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The maid winced at her question and Helen zeroed on it like a hawk

"Speak girl!"

"The Duchess is not here, Your Grace!" she gasped out. "We… no one has seen her since last night!"

What?!

"What do you mean by that? Where did she go?"

"We have no idea. And from the looks of it, neither does the lord."

Of course.

Her hand tightened on the banister, her knuckles turning white with the force she used.

"Has there been any word from the Duke?" she pressed, her voice dropping to a deadly calm.

The maid shook her head frantically.

"No, Your Grace. None of the staff have seen him since."

Helen’s lips pressed into a thin line, her patience wearing thin.

This is all too ridiculous.

No one, absolutely no one made a fool of the Devlins, least of all her own son.

And certainly not over a woman who wasn’t worth the silk of her gown.

With a sharp nod, she dismissed the maid, her eyes already scanning the halls as if expecting him to appear.

She mase her way towards the study, resolved that if Anthony was hiding somewhere on the estate, brooding over whatever nonsense had gotten into his head, she would wait him out.

He may be stubborn, but she was his mother.

And if anyone could make him see the folly of his actions, it was her.

* * *

Helene paced the length of the drawing room, her agitation growing with each passing minute.

It had been hours -hours!- since she had arrived at the Devlin estate, and still, no sign of Anthony.

She had figured he would be fine with a morning run and return or maybe gone to a club and would stumble in drunk but no.

Still no sign of him.

Her mind raced through every possible explanation, every conceivable reason why her son would have disappeared like this.

Without a word

None made sense.

The sun had already dipped behind the clouds, casting long shadows through the grand windows while the lanterns flickered, their soft light doing little to soothe her rising frustration.

She stopped by the hearth, lost I thought as she stared into the flames, her fingers drumming against the back of a nearby chair.

Where was he?