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“Yes, and my father halved my inheritance so it would go to us in equal parts.”
Benedict blinked at me. “Did he say any more on the matter?”
“Only that he hopes I shall orchestrate my brother’s entrance into Society and that I will certainly see the familial resemblance straight away.”
He placed his other hand over the top of mine, pressing down and offering support in a way that soothed me. “Has he given you any information on . . . the mother? Or how you might contact this brother?”
I shook my head. “Mrs. Richter provided the contact information for the solicitor in Bath. She explained that he should be reaching out to me soon, but I may contact him if I wish.”
“What do you think you shall do?”
I tilted my head to the side in consideration and laid both of the letters on the empty seat beside me. “Is it an option to pretend I had not read either of these?”
“It is, of course.” He smiled softly, disarming me. His thumb grazed my knuckles absently. “But I am afraid that will not make them go away.”
My voice dropped to a whisper. “How do I make them go away?”
“You cannot, Thea. You can only face this new future and decide how you wish to proceed. You shall not be forced to contact this brother unless you wish to. No one will force the acquaintance on you.”
“Half brother.”
“Pardon?”
“He is myhalfbrother. If he was fully my brother, my mother would not have hidden the will that gave half of everything to this man.” For surely Mother had to have hidden it as Mrs. Richter assumed, in order to provide me with the full inheritance I’d expected. It was done out of love, most assuredly—but I could not help but agree with Mrs. Richter. It would not have felt right to pretend it had not happened, that this man was not real, that he was not, as my father’s son, entitled to some inheritance.
I only wished it wasn’t half of mine.
Chapter19
BENEDICT
Thea did not appear disturbed by my continuing to hold her hand, so I did not release it. It was small and fit into mine so well, as though our Maker had seen fit to design my hand with the express purpose of holding Thea’s.
At present, it seemed there was nothing she needed more than support. I was glad to be the one present and able to offer it.
“Will you write to the solicitor?”
She looked up again, a small line forming between her brows. “Yes. I would like to know the whole of the situation, and my father was a little sparse on explanations. I can only assume this brother is near my age if he requires an entrance into Society, but he could be a rogue or a blackguard for all I know. In regard to the will, on the other hand, Mrs. Richter looked into the matter extensively and informed me that it is ironclad. I cannot contest it.”
“You trust Mrs. Richter?”
The little line did not smooth away between her eyebrows, but she replied without hesitation. “Completely. She has only ever had my best interests at heart.”
I still believed it would be good to look into the situation ourselves, but I would mention that to my mother, perhaps later. “Then I suppose we ought to proceed as though it is all true.”
“I could not do otherwise.” She closed her eyes, and I could not imagine the amount of shock that had coursed through her upon reading a letter from her father, upon seeing his handwriting or hearing his voice in her mind as she read his words. If my own father had written me a letter to be read later and I found it now, I would treasure it above all things.
“There is one benefit of this, though,” she said, and I sensed a bit of humor slipping into her words.
“What is that?”
“If Lord Claverley was not convinced to drop the matter of his wife chaperoning me for the Season, he will likely balk the moment he hears of this.”
I smiled softly. “You were already safe from his clutches, Thea.”
“I know.” She slipped her hand from mine and stood, straightening her gown as she did and taking the glowing, warm feeling with her. “I do realize I have you to thank for it. We have made a decent team, I think.”
I stood beside her, missing the feeling of her skin on mine. “Yes, in this matter, I think we have.”
