“It is Father,” Seraphine said, shaking now from excitement. “He has… His Grace has made sure… he is losing, Thalia. Everything! He has lost everything and there is nothing he can do.”
Thalia frowned. “What on earth are you saying?”
Seraphine frowned. “Have you not heard what your husband has done?”
“It is my fault.” Damien stepped further into the room. “Thalia, I debated whether I should tell you or not, but I thought it best to keep you in the dark. No sense upsetting you.”
“Caspian…” Her heart flipped. “What… what is going on?”
“It seems that His Grace took Lord Donmere’s attack on the two of you personally,” Damien explained. “He has spent the last week dedicating every waking breath to destroying the man’s reputation.”
Rosaline snorted. “That is a nice way of saying it.”
“He has ruined the man,” Damien picked up. “Apparently, Lord Donmere was rather broke when he arranged for Rosaline to marry His Grace, and their marriage contract was a last desperate effort to cover his debts and ensure that he did not go bankrupt.”
“It is no wonder he was so against the marriage taking place,” Laurent chuckled. “He saw Rosaline here as his golden goose.”
“The point is…” Damien cleared his throat. “Word has spread of Lord Donmere’s situation, thanks entirely to His Grace’s efforts. The entire ton now knows of his poverty, and he is losing investments like a bucket filled with holes loses water.”
“His name is ruined,” Seraphine said with more excitement than she should have shown. She did, after all, rely on her father for everything. “And the last I saw of him, he was in a rather discomfited state.”
“When did you see him last?” Rosaline asked.
“This morning,” Seraphine explained. “He was in his office, screaming at his solicitor. I thought to ask if I might come and visit you, but I realized that he would not care. What I do is the least of his concerns.”
“What any of us do,” Rosaline corrected, taking Laurent’s hand.
“That is why I am here,” Seraphine continued. “I thought you should know.” She looked between Thalia and Rosaline. “That both of you deserved to know.”
Damien chuckled. “It is ironic, isn’t it? In his bid to save face and ruin you name, he ended up ruining his own. Justice served cold, as they say.”
Thalia did not know what to say. Just as she did not know what to feel.
Was this last week, she likely would have felt great relief. When she and Caspian were still happy and together, such news would have been received with elation, as it meant that the vengeful lord would no longer be able to hurt them.
However, with all that had happened, she struggled to see the positive. What did she care about Lord Donmere’s state of being? What did it matter if he was broke, if he lost, or if anything happened to him at all? In fact, that Caspian had been so determined to break the lord who threatened his name was somewhat disheartening.
It means that he has spent this last week focused on petty revenge, rather than contemplating how he feels about me. I wonder now if he has thought about me at all since I left…
“It is good news for us,” Rosaline said. “It means that he cannot stand in the way of me and Laurent.”
Laurent snorted. “Likely, he will try and use our marriage now to cling to some level of dignity. Watch as he comes begging…” Laurent and Rosaline laughed together.
“I know I should not be nearly so happy,” Seraphine said as she squeezed Thalia’s hands. “Only, I can’t help but feel that Father deserves this. He has been a monster since Rosaline ran away, and I feared that he might end up using me in his schemes.”
“He can’t touch you now,” Rosaline said with determination.
“Nor can he force me to marry,” Seraphine said, her cheeks glowing rosy pink. “I can marry for love now, not expectation.” She giggled. “And I have you to thank, Thalia.”
“It is certainly a relief,” Damien said. “And it will take the attention away from your marriage, Thalia…” He looked at her with a sense of caution. “Do you think now that His Grace will…”
Thalia winced. “When did Caspian start this campaign of revenge?”
“Five days ago,” Seraphine said.
Thalia winced again and looked away. “So, he has known about Lord Donmere’s fall for some time then…”
The implication was so clear that she felt no need to say it.
