This is too much… Blackwood needs to be confronted!

You left with your jaw set.

Emily's trembling voice still echoed in your thoughts.

The embarrassment.

The way she had somehow managed to apologise for this foul man's behaviour.

The more you thought about it, the angrier you became.

Blackwood had no right.

Not because Emily was a servant.

Not because she was kind.

Because no woman should have to endure such unwanted attention.

If the man was still nearby, you intended to make your feelings known.

You followed the woodland paths where several of the gentlemen had wandered after luncheon.

There was no sign of Blackwood.

Only distant voices drifting through the trees.

As you rounded a thicket, another voice reached your ears.

It belonged to Blackwood's valet.

Instinctively, you stepped behind an old oak.

"...His lordship grows impatient."

Another man answered, his voice lower.

"Lord Ashcombe still refuses."

"He'll refuse until he's forced not to."

"And if he never is?"

The valet chuckled.

"He will be."

"The debt is real enough."

"The debt, yes."

"The claim to the land?"

A pause followed.

"Not unless Ashcombe actually defaults."

"Exactly."

"So we continue letting him believe otherwise."

"The old fool doesn't understand half the documents he signed fifteen years ago."

"And when he finally yields?"

"The hunting grounds."

"The lake."

"And Lady Charlotte."

The second man laughed quietly.

"All without a courtroom."

"It is far simpler to frighten a gentleman than to sue one."

Your grip tightened around the rough bark of the tree.

"So Blackwood has no legal claim at all?"

"Not today."

"But Lord Ashcombe doesn't know that. He only sees the debt. And if Blackwood marries the daughter, takes the land and makes the debt go away..."

"The family will call it a happy compromise."

Both men laughed.

The sound turned your stomach.

After a few moments, the voices began to fade as the pair continued along the woodland path.

You remained perfectly still until they were well out of sight.

Only then did you step from behind the tree.

You stood silently beneath the trees, turning the revelation over in your mind.

This knowledge could change everything.

It could ruin Blackwood.

It could save the Ashcombe family.

Or perhaps...

It could become the opportunity you had always dreamed of.

For now, however, you pushed the thought aside.

This was neither the time nor the place to decide what should be done.

With one last glance towards the path Blackwood's servants had taken, you turned and made your way back towards the hunting party, carrying yet another secret that would have to wait for the right moment.