Christian turned.
Molly stood just inside the room, her hands clasped tightly before her apron. She had clearly been listening for some time, her cheeks flushed but her chin lifted with quiet determination.
“If you please, my lady,” she said, dipping a quick curtsey, “there’s no need for guessing.”
Lady Ashworth raised an eyebrow.
Molly drew a steady breath.
“I wrote it.”
Fiona’s teacup clattered against its saucer. Christian felt his jaw drop.
“You?” he said.
“Yes, Your Grace.” Molly kept her eyes lowered, but there was nothing uncertain in her voice. “I beg your pardon for the liberty. It was not my place; I know that well enough. But someone had to do something.”
Lady Ashworth regarded her for a long moment.
“Go on,” she said mildly.
Molly swallowed.
“Miss Hart has been miserable since leaving Thornwick, my lady. Begging your pardon, miss,” she added quickly, glancing toward Fiona, “but it’s the truth. And from what Mrs—” Shestopped herself abruptly. “From what a reliable source informed us, His Grace was in much the same condition.”
Christian shifted uncomfortably.
“So I thought,” Molly continued, “if His Grace believed he might lose her entirely, he might find the courage to come and set things right.”
“You told me she was about to accept a proposal,” Christian said slowly.
“Yes, Your Grace. I did.” Molly lifted her chin a fraction. “Lord Weston has been calling often enough that it was not an impossible notion. I merely… hastened matters.”
“You deceived a duke,” Lady Ashworth observed.
“Yes, my lady.” Molly curtseyed again. “I did.”
“And you are not sorry?”
Molly hesitated only a moment.
“I am sorry for the deception, my lady. But not for the result.”
A faint smile tugged at Lady Ashworth’s mouth.
Christian ran a hand through his hair.
“I should be angry,” he said.
“That is entirely your prerogative, Your Grace,” Molly replied quietly. “But if I may say so… you are here.”
He glanced across the table at Fiona.
She was watching him with shining eyes.
“I suppose,” he said slowly, “that I am.”
Lady Ashworth set down her teacup with a decisive click.
