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The man in ropes bobbed his head, without looking up.

“Let me start with what we know.” Drake succinctly informed the man that they knew he’d originally worked for the Duke of St. Albans, been treated horribly at the hands of Matthew’s father, and that he’d lost his wife and child. They also knew that he was one of the men helping Arthur Montblanc, Gregory’s former steward, to drug the dukes and that Montblanc had been part of the conspiracy. “I can only assume that you were pulled in as revenge on the previous St. Albans?”

Mr. Heywood bobbed his head again, still not looking up. His shoulders sagged further.

“Tonight, you were part of the attempted kidnapping and sale of Miss Hu. Do you understand what Heger would have done to her?” Drake’s voice had dropped to freezing cold, cutting.

Mei could not help but look at him warily, and she noticed everyone else was doing the same. As brusque as Drake could be, none of them had ever heard him sound like that before. Astrid was frankly staring at her betrothed, somewhat aghast.

Another nod.

“Who sent you to Heger?”

The man heaved a sigh and lifted his head, only slightly. Enough that Mei could see the scar on his face, but not enough that he was meeting anyone’s eyes.

“The Duchess of Bolton.”

Even though it was just confirmation of what they already knew, his words still hit like a blow. Mei could feel Sebastian flinch beside her, and she wound her arm through his, leaning against him. She’d meant what she’d said to Tiffany. She did not hold either of the duchess’ children responsible for their mother’s actions.

Somehow, despite herself, the duchess had managed to raise a wonderful daughter and son. Or perhaps it was due to themselves and the strength of their inner characters. Mei was not sure.

“What did my mother say to you?” Sebastian demanded to know. “Did she say anything about why?”

There was a strain in her voice that made Mei’s heart ache. Even though he knew his mother had done this thing, there was still some part of him that wanted his mother to not be all bad. That wanted some kind of explanation.

“Just that she needed the girl gone. Once it was done, she—the duchess—was going to give me enough money to buy a ticket to America. A fresh start, she called it. She offered it to Peter too, but he wants to stay with Heger. Wanted to, I guess now. I just wanted out.” Heywood turned his head toward the windows. There were several feet of obstacles between him and the glass, but it was clear he was yearning for freedom. “But I kept getting in deeper and deeper with her…”

“Then this wasn’t the first time you did something for her?” Drake’s voice was hard, and Mei felt Sebastian tense again beside her. It felt like he was practically vibrating. Wherever Drake was going with this line of questioning, Sebastian already suspected it. He knew the direction.

Heywood snorted.

“Hardly.” He did lift his head now, looking directly at Matthew, the current Duke of St. Albans. “I cannot say I’m sorry for what happened to your father. He deserved what he got. But the rest of ye…” His glance skittered around the room, landing on Mei for a brief, ashamed moment before moving on. “I do not know anything about the other dukes; I wasn’t trying to do anything to them. I did not know what was going to happen. I just knew that my Daisy and the baby were going to get some kind of justice…”

His voice trailed off.

“You are saying the Duchess of Bolton was the one who ordered you to assist Montblanc. That she was part of the conspiracy that ended in the deaths of our fathers.” Drake’s voice was hard. Strained. His focus was entirely on Heywood.

Beside Mei, Sebastian was pale. Stiff. She could not imagine what he must be thinking. What he must be feeling. All she could do was try to be there for him.

Heywood nodded.

“Yes,” he confirmed. “She did.”

47

Sebastian

It did not matter that he’d already begun to suspect; hearing Heywood confirm Sebastian’s mother had a hand in the death of his father hurt. Even knowing what she was capable of. Even knowing what she had tried to do to Mei. There had been some small part of him, the little boy who had cuddled in her arms and beamed as she’d told him what a good, darling, precious boy he was, that wanted to hear Heywood say something else.

That had hoped against all hope that his suspicions were incorrect.

Tiffany’s head dropped, and Gregory pulled her against him as she began to cry, her sobs muffled by her husband’s arms. Sebastian was very glad Tiffany had Gregory because right now, he felt frozen. He couldn’t move. Not to comfort her, not to escape the looks his friends were now shooting him, not to respond to Mei as she slid one arm around his back to support him.

All he could do was stand there, frozen. His jaw ached with how hard he was clenching it.

Father…

“What did she have you do?”