Felix appeared beside him, breathing hard as if he’d run the entire way.
“Felix?” Owen stared at him in confusion. “How did you…”
“Followed you. Again. Really, your habit of charging off alone is becoming tiresome.” Felix moved past him to where Jasper crouched against the overturned desk. “Although in this case, I’m grateful for the dramatic timing.”
“You can’t prove anything,” Jasper snarled.
“Can’t I? I’ve been listening from the hallway for several minutes. Heard some fascinating confessions about murdered brothers and threatened children.” Felix’s smile was all teeth. “The constables will find it all very interesting.”
“You have no authority here.”
“No, but I have friends who do. And after tonight’s revelations, I suspect they’ll be very interested in reopening the investigation into Nicholas’s death.”
Jasper’s face went ashen as the implications sank in.
Owen watched the man’s bravado crumble. It was quickly replaced by the desperate fear of someone who had overreached.
“Where is Holt?” he demanded. “Where is my daughter?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Felix hauled Jasper to his feet with surprising strength. “Let’s discuss this with the authorities, shall we? I’m sure they have ways of refreshing your memory.”
As Felix dragged the protesting Jasper toward the door, Owen turned to the Dowager Duchess. She stood frozen in the center ofthe room. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she stared at the destruction of everything she’d believed about her family.
“I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “I’m sorry you had to learn the truth this way.”
“The child.” Her voice was barely a whisper. “Nicholas’s child. She’s yours now?”
“She’s ours. Mine and Iris’s.” The words came out with absolute certainty. “And I’ll die before I let anyone take her away.”
The Dowager Duchess nodded, her composure slowly returning despite her grief. “Then go. Save your family. I’ll handle things here.”
Owen paused in the doorway. “What will you do?”
“What I should have done years ago—ensure that justice is served.” Her voice hardened with resolve. “Nicholas deserves that much. You all do.”
As Owen ran through London’s darkening streets, his heart hammered with panic and determination. Somewhere in the city, a man was trying to steal his daughter. But he would find him, would tear London apart stone by stone if necessary.
Because he finally understood what the Dowager Duchess had been trying to tell him. Love wasn’t a weakness. It was the strongest force in the world.
And Owen Sencler, the Duke of Carridan, was done running from its power.
CHAPTER 33
“Imust insist that we proceed with the arrangements immediately.”
Iris clutched Evie tighter against her chest. The baby’s warm weight was the only thing anchoring her to sanity as Holt’s voice drifted up from the entrance hall below.
She’d been making her way downstairs when the solicitor’s arrival had stopped her cold, sending her retreating to the shadows of the upper landing where she could observe without being seen.
“The child’s new guardians are most eager to welcome her home,” Holt continued. His tone carrying the false cordiality of a man conducting distasteful but necessary business. “I’ve brought the proper documents for transfer of custody.”
Iris pressed her back against the wall. Her heart thudded so loudly she was certain everyone in the house could hear it. Thiswas happening. Actually happening. Despite her desperate hope that some miracle might happen, Holt had come to collect Evie as promised.
“Where is the Duchess?” Peters’s voice carried up the stairs, carefully neutral despite what must be tremendous distress. “Surely, she should be present for such proceedings.”
“The Duchess’s presence isn’t required. The child’s legal status is quite clear.”
