Don't Look Back

Chapter 64

Edward eyed the empty Grand View with a squint and turned.

"Oh, Sir Denham." Mr. Tom Parker blustered. "I was but on my way to Grandview to see if Lady Worcester would accept my troubled morning call."

Edward shrugged. "Seems no one is home."

Looking beyond him, the man seemed astonished.

"I do not understand. I was not aware of a planned departure." Mr. Parker shook his head. "It is troubling indeed, so many peculiarities," he muttered.
Edward smiled slyly. "Peculiarities?"

Mr. Parker nodded as he was noticeably flustered. "Why yes. Everyone who is anyone has up and left." He rushed out. "And the news of my brother."

Edward just let him talk for the moment.

"I am sure you know all of that." Mr. Tom Parker seemed affected by the emotion of loss and powerlessness.

"I am sorry, I know little of what is happening in London. I have been here." He smiled and looked around. "Seems rather impressive what you and your brother built, though not as successful as you expected."

Tom shook his head. "No, it is vastly successful. Sidney sees to that. As if it is a duty more so than a dream."

The man's head dropped in sadness.

"Pardon, I mean he saw to that. It has not sunk in yet that I have lost a brother, and now I have not heard from his widow, who we only just heard was pregnant with their second child." he shook his head.

Turning sideways, he looked to the crown where he recognized Lord Sellac's carriage. "Care for a drink at the Crown?" he asked. "The unpleasant man who runs it, Sir Radmore, is not in town, so I can tolerate such company in that instance."

Tom Parker went to shake his head. "No, I musn't. I have much to do in the wake of my brother's sudden-"the man could not even finish his sentence.

"My apologies. Regrets, of course," he said and watched the man turn.

"Good day, Sir Denham," he whispered.

"And to you, Mr. Parker."

Suddenly as he went to cross the street, Mr. Tom Parker turned around explosively.

"You do not think I should go to London, inquire as to answers myself?" he asked.

Sir Edward nodded. "It is the least a loving brother would do," he said with false comfort.

Tom nodded. "Quite right, but I worry about the business of Sanditon," he confessed as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

Edward was growing bored of the conversation and smiled. "Well, I suppose you must think on it."

"Yes, yes," Tom muttered as he still looked adrift.

"Come, have a drink and decide upon the matter." He said again with a devilish smile.

Tom nodded. "Yes, it might help resolve the conflicted heart. I just can't believe he is gone."

In the smoke haze, Edward brought them drinks.

"I just don't know what I will do without him," Tom said with wide, teary eyes. "He sacrificed his happiness for me," he whispered.

"Since when has Mr. Sidney Parker ever know sacrifice?" Edward scoffed.

Tom shook his head, not seeing that Lord Sellac was eyeing their table from behind him. The face of interest and strange emotion seemed to lurk in his questioning gaze.

"My brother has sacrificed much because of my follies." The man was pathetic. Edward would not long enjoy observing his misery as the entertainment value was low.

Granted, it was satisfying to see a Parker cry.

"He married the richest widow in the country and built a seaside village into a resort." he smiled. "One that in a matter of years might actually prove to be a real diversion." he looked around. "And this place has changed for the better," he noted the whores.

Tom noticed what Edward referenced, and his gaze roved the woman with sad interest.

"Yes, yes," he shook his head. "My dream became his prison."

Edward laughed. "Come, come."

Tom threw back both drinks, even the one meant for Edward.

"I fear this is only making me feel worse," Tom admitted and stood.

Edward would have felt offended if he did not find it so satisfying.

"Lord Sellac has just come from London. You could ask him if he knows anything?" Lord Edward gestured to the man behind.

Tom turned where he stood and huffed. He knew the rumors now and understood why his brother had left.

"I would not speak to that man if he were the last man on earth." Tom spat and turned from the establishment. "Thank you for the drink Sir Denham, but this one was on me, and I will have a bottle sent round to you for thanks," he said, looking to the barman.

Edward nodded in appreciation of the gesture as the man had drunk both at the table, leaving him nothing.

After he left, Lord Sellac dumped the tasty treat off his lap and spanked her off.

"I could not help notice the side-eye from Mr. Parker." He said, standing beside the table. "May I sit?"

Sir Denham smiled and nodded. "Yes, I was just having a bottle sent round." he lied. "You can join me."

Lord Sellac smiled. "Oh, I would be obliged."

"You look like you have just returned from London." Sir Edward said as the man came round with two clean glasses and a bottle of brandy.

"Oh, I was there, but not for very long. Preparing for the wedding," he said dismissively. "The baffoon Mr. Tom Parker looked my way. What has his goat?" Sellac seemed strangely interested.

"What is it to you?" Sir Edward asked. "I mean, it is well rumored you were Mrs. Parker's lover."

The man seemed to scoff. "That viper would not leave me be, even when I wished us to be through. She clung to me like mud."

Sir Edward frowned. "Well, now she is a rich widow."

The man looked away to the table of men he left. "Yes," a sigh escaped him as if relieved of something. "The vile woman buries two husbands. What did she think to do with a third?" he asked.

Edward blinked. "You think she is a murderess?"

Lord Sellac shrugged. "I would not have put it past her." With a sigh, he smiled.

Edward found his confession intriguing. "Interresting," he whispered. The thought struck a chord in him, and he wondered if he might have something worth bargaining over if investigated.

"Did she ever talk about it? You know, with legs entwined?" Edward eyed him with a gleam in his eye.

Lord Sellac grew very silent and sighed. "Well, Sir Denham, I should rejoin my party. I shall leave you to your lonely bottle."

Edward wanted to strike him for that cut, but instead, he watched him with a hound'ish eye. He sniffed at a secret that he wished to uncover. Perhaps a trip was in order.