“Ah… a couple, now. Oh, it is not my fault!” the Vicar protested. “It’s you!” He pointed a finger at the duke. “You took my daughter. You… you turned me into a liar! I didn’t want this…” His chin began to wobble. “I tried to do the right thing. I wanted to!”
“Do not blame me for your…” He curled his lip in disgust. “For your weakness.”
“I did not mean it…” The Vicar started to weep. “Please, do not tell my daughter. She cannot know. What would she say…”
Alistair wanted to do the right thing. He was sick of the lies. He was sick of the treachery. He was sick of not being able to tell the woman he was falling for how he felt. He just wanted it done.
Sadly, today would not be that day.
“Tomorrow,” Alistair said. “Sober up. Clean yourself up. And come see me. Is that understood?”
The Vicar continued to squint at Alistair. “Wh – what for?”
“The truth,” Alistair said. “It is time that your daughter learns the truth.” He looked down at the pitiful man with a scowl. “Everything.”
With that, Alistair turned and walked away.
Miss Norleigh would learn the truth. Hugh too, he would learn who he really was and why there was so much secrecy surrounding his adoption. Lies on top of lies, and it was high time that they came out.
Tomorrow… Alistair did not want to wait another day, but in this, he had no choice. Besides, as he saw it, what was one more day when he had been lying for so long already? Surely, one more day would not make a difference…
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Yvette limped into her bedroom, very much looking forward to lying down and resting. Not only was her ankle still hurting her, but she was tired from having not slept properly for two days.
Lucinda was the reason for this, not that Yvette blamed the woman personally. Since having her child, Yvette had made it her mission to help where she could, and the last two days were spent looking after Lucinda in any way that she needed. The trade-off to this was having no time of her own and almost no sleep.
Not that Yvette minded. Truthfully, she was more than happy to help, and with each hour spent looking after Lucinda and her child, Yvette’s personal resolve, where having a child of her own was concerned, strengthened.
It’s funny how quickly things can change. A week ago, the idea of having a child terrified me, and I knew beyond question that I would never want such a thing. Whereas now…
Yvette wanted her own child, and she was no longer in denial. Despite her past trauma, despite a lifetime convincing herself otherwise, she knew now what she needed to make herself feel complete. Just as she knewwhoit was that she wanted this child with.
Of course, that only made things more confusing.
So it was that, when she limped into her bedroom, she fixed her attention on her bed, needing to feel its softness so that she might get a few hours of sleep. It was mid-morning, the sun shone brightly outside, but that made little difference. Even before she reached her bed, her eyelids began to droop, and she almost salivated at the thought of a much-needed rest.
Typically, it wasn’t meant to be.
“Yvette…” A soft knock at the door came just as she sat herself down.
Yvette saw the Duke standing in the doorway, and she smiled.
Yes, she was tired, and yes, she wanted to be alone… but for the Duke, she was happy to delay. Just the sight of him had adrenaline coursing through her veins, so she probably would not be able to sleep now anyway.
“Your Grace.” She perked up, not wanting to look like a disheveled mess. “Do you need something? Is Hugh…”
“No, nothing like that.” He stayed in the doorway as if there was a barrier stopping him from entry. “I just wanted to see how you are feeling?” His gaze drifted to her swollen ankle. “Is there anything…”
“Oh, I am well enough.” She waved him down. “My ankle still throbs, but there is little I can do to help it. Time is what I need. Time and rest.”
“I hear that rest is the exact opposite of what you have been doing.”
“True enough,” she laughed. “I have gotten a little carried away with Lucinda and her babe. But can you blame me? You saw how cute he was…” She allowed her smile to grow because she wanted the Duke to see how much she cared for the newborn. “I even considered stealing him at one point. Running away and never looking back.”
“With that ankle, you wouldn’t have gotten far.”
She laughed again. “Which is what stopped me. Lucinda is asleep now, Mrs. Fletcher is looking after the baby, so I thought…” She gestured to the bed. “It is time that I take my own advice and rest.”
