“It means…” Edwina’s voice trailed off and she looked over at Miles with uncertainty in her eyes.
Miles knew Edwina would probably chide him on his familiarity but he knew she could use his help at the moment. He placed his hand on the small of her back and murmured, “You can do this.”
Edwina gave him a grateful look. “Where should I even begin?”
“At the beginning,” Miles replied.
Bennett tossed his hands up in the air. “What are you two even going on about?” he demanded.
With a decisive nod, Edwina replied, “Uncle Lionel lied about me not receiving an inheritance. My father specified in the will that I was to receive ten thousand pounds.”
“Why would he do such a thing?” Bennett asked.
“I don’t know, but I have seen the will,” Edwina replied. “Furthermore, if the rumors from the villagers are true, your father is bankrupting this estate.”
Bennett let out a wry chuckle. “You know not what you speak of.”
“Then enlighten me,” Edwina said.
“Our estate is profitable. Father has told me as much,” Bennett responded.
Miles gave Bennett a questioning look. “Have you seen the ledgers to confirm that?”
Bennett scoffed. “No, but my father is very particular about who gets to see the ledgers. He wants to prove that he can do it himself,” he explained.
“But you are the heir,” Miles remarked.
“Regardless, there is no proof to what you are saying,” Bennett said. “You are asking me to trust the word of villagers over my own father.”
Edwina arched an eyebrow. “What about my inheritance?”
Bennett paused. “I will admit that is disconcerting, but I am sure my father has a perfectly rational explanation to it all.”
Miles turned towards Edwina and said, “You need to tell him the worst part.”
“I don’t know if he is ready,” Edwina whispered.
“It is the only way,” Miles assured her.
Bennett glanced between them, an irate look on his face. “Will someone explain to me what is going on?”
Edwina met her cousin’s gaze and revealed, “Your father has a mistress.”
Bennett’s mouth dropped. “You cannot be in earnest,” he claimed.
“I…we… saw them on the way to the village,” Edwina said. “Uncle Lionel’s coach was parked out front of a cottage and we saw them embrace warmly.”
“How do you know it was his mistress?” Bennett asked.
Miles’ voice was calm as he shared, “The boy that was by his mother’s side looked a lot like Lord Dallington.”
Bennett ran a hand through his hair, making it terribly disheveled. “I don’t believe you. Either of you.”
“Why would we lie?” Edwina asked.
“I don’t know, but this is all impossible,” Bennett declared. “You must have been mistaken on what you saw.”
Compassion echoed in every word that Miles spoke as he tried to convince his friend of what they had witnessed. “I’m sorry, but we know what we saw. And it was far from innocent.”