“You claimed them, publicly and without shame or qualification. That matters more than any scandal.”
“The scandal will be significant. Society is not kind to men who acknowledge their mistakes so openly.”
“Society is not kind to anyone who refuses to play by its rules. But society’s opinion is not the measure of a man’s worth.” She crossed to where he sat and looked down at him with an expression that contained something he had not seen before, respect, perhaps, or admiration, or simply the recognition of one honest person by another.
“You did the right thing. The hard thing and that is what matters.”
“And the consequences?”
“We’ll face them together. Lady Serena has already offered her assistance. She seems quite determined to ensure that your daughters receive every advantage her position can provide.”
“Serena is a formidable ally.”
“She is and she has already begun planning our strategy.” Mel’s lips curved slightly, the ghost of a smile.
“She has opinions about which social rules can be safely broken and which must be carefully navigated. She’s quite thorough.”
“You have taken a liking to her.”
“I respect her, liking will come with time, I expect.” Mel paused, her expression growing more serious.
“The children need to understand what has transpired. They need to hear it from us before they hear it from anyone else.”
“I am aware. I’ve been thinking about how to explain it.”
“There’s no way to soften it completely. They’re intelligent enough to understand the implications, even if they don’t fully grasp the social complexities.” She reached down and took his hand again, the gesture becoming more natural with practice.
“But they’re also resilient. They have you, and they have me, and they have each other. That’s more than many children have.”
Rhys looked up at her, at the woman who had transformed his life through nothing more than honest observation and stubborn refusal to accept his failures.
“I cherish you,” he said. “I know I’ve said it before, but I need you to know that I mean it now, more than ever. You’ve made me better. You have made all of this possible.”
“I didn’t make you anything. I simply refused to let you pretend you were less than you could be.” But her grip on his hand tightened, and her expression softened.
“And I hold you in my deepest affections you too.”
He stood, still holding her hand, bringing himself to her level. They stood there in the study, in the room where so many of their conversations had taken place, and he felt the weight of everything they had been through settle into something that felt almost like peace.
“We should tell the children,” he said. “Now, before dinner. Together.”
“Together,” she agreed. “That’s how we do things now.”
They left the study hand in hand, walking toward the nursery where three remarkable children waited to learn that their lives were about to change in ways they could not yet imagine.
But they would face it together, all five of them. A family formed through affection and choice rather than convention, stronger for the battles they had already fought and ready for the ones still to come.
The truth was out and the scandal was just beginning.
And Rhys, for the first time in fifteen years, was exactly where he wanted to be.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
“You must be Miss Grace. I’ve heard a great deal about you.”
Lady Serena Vane stood in the entrance hall of Hartfell House, her travelling clothes immaculate despite the long journey from London, her expression carrying the warm assessment of someone who had already decided to like what she found. She was taller than Mel had expected, with dark hair and intelligent eyes that missed nothing.
Mel curtsied, the gesture automatic even as she studied the woman who had arrived unannounced and apparently uninvited.
