She let out a soft breath of air. “I do not know what I would do without you and Dominic, truly.” She reached out for Selina’s hand and squeezed it.
“You would have gone mad without me.” Selina smiled proudly, and Deena laughed. “Dee, Austin will be all right, and it is normal to argue with your husband. You do know that, surely?”
“I know, but this marriage is already fickle as it is…I am afraid that one wrong move or word will send it spiraling into an abyss with no return.”
Deena regretted everything she had said to Austin. She reluctantly let go of Selina’s hand and stood to leave.
“Selina, I have troubled you from the time I returned.” Selina frowned but did not argue. “I will take my leave now. Thank you for always listening to me in my times of trouble. Why are you smiling?”
Selina let out a bark of laughter. “You must have gotten mad if you believe that I am going to let you leave now in the middle of the night. No, darling, you are staying here, in your old room.”
Selina spoke to her, like she did to her children when she was correcting them, and Deena could not help but smile.
“I do not want to be a burden.”
“Oh, hush! This will always be your home.”
Deena hesitated, then nodded.
“Thank you.”
“Always, Dee. Should I walk you to your chamber?” She picked up her lantern.
“That is not necessary, Selina. You have done enough.”
“Are you sure? I do not mind at all.”
Deena knew that if Selina joined her, they would not sleep at all. They could speak for an entire night, and both would regret it come morning.
“I will leave you to your reading and see myself to bed. Do not worry,” Deena assured her as she walked to the entrance and stopped there.
“Goodnight, Selina,” she said with a smile.
The weight of her worries was slightly lifted thanks to her sister-in-law.
When the time comes, when she needs me to stand with her, I will be there for her as she was for me,she promised herself.
“Goodnight.” Selina looked slightly disappointed but did not ask to join her again. “I will send some tea up for you. And Dee?”
“Yes?”
“Do not rush into any conclusions. Have some faith in your husband…Trust me on this.”
Deena nodded with a smile and left the library.
But can I truly have faith in the Velvet Duke?
Twenty-Five
Deena stood in Austin’s study, pondering where she should begin her search. A week had passed, and Austin still had not returned. Selina and Dominic knew nothing about his whereabouts either. Dominic was furious and promised to murder his best friend for abandoning his sister. They immediately took her in. But Deena did not feel abandoned; she felt that Austin was in some sort of trouble.
So, she escaped Greystone and travelled to Windemere, hoping to find some kind of clue that would lead her to him. Deena assumed she was in the right place, but when she saw a portrait of Austin’s father hanging above the oak table, she doubted it.
Perhaps there is something here that could lead me to him.
She approached the table slowly as if she was afraid that she might get caught in the act. When she eventually reached it, she opened the top drawer and found some letters, receipts, and a folded map. Nothing useful.
In the second drawer, there were more papers and a small leather notebook. Deena opened the notebook and found some numbers jotted there. She placed it aside when a single sheet fell out and caught her eye. The date indicated that it was written twenty-seven years ago, and it was written in a feminine hand.
