Her Mother Forced Her to Marry a Stranger… But Her “Poor” Husband Hid a Shocking Secret
Chapter 6
They returned to the farmhouse before dawn.
Neither spoke.
Clara slept for several hours.
When she woke, Samuel was gone.
On the table was a note.
I went to Bellford. Stay here. Lock the doors.
Clara was furious.
She waited until midday.
Then she followed him.
Bellford was a small village built around a market square.
Clara entered through the rear of the town.
She found Samuel speaking with an elderly bookseller.
The moment Samuel saw her, his expression changed.
“You shouldn’t have come.”
“I am tired of being told what I should do.”
The bookseller smiled.
“She has her father’s courage.”
Samuel looked away.
The old man gave Clara a packet.
“Your father left this with me.”
Inside was a letter.
Edmund Whitmore had written it months before his death.
He explained that Richard had discovered the trust and wanted to control it.
He also revealed something about Eleanor.
“She knows,” the letter said. “But I have asked her to pretend ignorance until Clara is safe.”
Clara’s eyes filled with tears.
Her mother had not betrayed her.
She had been trying to protect her.
The letter continued.
“Samuel Hale is the only man I trust completely.”
Clara looked at Samuel.
“He knew you would come here,” Samuel said.
“He trusted you.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Samuel smiled faintly.
“Your father saved my life.”
“How?”
“Years ago, when my family lost everything, your father discovered that the bankruptcy had been engineered. He helped me escape.”
Clara stared.
“So our families were connected.”
“Long before we met.”
The bookseller interrupted.
“There is more.”
He produced an old map.
A mark had been drawn beneath an abandoned estate called Ashcombe Hall.
“The final trust records are there,” he said.
Samuel’s expression changed.
“That place is guarded.”
“Then we go tonight,” Clara said.
Samuel shook his head.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“You could be killed.”
“So could you.”
He looked at her.
For several seconds neither spoke.
Then Samuel smiled.
“You are becoming difficult.”
“I was difficult before you married me.”
“I know.”
