She Loved a Poor Gardener—Then Discovered He Was the Heir to a Fortune
Chapter 3
Autumn came early.
The gardens turned gold and red.
Thomas worked longer hours preparing the estate for winter.
Clara spent more time with him.
One evening, she found him standing alone near the old greenhouse.
“You haven’t eaten.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“You’re lying.”
Thomas laughed.
She handed him bread and cheese.
He accepted them.
“Thank you.”
Clara sat beside him.
“Thomas.”
“Yes?”
“Where are you really from?”
He stared through the glass.
“Far from here.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
“No.”
He smiled.
“My father was a merchant.”
“Was?”
“He died.”
“I’m sorry.”
Thomas nodded.
“My mother died when I was young.”
“Then you have no family?”
He hesitated.
“Not one I can trust.”
Clara turned toward him.
“What happened?”
“I made enemies before I was old enough to understand what enemies were.”
She wanted to ask more.
Instead, she rested her hand beside his.
Their fingers touched.
Neither moved.
Then Thomas whispered:
“Clara.”
She looked at him.
“I cannot give you the life you deserve.”
She smiled.
“I never asked you for a life.”
“Not yet.”
“What are you afraid of?”
Thomas looked at her.
“You.”
She laughed softly.
“That sounds ridiculous.”
“It isn’t.”
He looked down.
“You’re the first person I’ve wanted to protect from the truth.”
Clara’s smile faded.
“Then perhaps you should trust me with it.”
Before he could answer, a carriage arrived at the manor.
A black carriage.
Two armed men stepped down.
The steward hurried to meet them.
Thomas saw them through the greenhouse glass.
His face went completely still.
Clara noticed.
“Who are they?”
Thomas shook his head.
“No one.”
But they were not no one.
They were messengers from the city.
And they carried a letter bearing the same silver crest as the ring.
The next morning, Thomas disappeared.
No farewell.
No explanation.
Only an empty cottage behind the gardens.
Clara searched everywhere.
He was gone.
Three days passed.
Then seven.
On the eighth morning, a letter arrived for Lord Blackwood.
The steward read it and turned pale.
Clara saw the seal.
The silver crest.
She knew immediately.
It concerned Thomas.
But when she asked, the steward refused to tell her.
That night, Clara made a decision.
She would find him herself.
