Free Love Lost in Time (Victorian Time-Travel) by Marie Higgins Page B

remember now!” Myrtle cheered. “He did say he would be leaving.”
    “Did he say where?” Halle probed.
    Myrtle shook her head and frowned, then the other two followed suit.
    “Well, if this Bill Stratford was my father, I wonder why he changed his name,” Halle whispered aloud.
    “I wish we could help you, dearie. But Bill just up and left without even telling us good-bye.” The larger woman said with a wistful sigh.
    “How long ago did he leave?” Halle wondered.
    “About a month.”
    Halle forced herself to smile. “Thank you for talking to me, anyway. At least you three knew a man who had worked here for a year, even if he had a different name.”
    Feeling despondent, her shoulders drooped as she walked out of the kitchen ; her mind whirling in confusion. Could this Bill really have been her father? Will was short for William, but then Bill was also a shortened name for William. So where did Stratford come from?
    With a sinking heart, she didn’t think she would find him now. Although the trip here hadn’t been wasted, she had still hoped to kill two birds with one stone, so-to-speak.
    Perhaps she wasn’t supposed to find her father at all. Maybe if she knew the reasons he left her and her mother all those years ago, she would hate him for sure.
    Not watching where she was going, she turned the corner, and ran into someone. Unbalanced, she tilted, but two strong arms grasped her arms to keep her from falling.
    “Thank you—” Her thoughts stopped in her head and she gazed upon the familiar face. She smiled. “Andrew.”
    “Good heavens, Halle. What are you doing back in this area? Did you not see the signs?” He pointed up the hallway.
    “Yes, I saw them, but I ignored them.”
    “Why?”
    “Because I needed to ask more people about my father.”
    “And… Did you get some answers?”
    She frowned. “Yes and no. The cooks didn’t know a man named Will Chapman, but they said there had been a man who’d worked here for about a year who resembled me. His name was Bill Stratford.”
    “Do you think Mr. Stratford is your father?”
    “I wish I knew.” She sighed heavily. “Without knowing exactly what he looks like, it’s hard to know for sure.”
    A tender smile graced his face as he stroked her cheek. “Why don’t you allow me to ask some questions for you? I’m quite certain I will gather more information because I work here.”
    “Andrew, you are brilliant.”
    He winked. “All right then. I will catch up to you later in the day and let you know what I have discovered.”
    Halle grasped his hands and squeezed. “Thank you, Andrew. You don’t know how much that means to me.”
    As she walked away, her heart felt lighter, and hope was in sight. Of course, she wondered if she felt this way because Andrew was helping her. Once again, thinking of that man made her smile.
    * * * *
    Andrew was kept busy all afternoon, but that helped when asking his co-workers questions about Halle’s father. Nobody had heard of Will Chapman, yet there were a lot who knew Bill Stratford. Andrew couldn’t wait to find Halle and tell her what he had discovered.
    But when he went to her room, she was gone. Andrew hurried to the main floor to see if she was there, but she wasn’t. He glanced over at the front desk. Nigel had been watching him and quickly lowered his gaze to the papers in front of him. Scratching his head, Andrew didn’t know why Nigel acted this way around him. Every time he’d tried to speak with the man, Nigel had always acted as if he were too good and turned away.
    Nevertheless, Andrew needed some answers, and the word around the manor was that Nigel knew everything. Andrew took long strides to the front desk. As always, Nigel tried to pretend he wasn’t there.
    “Nigel, have you seen Miss Chapman and her friends this morning?”
    “Who?” Nigel asked in a gruff voice and turned his face toward the wall as if studying the announcement flyers hanging on the cork-board.
    “You know