He exhaled through his nose, but the anger didn’t leave his eyes. “I’m not angry at you, Deena,” he said, softer now. “I just want to know the truth.”
Deena forced herself to meet Dominic’s gaze. “It’s… not as bad as it looks.”
Dominic’s brows shot up. “Not as bad? The entiretonis reading that you helped hide a pregnancy in a Paris convent. They’re calling you a corrupter of innocents.”
“I didn’t corrupt anyone.” Her voice cracked on the last word. “Penelope was—is in love. I just helped her see him. I stood watch for her. And I lied for her because at least she had a chanceto be happy in her exile. I was just trying to be a good friend, that’s all.”
“Who wrote this article? Who saw you?” Dominic pressed her for answers.
“I wish I knew, Dom. I’ve been trying to find out who it is for the past week, but—” She glanced at Austin, whose dark eyes never left her. “I failed.”
Selina’s eyes filled with unshed tears. “Deena, why didn’t you tell us?”
“Because I knew what would happen,” Deena replied bitterly. “I’ll be exiled again. I thought if I handled it quietly, if I just gave the blackmailer enough to keep him occupied, then Penelope could marry her lover before anyone found out. I thought I could protect her without dragging everyone down again.”
Dominic leaned forward. “You’re not protecting anyone by lying to us. It’s my job to protect you!”
Deena flinched. “I didn’t have a choice.”
“You always have a choice,” he snapped. “And you chose to carry this alone.Again.This is dangerous, Deena. What if the blackmailer came for you, and I had no clue about him?”
The dowager tutted beside them. “Arguing is not going to solve anything, Dominic.” She raised a brow at her grandson.
Deena tried not to cry as Dominic leaned back in his chair and rubbed a hand over his face in frustration.
“Dom, despite everything, I’m safe. And I know this ruins my chances of marrying, but I’m determined to remain a spinster anyway. I’ve made my peace with it. What matters—what the real catastrophe is…is that Penelope is ruined.” She choked on her words. “The convent will cast her out. She’ll have nothing. And no one.”
Dominic’s expression softened, just a fraction. “I’m sorry for your friend. Truly, Dee. But I only care about my sister.” He reached across the table, covering her trembling hands with his own while Selina held onto his other hand silently supporting him. “What happens now, Dee? Where will you go? Nowhere will be safe for you.”
Deena’s throat closed. “I’ll manage just fine; don’t you worry about me. You have Selina and the children.”
Tears spilled down Selina’s small face. “You are our family too, Dee,” she whispered and the room filled with their emotions.
“You cannot and will not be alone in this.” Dominic’s voice was gentle but implacable.
Selina nodded as Dominic continued. “We could go to the country; Greystone’s estate in Wiltshire is quiet. No one would bother us there. We could live very privately for a while.”
The dowager shifted beside them, listening silently to their ideas.
Selina added. “It might be for the best. A few years away will allow for the gossip to die down and the blackmailer to get bored.”
Deena stared at them and felt the weight of their decision crush her.
“No,” she whispered.
Dominic frowned. “Dee?—”
“I can’t do that to you.” Her voice cracked. “You’ve already carried my shame once. You lost friends, invitations, and respect in theton. All because of me. I won’t make you uproot your family and leave London. It’s not fair that you must start over just because of my stupid mistakes. I won’t be the reason Percy grows up isolated, the reason Mary never has a London Season, and the reason Selina loses her circle. I just won’t.”
Selina’s eyes filled again. “We’d do it for you, Dee.”
“I know,” Deena said, unable to hold back her tears either. “That’s why I can’t let you. I…I don’t mind being alone again. I will pay for my sins, Dom.” She turned to her brother and was taken aback when she saw tears cascading down his cheeks. “This isn’t your burden to carry.”
The silence that followed was suffocating. Only Deena and Selina’s sniffles could be heard as they shared in her despair. She tried and failed to prepare her mind and heart for the loneliness that would follow. She’d be sent away, probably to their country home to live and die alone. And she had to accept her fate; she had no choice but to.
“I can help.”
Fear gripped Deena’s heart as their heads turned to the doorway where Austin stood. Deena had completely forgotten that he was there. Her grandmother stood close by, teary-eyed yet composed as she surveyed the Velvet Duke curiously.
