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“Miss White came to visit me at The White Heather shortly after Ashford visited you. I was coming today to interview you on the matter and confirm that what she told me was the truth. The success of your marriage hinges on it, after all.”
“She knows the secret? Why wouldn’t she tell me?”
“I’ll be the one to explain that, Barrow.”
They all turned their heads to see Baron Highbridge shuffle through the door, his face a wash of irritation, his hands gripping his cane in a white knuckled grip.
Kitty gaped at the surprise sight of him. “Papa!”
Her father grinned. “Hello there, moppet. Made a mighty fine mess this time, haven’t you?”
Barrow stood from his seat and nodded cordially. “Please, take my chair, Lord Highbridge.”
The baron irritably waved his cane in the air. “I’m sickly, not an old man.” Her father had suffered a stroke the year before her first season, but was still a tall, proud man in his forties despite his gaunt face and jittery fingers.
“Of course, Papa,” Kitty replied obligingly.
He leaned against the mantle, fixing her with that hard stare he always gave her when she was in a scrape. “Now, before I spill the beans on our family secret, I’ll have you tell me what you have been up to. First, my sister writes me about the fiasco with that Berrington bastard.” The baron nodded cordially at Sophie, who frowned. “I’ll have you know I wanted to throttle her for leaving you alone, by the way. And then, right when I’m getting ready to leave and fetch you away, the bloody Duke of Ashford sends me a letter telling me, no,orderingme to get down here posthaste for your wedding to him. And now, after a perilous and ungodly muddy trip, I finally arrive only to hear from Halston that someone tried to murder you and Mary in broad daylight after you attempted to run off to god knows where.” The man rolled his eyes. “Are you trying to give me another stroke, my dear?”
“I was going to write to you later, once I was settled somewhere,” she replied mutinously.
He burst into a maddening cackle. “No doubt years from now. Were you afraid I’d lock you away somewhere?”
Her ears burned. “I know you would have.”
“Oh, come now. It would have only been for a little while, until the scandal settled.”
“Well, you needn’t concern yourself. I have to marry Ashford now.”
“That you do,” he said with a sigh. “I haven’t the funds or connections to keep you safe, much to my shame.” His eyes glittered for only a moment, before his usual countenance returned.
“Since that is settled, Papa, why don’t you tell me the story? I’ve heard nothing but vague allusions to it by Mr. Barrow and Ashford, and it is beginning to grate on my nerves.
He sighed, running a hand through his greying hair. “I wanted to tell you a long time ago, but Mary wanted to wait until you were married and secure first.”
She didn’t miss his use of her maid’s given name. “I want to know what this has to do with her.”
“Everything,” he replied. Kitty heard Barrow shift in his seat.
“How do you mean?” she asked.
Her father looked at her steadily. “Mary is your real mother.”
