Page 56 of A Duke for Hire

Tristan tensed, and gave her a sympathetic look.

“I believe it is partly why he is being so generous,” he answered quietly. “Your father apparently shut down all your accounts at the stores, and though I am sure it does not matter to Hugo a single bit, he also withheld your dowry.”

Though it was what she was expecting, Seraphina felt swallowed up by a strange sense of loneliness.

“And my mother?” She rasped.

“Seraphina,” Tristan sighed, “Do not do this to yourself.”

“I want to know,” she urged.

Tristan looked at her as if she were an orphaned pup, as he toyed with his top hat.

“I only know what he has told me and that is very little,” he warned her, “But apparently, when he went to try and soothe things over, he came while she was in the process of removing your things. We were able to rescue a few items. Some books, a few that looked like childhood knick-knacks, but not much else. I am sorry, Seraphina. I am so sorry.”

Seraphina closed her eyes as she pressed her lips together, taking a moment to fully accept her new life.

“So I am disowned and homeless then,” she murmured.

“You will never be homeless,” Tristan answered quickly, giving her shoulder a comforting squeeze. “Whether it is one of the Fenwick houses or the Briarwood, you will nevernothave a place to go, I can promise you that. And as for being disowned, well. It is your parents that have truly lost something special, not you. And don’t you dare think otherwise.”

Seraphina smiled at him warmly, thankful for his kind words.

“Theo is lucky to have you as an older brother, Tristan,” she said, fighting back the tears threatening to fall.

“And she is lucky to have a friend like you,” he replied affectionately. “It is my honor to look after you as I do with her.”

Tristan then smiled widely, and gently rapped his knuckles against her chin in a pretend punch.

“Now, buck up, my girl. Do not mourn an uncomfortable past, but celebrate a bright future,” he urged.

She nodded her head, successfully fighting off her tears. He was right, and she knew it. Whatever discomfort she had faced with society, with her parents- it was over now.

“Ladies!” She called, feeling renewed, “Do come back out. We have much to do before Friday!”

“That’s the spirit,” Tristan whispered as he winked at her.

He motioned for the jeweler and cordwainer to come into the room then, and as the Theo and the others also made their way back in, he gave them all a sweeping bow.

“Everything all right, darling?” Theo asked, after her brother left.

“It certainly will be,” Seraphina said decisively, then turned her attention fully to her tasks.

“To Hugo!”

Hugo winced and rolled his eyes as he walked into the private gambling room and heard his friends sing the toast.

“I should have known better than to believe you wouldn’t let me go without a stag party,” he grumbled, smiling as his friends rushed him.

“It is tradition,” Everett sang, pouring him a glass of champagne.

“And an excuse,” Dominic said with a smirk, waving a choice of cigars before Hugo, “To get utterly knackered.”

Hugo plucked his choice of cigar from Dominic’s hand as he let a smile creep across his face.

“Since when do you need an excuse?” He teased.

Dominic made a face and shrugged. “I always feel less guilty the next morning when I have an excuse.”

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