The Shocking Secret of a Guest at the Wedding (Millworth Manor) Read Online Free PDF Page A

in his grandfather Graham’s footsteps and the footsteps of the Grahams before him. It was part and parcel of his responsibility to his family. It was who he was. Banking was in his blood.
    Although it did now appear banking was not all that was in his blood.
    “Jackson,” his mother began. “You don’t—”
    “Did you know about this?” He met his mother’s gaze directly. “Is this something else that slipped your mind?”
    “I really haven’t given it much thought. I’m sure it will come as a surprise to both you and your father but I have not spent the last thirty years plotting as to how to keep the two of you apart. The entire question rarely crossed my mind.” She heaved a long-suffering sigh. “But yes, I will admit that I was aware that your father’s brother had a title and that he had no male heirs.”
    “Ah-ha!” Triumph rang in Father’s voice. “Then you did know that I was alive and where to find me.”
    Mother sighed in surrender. “Of course I knew you were alive. I hadn’t heard that you were dead and it did seem, well, prudent, to make inquiries on occasion to see if you had remarried. I would have felt compelled to contact you if that had happened.”
    “Ha!” Father’s eyes narrowed. “To have me jailed for bigamy no doubt.”
    “I hadn’t thought of that.” Mother smiled in a decidedly wicked manner. “But it’s a pleasant idea.”
    “You’re admitting that you knew how to contact me.”
    “I’m admitting no such thing.” Mother’s gaze locked with her husband’s. “Yes, I knew you continued to draw breath. No, I did not know where you were at any given time. You are—as Lucinda so enthusiastically put it—an adventurer. You have never stayed long in one place, Basil. You simply roam from country to country, from one adventure to the next. One would think you were running away from something. Or trying to hide.”
    “I had nothing to hide from nor did I have anything or anyone to run from.” Father narrowed his eyes. “However both running away and hiding can certainly be done without taking so much as a single step.”
    “There are any number of things that I am guilty of but hiding from you is not one of them.” She glared at her husband. “You knew exactly where I was these past thirty years.”
    The colonel stared at his wife. “So to punish me for not seeking you out, you kept my son from me?”
    “Don’t be absurd. That never occurred to me.” She paused. “But you certainly could have made some sort of overture through the years, aside from a handful of letters in the beginning, that is.”
    “Of course I could have but you, and your parents, made it clear that such a gesture on my part would be both foolish and futile.” Father drew a calming breath. “Regardless, this is not the time to debate who should have done what, who was more at fault—”
    “Not a doubt in my mind,” Lucy murmured.
    “As I said, that’s in the past. Jackson.” He turned to his son. “Unfortunately, this is to be the briefest of trips. I took the first ship here as soon as I learned about you, thanks to a chance conversation with a new acquaintance in London. It seemed to me we had lost enough time and I didn’t want to lose any more.”
    Jack nodded.
    “I only arrived today but I have to return to England at once. My niece, your cousin, is to be wed next week. She would never forgive me if I failed to appear.” Father paused. “A wedding is an excellent way to meet a large number of members of a family. I have booked passage on a ship leaving tomorrow.” His gaze met his son’s. “Actually, I have booked two passages.”
    “You’re asking me to go with you?” Jack said slowly.
    “Don’t be absurd.” Mother scoffed. “He can’t simply leave without a moment’s notice. He is a vice-president of the bank. It’s an extremely responsible position. Vice-presidents simply don’t go off to foreign countries without so much as a by your leave.”
    She