“Go ahead, Miss Wilson,” Justin prompted, clearing his throat.
Melissa straightened her shoulders and pursed her painted lips. “I suppose this is for your edification, Your Grace,” she said pointedly staring at Veronica.
Veronica merely managed the hint of a disgruntled nod.
“I sent you a letter once, informing you that your husband was at my house,” Melissa continued.
Veronica nodded woodenly again, but inside she was seething.
“Well, he was at my house,” Melissa continued, “but not for the reason I led you to believe. He came because I had written him saying I had to see him immediately. I told him I was with child.” She paused and rolled her eyes, looking the slightest bit guilty. “His child.”
Veronica clenched her jaw, but otherwise, she remained entirely still. “I see.”
“And?” Sebastian prompted, glaring at the woman, clearly waiting for Melissa to say more.
“And it wasn’t true,” Melissa continued. “None of it was true. I merely wanted to get him to come to my house so I could write you and make you jealous. I had sheets tucked under my skirts. He discovered the lie almost immediately and promptly left.”
Veronica remained frozen in her seat, a hundred thoughts flying through her head. “Why are you telling me this now?”
Melissa shrugged and a catlike smile popped to her lips. “I have a new protector,” she said with no small amount of pride. “I no longer need His Grace’s favor.” Veronica didn’t miss the narrowed-eyed glare the woman gave Sebastian.
“And I convinced her to do the right thing,” Justin interjected. “In the spirit of Christmastide. Correct, Miss Wilson?”
“You promised you’d secure my invitation to the Markham’s holiday ball next year, Lord Whitmore,” Melissa replied, in a whining tone.
“Oh, and that.” Justin sighed, waving a hand in the air.
Melissa stood and made her way to the door, obviously finished with her little speech.
Justin stood too and grinned widely at his sister and his friend. He bowed at the waist to them. “You’re welcome. Now, I’m leaving to escort Miss Wilson home. You can thank me later,” Justin announced before offering Miss Wilson his arm and escorting her promptly from the room.
The moment they were alone together in the sitting room, Sebastian turned to Veronica, an inscrutable expression on his face.
Veronica felt as if the wind had been knocked from her chest. “She told you she was with child?” she intoned in a flat voice. She couldn’t quite wrap her head around it. But…all this time…all these months…she’d never imagined there’d been any other reason for Sebastian to visit Melissa. Still… “Why didn’t you tell me?” she heard herself ask next.
“Because I wanted to discern for myself first if it was true,” Sebastian replied in a clipped voice.
Veronica shook her head. It was as if nothing made sense any longer. “You wanted to discern for yourself if it was true before you told your wife that your mistress was having your baby?” She squeezed her eyes shut, completely confused by the turn of events. What was he saying?
Sebastian stood and expelled his breath. He drew a hand down the front of his dark-blue coat. “That’s right, Veronica. That’s the entire story, the whole awful truth. I kept my visit to Melissa’s from you because I’d sworn to you to have no further interactions with my former mistress. And until that day, I hadn’t seen her in months. Since before we courted. But how could I ignore the possibility of a child? I would never do that. Once I’d confirmed her to be the liar I’d suspected, I didn’t want to upset you. But when you caught me out in the lie, nothing I said mattered. You didn’t believe me. You can’t forgive me, so what did it matter why I was there?”
Veronica stood and made her way to the window. She stared off through the icy glass at the wide, white expanse, watching the fat flakes of snow drift to join the others on the piles in front of the house. A hundred different thoughts flew through her mind at once, but the main one, the overriding one, was…she had been a completely intolerant ass. She should say something. She knew that. But…what? What could she possibly say to make any of it right? Even an apology seemed hopelessly inadequate.
The door behind her opened, and she turned swiftly to see Sebastian about to leave.
“Where are you going?” she blurted, shattering the tomblike silence of the room.
“Back to my study,” Sebastian replied. “I’ll have the maids pack your things. I’m releasing you from our bargain. You no longer need to attend the Hazeltons’ ball with me tomorrow night.” A muscle ticked in his jaw and his eyes were shards of jade.
Veronica closed her eyes briefly. It hurt to breathe. “You want me gone?”
“You’ll have to go to your brother’s tonight.” Sebastian’s voice was flat. “It’s too dangerous to return to Edgefield Hall in this storm.”
“How do you know I want to go back to Edgefield Hall?” Her throat ached. Her voice was barely more than a whisper.
“Honestly, Veronica, once the storm lets up, I don’t give a damn where you go.”
Chapter Seventeen
