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

know,” Lucy said quietly for Jack’s ears alone, handing him the second brandy on her way back to her seat. Brandy did seem like an excellent idea although good Scottish whisky might be better.
    “Haven’t we all,” Jack murmured and gratefully sipped the liquor. Lucy would make an excellent hostess one day.
    “Daniel.” A placating note sounded in his mother’s voice and she stepped toward the other man. “I’m sure you have a great many questions.”
    Daniel stared at her. “I most certainly do.”
    Mother nodded. “Yes, I did think that you—”
    “At the top of that list . . .” Daniel’s brow furrowed in anger and he directed his words toward Jack’s father. “What kind of man abandons his wife and child?”
    Mother winced. Lucy choked. Grandfather poured a brandy of his own.
    “I’m afraid you’re jumping to conclusions, old man.” Father swirled the brandy in his glass.
    “It’s not what you think,” Jack said quickly. “You have it all wrong.”
    “It’s seems pretty obvious to me. In fact, it clears up a lot of discrepancies I’ve noticed through the years.” Righteous indignation sounded in Daniel’s voice. “Answer my question, Channing.”
    “I’m afraid I can’t.” Father shrugged in an offhand manner. “I don’t know the answer to that particular question.”
    “Oh, come now. What kind of a fool—”
    “He didn’t know,” Mother blurted, then heaved a resigned sigh. “Basil had no idea he was a father. Nor did he know that our marriage was not annulled.”
    “Annulled?” Daniel shook his head in confusion. “I thought he was dead.”
    “Not yet,” Father said again and raised his glass in a toast.
    “I don’t understand this.” Daniel rubbed his forehead. “Any of this.” He paused and stared at Mother. “You’re not a widow?”
    “Not in the strictest definition of the word,” Mother said. “But I do feel—”
    “All these years and you were still married?” Shock shone in Daniel’s eyes, betrayal sounded in his voice. “All that nonsense about waiting until Jackson was settled and married before you and I—”
    “Really, Daniel.” Mother huffed. “That’s quite enough. I’ll explain everything later and we can discuss all of it. At the moment we have more important issues to deal with.”
    “More important?” Disbelief rang in Daniel’s voice. Grandfather appeared beside him and refilled his glass. “What could possibly be more important than a dead husband coming back from the grave?”
    “Not really coming back,” Father said pleasantly, “as I was never actually in the grave.”
    “Basil wants to take Jackson back with him to England. To meet the rest of his family,” Mother said.
    “Jackson’s family,” his father said firmly.
    Mother ignored him. “Basil’s brother is an earl and Jackson will one day inherit the title.”
    Daniel stared at her. “And?”
    “And . . .” Mother chose her words with care. “If he leaves he might never come home.” A pleading note rang in her voice and she moved closer to Daniel. “Don’t you see, we could lose him entirely.”
    Daniel studied her for a moment, then turned his attention to Jack. “What are you going to do, Jack?”
    Jack stared at the other man. Daniel hadn’t called him Jack since he was a little boy. His heart twisted for the man who had been just as badly treated by his mother as he and his father.
    Jack shook his head. “I haven’t decided yet.”
    “It’s a big decision.” Daniel nodded thoughtfully. “If you want my advice, I think you should go.”
    Mother gasped. “Daniel!”
    “You’ve always wanted to travel, this is your chance.” Daniel favored him with a half-hearted smile. “And you’ve always wanted a father. This is your chance for that, too.”
    “I think it would be a mistake for you not to go, Jackson.” Lucy met his gaze directly. “You’ve always done exactly what was expected of you. This would be, oh, an adventure I think and you