The Lonely Duke Waited Months for His Bride — Then She Arrived With His Missing Son
Chapter 13
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The visit ended soon afterward. At the door, he took her hand again, holding it a moment longer than courtesy required. "I am glad you are here," he said.She gave a small smile. "So am I, Benedict."Only after the carriage departed did he understand how plainly she had asked for his heart, and how thoroughly he had offered her a list of services instead. He went back into the drawing room and searched for the right words on paper. Three beginnings lay torn beside his chair before he wrote a single sentence that seemed true:I want you here even when there is nothing left for you to do.He intended to tell her in person. The difficulty was that he had spent so many years turning fear into duty that he did not yet know how to stand still before another person and simply be afraid.By September 8th, the rain had cleared. Lower Mill remained damaged.Finch brought Benedict the contractor's accounts, the receipts for timber and iron, and the laborers' notes on deliveries. "There are quantities here I cannot reconcile," he said. "Not enough to prove dishonesty, enough to merit examination."Benedict invited Marian to review copies of the arithmetic because she had mentioned keeping accounts for former employers. He made clear she could refuse. Marian agreed, noticing the difference.One afternoon, she set two sheets side by side. "Mr. Finch, is this the same shipment entered twice, or were there two deliveries of identical quantities on the same morning?"Finch studied the dates. "There should have been only one."He checked the receiving book kept in the mill office. Joseph remembered one wagon crossing the yard, but Finch insisted on documentary proof. The signatures, invoices, and letters from the supplier showed a repeated charge and further inconsistencies in materials billed for the river supports. Dacre had approved a questionable schedule of charges, though his knowledge of each false entry remained unproven."These errors do not remove the debt," Finch warned. "Sir Percival holds a separate note. We may contest the accounts and pursue repayment, but that is not the same as paying him by the 30th.""I understand," Benedict said. "Continue the application for a replacement credit. Include the genuine income figures and the repairs still required. We will not conceal the damage."The lender required additional security. Pledging Benedict's private investments would narrow Oliver's future choices. Finch set beside the papers a list of mill workers and families whose wages had already stopped. Benedict folded the list once. The figures had faces now.He could protect Oliver's reserve by accepting Dacre's lease, but that would leave the mill families paying the price for 15 years. Or, he could pledge his investments and bear the danger himself. Neither course was painless.Dacre visited before the new papers were complete. "You could settle all this with one signature," he said, pushing forward the 15-year water lease."At the cost of our future earnings and the mill workers' livelihood.""Your family must come before sentiment.""My family is precisely why I will consider the terms carefully."Dacre leaned back. "I hear a young lady has begun advising you. Society will draw its own conclusions.""Miss Whitlock has nothing to do with our contractual obligations."