“Yet, you didn’t take the hint,” Miles said lightly.
Bennett grinned. “I never do,” he responded. “I thought we could ride into the village and have a drink at the pub.”
“That sounds like a fine idea.”
“You will discover that I am full of them.”
Miles smirked. “You are full of something,” he joked.
As they started walking towards the stables, Miles knew it was the perfect opportunity to discuss the conversation that he had just overheard. But how did he broach the subject? It was an odd question for him to be asking.
Miles just decided to say what needed to be said and be done with it. “Did Lady Edwina’s father leave her an inheritance?” he asked.
Bennett looked over at him in surprise. “Why do you care?”
“I don’t, but just humor me.”
With a curious expression, Bennett divulged, “No, but my uncle did leave her a dowry of fifteen thousand pounds.”
“That is a substantial dowry,” Miles responded.
“It is,” Bennett agreed. “Are you, by chance, interested in my cousin?”
Miles shook his head vehemently. “Absolutely not! I do not intend to marry ever again,” he asserted. “I was merely curious.”
“Well, I think it is a brilliant idea. If you were to marry Edwina, we would be family. Forever,” Bennett teased. “You would never be able to get rid of me.”
Miles shuddered at the thought, emphasizing his point. “How terrifying.”
“Lots of people would want me as their family,” Bennett said. “I have been told that I am rather charming.”
Miles huffed. “Whoever told you that is lying to you.”
“Only a true friend would be so honest,” Bennett quipped.
They continued to make their way towards the stables, but Miles couldn’t shake off the feeling that there was more to the conversation than what he had overheard. He replayed the words in his mind, wondering if he had missed something important. Or perhaps he was reading too much into it. After all, he had only caught a brief snippet of their discussion.
“Come on,” Bennett encouraged before stepping into the stables.
Miles followed his friend inside and saw the gelding that Edwina had ridden into the woodlands earlier. He approached the horse and said, “This is a magnificent horse.”
“It is,” Bennett agreed. “Edwina adores Sorrel, but I fear for her safety sometimes. She can be quite reckless.”
“I saw a glimpse of that when I caught sight of Edwina riding her horse this morning,” Miles shared.
Bennett came to stand next to him and ran a gentle hand down Sorrel’s neck. “Sometimes I am not sure if Edwina cares if she lives or dies.”
Miles empathized with his friend’s concern. “I understand that feeling all too well.”
Bennett grew somber. “Quite frankly, I don’t know how tohelp my cousin. She is hurting and I feel helpless to do anything about it.”
Miles offered him a reassuring look. “You are helping her by being there.”
His friend looked grateful for his words, but still appeared troubled. “It isn’t enough,” he pressed, his tone filled with guilt.
“You mustn’t look at it like you are failing. You are making a difference, one day at a time, by chipping away at the grief.”
Bennett removed his hand from Sorrel’s neck and turned to face him. “Could you talk to her?”
