the key. The next morning, He bribed the footman whose duty was to brush the mud from Lord Farrington’s riding coat. The Earl had left his keys in the pocket. Edward did not steal them, because the Earl would notice imdiately. Instead, Edward took a small, soft piece of candle wax from his pocket. He pressed the heavy brass key deep into the wax to make a perfect mold. Then, he placed the key exactly back where he found it."
Rowan raised his eyebrows. It was an incredibly risky move for a simple servant.
"On his half-day off, Edward took the wax mold to a cheap, blind locksmith in the farthest village," Flora explained. "He had a duplicate key made. That very night, when the house was completely asleep, Edward sneaked into the dark study. He searched everywhere. Behind paintings, under the rugs, inside the desk. Finally, he found a loose wooden panel behind the bookshelves. He pried it open and found a small iron safe."
Flora took a shaky breath, her hands twisting her skirt again.
"He found the ledger," she whispered. "A thick book containing all of Lord Farrington’s transactions with his illegal activity. The bribes, the smuggled silk, the untaxed tobacco."
Rowan was confused. " Smuggled silks?" He asked.
Flora nodded. " He helped his brother in law twenty years ago to smuggle highly poisonous silk laced with rcury for a shiny appearance and it was for the Queen."
Rowan blinked.
Flora then continued with Edward’s story. "Edward stole the ledger. He tucked it into his shirt and locked the study back up perfectly."
Rowan leaned forward, composing himself once more. "He had the evidence. Why didn’t he go to the local magistrate?"
"He didn’t know what to do with the ledger," Flora answered sadly, tears filling her eyes. "He was a poor boy trying to go against a man with imnse power. The local magistrates were all friends of the Earl. They had benefited from him one way or the other. If Edward handed them the book, they would simply burn it and hang him for theft. He knew it wouldn’t end well, but he wanted to try. His only goal was to elope with Celine, to get her as far away from that house as possible, since no one in her family could protect her then later he would go against her father."
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