Chapter 50

Cassandra snapped back to reality and said casually, “Let’s go. We shouldn’t keep Mr. Hawthorne waiting. If he asks, just say I fell by accident.”

“Miss Taylor,” the butler began seriously, “I know I’m just a servant and it’s not my place… but still, could I ask you not to bring up that Miss Hawthorne is an illegitimate child? The Hawthornes have a reputation to uphold.”

He didn’t fully understand the tension between her and Mara, but he had a decent impression of Cassandra and didn’t want to judge too quickly.

“Got it. I’m sorry,” Cassandra replied gently.

With Mara being the current heir and all, having rumors spread about her origins wouldn’t exactly be great for the family name.

“Thank you,” the butler said sincerely.

Out on the back porch, beneath the shade of an old oak tree, Gerald sat in a weathered rocker, a half-finished game of chess resting on the table beside him. A mug of tea had long since gone cold.

His shoulders slumped, and