Sebastian’s voice was thick with emotion. “Twelve years I’ve waited for this moment.”
Rose’s heart twisted at the rawness in his voice. So many years, so much weight he’d carried alone. But she no longer questioned his heart. He had told her he loved her. He had been willing to walk awayfrom his revenge—for her.
And in that moment, she knew. He meant it. He still meant it.
“Mr. Hale, would you go inside and have my deputies secure Mr. Hargrave?” Stephens asked.
“Nothing would please me more,” Hale said, before tearing across the yard toward the house.
Rose drew a slow breath and stepped forward, her voice steady. “What will happen to my father?”
“Justice, Lady Rose,” Stephens said solemnly. “At long last. For your mother. For Lord Ashford. For everyone who suffered because of his actions.”
Somewhere inside the house, she heard her father’s voice raised in fury, the sound of boots on polished floors. Her stomach clenched, but she did not waver. The man who had killed her mother, who had lied to her, who had nearly sacrificed her future, was about to face the reckoning he never thought would come.
“We should go inside,” Rose said. “I need to show you where the mask is hidden. If it’s still there.”
Sebastian moved closer, his eyes never leaving hers. “Rose, you don’t have to do this.”
“Yes, I do.” She looked up at the man who had come into her life in disguise and shown her the truth. “I need to see this through. For her.”
They walked side by side toward the house, the night thick with rose-scented air. Her mother’s rose garden, planted with such love, the only thing left of her. No, that wasn’t right.I am here, Rose thought.I made it.
Baron White was in custody. Her father would soon face judgment. And Sebastian—Sebastian had found the justice he came for.
But he had also found her.
She glanced at him. His borrowed finery still clung to his frame, but beneath it, he was still the man who had knelt beside her in a rosegarden and wrapped her bleeding hand in his own.
What came next was uncertain.
But those were questions for later. Right now, she had a promise to keep to her mother’s memory, and a father to confront with the truth of what he had done.
*
By the timethey returned to the house, most of the guests had departed or were slipping away in tight-lipped silence, leaving behind a weary, wide-eyed staff to handle the remains of the night. Baron White had been taken into custody by two constables and led out the front door in disgrace, shackled and snarling threats no one took seriously.
Inside, a second group of constables had already detained Lord Wentworth in the study. He stood near the fireplace, arms bound, his expression dark with barely suppressed fury.
Sebastian felt the curious stares of the servants as he and Rose followed Stephens down the corridor, Hale just behind them. Despite everything that had happened, he ached for Rose. She moved with grim purpose, but her pale face and trembling hands betrayed the toll it was all taking.
“I’ll need statements from anyone who worked here twelve years ago,” Stephens said as they reached the study. “But first, let’s find the mask.”
He closed the door behind them, sealing out the whispers and curious stares.
Seconds later, a knock came, followed by Hale’s swift entrance. His coat was unbuttoned, his hair windblown. “Hargrave’s gone. One of the kitchen maids saw him ride off not five minutes ago.”
Stephens swore under his breath. “He won’t get far. I have men watching the roads.”
“We’re looking for the mask,” Rose said, voice taut. “Then my father can answer for what he’s done.”
Wentworth didn’t speak. His jaw was locked tight, his posture unchanged, as if denial alone could undo what had already begun.
“I’d not noticed the floorboard until today,” Rose said. “Because the rug covered it. Someone must have moved it.” Mary, she realized. It was her way of helping without getting involved and risking her job or life. Smart.
Stephens nodded toward the hearth. “Go on, Lady Rose.”
Deputies flanked the doorway as Rose took a letter opener from the desk and knelt at the spot on the floor where the board was loose. Sebastian watched her hands shake as she worked the metal tool beneath the wood. His chest tightened with anguish. She was so brave, so determined to see this through, but what would this cost her?
