Miles rose and walked over to the painting. It was a scene of the woodlands where he had first truly spoken to Edwina. She had managed to capture the essence of the place perfectly and it invoked a sense of calm as he admired the painting.
Edwina came to stand next to him, her eyes watching his reaction intently. “It isn’t awful, is it?” she asked, almost hesitant.
“No, it is far from that. It is… perfect.” And he meant every word.
“You are very kind.”
“It has nothing to do with kindness,” Miles insisted. “When I look at this painting, I feel like I am there in the woodlands, sitting on that rock and listening to the gentle trickle of the stream.”
Edwina turned her attention towards the painting. “It took me many days to capture the serenity and beauty of that spot.”
“You succeeded,” he praised.
Their conversation was interrupted by the end of the musical piece, and Miles looked over to see Bennett and Winston entering the room.
Elodie broke the silence as she removed her hands from the keys. “How was angling?”
“It was terrible,” Winston sighed. “I hardly caught anything.”
Bennett smiled at his brother. “But we did get to enjoy some brotherly bonding time instead. That is far more important than a few fish.”
Winston shrugged. “I still would have preferred some fish though,” he said in a teasing voice.
Meeting Miles’ gaze, Bennett asked, “And how did your meeting in the village go?”
“It went quite well, but perhaps we could discuss it in private,” Miles suggested.
Bennett nodded his understanding. “Of course. Shall we adjourn to the drawing room for a moment?”
Elodie rose gracefully from her seat. “I do not like this. It would appear that everyone has secrets but me.”
“I don’t have any secrets,” Melody said.
Winston joined his sisters, placing a comforting hand on Elodie’s shoulder. “Do not fret. They are keeping secrets from me as well.”
A mischievous glint appeared in Elodie’s eyes as she proposed, “Perhaps we should go around the room and spill our secrets.”
Bennett gave his sister an amused look. “When the right time comes, I promise I will tell you all my secrets.”
Elodie raised an eyebrow skeptically. “You have more than one?”
“I have many,” Bennett admitted. “But let us focus on the matter at hand. We will return shortly.”
Miles followed Bennett out of the music room with Edwina on his arm. Once they arrived in the drawing room, Bennett turned to face them with an uncharacteristic solemn look on his face and asked, “What did Mr. Stanley say?”
Edwina dropped her hand from Miles’ sleeve and replied, “He didn’t say much. Quite frankly, he couldn’t say much. He is loyal to your father.”
“That is what I feared would happen,” Bennett said.
With a resigned sigh, Edwina remarked, “I just thought that Mr. Stanley would sympathize with the villagers’ plight. But I was wrong.”
“You have a good heart, Edwina,” Bennett praised. “It is my turn to do something about this. I will speak to my father and encourage him to do the right thing.”
“But we already tried that,” Edwina pointed out.
Bennett placed a hand on her shoulder. “I can be rather persuasive when I want to be.”
Miles interjected, “I do think it would be a good thing for you to become more involved in the running of the estate.”
