Miles held his hand out. “May I see the will?”
She extended it towards him and he made quick work of reading it. Edwina had been right. The late Lord Dallington had left her ten thousand pounds, in addition to her dowry. So why had her uncle kept this from her?
As he tried to make sense of the situation, he asked, “Did you ever meet with your father’s solicitor after he passed away?”
“No, I did not. I didn’t think there was a need,” Edwina said, her voice laced with regret. “My uncle told me that he would take care of everything and I believed him.” Her gaze drew downcast. “But now I see how wrong I was.”
Miles could hear the sadness in her voice and it tugged at his heart. “You did nothing wrong, Edwina.”
“Didn’t I?” she asked, meeting his gaze once more. “I trusted my uncle and he deceived me. What else has he been lying to me about?”
Coming to a stop on the path, Miles turned to face her. “I think we should tell Bennett about this,” he suggested.
Edwina shook her head firmly. “No, not yet.”
“He can help us when we confront your uncle,” Miles pressed.
“Before we bring Bennett into our confidence, I need to know if my uncle is lying about anything else,” Edwinadeclared with determination in her voice.
Miles gave her a pointed look as he inquired, “Did you find anything else in your uncle’s desk that aroused suspicion?”
“No, but if my uncle is lying about my inheritance, he must be lying about other things, too,” Edwina asserted.
“That is not always the case, and Bennett is in the perfect position to help you,” Miles said.
Edwina’s eyes grew guarded. “What if Bennett knew about my inheritance, and kept it quiet for his father’s sake?”
Miles knew his friend well, and he was confident that was not the case. “No, Bennett is a good man and he loves you. He would never have kept something like this from you.”
“You are right. I guess I am just afraid of not knowing who to trust.”
Miles held her gaze as he said, “You can trust me.”
A small smile came to Edwina’s lips. “I do,” she said.
Pride swelled within Miles’ chest as he heard those words. He had worked hard to earn her trust and he would never betray it. He would die first.
In a hushed, almost conspiratorial tone, Edwina asked, “Where do we go from here?”
“Well, if you don’t want to tell Bennett, I suggest speaking to your father’s solicitor,” Miles proposed.
“That won’t be easy. He is now my uncle’s solicitor since he inherited my father’s title,” Edwina said.
“Ah, that does complicate matters some,” Miles remarked.
Edwina’s eyes lit up. “What if we follow my uncle into the village and see how he spends his time?” she suggested.
Miles raised an eyebrow skeptically. “And what would that prove?”
She shrugged. “I’m not sure. But it is a start.”
Miles couldn’t bring himself to dampen her enthusiasm, even though he knew it was likely a futile endeavor since Lord Dallington was probably in meetings all day. “Well, then, let’stake a trip to the village and see what secrets it holds.”
In response, a bright, infectious smile lit up Edwina’s face and Miles couldn’t help but grin in return, despite his best efforts not to. How was it that her smile seemed to penetrate the barriers around his heart? It was rather troublesome.
Bennett’s voice came from down the path, his boots grinding on the gravel as he approached. “What, pray tell, are you two discussing?” he asked with a tilt of his head.
Miles exchanged a quick glance with Edwina before responding, “Nothing of importance.”
