(COMPLETED)
It's 1817 and there is nothing more a woman wants than to marry a rich man and live a life of comfort.
But not Nancy Brooks. Having spent half her life helping her mother run her laundry shop and the other half in the local library, Na...
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Oxford, England
October, 1818
Andrew was surprised to hear someone call his name in the middle of the crowded train station. Confused, he looked around and, to his even greater surprise, saw Sarah hurrying toward him. He raised his eyebrows.
"What are you doing here?" she asked breathlessly.
"I think I should be the one asking you that. Why have you followed me all the way from London to Oxford, cousin?"
"Did you come to give her the divorce papers?"
Andrew laughed. "Don't pretend you don't know." He resumed walking and heard Sarah's footsteps following him. "I owe it to her to give her the papers myself instead of posting them." He glanced back. "And I would appreciate if you did not follow me any further."
"You're just making excuses to see her again."
He rounded on her. "Of course I want to see her one last time. Why don't you go running back to my mother and tell her that?"
Sarah looked hurt. "Andrew, I want to talk to you."
"Well I don't want to even look at you right now." He had reached the carriage that was waiting for him outside the train station.
Sarah grabbed his arm. "Please, Andrew. I know I have no right to ask anything of you, but please listen to me."
Andrew freed his arm from her grasp and sighed. "Come on then."
When they entered his Oxford house a few minutes later, the servants seemed to be expecting them, though Andrew had not informed them that he would be arriving. He suspected Sarah was behind that and wondered what she had finally decided to tell him. Sarah made sure the bedroom door was locked and that the servants were sent away before finally turning to Andrew.
"You might want to sit down."
Andrew folded his arms, glaring at her. "You are in no position to tell me what to do right now, cousin. I think you lost that right quite some time ago."
Without warning, Sarah's eyes filled with tears and she collapsed onto the bed. "Forgive me, Andrew." She began to sob. Caught off guard, and despite his anger, Andrew could not help feeling concerned for his cousin.
"Sarah, calm down." He tried to soften his voice. She continued to sob. Andrew sat down next to her and awkwardly slipped an arm around her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. "What is it, Sarah?"
"You are going to despise me," Sarah said between sobs, trying to compose herself again.
"I could never despise you, Sarah." Despite their strained relationship the past few months and his deep sense of betrayal, he knew deep down that Sarah was just another victim of his mother's vicious plans.
