“How could you?” she asked Gemma, her voice rising wildly. “How could you write to the countess about me? I trusted you.”
Gemma’s dark eyes flashed with sudden anger of her own. “You expected me to just take you in? I hardly have any money left. I needed the countess to give me more, so that I could maintain my household.”
“I told you I only needed to impose upon you for a few days! You were the one who asked me to stay permanently!” Serenity cried.
Luke crossed the room to her side and took her hand in his. “That’s not all she’s done,” he said quietly. “I’ve spoken to my mother. It’s worse than you could possibly imagine.”
Gemma paled, her righteous indignation vanishing as she wrung her hands, obviously understanding what he was about to reveal. “I had no choice. I never meant for anyone to get hurt. Especially not you, Serenity. I do care for you. I do.”
Luke squeezed Serenity’s hand, as if to give her strength, and sickness bloomed in her stomach once again. “I never told my mother to send you away, Serenity. You were my entire world, and I was devastated when I thought you’d left me. It wasn’t until we met again that I realized what my mother had done. When I confronted her, she revealed some horrible truths.” He turned to Gemma. “You were the one who told my mother that Serenity was with child.”
Gemma closed her eyes and swallowed, then opened them again and nodded.
“But how did you know?” Serenity cried, thrown completely off balance at the knowledge that Gemma had been the one to betray her, and worse yet, that Luke now knew her secret. “I didn’t tell you. I wasn’t even certain myself.”
“I was your servant! Who do you think made your bed and washed your clothes?” Gemma cried. “Of course, I noticed when you missed your monthly flow.”
Serenity blinked, stunned and embarrassed. She hadn’t realized Gemma had paid that much attention to the most private workings of her body. She’d never intended for her to feel that she was a servant, but when she’d arrived, she’d just taken over. Serenity had just assumed that’s what companions did.
Luke cupped her face in his hands. “I wish I would have known. About the baby. I would have been there for you, angel. I would have been there for you every minute.”
Tears overfilled her eyes. “I know,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry, Luke. I’m so sorry that I lost our baby.” Tears wracked her body, and he pulled her into his arms, holding her tight. Sharing this pain with him, after all this time, was surprisingly cathartic. She’d needed to tell him about their child for so long, and even though it was horrible, she was glad he finally knew what had happened.
“Tell me, Gemma,” he said, his voice anguished. “Tell me what happened to our child.”
“The baby died,” Gemma said, her voice strangled.
“No!” Luke yelled, his arms tightening around Serenity even more. “My mother admitted it to me. You and Roger told Serenity the baby died, but it didn’t. What did you do with our baby?”
“What?” Serenity cried, jerking away to look wildly between Gemma and Luke, who were locked in a battle of wills. She stumbled back, her ears filling with a rushing sound as the impact of what he’d just said sunk in. Seven years! Her baby would be seven years old, and if the child wasn’t dead, then she’d been without her mother all this time.
She leaned forward, bracing her hands on her knees as the world spun around her. Luke glanced over at her, his eyes widening. He lunged toward her as her world went dark.
* * *
LUKE CAUGHT SERENITYjust as she collapsed, sweeping her up in his arms, her heart breaking for her. He hadn’t meant for her to find out this way. He’d wanted to break it to her in the kindest, gentlest way possible but his frustration with Gemma and need to know the truth had gotten the better of him.
“Oh, my Lord,” Gemma breathed, hurrying forward and pressing her hand to Serenity’s pale cheek. “Is she all right?”
“What do you care?” Luke snapped, turning and laying her down gently on the sofa. “You took her child from her and betrayed her at every turn, all while pretending to be her friend.”
Gemma sank back into her chair, tears streaming down her face. “I had to. Don’t you see? Your mother made me! She threatened to cut me off if I didn’t! I had no choice.”
Luke sank to his knees beside Serenity, holding her hand as he finally met Gemma’s shattered gaze. He shook his head in resignation, realizing that she was not the villain here. He knew Gemma well enough to know how powerless she’d always felt. His mother had given her the opportunity to have a home of her own, to have some semblance of control of her life. All he had to do was give her a chance to do the right thing this time.
“Miss Cross, name your price. I will give you whatever you want. All you need do is tell me the entire story. I want to find my child. I want to undo the harm my mother has caused.” He gave her the gentlest smile he could summon. “Please. Help me negate the pain we’ve all caused Serenity and this innocent child.”
Gemma closed her eyes, wringing her hands together as tears streamed down her cheeks. “I don’t know where the girl is, Lucien. I swear I don’t. All I know is that after she was born, Lord Winters took her to a brothel he owned. Miss Hawley’s Gentlemen’s Club.”
“A brothel? Dead God. Are you telling me that my baby girl is being raised in a whorehouse? That she could be—” He bit the thought off, horrified to even imagine what his little girl could be enduring at this very moment. He couldn’t even wrap his mind around that, on top of everything else.
Then he remembered something else, something even more troubling. Disguised as Prometheus, his brother Adrian had burned Miss Hawley’s Gentlemen’s Club to the ground several months ago. How would he ever find out what he needed to know when the only place he knew to look was gone?
He scrubbed his hand over his face and forced himself to stand, instead of launching himself across the room and strangling Gemma with his bare hands for her part in this. “Thank you, Miss Cross. I will make sure that you are provided for. Please gather Miss Pratt’s things. I’m taking her with me.”
