Page 43 of Awakening a Lord's Desires
“I must speak with you on your own, my dear.” His voice was low and gravelly. It seemed he’d aged years in a matter of hours.
“What about, Father?” she asked tremulously.
“What will happen if I do not make it through this.”
“No.” She shook her head and began to cry. “Do not speak of it; I cannot bear it.”
“I must, and you must be strong, as I know you are.” He coughed, and then after a pause to rest, he continued. “It is not the way I would have it, if it does happen, for I was sad enough that you lost your mother at such a young age. I do not wish you to lose a father as well.”
“Father,” she said through her tears, “you are the only family I have left, and you are the only one who truly cares for me. I cannot lose you.” She reached for his hand and held it tightly.
“I must tell you, Caroline, that I have left you everything in my will.”
Caroline gasped. Penelope got nothing?
“I know what you are thinking. I have provided Penelope with a small allowance, but you are my heir, and it is you who deserves to receive it all. And you will be alone in the world. My marriage has not turned out the way I hoped, with a woman full of energy and life, caring for you as she would a mother to a daughter.”
Caroline cried louder, covering her mouth with her hand. It was the ultimate relief to hear that her father did not believe Penelope to be a good stepmother. She wanted to argue with him, to ask him why he had never told her that before, but she held back.
“And so, if I pass, it is yours, and if you marry, your husband will have access to it as well, but it is yours, first and foremost. I have organized everything with the lawyers.”
She shook her head. “This is too much, Father. I do not deserve it.” She had not told him of Charles or of her hopes and dreams. She had merely tried to escape Penelope for as long as she could remember.
“You do, and I know you will take care of this home, the one I love so very dearly. It is yours to do with as you choose. Please do not argue, Caroline. You are my daughter.”
She sighed, nodding in agreement. “Very well.”
“Now, I must speak to Penelope about it all as well.”
Caroline went pale. “She will be angry, Father, very angry. You know she will. What do I tell her?”
“You will tell her that this is my choice, and that there is nothing she can do about it. That it is not your fault you have been chosen by me to be my heiress.”
Caroline rose, feeling sick to her stomach. “Shall I get her for you?”
“Yes, if you will.” Her father coughed again, and then Caroline left, nearly bumping into Penelope on her way out.
“Father wishes to speak with you.”
“I have come for that purpose; there is no need for me to be fetched,” she said sternly and then slipped by her into the room.
Caroline glanced at the closed door for a few moments, wondering just what Penelope would do when she found out that she was not the heir to her father’s wealth.
Chapter 42
“What are you saying?” Penelope asked, her heart falling and her stomach clenching. “How can you do this? I am your wife.”
“And she is my daughter who will have lost both parents, Penelope, if my day does come. Surely you understand that I cannot leave her with nothing.”
“What I understand is that you have favoured her above me in every way since we were wed.”
“But of course, Penelope. She is my daughter and has been my sole responsibility for years. It is important that I leave her money and something to hold onto.”
Penelope sat straighter. Her parents had forced her to marry this man she did not love, a man who was far older than her. She had only done it because there had been no other options, and she had hoped he would die soon and leave her a rich widow. Now, everything she had hoped and planned for was over. She couldn’t believe it. An old anger rose up from within her, one she had stuffed down inside her long ago.
“I understand, husband. But what of me? Will you leave me with nothing? Max with nothing?”
The baron scoffed at that, despite the fact that he looked very ill indeed, with a pale, drawn, sweaty face. The night had not seen him well, that was true. She rather hoped he would die sooner than later, but first, they needed to make sure that everything was organized with the will.
