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Leah perked her brow in amusement as a smile twitched on her lips.

“Oh do not worry, she is not alone. In fact her present company keeps her quite entertained. If anything I am starting to become a bother there.”

Hugo balked at the idea, and he wasn’t at all sure he liked what his sister was hinting at. However, knowing how stubborn his sister could be, he nodded.

“Fine,” he sighed.

Leah beamed at him, and reached forward to grab his hand.

“We will all get through this brother,” she said cheerfully. “Together.”

Her smile slipped a little as she then added, “Though, I will warn you that you will not gain Seraphina’s trust easily. When I found her she was heartbroken. For multiple reasons.”

Hugo frowned.

“What does that mean?” He demanded.

He knew he’d inflicted plenty of damage on his own, but had something else happened?

“First I want to say that she is fine,” Leah stated matter-of-factly. “There was a small incident but she walked away from it.”

“Leah, would you stop stepping around the subject and tell me what happened?” Hugo snapped.

“She went to visit her mother,” Leah explained, “apparently Ms. Kinderson had been visiting her at the Briarwoods and she had seemed most kind, so Seraphina agreed to visit her at her home. Their conversation grew quite heated and when Seraphina tried to leave, Mary threw a vase at her.”

The color red started to leech into Hugo’s sight, and he balled his fists. He knew that woman was no good from the start, but he had no idea she’d take such liberties as that.

“Seraphina was hit in the shoulder and a little on the head, but the wounds are superficial and should heal in a few days’ time. I had gone to London to visit her when this happened and thoughtit was best to get her out of the city, so I took her back to Aunt Rita’s. That’s where she is now.”

A brief wave of relief swept through Hugo before it was replaced his rage again. This was his fault, he realized. But he was going to make up for it. For all of it, and he was going to make certain no one harmed his wife again.

“I’ve got to go,” he murmured, heading toward the door.

“Don’t let me stop you,” Leah called after him.

Oh no,he thought. No one was going to stop him from getting to her ever again. Including himself.

Seraphina sat numbly on the third floor terrace of Aunt Rita’s country house. Below, she could hear the combined giggling of the older woman and her much younger paramour. At another time, she would have smiled and giggled along with them. She found it quite bold and wonderful that a woman of Aunt Rita’s age had found such a handsome and devoted younger paramour, but try as she might, no mirth would pour from her spirit.

Just sadness. Longing. And heartbreak that came from two powerful points. Her husband had abandoned. And her mother only wanted to use her. Both facts brought tears to her eyes, and she sniffled as she contemplated her future.

A cloud of dust at the end of the drive caught her attention, and she watched as a horseman raced up the long road and toward the house. Her heart began to thrum like a drum as she recognized Hugo, and without thinking, she raced off of the terrace and headed toward the stairs.

Seraphina reached the door just as Hugo was about to knock on it, and before she could say or think anything, he swept her up into his arms.

“Let me see,” he demanded, his hands roaming over her shoulders, her neck, even her hair.

“See what?” Seraphina replied, caught off guard at his insistence.

“I know what your nother did,” he barked back, pulling the shoulder of her dress down. “Leah said it was not bad but I need to see for myself.”

Emotion poured through her aching heart, finding his concern for her almost cruel after the way he treated her. She calmly untangled herself from his grasp, and took a step back.

“Leah should not have told you anything,” she said, trying to stay as calm as possible. “I really am fine. She didn’t even manage to hit me.”

“I will make her pay for this,” Hugo seethed, appearing wilder than ever. “For everything she has done to you.”

“Trust me, God is making her pay already,” Seraphina stated, steeling herself against the passion of his words. “It is you that must pay now.”