Page 52 of The Ambiguous Enigma of the Hunted Lady
“Speaking of your bill, what has become of it? I hear that it will still fall far short on the floor.”
“They will come around to my side. Leah will bring to their ears a perspective of poverty that they had never before known or sought to learn of. When so clearly confronted by the brutalities of our world, surely they will be forced to reconsider my proposal.”
“Leah? Not Miss Benson?”
“What of it?”
“You cannot be so confident.” Cornelius cautioned, shrugging aside his last comment. “The House of Lords may not be so fast to see your point of view. Many of them are more familiar with brutality than you know, and many more of them simply won't put any stock in it.”
“How can they be so close minded?”
“Because they are older than you, and that is the way it will always be,” Cornelius raised his mug. “to the old and the young.”
“The old and the young.” Kenneth echoed, toasting his uncle. “I only hope that Leah can make them see reason.”
“If you want to accomplish that, you should refer to her as Miss Benson.” Cornelius suggested.
“Fair enough.” Kenneth smiled. “You mentioned that you ought to meet her, since she will be working for me.”
“I did.” Cornelius cocked his head. “And it seems since you can't cease thinking of her.”
“How is that?”
“Come now Kenneth, I am not your mother. I won't take offenses to you taking sweet on someone below your stature. Do you think I ever stayed within the lines?”
“Uncle, honestly I have no idea what you have done most of your life, save the past five years,” Kenneth admitted, much to his own surprise. He had never truly thought it through or considered the strangeness of his uncle’s anonymity. The sudden bluntness also shocked him a bit; it was most out of Cornelius's character.
Cornelius would appear for family gatherings, he was always a joy, but beyond that, Kenneth had no clue of his uncle's life while he was growing up. Only since his father's death had his uncle taken such a role in his life.
“What is it you think I do?” Cornelius asked, setting down his fork for a spell.
“I don't know,” Kenneth pondered. Before he could say anything else, Cornelius abruptly cut in.
“You were saying, about me meeting her.”
“Yes, yes I was.,” Kenneth was a bit rattled. His uncle's mysterious boast had taken him by surprise. “I think you should come back to the manor with me, for a proper meal with mother, and you can meet Leah, Miss Benson.” Kenneth corrected himself at the end. “So, I might prove her a valuable employee.” he added as an afterthought.
“Very well, I shall accept your invitation.” Cornelius said.
“Splendid.” Kenneth was overjoyed. “We will have a feast.”
“Tell me,” Cornelius said as they again toasted their drinks and returned to their food. “did you ever learn the nature of her attack? This Miss Benson?”
“What relevance is that?”
“Was the crime targeted, or was it a random act?”
“What are you saying, Uncle?”
“I mean only to say that if someone is after her, then they may still be after her, no?”
“Is she not safe on my estate? I am a Duke.”
“That you are.” Cornelius admitted. “But keep your eyes and ears alert. Something tells me that this business is not yet finished, not by some many miles.
Chapter 15
Francis was living between a cold sweat and a strange stone calmness as he rolled up the way to the Worthington manor. The house atop the hill stared down on him like an imposing nun, scolding down at him for the thoughts and plans he carried with him.
