“Your name,” he said softly, “will be a punchline.”
Paisley choked out something unintelligible.
Sebastian stepped in, close enough that the duke could see every inch of rage in his eyes. The promise of what would come next, should he ever dare again.
“You will never speak of Miss Madeleine again,” he said. “Not to me. Not to anyone. Or I will not hold back.”
Paisley trembled. “You’ve ruined me.”
“No,” Sebastian said. “Youdid that.”
Then he turned.
He left the room without looking back, and when the door opened, the cold air that rushed in felt like clarity.
He didn’t need to see Paisley crumble to know it was done.
He had won.
Not just the confrontation.
Buther.
And that meant something more. It meanteverything.
He made it ten paces down the corridor before his breath caught and the fury drained from his limbs like rain from a storm-wracked roof. The tension that had held him upright, steady, now bled away.
Thomas caught up to him first. “You didn’t hit him,” he said, like he almost didn’t believe it.
Sebastian gave a sharp breath of laughter. “Youdid.”
“I couldn’t let him insult her. Not after…” He stopped, jaw tight. “He deserved worse.”
Rotheworth joined them, rubbing his brow. “Paisley may try to salvage what’s left. Cowards don’t go quietly.”
“He’ll stay quiet if he values what’s left of his spine,” Sebastian said. His tone didn’t leave room for interpretation.
They paused at the corridor’s end, beside a tall window glazed with frost. Outside, snow covered the grounds in untouched silver.
Sebastian stared out, jaw tight.
“She’ll hear about it,” he said, low. “The things he said.”
“She’ll know they’re lies,” Thomas said.
“She shouldn’t have to endure them at all.”
No one disagreed. And that silence said everything.
Then Alex appeared behind them. “Let’s ensure she doesn’t.”
Sebastian turned. The prince’s voice was steady. Cold. “Word will go to the papers tonight. The official story will be…sympatheticto the lady.”
Sebastian’s shoulders eased slightly. “Thank you.”
Alex gave a slight shrug. “Don’t thank me. I like her.”
Sebastian turned back to the snow, a soft breath escaping his chest.
