Page 71 of A Bride for the Rakish Duke

William had no words, his throat tightening. Hehadseen his father’s ledgers and had studied them thoroughly to try and figure out where the fortune had gone, and hehadassumed that “maintenance” pertained to the house. Yet, it could not be true that his father had foolishly fathered other children and indulged in trickster lovers, and he was scrabbling to recover their fortune because his father had been paying, quite literally, for his mistakes.

“This is a wicked trick, even for you,” William said, staring at the baby in the stranger’s arms.

Those eyes…It was like looking at his own eyes.

“A wicked trick?” Mary clasped a hand to her chest, breathing hard. “Are you quite serious? No, are you quite blind? Has your father manipulated you so much that you cannot see what is right before your eyes? Your father hasanotherbaby, yetIam the disloyal, untrustworthy one? I do not know whether to laugh or cry, Willie, for this is… it is… it is unfair. So very unfair.”

“Who do you think it was that insisted on the children being cared for?” she added, her voice quavering. “Your father would have let them suffer, but I could not do it. I did not like it, but I could not let him ruin more lives. His wretched lovers, however, he paid whatever they asked, for he was a coward.”

You… ensured the children were looked after, despite such betrayal?

William’s heart wavered slightly, his eyes seeing his mother in a somewhat new light. For so long, he had thought her fickle and silly and lascivious, when she had been the very opposite. She had put her dignity on a sacrificial altar for his father’s sake… and all this time, William had been afraid that Lydia would turn out exactly like her.

In truth, as he observed her fighting for control of her composure, a mighty blow of guilt struck him squarely in the chest.

At that moment, the stranger sniffed and scowled at Mary. “If you had been a good wife, perhaps he would not have needed to find affection elsewhere.”

“I would not strike a mother with a babe in her arms, but you are pushing me, Beatrice,” Mary replied, a muscle twitching in her jaw. “Iwasa good wife. I adored my husband with all my heart, forgiving everything because I loved him so, and I thought that, in the end, he would settle for just me. But one can only bear heartbreak so many times before one must live for oneself, before one must give up on one’s hopes of winning her husband’s wayward heart.”

She shook her head at William. “I suspect you will learn that soon enough, Willie. That was Lydia riding away in the carriage, was it not?” She sighed. “You are just like him, and I could not be sorrier for your poor, poor wife. Still, I hope beyond all hope that you never, ever embarrass her likethat! I certainly never did that to your father.” She pointed at the baby, and then with tears falling down her cheeks, she hurried out of the room like a young lady who had just been informed of a severed engagement.

William flinched as the drawing room door slammed shut, but as the boom echoed between the walls, it knocked something like sense into him. For so many years, he had questioned why his mother had suddenly changed and had begun to venture out alone and flirt with other gentlemen.

But the greater question had always been why his father had not put a stop to it. The pair had argued viciously when they were in the same place, but his father had never actually preventedhis wife from embarrassing him or behaving in an unseemly fashion. He had either ignored it or endured it.

Because he was doing the same and worse…

It was as if someone had ignited a candle in a very dark room, revealing bookcases upon bookcases of dusty secrets.

He wanted to believe that his mother was lying, but there was no denying the state of the Stonebridge fortune—or lack thereof—and there could be no denying the baby that the unfamiliar woman, Beatrice, was holding.

“Is it true that the Duke is dead?” the woman asked quietly, her eyes already red-rimmed.

William raised his gaze to her, noticing her properly for the first time. Dark hair, dark eyes, pretty features, and a peaches and cream complexion, not unlike Mary had once been.

“My father is, yes,” he replied. “Not too long ago. A few months. I trust you were not informed of that?”

Beatrice shook her head slowly, her breath catching in her throat. For a moment, she looked unsteady, prompting William to step forward and take the baby from her arms. If she fainted, he did not want any harm to come to the baby.

“Thank you,” she gasped, slumping down onto the settee. There, she leaned forward, holding her head in her hands. Hershoulders shook slightly, as if she were fighting the sorrow that was etched on every part of her face.

“When the Duke—sorry, the former Duke—sent me away, my father knew what the scandal would do to me and to him.” Her voice was strained and thick, and she could not look at William. “He turned his country seat into a fortress, and I was not permitted to leave, but he recently returned to Society, and I saw my opportunity. I snuck away with Alexandria. I came straight here.”

“Who is your father, if you do not mind my asking?” William gazed down at the child, putting out his finger for the little girl to grip.

He could not help but smile as the child did just that, gripping tightly as her little legs kicked wildly in the blanket that swaddled her. In truth, he could not remember the last time he had held a baby and hoped he was doing it correctly. And as he did, he thought of his other half-sisters, somewhere out there in the world, unknown to him. Would he ever meet them?

“The Viscount Whiston,” Beatrice replied, though William barely heard her—he was too preoccupied.

What would our children look like? Would they resemble me or Lydia?

His mind could not resist conjuring up images of them standing in this very room, likely exhausted but overjoyed, holding a child of their own. Certain that he did not want a repetition of hischildhood with his children, he knew any children of his would be adored and cherished.

However, considering his wife had just absconded, he did not know if that future was possible anymore.

The reason awaits you at the manor…

His eyes widened as the pieces of the puzzle slotted into place, and the realization of the grave misunderstanding that must have happened dawned on him.

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