Page 18 of A Legacy of Lies

She forced her voice to hold. “You’ll get nothing from me.”

He moved faster than memory. His hand closed around her wrist. The letter crumpled between them.

“Nothing?” His grip tightened. “I gave you everything, girl. Blood. Name.”

“You gave me shame.”

The words came through her teeth, each one a wound.

He leaned in, his breath sour. “You think he’s different, this new duke? That he’s clean? That they’d send a man like that to rot in Canada for duty?” He laughed low. “There was a scandal, of course there was. Why else send the heir across an ocean?”

Her stomach twisted. “You don’t know anything.”

“Don’t I?”

He let go and stepped back, the letter falling between them like an accusation. “What would it take? One whisper to the vicar? ‘Daughter of a drunk and a thief,’ they’ll say. ‘Of course she seduced the duke.’”

Clara’s breath caught. Her hands curled, fists buried in her skirts.

“Get out,” she said.

“Make me.”

Footsteps sounded behind her, crisp and deliberate.

Her father turned toward the sound. His mouth twisted.

“Ah. Speak of the devil.”

He disappeared into the mist.

Clara staggered back, her breath tearing. She pressed one hand to her wrist where his fingers had left their bruise.

The next step on the path was heavier. Nathaniel.

He emerged like the answer to a prayer she hadn’t dared voice. Coat unfastened, papers in hand, brows drawn.

He stopped when he saw her.

“Miss Whitmore?”

She lifted her head. “Your Grace.”

He took in her expression, the set of her shoulders, and the tremor in her hands.

“Are you well?”

“Yes…” She looked down. “I slipped. On the stones. It’s nothing.”

His eyes flicked to her wrist. “You’re hurt.”

“Truly, it’s nothing.”

But his gaze lingered, sharp and controlled, the solicitor’s gaze, not the man’s. He wanted to ask again, wanted to step closer and steady her. But instincts were dangerous, especially the ones that came too fast. Too close.

“You were delivering something to Hollis?”

She nodded. “A note from Her Grace. Tenant ledgers for next week.”