her editor and the newspaper’s accountants. There were other issues, such as drugs and prostitutes that had been purchased for his dinner parties, a few pictures and handwritten notes that Malcolm suggested were blackmail …the list of Edward’s crimes seemed endless. All the evidence pointed to a man who considered himself to be above the law.
It was a massive article. She worked closely with her editor and the legal staff at the newspaper to ensure accuracy and to protect the newspaper from lawsuits. They tried hard to keep it quiet, not wanting anyone else to know of the breaking news ahead of time. News that one of Britain’s great aristocrats, and a Duke at that, was a very bad man was huge news! It was a scoop that Ella wasn’t willing to give away to anyone else.
Chapter 12
“This doesn’t make sense,” Ella muttered to herself as she flipped from one page to the next. Malcolm was at the hospital, talking to his father. Edward answered all of Malcolm’s questions about his financial issues, assuming that his son was taking over everything. Malcolm didn’t disabuse Edward of that idea, wanting to get all of his illegal activities documented and stopped. The doctors said that Edward had only a few more days, maybe a week, to live. His kidneys had already stopped working and he was living on dialysis machines. His liver was becoming toxic and his heart was barely pumping enough oxygen to keep him alive.
Initially, Ella had a bit of an ethical dilemma about Malcolm getting information from Edward when he didn’t know that his crimes would be revealed. But as they dug deeper, and after a long conversation with her editor and the legal team at the newspaper, Ella realized that Edward had every right to stop talking and explaining and it was better to stop the crimes the old duke had perpetuated over the years. The man was black right to his soul, she thought as she started reading another document, trying to connect all of the dots.
“Something is missing,” she muttered, shaking her head. Picking up her phone, she dialed Malcolm’s number. When he picked up, she explained, “Hey, the information you gave me about the shipments on the eighteenth don’t match up with the orders. Were there other pages that explained the contents?”
“They might still be in my father’s study. I left several files out on his desk. Why don’t you go over there and look? I’ll be there as soon as I’m finished here at the hospital.”
“Sounds great.”
“I’ll have Beth let you in.”
“I thought she was supposed to be relaxing somewhere on a beach.”
He laughed slightly. “She refuses to stop working until I’m finished cleaning up this mess. Harvey as well. They were able to fill in some of the blanks too, so it’s good that they are still around.”
“Okay, I’ll bring her some muffins from the village. Ingrid makes the best!”
“I agree. Save one for me,” he said, then rung off.
Ella smiled, thinking about Malcolm’s sweet tooth. The man really loved dessert. And Ella loved that he enjoyed desserts as well, since sometimes, she was the dessert!
Gathering everything up into her arms, she turned and…dumped it all back on the desk before racing into the bathroom. She made it just to the toilet moments before her stomach heaved. For several minutes, she heaved and groaned as the nausea continued until there was nothing left for her to throw up.
Afterward, she sat on the floor, staying as still as possible. This was the third morning that this had happened and Ella was truly sick of feeling miserable. “What in the world is going on?” she whispered, her palm against her forehead as she tried to make sense of her body.
Then it hit her. The one word. The word that had happened to both of her friends.
Pregnant.
“Oh no!” she whispered. “I can’t be pregnant!”
Her thoughts flashed back to that morning she’d found her birth control patch on the floor. It had somehow come off and…and she very well might be pregnant! “Oh no!”
She sat there for several stunned minutes, not sure what to think. Well, besides panic! Yes, she was pretty panicked at the moment! Panicked and scared!
Her hand moved to her stomach. A baby. Malcolm’s baby. Her baby! Wow!
She wanted to tell herself that she wasn’t happy about being pregnant. But…deep down inside, she felt a bubble of happiness. That bubble grew and grew, expanding until she felt almost light headed. Her first instinct was