She watched himsitting with his elbows on his knees, hands folded in front of him.He stared straight ahead, focusing on nothing in particular. Hemade quite the impression, his wavy dark hair blowing in thebreeze. He said nothing for an unmarked stretch of time. Gwensensed he was on the verge of telling her something terriblyimportant.
Crispinstruggled for the right words. He surprised himself at his desireto tell her everything. So far what had revealed, she had handledwell and it had felt good to share it with her. From his fears ofabandonment, his reluctance to be held, to sharing his memories ofMaria, he’d never felt better, lighter, yet never had he felt morevulnerable.
“When I was sixteen, I received a letter,” he started thenpaused for courage. The feel of Gwen’s hand on his arm gave himthat courage. Where he once would have recoiled from that smallgesture, he now welcomed it. “Apparently, I have or had an unclewho decided to track me down.”
“An uncle? Wow… That’s a good thing, isn’t it? What did he sayin the letter?”
“Not much in the letter, just that he would like to meet me. Hewould either send plane tickets or come to me. He had somethingvery important to discuss.”
“What did you do?”
“Nothing. I folded it back up in that very same envelope youdiscovered this morning and never gave it another thought, untilnow.”
Gobsmacked,Gwen sat staring at him. That letter was addressed to CrispinHewson from someone of the last name Harlow, of Harlow Manor. Itall came at her and suddenly she was excited beyond belief.“Crispin Hewson? Is that your real name then? So this Harlow ofHarlow Manor? Would he be your uncle?”
“Who the hell knows? Who cares, really?”
“You mean you never followed up on it?”
“I was sixteen. Having grown up to believe I had no one. I wasangry. I didn’t want anything to do with whoever this was. Iconvinced myself it was a mistake and that I was not this CrispinHewson person. It’s probably a mix up of some kind,anyway.”
“So, you never heard from him again?”
“I took off shortly after my sixteenth birthday. I emancipatedmyself and left the system. If there were more letters, I never gotthem.”
“And you never wrote back or called?”
“Like I said, I was angry and I didn’t want to believe it. Howcould I have had family and be left to fend for myself all thoseyears? And if this Harlow person is truly my relative, then whydidn’t he care to find me sooner? When it would have made adifference!”
“Maybe he didn’t know,” Gwen said, giving his arm a squeeze.“You have the letter with you. You must have brought it hoping tolook into it, right?”
“Perhaps, but that was before you came along. Now I’ve got you.I don’t need anyone else and I don’t really care to go backwards.What’s the point?”
“Aww… thank you,” she said with a smile. “You really do haveme.” He leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips. “But I thinkyou should pursue this letter.” She frowned when he groaned androlled his eyes. “Come on, Crispin, you must be curious at the veryleast.”
“It’s pointless, though. It’s a mistake. Obviously, this isjust a case of mistaken identity.”
“Really? How many other Crispin’s have you met?”
“Well, how do I even know where that name came from? Crispin…It’s a rather ridiculous name. I mean, I liked it enough to keep itbecause it was different from all the Mikes and Peters andshit.”
“I love your name. It’s unique, different. Likeyou.”
“Thank you, I’m glad we agree on the importantthings.”
“What if we just looked up the address and did a littleresearch? I mean we’re right here and the town on the envelope isin the nearby Cotswolds, is it not?” When he nodded, she decided tomake him an offer he could not refuse. “Tell you what… instead ofhaving tea with Mr. Darcy at the Jane Austen museum, we’ll spendthe afternoon taking a scenic drive.”
“Well, gee, there’s a choice if I ever had one,” Crispinsnarked, then pulled her in under his arm. “Now, listen here. I’llagree to check this out, but only from a distance. I have nointention or need to go knocking on doors like a patheticstray.”
“Whatever you’re comfortable with,” Gwen agreed. “But you oweit to yourself to find out if you do indeed have family in thearea.”
Chapter 31
Inspired anddetermined to see this through, Gwen and Crispin returned to theB&B and got the letter, checked the address on the envelopeagain and got in the car. Before long, they were driving throughthe Cotswolds, an area of Gloucestershire dotted with charmingvillages and rolling countryside. Gwen tried keeping the situationlight by remarking on the picturesque scenery and how lovely thetowns were as they drove past. She would have liked to stop andlook around but sensing Crispin’s tension, she didn’t insist. Therewould be time for that on the way back. For now, they were headedtoward Harlow Manor.
Having gottenlost in a labyrinth of winding roads, they stopped for directionsin a local pub. At first sight of Crispin entering theestablishment, the old man behind the bar, and a few of hiscustomers couldn’t help but stare. Looking back and forth from theaddress on the envelope to Crispin’s face, the man was obviouslythrown off for some reason. It was almost unnerving the way hepaused for the longest time before speaking. Gwen couldn’t help butwonder what the problem was.
“Harlow Manor?” the man repeated.
“Yes, this address here.” Crispin pointed to the envelopeagain. He was about ready to lay into the old codger. Obviously,the man was judging his Gothness and was too horrifiedspeak.
“One moment, please,” said the man as he turned and disappearedthrough a door behind the bar.
“What the fuck?”
