“This sounds serious. Perhaps we should relocate to the study.”
The look Amelia shot him was furious and gave Benedict the distinct feeling that, if he wanted to be welcome in her bed any time soon, having this conversation without her was not an option.
“Darling, will you join us?” He held his arm out.
The lawyer made a gulping noise, like he’d gone to breathe but had inhaled his ego instead. “I’m not sure that’s appropriate.”
“My wife is…” He hadn’t put any thought into what exactly she was, just that things worked better with her around. “…part of my business advisory council. And a board member of Asterly, Barnesworth & Co.”
Her eyes widened in a transparent and utterly-unlike-her manner. But why not? The advice she’d given him so far was excellent, she was clearly invested, and perhaps an official role might go some way to repairing the damage he’d done the other morning acting like a complete ass.
“I’m not here about any firm. This is not abusinessmatter.” The distaste on the man’s face was plain. Bloody hell. Even lawyers were stratified.
“Then what is this about?” Benedict asked. His patience—what little of it he had—was wearing thin indeed.
“If we could just go into your study.” A twinge of urgency entered the man’s voice. This conversation was clearly not playing out the way the grasshopper had intended.
“Spit it out, man.”
Mr. Coventry wiped his brow. “This is highly unusual. To have this conversation in a lady’s room…”
Benedict ran a hand through his hair. Whatever this was, it wasn’t good. And he didn’t want to waste another five minutes changing rooms and making small talk.
As if sensing his looming outburst, Amelia placed a firm hand on his arm, stepping in front of him. Probably trying to put the insufferable lawyer at ease.
“I apologize if my husband seems abrupt. He is simply a very busy man and has never been one to stand on ceremony. If you could just tell us who sent you and what for, we can get this all fixed up so he can go back to his office.”
She was sweet and reasonable and oh-so polite, even though he was sure she wanted to wring the grasshopper’s neck as much as he did. It was a level of poise he didn’t possess.
Mr. Coventry swallowed. “I was sent by your grandfather. There has been an accident. Your cousin has passed, and you are the new heir to the Marquess of Harrington.”
Chapter24
Benedict was vaguely aware of Amelia leaving the room with the damned lawyer. She would show him to the front door. She was the perfect hostess, even at a time like this.
Benedict still sat on the edge of the spindly, flowery seat that, by all standards, should have collapsed under his weight a long time ago. This room, with its patterned wallpaper and abundance of small, useless cushions—this very feminine room—was exactly what the lawyer had said. Completely unsuitable for news like this.
There wasn’t a brandy glass in the place.
He squeezed his head between his hands, as if he could push out the words he’d heard over the past hour.Cousin. Carriage accident. Grandfather. Heir. Grandfather. Duty. Grandfather. Letter. Grandfather. New heir. Grandfather.
He stared at the leather-bound package on the table in front of him. It was all the necessary paperwork for a new estate in Hemshire. According to the lawyer, his grandfather had bequeathed it to him. A training estate to prepare him for the eventual inheritance of a half dozen others. A letter from his grandfather lay on top.
He didn’t want it.
He didn’t want any of it.
Amelia entered, tucking away a handkerchief and refusing to meet his gaze.
“I don’t understand.” He’d said it a dozen times to the lawyer, and all he’d heard back was a whole lot of legal vernacular that his overwhelmed brain couldn’t deal with.
“Why am I the future Earl of Hemshire? My mother was female. Obviously. What I mean is, why am I the heir? There are laws against this sort of thing.”
There was a smallness to her voice when she replied. Pity that made him feel powerless. “Some peerages can go through the female line if there’s no direct heir. Not many, but Hemshire is one of them. Most of your grandfather’s titles will revert back to the crown—including Harrington. But the earldom will pass on to you. Your mother would have been the Countess of Hemshire in her own right if she’d outlived her brother and nephew.”
His mother. Countess in her own right? She would have been euphoric. It might even have been enough to keep her from leaving, if she’d known this was in her future.
But she’d left and taken with her any reason for him to accept the position.
