Page 129 of A Baby to Seal the Duke’s Fate

She did not move. “What you do next will affect this family forever.”

“Cecily is family,” he said sharply. “And I intend to name her as such.” He continued without hesitation, “And I intend to publish the truth.”

Her gaze dropped to the document again. “The questions will come back to me.”

“Yes.”

“And your father.”

“So they will.”

She took a slow breath. “Everything we tried to keep buried will be dragged into the open.”

Leopold looked at her. “It should be.”

She raised her eyes. “You are certain?”

“No,” he said, surprising her. He leaned back and held her gaze. “I am not certain it will be easy, that people will understand, or what they will say about you or Father or Celestine.”

She looked down.

“But I am certain that pretending she never existed was wrong.”

His mother’s fingers moved against the edge of the birth record. “She was well loved and cared for.”

Leopold continued. “She was my sister. Your daughter. She deserved to have been acknowledged.”

A long silence followed. “She did,” she said, so softly that Leopold almost did not hear her.

“And she did not deserve to be cast away from her true family,” he said, his anger dampening the restraint he had been carefully maintaining.

The mother nodded slowly, her eyes damp and wistful. Leopold could not recall ever seeing his mother so subdued.

“I know,” she whispered, her lips trembling once.

Leopold watched his mother for what felt like an age. The admission seemed to cost her something. At last, she nodded. “Publish it.”

It was Leopold’s turn to be surprised.

“You are not fighting me on this?”

She looked at him again, a bit of her former no-nonsense expression returning. “If the questions come back to me, I will answer them.”

Leopold nodded once. That was all. He had expected more of an argument. In truth, there was far more he had wanted to say to her. Perhaps he would someday. But right then, he would take a little comfort in knowing that the truth would soon be known. Cecily would be legitimized in society, and the sister he never met would be known for who she truly was.

***

That evening, Sabina arrived at Belgrave with Barnaby, holding a letter in one gloved hand.

“You are fortunate that I have friends in important places, Leopold,” she said, looking rather satisfied with herself.

Leopold raised his eyebrows. “Now is hardly a time for bragging,” he began, but Sabina gestured with the letter for him to be silent.

“This is not idle bragging,” she said. “Barnaby told me about the situation with Isolde. I decided to go speak with my good friend, Benjamin, who helps edit the stories and columns that get published. I did not expect to learn much more than a budding rumor, but I was delighted when I was mistaken. You do not need to thank me.”

Barnaby grinned at her. Leopold studied the letter she waved as she spoke.

“What have you done now?” Leopold asked, raising an eyebrow at the pair.