Her words were final, and the disappointed people began to file out just as Selina, Dominic, and Austin entered the breakfast room.
A few ladies peered back helplessly as Austin passed them without a second glance. Deena cursed herself because shecouldn’t look away from him, too. His dark eyes captured hers, and a million emotions bubbled up inside of her, threatening to spill. Her grandmother pulled her back into reality when she dropped a copy ofThe Daily Scribeon the oak table.
“What is going on, Deena?” the dowager asked her gently while Selina and Dominic sat beside her quietly.
Deena was lost for words as she stared into her grandmother’s wise eyes.
“Did you read it?” Dominic asked, oddly calm, as the last Lord left the room.
“No,” Deena admitted. “Why ishehere?”
Her family turned to Austin, who stood at the doorway like a knight.
“He was mentioned in the article too, Dee,” Selina said softly, and the room fell silent.
“Perhaps you should read it,” the dowager prodded her.
Deena gulped and picked up the paper.
“And Deena?” Her grandmother stopped her.
“Yes?”
“Please remember that you’re not alone in this…”
Deena nodded slowly, unsure about what she may find in the pages. Her heart clenched when she found the article on the first page ofThe Daily Scribe.She took a deep breath and began to read it.
The Exiled Rebels
My dear readers,
While the ton has been delightfully diverted by the exploits of a certain velvet-clad gentleman, a far quieter, but no less shocking, tale has lingered in the shadows. Today, we turn our attention to a young lady who fled England five years ago under the guise of “further studies” in Paris. We speak, of course, of Lady Deena, the sister to the well-known Stone Duke, whose sudden departure after a certain library incident was meant to let the gossip die a natural death.
Alas, gossip is rarely so obliging.
It appears Lady Deena did not spend her exile in pious reflection or scholarly pursuits alone. Reliable sources report that she became deeply entangled with a fellow English exile, a young woman named Lady Penelope, placed in a convent near Paris to “reflect” upon her own youthful indiscretions. How disappointing for the Marquess of Richmond to find out that his daughter is ruined in such a manner,
Penelope, it is whispered, did rather more than reflect. With Lady Deena’s active assistance, standing watch, arranging clandestine meetings, and even helping her slip over convent walls, the girl carried on a prolonged affair with a Scottish beau.
The inevitable result? A sinful pregnancy.
One might almost admire the loyalty. Lady Deena risked her own fragile reputation once more, only to bring a fellow friend to ruin. Yet the question remains: is such devotion admirable, or merely the continuation of a pattern? After all, a lady who once compromised herself in a library on her debut is hardly the safest confidante for a girl hiding a delicate condition behind convent walls.
The ton may have forgiven, or forgotten, the original scandal. But secrets have a way of crossing the Channel. One wonders how long they planned to hide Lady Penelope’s condition, and how long Lady Deena can keep up her pious act, especially after being seen numerous times with the famed Velvet Duke at her grandmother’s famous Duke Hunt.
What other secrets may unfold from this group of scandalous individuals?
— Lady Veritas
Deena’s hand shook as she placed the paper down. Not only did the blackmailer insult her cruelly, but he stole her pseudonymas well. She looked at Dominic, whose nostrils flared with anger, and she quickly averted her gaze.
“I thought I had more time…” Deena whispered to no one in particular.
The words barely carried, but they landed like stones in the sudden silence.
Dominic’s chair scraped back an inch. “Dee.” His voice was stern, like the night before her exile five years ago. “What have you been keeping from us? Tell us the truth.”
Selina placed a steady hand over his, fingers curling gently around his wrist. “Dominic.”
