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“I know, dear. Something His Grace is about to learn the hard way.”

Hannah sat there listening to her parents talk about her as if she was not there. They spoke about her, not to her, happy to scheme and surmise and plan as if it were their own lives they were speaking about. And while Hannah might have wanted to interject and ask them not to do anything foolish or harsh or too outwardly aggressive, she had long since reached the point of not caring.

They were sitting in the dining room, about to have an early supper. Her father was sitting at the head of the table, her mother on his right, and Hannah on his left. She was certain she could rise from the table, walk away, and she wouldn’t be noticed.

She’d felt invisible these last few days, barely seen or noticed or acknowledged. At first, she thought that her parents were simply giving her space to grieve because when she had turned up on their doorstep four days ago, such was her pitiful, sodden state that all she wanted was to be left alone.

Now, however, having passed the point of true grieving, she was beginning to see the truth. As upset as she was about what had happened, her parents were ropeable. Not with her, thankfully.Rather, it was Frederick who bore the brunt of their wrath, for it was not just her name that was threatened with slander and ruin, but their own!

And so they schemed and plotted and spoke about ways to ‘get ahead’ of this calamity without once asking Hannah what she thought. They didn’t care what she thought. From the beginning, her marriage had been as much about them as it was about her, and now she was starting to see it.

“First thing tomorrow morning,” her mother continued proudly, “I will send them out.”

“Good,” Lord Ramsbury said, smiling at his wife. “That is a start. His Grace thinks he can do this to us…” He scoffed. “We shall see about that!”

The way Hannah’s stomach churned at that spoke to how much she cared for Frederick. She did not hate him. She did not begrudge him. Truly, she blamed herself as much as she did him, knowing that if things had been just a little different, it would never have come to this.

For five days now, she had wondered if it was worth going back. Again! She vacillate between yes and no, debating with herself, trying to decide what to do. And again and again, she wanted to believe that she could be with him and not wish to start a family. She wanted nothing more! She loved Frederick, she did, but that was a deal breaker.

Still…

“Please,” she said quietly, looking down at the table. “Please don’t.”

“Excuse me?” Her father blinked. “Please don’t what?”

“Send out those letters. Or do anything. There is no need…” Still she spoke softly, unable to meet her father’s eyes.

“Of course, there is! After what he did to you! The man is a monster, and he will pay!”

“He is not…”

“Hannah, dear,” her mother sighed. “I know this is hard, but we do not blame you. You must know that we are here for you, and all we want to do is help. This will do just that.”

Hannah’s stomach turned. Guilt. Depression. Sadness. Even worse, they were also speaking of her meeting someone else in the future, something that she had no desire for. Something that she knew she could not stop because once again, she was at the mercy of her parents and their needs.

About to speak and ask them again to desist, one of the manor’s many butlers suddenly strode into the dining room.

“M’Lord, M’Lady!” he said as he approached the table. “I am sorry to disturb you, but there is someone here to see you.”

“What? Now?!” Lord Ramsbury snapped. “At this hour?!”

“He says that it is urgent. I tried to send him away, but he refused!”

Hannah’s heart leapt in her throat. Could it be? Surely not. She spun in her chair and looked toward the foyer, fully expecting the Duke to storm into the room. And if he did just that… she was not sure what she would do. She wanted to believe that she would tell him the same thing she did the last time they spoke, but with how she felt, she was not so certain…

“A Lord William Campbell, M’Lord. He is waiting in the foyer.”

“Campbell!” Lord Ramsbury barked, his eyes going wide as he looked at his wife. “His Grace’s brother!”

“What does he want?”

Hannah’s heart began to race. Frederick’s brother was here? But what for? She could not imagine Frederick sending Lord William of his own accord, which told her that her brother-in-law was here in secret. Possibly to beg her to come back… maybe.

Was there a chance that Frederick was so heartbroken over what had happened that this was a last-ditch effort to see her return? And would it make a difference?

“Isn’t it obvious?” her mother said rightly. “He wishes to make sure that we do not do anything rash—likely to beg us to keep this all under wraps. Good luck!”

Lord Ramsbury’s nose twitched. “Send the man in, Harrington. We shall deal with him ourselves.”