“I do not answer to you, Mr. Lowden. Nor does she. But I will tell you that she only planned to wait until her arm healed, so she could find a situation elsewhere.”
“Are you sure that was all she was waiting for? For her arm to heal, so she could find work as someone else’s scullion? When she had tasted the life of a lady?”
Sir John frowned. “What are you suggesting?”
“Perhaps she was waiting for you to die, Sir John. I hate to say it so bluntly, but there it is. If you had died, she might have inherited everything, well, she and her son. Why leave for paltry wages elsewhere, when the chance at a great inheritance awaited?”
“I am surprised at you, Mr. Lowden,” Sir John said. “I thought you liked her.”
“I did. I do. But I cannot ignore the possibility.”
Sir John shook his head. “I don’t believe she ever thought of that. Not for herself. If she thought of her son’s future, I cannot blame her.”
“Can you not?” James stared at the man, frustration mounting. “What has happened to you, sir? I begin to doubt you are of sound mind after all. Do you hear yourself? A woman poses as your wife, passes off her by-blow as your son, and you ‘cannot blame her’?”
Sir John’s hand flew out and grabbed James by his cravat, yanking a fistful of linen and jerking his face down to his eye level. “Never say that again, do you hear me? If I ever hear youcall the boy such a name again, I will dismiss you instantly, do I make myself clear?”
Stunned, James managed a slight nod, and his employer released his grip.
He had overstepped, he knew. And what if Hannah had heard the words he’d just spewed? “Forgive me,” James said. “I ought not to have questioned your competence nor condemned Miss Rogers.” James lowered his voice. “But, sir. Why would you make him your heir? What is he to you? He is not your son.”
“On the contrary, Mr. Lowden. That is exactly what he is. My son. My flesh and blood.Heir of the body—my body.”
James Lowden gaped at him, speechless.
Sir John continued, “Why do you think Miss Rogers left our employ in the first place?”
James made no reply. A wave of nausea curdled his stomach and he feared he would be sick.
“It is not something I’m proud of,” Sir John said. “But don’t you see? It is my chance to do something right. To redeem, in a small way, all the wrong I have done.”
James’s mind refused to accept it. “But you said the boy looked nothing like you—you saw no resemblance.”
“To myself, no. But he looks exactly like my brother, Paul.”
“Your brother? Surely you are not suggesting Miss Rogers and your brother—”
Sir John scowled. “Thunder and turf, man. Paul died at sea years ago. I wasn’t suggesting any such thing. Only that when I look at Daniel, I see the picture of my younger brother. Make no mistake, the boy is a Mayfield.”
James shook his head. “Not legally.”
“No, not legally, unless she continues on as Lady Mayfield.” Sir John crossed his arms over his chest. “You are my solicitor. I’m sure you can find a way to make it work.”
“Not ethically.” James forced out the dreaded question. “Do you mean to marry her?”
“We are already married in the eyes of everyone here.”
James shook his head. “First we must have Marianna declared dead. Then and only then can you marry Miss Rogers legally, if that is what you really intend to do.”
“But then her son could not be my legal heir, if it is known his mother and I were not married at the time of his birth.”
“Not for your entailed property, no. But you have more than sufficient funds should you decide to sponsor him through university or something along those lines.”
“But Miss Rogers would be exposed as a ... as not being who others believe she is.”
“Who sheallowedothers to believe she is,” James clarified. “She may not have started the lie, but she certainly perpetuated it.” Even as he said it, James wondered how he could lash out at the woman who had captured his heart. Was it really only to extricate her from Sir John’s good graces?
His client’s eyes glinted. “How bitter you sound, Mr. Lowden. And here I thought you had feelings for her yourself.”
