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“I am selling you these documents, which some newspapers may find fascinating,” Crowther said.

“You are committing a crime in front of many witnesses,” Peregrine reminded him.

“No, Your Grace -”

But it was too late. The side door of the office opened, and in came Mr. Honeycutt himself.

“I have recorded every word, Mr. Crowther,” the solicitor announced coldly. “It is time that we have a talk.”

Crowther’s smug expression was completely gone. He had gone pale. Rosamund barely saw him being ushered away. The room felt like it was spinning. Now, she knew why her father stole from Henry’s trust. It was because he was protecting her own mother.

“Please leave us, Lord vale,” Rosamund murmured.

Adrian gave her a sympathetic look, and with a nod to Peregrine, he stepped out of the office.

“Father really took Henry's money,” she said dully.

“Yes,” Peregrine confirmed, nodding.

“He did it because someone threatened his children,” she murmured, even as her chest tightened even more.

“Yes.”

“Did you know about Marian?” she asked.

“No, I did not,” Peregrine replied.

“Did you know my father was being blackmailed when you exposed him?”

“No.”

“Did you ever suspect…” Rosamund asked, studying Peregrine’s face, “that something else was happening?”

Peregrine hesitated.

That single moment was enough. It sliced through Rosamund’s heart.

“Did you suspect?” she repeated.

“His behavior never made sense to me,” he admitted, looking down at his hands. “He was more terrified than defiant. He begged for time but he could not explain why. At that time, I thought it was more proof of his guilt.”

Rosamund leaned forward, seized by a terrible thought. “Was there anything else? Any clue or letter that suggested the money might be connected to my mother?”

Peregrine froze.

“There was,” Rosamund whispered, reading the shifts in his body. “Oh God, there was.”

Peregrine squeezed his eyes close, nodding.

“Years ago, before I pushed the sale of Ashbourne, I found a letter threatening to reveal something about your mother. At the time, I thought your father wrote it to create confusion or excuse the missing money. I believed I needed to act before the rest of Henry’s inheritance disappeared. Therefore, I ignore the possibility of blackmail.”

“All this time, you let me believe that you simply did not know enough!” Rosamund sobbed.

“I knew there was an unanswered question!” Peregrine insisted. “But I did not know the truth. I swear to you, Rosamund!”

“An unanswered question should have been enough to make you stop!”

Peregrine hung his head. For the first time, he did not attempt to defend himself.