Lily suddenly released Amelia's hand. Before anyone could stop her, she turned and ran from the chapel.
"Lily." Edward moved after her.
Rosamond's voice rang through the silence. "If you leave now, there will be no wedding to return to."
Edward stopped in the center of the aisle. Behind him stood the woman he had promised to marry. Ahead of him, the chapel doors were still swinging from the force of his daughter's exit. For years, Edward had believed duty meant protecting his family's name. Now, with all of England watching, he had only seconds to decide whether his daughter was part of the family he meant to protect.
Edward did not look back at the altar. He ran through the chapel doors and found Lily at the end of the corridor, struggling with the handle of her mother's old sitting room. Her small shoulders shook beneath the ivory dress Rosamond had tried to remove from the ceremony.
"Lily."
The child froze. Edward approached slowly, as though sudden movement might send her running again.
"Look at me."
She obeyed, but her face held an expression no 8-year-old should have learned so well, the careful fear of someone waiting to discover whether she was about to be blamed. Edward knelt before her.
"Why did you believe I would send you away?"
Lily pressed both hands against her skirt. "Lady Rosamond said it would be better for everyone."
"Better how?"
"She said Ashbourne Hall could not have two daughters of the house who expected to be important."
Edward stared at her. "You are my only daughter."
"She said after the wedding you would have a new family."
His chest tightened. "You are my family."
Lily's eyes filled with tears. "Then why did you never ask if I wanted her here?"
The question silenced him. Edward had arranged tutors, clothing, medical care, and every comfort wealth could provide. He had believed these things proved he was a devoted father. Yet he could not remember the last time he had sat beside Lily simply to ask what frightened her.
The chapel doors behind him opened. Rosamond appeared with the Dowager Duchess Margaret and several concerned relatives. Amelia followed at a distance. Rosamond's voice was gentle now.
"Edward, the guests are waiting. Lily is distressed, but allowing her to control the ceremony will only teach her that tears bring rewards."
Lily moved closer to her father. Edward noticed. It was small, almost instinctive, but it revealed more than any accusation Amelia could have made.
"What school in Scotland?" he asked.
Rosamond's expression barely changed. "I considered several respectable institutions."
"You discussed sending my daughter away without speaking to me."
"I intended to present the best option after we were married."
Margaret stepped forward. "Ashbourne Hall requires order. Lily has become too dependent upon Miss Hart, and a proper school might encourage discipline."
Amelia's face remained calm, but Edward saw anger in her eyes. Rosamond gave a soft, disbelieving laugh. "How convenient."
Amelia turned toward Edward. "Lady Lily's belongings have already been removed from the East Nursery. A trunk containing school uniforms was delivered 3 days ago. She was told she would leave shortly after the wedding."
Edward looked at Rosamond. "Is that true?"
"I prepared for a possibility, nothing more."
Lily whispered, "She took Mama's music books away."
Rosamond's patience finally broke. "This house cannot remain a shrine to a dead woman forever."
The corridor fell silent. Edward rose. "You will return to your rooms."
"Edward, the wedding will not continue today."
Rosamond's face hardened. "You would humiliate my family because a frightened child misunderstood a private conversation."
"No. I am postponing it because my daughter is afraid of the woman I intended to place in her home."
Margaret took his arm. "You are allowing a servant to destroy an alliance that protects this family."
Edward looked toward Amelia. She stood beside Lily, neither triumphant nor relieved. Her concern remained entirely with the child. "That servant," he said, "was the only person who noticed Lily believed she was about to be abandoned."
For the rest of the afternoon, guests departed beneath a storm of speculation. Edward remained with Lily in her mother's old sitting room. He attempted to ask gentle questions, but the child answered only when Amelia was present. Whenever Rosamond's name was mentioned, Lily's fingers tightened around the gold locket Amelia had returned to her.
Later, after Lily had fallen asleep, Edward summoned Amelia to his study. The unfinished wedding decorations still filled the halls, turning every corridor into a reminder of the scandal.
"You interrupted my wedding before hundreds of guests," he said.
"Yes."
"You could have come to me privately."
"The ceremony had already begun. You might have prevented that. I tried to speak with Lady Rosamond. She locked your daughter in a cloakroom."
Edward's jaw tightened. Amelia continued more quietly.
"Lily has been frightened for weeks. Her belongings were moved. She was forbidden to enter her mother's music room. She saw a school trunk outside the nursery and was told she would leave after your marriage."
"Why did she not tell me?"
"Because she believed your happiness depended upon her silence."
The words struck him with painful accuracy. Edward turned toward the fire. "I love my daughter."
"I know."
"Then do not speak as though I have neglected her."
Amelia hesitated. "You have provided for her perfectly."