“What do you gain by ruining me?” Austin demanded. “You surely will not gain the title because you are not the heir.”
Leonard leered. “I want justice. For my mother. For myself. And for every bastard abandoned by entitled fathers of theton.”
“Yes, that is all well,” Austin said drily. “But what do you want from me?”
Leonard stilled for a moment before he reached into his pocket and handed a scroll to Austin. Austin grabbed it out of his hand and opened it. It was a birth registration, claiming that Leonard was the true son of Anthony Delves, the Duke of Windemere. Austin let out a bark of laughter.
“No one would believe this nonsense!”
“Write to the courts.” Leonard did not smile this time. “Declare that you are not the rightful heir to the Windemere estate. That you are merely the product of your mother’s illicit affair. That is what I want from you.”
“And if I choose not to?” Austin raised a brow at him.
Leonard stalked towards him and dropped his voice. “Then I will publish what comes next. About your wife andherillicit affair in a certain library. I already have the gentleman on board. I am sure that the ton will find it shocking to hear that she threw herself willingly at a man on her first debut. How ruinous would it be for her and her family?”
Rage surged through Austin, hot and blinding. He would make sure to visit Lord Haverford himself. But for now, he had one rogue to deal with already. He grabbed Leonard’s collar, almost pulling him across the table. The glass of brandy shattered on the ground. Leonard chuckled, but his fear was plain across his face.
“You dare come into my family’s house and threaten me?” he growled.
“You can’t hurt me,” Leonard said, though his unsteady voice betrayed his fear. “It will ruin you even further if you do.”
“Your Grace!” Austin did not hear Ryan enter the study. He looked up and saw the footman reach for a pistol.
“That is not necessary, Ryan.”
“Should I send word for help?” the footman asked, panic-stricken.
“No. We are done here.”
Austin looked down at his so-called stepbrother. “I am disgusted by you and the path you chose. Your mother would not be proud.” He let go of him.
“You will pay for that!” Leonard shouted as he scrambled to his feet. “You have one day before I take action?—”
Leonard rambled on, but Austin’s eyes were fixed behind him. Deena stood in the doorway behind Ryan. Her face was pale, and her eyes were wide with fear and understanding.
How long has she been standing there? What did she hear?
He did not call to her in fear that Leonard would see her. But to his surprise and disappointment, Deena turned and disappeared down the corridor towards the front door.
Austin’s heart lurched violently when he realized what she was doing.
She is abandoning me.
Deena slipped through the side entrance of Windemere House just as the bells of a nearby church struck the hour. The estate loomed around her, grand and hushed, its corridors filled with a stillness that felt almost haunted. Her pulse quickened, but her steps did not falter until a soft voice echoed in the silence.
“Your Grace?”
Deena turned to find Mrs. Mildred standing a few paces behind her, hands folded neatly at her waist. The lady’s maid’s lined face held concern rather than challenge.
“I am sorry, Your Grace,” Mrs. Mildred said gently, “but you should not be here. We were told…to keep the house closed.”
Deena inclined her head, acknowledging the woman’s courtesy, but she did not have time to argue.
“I forgot something, and I need it urgently,” she said simply as she continued forward.
“But, Your Grace,” Mrs. Mildred tried again, hurrying after her, “please understand. I do not wish to be unkind. It is only that the household has been unsettled, and the servants are frightened.”
Deena stopped.
