“Margaret, you must reconsider—” Katherine tried.
“No,” William spoke. “Their terms are fair.”
Margaret’s breath hitched with surprised relief. But her mother looked like she was about to swoon, snapping at the viscount.
“William, what are you doing? They ask too much of us!”
“Enough, Katherine.” William stepped forward, and for the first time since his return, he looked genuinely repentant. “This struggle has gone on for too long. If this is what Margaret wishes, this is what she will have.”
“Wait,” Margaret cut in, holding her breath. “Before you accept, I have one more request. You will have the means to live quietly, but not to provide Eliza the life she deserves. Receive your mine, rebuild your lives... but allow Eliza to remain with us forever.”
Katherine’s breath trembled in anger. “You would take not only our influence on our daughter too? You are mad, Margaret, and so selfish?—”
“I am thinking of what is best for Eliza, something you have never done.” Margaret turned to her father. “You know we can give her what you cannot. If Eliza should want to reunite with her parents, now or in the years to come, she will be given the choice. As soon as we return home, I will explain things to her. I would not withhold that from her. That is what it shall be. Her choice. And now you must make yours.”
Her parents were silent for a moment, looking at each other. Margaret second-guessed herself, wondering if she was being unfair.
I must not forget everything they have done to Eliza—using her as a pawn time and time again, allowing her and me to believe that our father was dead. She will be safer with me and Alexander. And if she wants to return to our parents, I will let her go sadly but dutifully.
“Are we agreed?” Alexander asked.
Her father sighed, turning from Katherine with a nod. “Yes.”
Margaret exhaled, fighting the tears that sprang from her eyes.
“I will ensure my solicitor has papers drawn and signed posthaste. There will be clauses to ensure the security of all,” Alexander said, smiling at Margaret. “But this is not the beginning of the end for you. It is merely the start of something new.”
The manor was quiet, but the silence did not unsettle Margaret. Most of the staff had long retired, and she sent Augusta to bed when she greeted them at the doors. Now following Alexander into his study, Margaret looked forward to the celebratory drink he had promised before they took to their rooms.
Her nerves tingled with the events of the night, fingers trembling, as she took the glass from Alexander and raised it in toast.
“Veni, vidi, vici,” he said, smiling at her before downing his drink.
“Only you would christen a night like this with words like that,” Margaret replied, taking a sip. Alexander laughed, leaning against the desk as he watched her. “All things considered, they were much more amenable than I imagined.”
“They have nothing more to lose. The mine is a profitable venture. It will not provide them a life of riches, but it shouldallow your father to repay his debts twice over and support a modest lifestyle after that. It remains to be seen whether he is as good as his word. When I visited the solicitor this morning, he included a clause...”
He trailed off, and Margaret peered at him over her glass.
“Which is of no interest to you, I see.”
“I am merely leaving the finer points to you. It suffices that Eliza is safe for now.” She hummed in thought. “I meant what I said to them. I will give Eliza the choice in the morning. If she decides to return to them, I will not stop her.”
“She loves you,” Alexander said, taking Margaret’s drink when she handed it to him. His hand looped around her waist, and he drew her in close. “And I... What is it?”
Margaret examined his desk, her heart leaping into her throat. Alexander looked at her, then turned, following the line of her eyes until he saw what she did.
There was a note on the table, addressed directly to him.
“Do you think it could be from my father?” Margaret asked. “Perhaps he changed his mind after all.”
Alexander set down their glasses and picked up the note. He sliced through the seal, read the contents...
His eyes went wide.
“It says it is from Isadore.”
“What does it say?”
