Winston bobbed his head. “You are right, I don’t. But Iwant you to be happy and I think that path begins with my cousin.”
“You are wrong,” Miles stated. “I love Arabella, and I always will.”
“Arabella is gone, and you deserve to find love again,” Winston insisted.
Miles scoffed. “Love?” he asked. “No, I am too broken to ever hope to find love again.”
Bennett interjected, “You are not broken.”
“I am,” Miles declared, tossing up his hands. “And you two do not get to stand here and preach to me about how I should be feeling.”
“That was not our intention,” Winston assured him, his words calm and measured.
“Then what was?” Miles demanded, his voice rising with each word. “To remind me of everything that I have lost? But why stop there? Why not mention John, as well?”
Winston offered him a weak smile. “We are just trying to help.”
“Help?” Miles repeated incredulously. “There is no helping me. I am incapable of moving on and marrying another. That would not be fair to them, or to me.”
Winston’s expression softened, turning into something akin to pity. Miles refused to stand here and be pitied by his friends. In one swift motion, he turned and headed towards the drawing room. There was only one person in the manor that could help him, and it was Edwina. She offered hope when he felt like all was lost.
As he entered the drawing room, he saw Edwina was standing by Lord and Lady Dallington. Her eyes met his as he entered the room, and he could see the questions in her eyes.
She moved closer to him and asked in a hushed tone, “What is troubling you?”
He could lie to her. Tell her everything was all right. Buthe didn’t want to do that. He wanted to be honest with her. She deserved that much.
Matching her tone, he replied, “Winston and Bennett are impossible.”
A small smile tugged at her lips. “Yes, they can be quite insufferable at times. What did they do this time?”
“They are trying to convince me to move on and get remarried.” Miles huffed in frustration. “As if I could do such a thing.”
Edwina grew quiet. “I don’t entirely disagree with them.”
“Pardon?” he asked, taking a step back.
In a reassuring voice, she said, “You are a good man, and you deserve to be happy.”
“I am happy,” he lied.
Edwina didn’t look convinced. “We both know that you are struggling, as am I,” she replied. “Everyone struggles with their own battles, but that doesn’t mean we give up on finding happiness.”
Miles shook his head. “I don’t think I am capable of loving another, not after I loved Arabella so deeply.”
“The right woman will understand that your love for your first wife will never diminish,” Edwina said. “But you must first open your heart before that can ever happen.”
“What you are asking of me is impossible,” he murmured.
Edwina held his gaze, her eyes sparkling with determination. “Nothing is impossible if you follow your heart.”
As soon as the words left her lips, Lady Dallington appeared by their side. “I do hope I am not intruding but dinner has been announced.”
Miles cleared his throat, grateful for the reprieve. “Thank you,” he said.
Lady Dallington studied him for a moment before asking, “Is everything all right, Miles?” The concern in her voice was palpable, touching him deeply.
He forced a smile on his lips. “Yes, everything is fine.”
