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His father slowly rose to his feet with the assistance of a cane. He covered his mouth with a handkerchief and coughed roughly. After his coughing fit had subsided, he stared at Nicholas. “You ruined that girl’s reputation.”
“No, Father. She ruined herself. The room was empty when I entered it. I had a friend guarding the door so no one but Middleton could come inside. She slipped in by a secret panel. Her gown was already unbuttoned to make it look like I was attempting to seduce her.”
His father stepped forward. “You should have been more careful.”
Nicholas’s ire grew with each step his father took. “No, Father. You should have been more careful.” He tossed the note he was supposed to give to Middleton last night toward his father.
He caught the note. “You read my note?”
Nicholas laughed in a low tone. “Yes, it was supposed to be a note about an investment. Instead, it only says thank you for your assistance in this matter.”
“Yes, his assistance in my investment.”
“You told me that he needed the note before this morning so he could act before losing money.”
His father coughed again and then looked up. “I must have given you the wrong note.”
“Enough lies, Father,” Nicholas ordered. “Why did you and Witham do this?”
“Because you need to marry and Miss Littlebury is a fine young woman. Far better than that little medium slut you have been with.”
Nicholas clenched his fists at his sides. “Miss Reynard happens to be the daughter of an earl.”
His father laughed coarsely. “Of course that is what she tells everyone. How convenient that he doesn’t want anyone to know.”
“I know who he is,” Nicholas countered. Not that it mattered at this point.
“Then tell me. But it will change nothing. She is and always will be a bastard.”
“I promised her I would tell no one.”
The old duke sneered. “Again, how convenient.”
“It changes nothing, Father. I will not propose to Miss Littlebury.”
“Oh?” His father stepped closer then poked Nicholas in the chest with his cane. “And I suppose you wouldn’t care if it got out that your daughter might not be your daughter after all.”
“Damn you to hell, old man. Don’t you dare put Emma into the middle of this.”
“Marry Miss Littlebury and no one will know that your daughter might just be your sister.”
Nicholas closed his eyes against the painful memories of discovering his father in bed with Nicholas’s mistress. He’d never been able to forgive his father for that transgression. His father had said it was the only way to make Nicholas realize that Maggie was nothing but a whore. And he had been right.
Still, there was no way to determine which of them had fathered Emma.
Not that it mattered. In his heart, he would always consider her his daughter. If this became public knowledge, it would only make her life harder. She hadn’t faced the biting tongues of the ton yet. But once they found out that both Nicholas and his father had made love with the same mistress, the tongues would never stop wagging.
While he could handle the embarrassment it might cause him, he would never do anything that would harm Emma’s reputation.
“I will speak with Lord Witham and his daughter this afternoon.”
Sophie heard the knock at the front door and her muscles stiffened. After staying up most of the night, she had finally come to the most difficult decision of her life. She had no idea how or why, but she loved him. She could not let him make the wrong decision.
Marrying her would bring him monetary hardship and the ruination of his reputation. Even though men thought less of their reputation than women, it was important. He would become the duke when his father passed.
He needed the right type of woman. A woman who knew how to move about in Society. Miss Littlebury would fill that position. She was the legitimate daughter of a viscount. Other than what had happened last night, she had always kept her reputation without blemish. She would make a proper duchess.
Sophie would manage on her own. While she felt horrible about not telling Nicholas about the baby, she knew it was for the best. He had Emma and would have more children with Miss Littlebury. This would be Sophie’s only child. Never again would she trust her heart with another man.
