Scoundrel With A Noble Heart (sequel of Disgraceful)

Chapter 39

Not expecting her to remember him after all these years, a sudden wave of overwhelming joy engulfed him.

"Bella..."

For a second, Arabella completely forgot the grudge she'd been holding against him.
"Matthew, how could you get in the party? Are you a worker here?"

Then recollection of the past rushed back, and pain of betrayal scorched her once again. Her expression turned cold, her voice infused with contempt when she spoke again.
"Don't tell me now you're sneaking into noble parties to steal."

The chilly note in her voice caught him off guard. He blinked in confusion as she continued,
"Who'd you deceive to let you in this time? Some lovestruck maid? Or the lady of the house herself?"

"Bella, what do you mean?"

"Please, Matthew. Why don't you stop acting like you're innocent? I'll wager the spoons got you a lot."

"Spoons? What spoons?"

"Seems like it's been too long that you'd forgotten about it. I'm talking about the spoons you stole before you vanished."

"You mean, the antique spoons in the room we sneaked in? I swear I never touched them."

"Then how else would they be missing?"

"How am I supposed to know? It wasn't me who took them."

"Then why did you run away?"

Matthew fell silent as memory of the assault froze his blood. With a scoff, Arabella skirted around him and made for the door.

"Bella! Wait! I swear I didn't steal anything from that house."
Matthew hurried after her and grabbed hold of her arm. Stopping, Arabella jerked away from him and whirled around. Head upturned, her flashing eyes challenged him.
"You won't fool me twice, Matthew. Now go away or I'll call the host and tell him he's got an uninvited guest."

"I'm afraid that's not the case, Miss, because actually he is very much invited."

Their gazes immediately swung towards the voice and they found Jacob standing just outside the shed. Not recognizing the dashing intruder, Arabella screwed up her eyes at him.
"Who are you?"

Jacob stepped forward into an illuminated spot,
"Allow me to introduce myself and my friend as well. I am Jacob, a permanent resident of this house, and this is Mr. Matthew Walsh, a good friend of mine."
Though he mentioned only his first name, Arabella instantly grasped that the man was the duke's brother that her mother had mentioned before. The next second, another thought struck her.

"Wait, you said he is your friend?"
Her disbelieving eyes swept over Matthew.
"No way! This man is a criminal."

"Whoa, I don't know where you got the idea, but you are terribly mistaken, Miss-"
Jacob paused as his gaze fell on the forgotten heap in the middle of the room.

"Jeez! Is that Jonathan Chase? Whatever happened to him?"

Matthew shot his friend an apologetic look .
"This man got the wrong idea that I was going to assault this lady. I had no choice but to take him down."

"Good Lord!" Eager to correct the terribly wrong impression of his friend, Jacob turned to Arabella.
"Apparently there's a huge misunderstanding here, Miss. Mr. Matthew Walsh is not a criminal. He is a friend of mine."

"Jake!!!"
A feminine shout from a near distance made their gazes swerve toward the sound. From the opposite direction, a teenage girl in a shimmery, layered white dress ran toward them. She stopped beside Jacob and stared at Matthew in round-eyed awe.
"Is this him? Mr. Matthew Walsh?"