*
“May I joinyou for a stroll in the garden?” Helen asked as they exited Henry’s room.
Nate’s voice caught in his throat. He’d spent two years building a wall between himself and Helen to keep her out of his thoughts and heart, and now it all appeared to be crumbling. Despite everything—all the anger, pain, and humiliation she’d caused him—he still cared for her. And more than that, he needed to find out if that little boy was his. He wasn’t like Frederick. He could never leave a trail of children in his wake. If he’d sired a child, then he wanted to be there for the boy—somehow. Still, he hesitated.
“What I told you earlier about Edward is the truth,” Helen said.
Nate stopped. He didn’t believe her. Edward was cold, but even he wouldn’t stoop that low.
“He threatened to cut you off without a penny if I married you. He said he had bigger plans for you. Plans that would enrich the family, and he didn’t need a merchant’s daughter interfering with them.”
Fury grabbed hold of Nate’s throat and choked him. She was lying. She had to be lying. He strode forward and marched down the stairs. He didn’t want to hear what she was saying.
Helen followed him, out the door to the garden. When she caught up to him, she said, “Edward arranged my marriage. He knew Lord Luxton was looking for a wife and would settle for a woman without a dowry or title as long as she was young, fertile, and beautiful. He wanted an heir, and he thought he could sire one.”
“Did he?” Nate asked.
“I made sure that he thought as much.” She looked at him, her large dark eyes so lovely and familiar that he had to look away. “I was already with child. He knew no differently.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Nate said, not turning to look at her.
“You know why. You would have insisted that we elope to GretnaGreen, and then your brother would have spent the rest of our lives controlling us, forcing us to beg for his scraps.”
“My brother is too proud to let a member of his family live in poverty. He would have given me my fair share.”
“We would have had a house, yes, but he would have controlled where we lived and how much money we had. He would have dictated where Henry went to school and how he was to be raised.”
“But we would have been together!” Nate said through gritted teeth. “And I would have had my son!”
“You would have hated being controlled by Edward. We all would have been miserable, including Henry.”
“I’ll never forgive you for taking my son away from me.”
“Lord Luxton is in poor health, and he will leave Henry with a title and a large inheritance—enough money to free you of your brother forever. Youcanbe a father to your son.”
She was right. He couldn’t change the past, but Henry was only a baby. He could be a father to him. He could have Helen back. But he no longer wanted her.
Yet, he could not have his child without her.
“Nate.” She reached for his arm. He pulled it away from her.
“I can’t talk about this now. It’s all too much—too soon. You talk of your husband as if you were a widow, but Lord Luxton is alive. He is your husband and Henry’s father.”
“I’m only asking you to spend some time with your son and to think of his future.”
He turned to her. “Is that all you’re asking?”
“For now, yes.”
“This feels like manipulation,” Nate said. “First, you try to seduce me, and when that doesn’t work, you send for Henry and use him to toy with my emotions. It’s all about control for you, isn’t it? It’s all just a game.”
Her face soured. “You always think the worst of me. Why can’tyou believe I did what I thought was best for all three of us?”
Nate shook his head. He didn’t know what to think anymore.
“Is it the orphan?” she asked.
“What?”
