George felt a flurry of anger washing over him. How dare Victor speak to him like that?
“Do not speak to me of my daughter,” he said. “You would do far better to think about the consequences of what you are about to do, Victor. This young man has a vendetta of some sort, as we both know. What if –” He moved closer so that only Victor could hear him. “What if he has discovered something and plans to reveal it all at a critical moment?”
Victor let out a bitter laugh, a barking, harsh sound, which made George wince. “How could that young pup have discovered anything of any import?” he scoffed. “I am far cleverer than him, and I am sure he knows nothing.” He paused and glanced over at his manservant, who was busily preparing his gun.
“What will happen today is that I will shoot him and possibly kill him. And then he will disappear from our lives forever, leaving us safe from any danger of discovery.”
“There is something to discover, then,” George said softly, staring at Victor. Everything was beginning to fall into place now. Could it be that Victor had been the one to betray them all and that he had kept it hidden for all these years? Was that the reason why he had been so desperate to avoid any kind of confrontation with Sebastian?
Well, now it seemed that he could not escape it. Sebastian was striding towards them across the field. The moment had come.
***
Sebastian had not found it easy to leave his mother. But he had insisted that she return to the house because a duelling site was no place for a woman. He could see the pain and anguish in her eyes, but he had to press on with his plan. He only hoped that he survived the day and lived to tell the tale.
He saw that Adrian had prepared his gun. He felt a surge of nerves as he looked at it and prayed that he would not have to use it. He hoped that he could bring things to a head without going through with the duel, but he knew that he had to be prepared to see things out to the end if needed.
Lord Harrow’s manservant was marking out the paces now, and everything seemed to be becoming terrifyingly real. He felt a wave of nausea sweeping through him.
Adrian spoke first. “I can see there is no way towards reconciliation, Sebastian. I have tried and failed to persuade you, and Lord Evermere has tried to persuade Lord Harrow. But it seems you are both bent on going through with this insane plan.”
Sebastian paused, waiting for his moment. His heart was pounding, but he knew that he must proceed.
“Lord Harrow, I wish to say something to you!” he called out.
Victor wheeled around and stared at him. “Do not try your delaying tactics with me, My Lord!” he shouted back. “You accepted my challenge; it is too late to back out.”
“I have no wish to back out. But I would like to ask you something.”
Victor rolled his eyes. “I see that you are not quite ready to meet your maker yet, boy!”
“I have made my peace with God,” Sebastian declared. “But before our duel, I want you to tell me what made you do it.”
Victor paused. “Do what, boy? What nonsense are you talking now?”
“Why did you betray your business partners and allow your own ship to fall into the hands of pirates and then allow my father to take the blame?”
A look of panic crossed Victor’s face. Sebastian glanced at George and saw the shock on his face. After all this time, all these years of not knowing what had truly happened to his father, he was close now. Close, at last, to finding out the truth.
Chapter 28
The sun had barely risen, and most of the household were not yet awake, but Isabella could not sleep.
She paced up and down in her room, wringing her hands anxiously. What would become of her now? She had been saved from the misery of marriage to the duke, but the rest of her life lay before her now, and she had no idea what to expect.
Sebastian would be forced to marry Felicity, she realized. There could be no other outcome to the scandal that had erupted the previous evening. Lord Harrow would drag them to the altar if he had to, but he would not allow his daughter to be dishonoured.
And that left her alone, for the rest of her days, disgraced and damaged, a disappointment to her family and an embarrassment to her friends. Even Daphne would not want to be associated with her in case it ruined her own chances with Mr Sterling.
She would be cast out of society entirely. And she did not even care about that too much. What really made her feel as if her heart would break in two was the acknowledgement that she would probably never see Sebastian again.
She would have to live without the love they had found and the exquisite pleasure of their passionate embrace. It was almost worse knowing the bliss that could exist between a man and a woman and knowing that she would never get to experience it again.
She let out a sigh, remembering the pure ecstasy of the feeling of Sebastian’s lips on hers and how it felt when his hands caressed her body. She had thought, just for a few precious moments, that there might be hope for them, but that was all over now. And when her parents woke and the day began, she would have to face their disappointment and shame all over again.
And the fact that it was Christmas Day made it all the worse. The usual joyous festivities would be utterly overshadowed by the scandal she had caused. She had ruined everything, and she knew her parents would never forgive her.
She decided to go down to the kitchen to make some warm milk. She knew it was unlikely she would go back to sleep, but perhaps a hot drink might give her some comfort as the early morning hours progressed and help her prepare to face the day ahead.
