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Mr. Gibbs accompanied by a constable in a dark coat, his expression grave, entered the foyer and removed his hat.

Olivia stood beside James, her heart beating heavily against her ribs, and she found herself watching James rather than the officer.

James stepped forward and addressed the constable with authority. "I am the Duke of Glenmore," he said, his voice calm despite the fury Olivia knew must be burning beneath it. "My uncle, Hubert Delves, has betrayed me. He has committed perjury, blackmail, and attempted to steal my estate through deception and coercion. I wish for him to be arrested and tried for his actions."

The constable gave a solemn nod and straightened his shoulders. "Yes, Your Grace," he replied, glancing toward Mr. Gibbs before returning his attention to James. "If the allegations are as you have described, I shall take the gentleman into custody and make certain the matter is properly brought before the authorities."

Olivia felt a strange mixture of relief and sorrow twist inside her. Only hours ago, Hubert had been James's trusted uncle, the man James had spoken of with affection and respect, and now he was to be led from the house as a criminal. Olivia could not stop thinking of how deeply James must have been wounded by that change.

James turned toward the parlor and gestured for the constable to follow. "He is in there," he said. "I shall accompany you."

Olivia followed as well, unable to leave James to face the moment alone, and when they entered, Hubert sprang to his feet with an expression of outrage.

"You cannot possibly mean to arrest me," Hubert snapped, thrusting a furious hand toward the constable. "I am Viscount Delves, your superior in every meaningful sense, and this house has been under my authority. My nephew has lost his senses and is attempting to destroy the very family that raised him."

The constable stepped closer while Hubert continued to glare at James. "You ungrateful boy," Hubert spat, his voice rising. "I gave you guidance when your father barely tolerated you. I protected this family while you squandered your inheritance on foolish notions of honor. You were never meant to have that title, and you know it. Your brother was the rightful heir, and had he lived, none of this would have happened. You stole a position that was never truly yours, and now you expect everyone to bow before you simply because some piece of parchment calls you duke."

Olivia's stomach twisted at the cruelty of his words. She saw James's face remain remarkably still, but she knew him well enough now to recognize the pain beneath that stillness. Hubert had found the oldest wound James possessed and deliberately pressed his fingers into it.

"You spent years pretending to be my family," James said quietly, stepping toward Hubert. "That was your greatest deception of all." Hubert's expression faltered, and James's eyes hardened. "You did not lose my trust today, Uncle. You surrendered it the moment you decided that your hatred mattered more than your own freedom. You chose to place your ego over family trust."

The constable took Hubert firmly by the arm, and Hubert struggled against his grasp.

"You will regret this!" he shouted, twisting toward James. "You will lose everything, and when you do, remember that I warned you. You were never worthy of the name Delves!"

James watched him without flinching. "Perhaps," he said, his voice low and cutting, "but I would rather lose every acre of Glenmore than become the sort of man who destroys innocent people simply to possess what was never his."

Hubert was dragged toward the door, still shouting insults, but James did not move. Olivia watched until the door closed behind him, then looked at her husband and felt her heart ache.

He had lost an uncle, a father figure, and the certainty that his own family could be trusted, yet he stood there with his dignity intact. She realized then that James had never needed the estate to make him worthy of anything. He had needed someone to see the man beneath the title, and Olivia desperately hoped he understood …

I see you James for the good man you truly are.

Chapter Thirty-One

Olivia remained standing in the foyer long after the door had closed behind Hubert and the constable, listening to the fading sound of their footsteps until even that disappeared into the distance. She could not seem to make sense of what had just happened.

What happens now?

There was no estate to regain through Felix, no secret to preserve in order to satisfy James's father's wishes, and no practical reason for James to remain married to her. The thought made her chest ache so sharply that she nearly wished she had never allowed herself to hope for anything more.

James finally turned and looked at her, and whatever he saw upon her face made him cross the foyer without hesitation.

He stopped before her, then reached for her hands and held them firmly between his own.

"Olivia," he said softly, his gaze never leaving hers, "there is no such life anymore without you."

Her breath caught, and she stared at him in confusion as he continued. "The life I knew before I married you is gone. The people I trusted have betrayed me, and the things I once believed were important no longer matter to me."

He gave a faint shake of his head, his thumb moving slowly across her knuckles. "But this change did not happen today because of what my uncle did. Everything changed when I met you."

Olivia could scarcely breathe. She had expected him to speak of the estate, of the scandal, of Felix, perhaps even of the practical difficulties that awaited them, but not this. James looked at her with a vulnerability she had rarely witnessed, and suddenly the powerful Duke of Glenmore seemed less like the formidable man who could command a room and more like the wounded boy hidden beneath all that strength.

"I never realized until now how deeply you had affected me," he admitted. "Your integrity, Olivia. Your compassion. Your kindness. You have shown me things about myself that I never believed possible."

He lifted one of her hands to his lips and pressed a gentle kiss against her fingers. "You and Felix are the best things that have ever happened to me."

Tears gathered in Olivia's eyes, and she blinked rapidly, but they spilled down her cheeks anyway. James stepped closer, his expression softening as he reached up and brushed one tear away with his thumb.