“Why would I think about how you feel?” His lips twisted into a sneer.
“Because I am your daughter?”
“And therein lies the problem. You are not my daughter.” His usual mask of indifference fell away to reveal such contempt that Adeline flinched. “What you are is a thorn in my side, a constant reminder of betrayal.”
“What do you mean?” she whispered.
He took another gulp of brandy. “Your mother had an affair. And worse, she wasn’t careful and ended up pregnant with you.”
His words pierced her chest like arrows. She wasn’t her father’s daughter. She was a product of an affair. “Does everyone know?”
“No.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Some maybe knew. No one would dare chastise a royal duke, but your mother received some shunning from certain parties. The duchess at the time had a lot of influence.”
Dear Lord, Adeline had had a black mark against her this whole time and hadn’t even known. Rumors and innuendo abounded in society. Had this been part of the reason she had never felt accepted? Did people know she was a bastard?
She laid a hand on her heart. “I can’t believe Mother would have an affair.”
“Well, Fredrick was a charming son of bitch,” her father said bitterly. He sat down in his leather chair. “We are done here. You will marry Lord Bellamy, and I will finally have you out of my house.”
Adeline stood staring at her father for a long moment, reeling from everything she had learned.
“Go to bed, Addy,” he snapped.
She stumbled back a few steps, then turned and raced out the door and down the corridor. She didn’t stop until she had reached her bedroom. Her maid, Mary, looked up from her stool, where she polished a pair of Adeline’s boots. “Ready to change for bed, miss?”
Adeline nodded woodenly and let her maid undress her. Once she was in her nightgown she climbed into her bed and buried her face in the pillow. Perhaps her mother had the right of it. All she wanted was to hide from the world. She pulled the covers over her head and cried fat, silent tears into her pillow.
*
The following day,she kept to her room. Mary brought her food up on a tray, but Adeline didn’t have an appetite. In the afternoon, she checked on George but again found him sleeping. She stared down at his face, mottled black and blue, and his swollen lip. He was lucky they hadn’t killed him. He rolled in his sleep onto his bandaged arm, groaning before returning to lying on his back.
Adeline brushed the hair off his forehead. He didn’t deserve to be harmed by their father’s mistakes. There wasn’t anything he would be able to do to stop Bellamy from coming for her. She swallowed the tears that threatened. She’d promised herself she would not cry anymore.
Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe Bellamy would mostly leave her alone with her books. It would be worth it to protect George and her mother from further harm and to get out from under her father’s roof. Her father might hate her… Adeline’s breath hitched in her chest. That part still hurt the most. The way he had looked at her last night with such derision like she was nothing more than a pebble in his shoe. But George loved her, and so did her mother, as much as she could muster anyway.
Adeline walked out of her brother’s room. Why had George asked Lord Kingsbury to watch over her? Why him? She barely knew the man. Well, except for the kissing. She sighed. Kissing him had been much more pleasurable than she had expected. Being in his embrace, the object of all his focus had been…addictive. She wanted more.
Yesterday, his concern had wrapped around her like a warm blanket. But it was dangerous—this wanting something she couldn’t have. She had no choice but to marry Lord Bellamy to save her family. Besides, flirting and kissing were probably second nature to Kingsbury. What could a man like him see in her? She didn’t even know who she was anymore.
Wallflower, bluestocking, good girl—these were descriptors she knew applied to her. She pressed on her eyes, but tears flooded them anyway. She had tried so hard to be good, to not be any trouble. Where had that gotten her? Ripping off her glasses, she wiped away tears that had splashed the lenses with her sleeve. Her father was never going to praise her; he didn’t even want her under his roof. She was a child of scandal, a product of an illicit affair. No wonder no one wanted her.
Later that evening, she read in her room. She had gotten ready for bed but was too keyed up to sleep. Laying her book on the side table, she tucked her feet under her in the tufted chair. She reached for her saucer and sipped the lemon ginger tea. Usually, her books could distract her from her thoughts, but there were so many overwhelming feelings swirling around in her head. Fear for her brother, anger at her father, this strange feeling of want low in her belly. Kingsbury had her foolishly wanting more of his attention, more of his kisses.
A soft rapping came from across the room, making her boggle her teacup. Another slightly louder rap rang out through the quiet. Adeline set down her tea and rose from her chair as the window across from her swung open. With a small shriek, she scrambled behind the chair.
“Don’t be scared, Adeline. It’s me, Kingsbury.” A long leg appeared over the sill, and then the entire man climbed into her bedroom.
“What in God’s name are you doing?”
He stood still with his hands behind his back and a wide grin on his face. “Kidnapping you.”
“What?” Adeline sputtered. “Why?”
“I have vowed to protect you. And if you won’t willingly let me take you to Millstone Manor, then I will kidnap you.”
“You certainly will not.”
He stalked over to her. The chair was still between them, but he reached out and cupped her jaw. “Adeline, you can’t marry Bellamy. Your brother agrees. He thinks you will be safer at Millstone Manor, where you can’t be forced into anything. I will make sure you stay safe. I promise. I don’t wish to see you harmed in any way.”
