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The orchestra continued to play, though the music seemed to have lost some of the confidence it had possessed only moments before. Couples still danced, yet several had slowed almost imperceptibly, conversations continuing with the strained determination of people who knew society demanded they pretend nothing of interest was occurring. Ladies raised delicate fans to conceal whispers, while gentlemen suddenly found themselves remarkably attentive to conversations they had scarcely been listening to moments before.

Arthur had spent too many years navigating Parliament and society alike not to recognise an audience merely because it had the good manners to disguise itself.

His gaze finally found Eliza.

She remained beside Miss Dawson exactly where he had left her. However, the gentle warmth that had illuminated her features throughout the evening had vanished entirely and in its place sat a composed smile, so carefully maintained that only Arthur would have recognised the strain beneath it. Even from thirty feet away, he could see the tightening of her shoulders, the uncertainty clouding those emerald eyes as she prepared to watch the exchange unfold. She was preparing herself for the worst.

If he hesitated now, even for a moment, society would decide the ending for him.

The realisation settled heavily within his chest. Only then did he allow himself to acknowledge Sophia.

"What are you doing here, Sophia?" Arthur said quietly.

"You said..."

"I permitted you to accompany the household to London." His voice remained level, carrying none of the spectacle many expected from him.

"I did not invite you to Carlton House."

Her smile faltered.

Arthur could almost feel the room drawing closer around them.

He knew with absolute certainty that by sunrise every drawing room in London would be discussing this very moment. Nobody would remember magnificent hospitality, the splendour of Carlton House or even the Duchess of Buckingham's extraordinary debut. Instead, they would remember that the Duke of Buckingham's former sweetheart had confronted him in the middle of the ballroom, and whatever choice he made over the next few moments would become the story by which his marriage was judged.

Had anyone suggested only a year earlier that he would willingly turn his back on Sophia Weatherly, he would have laughed at the absurdity of the notion and then likely put a bullet through the throat of whoever uttered such nonsense. For more than a decade she had occupied every quiet corner of his mind, becoming not merely the woman he believed himself destined to marry.

Yet somewhere between Belgium and Winworth, his future had changed. Without him even noticing, the woman standing before him had become part of his past, whilst the woman waiting across the ballroom had quietly become his entire future. The thought steadied him.

"Sophia," Arthur whispered.

For the first time that evening, he looked directly into her eyes.

"I cannot give you what you asked of me," he continued.

Instinctively, her hand drifted towards the swell of her stomach.

"I will not take a mistress." The words were spoken gently, yet there was no uncertainty within them.

"What we shared when we were young was genuine, and I shall never deny it. I cared for you deeply, and I shall always wish you happiness, but we are no longer the people we once were."

He paused just long enough to ensure she understood every word before continuing.

"I am changed and so are you."

“Mr Ellis will have my instructions by tomorrow. You and your child will be provided for, and you shall never want for security for as long as I can provide it.”

His eyes found Eliza once more.

She had not moved. She simply watched him.

“But that is all I can offer.”

He drew a slow, measured breath before delivering the final blow.

“I must also ask that you do not approach either my wife or me again.”

For the first time since she had arrived, the confidence left Sophia's face entirely. Panic replaced it with startling speed, as though she had only just realised that every future she had imagined had disappeared before hundreds of witnesses. Her lips parted, searching desperately for words capable of changing his mind, but none came. The silence between them deepened.