So, this was where the Baroness lived!
I needed to find her. Now that I was here, I wasn't that nervous about the prospect of locating her. I mean, the place was about as big as the estate that I grew up on. If I had managed to find her twice in London, locating her here would be no problem. The thing about small towns was, everyone tended to know each other. I walked up the street, passing a couple small shops until I came across a pub and walked in. There were a couple of people sitting at the bar. It looked much the same as the old-fashioned pubs in London, but with a homier, warmer feel. I took a seat at the bar. An old man sitting closest to me had a bulldog resting at his feet. Sitting at a table at the far end were a mother and her child, laughing over a board game.
“New around these parts?” the barman asked coming up to me.
“It’s that obvious, is it?” I asked.
“Visitors are easy to spot. What can I get for you?” I ordered a pint.
“I don't suppose you get many around these parts?”
“You wouldn't be wrong,” the barman said handing me my pint. “What brings you here?”
“I’m looking for the Baron's estate.”
A frown crossed the man's face. “You'll be looking for Russell Nicholas? Well, unfortunately, we laid the Baron to rest a few months ago.”
“I heard. It's not him I’m looking for in particular. It's the Baroness, his wife. I don't suppose you've heard about her?”
“Oh, the lady. I've never seen her in here. Not much of a drinker. Her husband, on the other hand, was a frequent customer, unfortunately with women other than her. She's a decent sort. I see her sometime around town, with her little boy.”
I choked on the beer going down my throat.
“I’m sorry, did you say her little boy?” I asked, coughing. I coughed so hard, the man next to me stood up and pounded me on the back. I thanked him when I recovered.
A son? Eddy had a son?
I expected to find out a lot of stuff coming here, but not that. It was yet another thing that she had failed to mention. Thinking about it, I felt foolish. She and Russell had to have been married for at least five years which was plenty of time to have a son. I don't know why it never occurred to me before that she would be a mother.
“You alright?” the barman asked.
I nodded, taking some money out. “You were talking about the Baroness?”
“I can't tell you much more about her than I already have. Seems like a lovely woman. It's a shame she's living out on the estate all alone these days. The way things looked when the Baron was still around, however, that might have been the theme throughout her marriage.”
Small town gossip was dangerous. I wondered how much more the guy would spill if I had more time, but I didn't. I asked him if he could give me directions to the estate. He handed them over no problem.
It would take about ten- or fifteen-minutes driving to get there. I was ten or fifteen minutes away from seeing Eddy again.
I went out to my car and sat in the driver’s seat. One minute ticked by, then another, then one more.
No, no way. I wasn't going there. What the hell was I going to do at the Baron's estate? Visit Eddy and her son? When I thought it was just her, this had been a completely different mission. She wasn't just another socialite who had married rich and ran around attending parties with her connected friends. She was a Baroness raising the next holder of her late husband’s title. No wonder she ran away in the middle of the night. I couldn’t just show up at her place if her son was there.
This was a mistake. This mission was officially over. I was going back to London and then I was getting on a plane back to New York and then I was forgetting her forever.
What the hell was I thinking coming here?
My phone rang and interrupted the stream of my thoughts. I started the car and connected the Bluetooth.
“Niall?” It was Charlie. Never in my life had I been so relieved to hear his voice.
“Yeah? What's going on?”
“You're asking me? Where the hell are you?”
My guard went up; it was just a reflex whenever Charlie asked me that question. “Who wants to know?”
“I do. We both do. Brenna and I are in London and we wanted to have dinner with you before we left the city.” I heard Brenna in the background of the call saying hi.
“Left the city to go where?” I asked.
“I’m taking Brenna out to the country to tour our family land.”
That sounded terribly boring. It was exactly the sort of thing that Charlie and Brenna would do together. I was going to say that I would see him in London tonight, but I couldn't do it. I had come all this way, there was no way I could leave without at least seeing her. The prospect of leaving again stung much too deep for me to be able to do it without seeing her.
“How about this? I'll link up with you two on your tour?”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m not in London right now.”
“Where are you?”
“I’ll talk to you later. There's something I have to do.” I hung up on him knowing that he would forgive me later, after a thorough interrogation. I’d cross that bridge when I got to it. Swinging off the main road, I followed the man's directions towards
