A Scandal By Any Other Name-Chapter 202 - Two Hundred And Two

Arthur kissed her cheek. He carried her down from his lap and set her feet gently on the rug. He picked up the two copies of the shipping manifest from his desk. He walked over to his tall, glass-fronted bookshelf.

He scanned the rows of heavy, leather-bound books. He reached out and took down a medium-sized book with a faded blue cover.

Delaney read the gold letters on the spine. It was titled The Journey to Your Heart.

Arthur opened the book to the middle pages. He carefully folded the shipping manifest papers and tucked them safely inside. He closed the book and placed it back onto the shelf, pushing it neatly into line with the others.

Delaney, always inquisitive and curious, followed him to the shelf.

"Papa," Delaney asked, "why are you putting it there? That is a storybook, not a work folder."

Arthur turned to her and smiled a very soft, very romantic smile.

Arthur replied, "This is your mother’s favorite book. She reads it all the time. That way, I will not forget where I put my most important things, because it is close to her heart."

Delaney giggled at his romantic answer. She thought her parents were very silly, but very sweet.

Arthur held out his hand. She took his large, warm hand in hers. He led her out of the quiet study and into the bright hallway. He signaled for a waiting maid to take her back upstairs to her bedroom.

As Delaney walked away holding the maid’s hand, she looked over the balcony railing toward the grand foyer.

She saw the bright lights, the spinning dresses, and the gathering of noble people. She saw her mother, wearing a beautiful green silk gown, scolding her father playfully. She watched as her father coaxed her mother with a handsome smile. She saw her mother’s scolding turn into a bright, loving laugh as her father bowed and led her into the center of the room to join the waltz.

Young Delaney smiled, watching them spin. She wished she could grow up quickly and join them on the dance floor.

~ • FLASHBACK ENDS • ~

The beautiful music faded away, replaced by the quiet ticking of the grandfather clock.

Delaney sat in the dim study. She stared at the empty wall across from the desk. The single candle flickered, casting long shadows across her face. Her breathing was shallow.

She remembered everything clearly. The title of the book. The exact shelf. The words her father had spoken.

A shipping manifest.

That was the document that proved exactly who bought, shipped, and handled the poisoned silk. And her father had kept an identical, true copy for future reference.

Delaney spoke into the quiet, dark room.

"The book, of course," She whispered to herself.

Her voice was trembling with a massive, overwhelming surge of hope.

She stood up quickly from the leather chair. She grabbed the candle from the desk, holding it out in front of her. She walked swiftly toward the tall, glass-fronted bookshelves lining the far wall of the study. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

The shelves were covered in a thick layer of dust. Cole Kingsley clearly never read books; he only cared about money and ledgers.

Delaney scanned the rows of leather spines. She moved the candle along the second shelf, her eyes reading the faded gold titles one by one.

She reached the third shelf. Her eyes caught a flash of faded blue fabric binding.

Delaney let out a long, shaky sigh of profound relief.

"It is still here," she whispered.

Cole had not thrown the books away. He simply ignored them.

Delaney reached out with a trembling hand. She pulled the blue book from its place between two larger volumes. She held it up to the candlelight. The gold letters on the spine were worn, but they were perfectly readable.

The Journey to Your Heart.

Her hands were shaking so much she nearly dropped it. She set the candle down on a nearby side table. She opened the book, flipping quickly through the dry, yellowed pages.

Right in the exact middle of the book, exactly where Arthur Kingsley had placed them twenty years ago, was a folded sheet of official, thick parchment.

Delaney pulled it out.

She unfolded the paper carefully, terrified that the old parchment might tear. She held it close to the candlelight and read the bold, black heading at the very top.

Official Shipping Manifest - Her Majesty’s Royal Silk.

Delaney scanned the lines of ink. She read the dates. She read the amounts. And then, at the very bottom of the page, listed as the primary purchasing agent who personally authorized and signed for the tainted cargo before it ever reached her father’s hands, was a clear, undeniable signature.

Lord Wesley Hawksley.

It was the absolute truth. It was the undeniable proof that Lord Hawksley had bought the cheap, poisoned silk himself, and then forged the final records to blame his innocent partner, Arthur Kingsley, when the Crown discovered the crime.

A single, hot tear escaped her eye and rolled slowly down her cheek. It fell onto the wooden floorboards.

She had done it.

She carefully folded the fragile shipping manifest back into a neat square. She held the paper tightly against her chest, right over her heart, closing her eyes as a massive wave of peace and victory washed over her tired body.

She had gotten two pieces of evidence in a single day.

One against Hawksley—the secret knowledge of the blackmail ledger Celine was going to steal.

And another in favor of her father—the original shipping manifest proving his absolute innocence.

Delaney opened her eyes. The quiet, messy study no longer felt like a dark, frightening place. It felt like a place of incredible triumph. Her father had protected her future, even from beyond the grave.

She tucked the folded manifest safely into the bodice of her dark blue woolen dress, securing it tightly against her skin. She placed the blue book back onto the dusty shelf exactly as she had found it.

She picked up her candle. She walked to the door. She unlocked the door from the inside and stepped back out into the cold, dark hallway. She locked the study door securely behind her, leaving the messy, chaotic room exactly as Cole had left it.

She walked silently back down the corridor toward her uncle’s master bedchamber. She pushed his bedroom doors open. Cole Kingsley was still lying on his back, snoring heavily, completely unaware that his entire stolen world was about to collapse.

Delaney crept to his bedside table. She carefully reattached the thick brass key to the small metal hook on his gold pocket watch. She set the watch down gently, making absolutely no sound.

She walked out of his room, leaving the doors slightly ajar, exactly as she had found them.

Delaney returned to her own bedchamber. She locked her door, set the candle down, and finally allowed herself to take a full, deep breath.

She reached into her dress and touched the folded parchment one more time. She had the proof she needed. Now, she just had to survive the next six days, collect the black ledger from Celine, and deliver it all to the Duke of Ford.