Dominic spoke next. “We need to focus. Whoever did this had access to records. They forged documents or stole them. They knew exactly where and how to strike.”
“And they struck well,” Austin muttered.
“We will find them, and we will fix this,” Selina said confidently.
Austin spun around, anger flaring.
“There is nothing to fix,” he snapped.
Silence crashed over the room. He took a deep breath in to calm himself, but it came out ragged.
“You all saw the paper. My father was a rake, and everyone knows it. He had loverseverywhere. It makes perfect sense that he had children out of wedlock.” His voice cracked. “But my mother was not like him. And I have never questioned her loyalty until now. What if it is true and I am not my father’s true son at all?”
Selina gasped softly. The Dowager’s eyes softened. Dominic’s jaw tightened. But Deena rose slowly from her seat.
“Austin,” she said quietly.
He shook his head. “Do not say anything, Deena. Please, there is just nothing we can do.”
“There is. You did not give up on me so we will not give up on you either. Thiswillbe fixed.”
She spoke fiercely. Her confidence both impressed and calmed him. He looked at her and felt a sense of hope.
He swallowed hard. “Deena?—”
“No.” She shook her head. “I refuse to believe that you have given up because of aforgedarticle. You know who you are, in here.” She placed a hand over his heart, and he felt her warmth spread all over him.
“We do not know that it is forged.” He felt the room fade around them. It was just her. Just her voice. And just her strength.
“My sister is right, Windemere.” Austin did not have to look to know that his friend was smiling.
He kept his eyes on Deena, feeling her hand rest gently on his chest as her wide green eyes met his with hope and the depthof an emotion he could not name. His yearning for her grew constantly, occupying both his thoughts and heart, though he refused to acknowledge it. Distrust held him back. He worried she might leave or that fate would take her away just as it had taken his mother.
The Dowager tapped her cane, drawing their attention. “Let us find this person, and I will personally throttle them.”
Austin let out a shaky breath. “The court already believes this?—”
“Not if we prove otherwise,” Deena said firmly.
“And how do we do that?” he asked her curiously.
“Together.” She said simply. “No more secrets, between any of us. We will do everything together.”
The Dowager sniffed. “And if that fails, we bribe someone.”
“Grandmother!” Dominic groaned.
“Oh hush. It worked in my day.”
Twenty-Eight
Austin sat at the desk in Dominic’s study, staring at a ledger he had not truly seen for the better part of an hour. All the figures blurred together, and ink smudged beneath his fingers where he had traced the same line repeatedly.
Estates. Revenues. Titles.
All of it felt suddenly fragile, as though a single breath might scatter everything he had ever known. He pressed his palms flat against the polished wood and exhaled slowly.
Think,he told himself.There must be a way to fix this.
