Edwina pressed her lips together. “Why, exactly?”
“Because I think it is for the best,” Bennett replied.
With a shake of her head, Edwina said, “You are acting very ‘earlish.’”
“What does that even mean?” Bennett inquired.
Miles spoke up, his lips twitching. “It is not a good thing, I assure you.”
Bennett dismissed his comment with a wave of his hand. “Regardless, we are in agreement. Edwina will stay home,” he said.
“No,” Edwina responded. “I am going with you.”
Bennett opened his mouth to no doubt object, but Miles put a hand on his shoulder. “You might as well save your breath.”
“Fine, we do not have time for this,” Bennett muttered. “Let us depart.”
Edwina resisted the urge to smile at her cousin’s lackluster response, but she was glad that she was going. Perhaps she could even prove to her cousin that she was capable of so much more than what he gave her credit for.
Chapter Sixteen
Miles remained in a crouched position in the woodlands, hidden by the thick foliage and trees. He was flanked by Edwina on one side and Bennett on the other, their eyes fixed on the quaint cottage. Lord Dallington’s coach sat idly in front of it, as if it had always belonged.
The three of them had been waiting for what seemed like hours, but Miles could see that Bennett was growing rather restless.
“What could my father possibly be doing in there?” Bennett grumbled.
Miles smirked. “I have an idea.”
Bennett scowled, clearly not amused. “That is a terrible thing to suggest.”
“I was only suggesting that they might be engaged in a game of chess,” Miles responded innocently. “What did you think I was implying?”
Casting his eyes skyward, Bennett let out a deep sigh. “You are an idiot,” he muttered.
Edwina chimed in with a mischievous grin. “We could always practice bird calls to pass the time.”
“I would rather not,” Bennett said.
“Then what would you suggest we do to pass the time?” Edwina asked.
Bennett’s gaze returned to the cottage, his expression grave once more. “I do not know how you two can make light of this situation.”
Miles placed a comforting hand on his friend’s shoulder. “We are trying to distract you from the truth.”
“It isn’t working,” Bennett admitted. “This is going to devastate my mother. My whole family, in fact. I never thought that my father would betray my mother.”
As Bennett uttered his last word, Lord Dallington emerged from the cottage and the same tall woman stood in the doorway with her young son at her side. He kissed the woman on her cheek and ruffled the boy’s hair affectionally before turning to enter the awaiting coach.
As the coach made its way down the road towards the village, Bennett jumped up from his crouched position. “I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.”
“I know, which is why we brought you here,” Miles said.
“My father is a blackguard,” Bennett declared. “How could he do this to us?”
Miles struggled to find words of reassurance but thankfully Edwina spoke up. “Uncle is not the man that I thought he was.”
“No, you were right about my father,” Bennett remarked. “I didn’t want it to be true.”
