Chapter 12 #2
“I know it was frightening to see,” Cedric whispered, “Especially if that was the first time you saw someone go through something like that. But we are used to this. After Adeline got through one of her fits, it is best to just let her rest. You can visit her first thing in the morning, though, I promise you.”
Deborah’s hesitant look lingered on the door, and for a moment, Cedric feared that she’d open it and he’d have to confess another secret.
Mrs. House was already, no doubt, with Adeline, examining her to make sure she was alright.
He was not sure how much more he could take in one night and opened his mouth to demand that Deborah step away.
Before the first word could leave his lips, though, Deborah let out a sigh and moved away from the door.
Cedric let out a breath of relief and closed his eyes as he let out a weary laugh.
“I do not know about you, but I could use a drink.”
Happiness tingled in his chest when Deborah looked at him and gave him a small smile.
“You know what?” She replied, “I could use one too.”
“I owe you an apology,” Cedric stated as he poured out the brandy, “For the way I spoke to you. Both outside and just a little earlier. I am not used to having the sort of help you provided, and though I asked you to provide it, I do not think I understood how difficult it would be to allow someone else to share the burden.”
With a glass in each hand, he walked over to the couch in his office and handed Deborah a glass.
“I do not believe Adeline is a burden,” Deborah answered, accepting the glass from him.
“No, of course not,” he readily agreed, taking a seat beside her, “However, her condition is. She is- was- often criticized for it by her past governesses and nannies. They thought it was tied to the girl’s willfulness.
I was hoping you would be able to bond with her a little more before her next episode, so that you would not form such an opinion. ”
“Hm,” Deborah hummed in agreement.
She held the glass up to her nose, sniffed it, and then took a slow sip.
Cedric grew transfixed as her lips pressed against the glass, and her soft, pink tongue deftly darted out to taste.
Watching her do so caused a stir in his trousers, and he had to look away, letting out a cough as he adjusted his legs to hide the sudden bulge, and took a long swig of brandy.
“Well, as for your apology, I accept,” Deborah said as she lowered her glass. “Though I would greatly appreciate it if you would refrain from speaking so harshly to me in the future. As you now know, I will not stand idly by and allow such poor behavior.”
Cedric grinned, remembering how she called him an ogre in the hallway.
“Noted,” he remarked.
“And as for Adeline’s condition,” Deborah went on, “I would never judge Adeline for it. The fact that such intelligent women would say such a thing is a bad stain on our gender, and I am ashamed on their behalf for having such ridiculous opinions.”
Cedric’s brows rose in surprise.
“You are a woman apart, Deborah Hunt,” he murmured.
Deborah huffed, then took another sip of her brandy.
“So, I have been told,” she muttered, “Though no one has meant it as an attribute.”
“Well, it is,” Cedric replied.
For a moment, a look of pride stole over Deborah’s beautiful face.
“Your niece is like that as well, you know,” she said after a moment. “She has a mind of her own.”
The left side of Cedric’s lips twitched toward a smile.
“I am aware,” he admitted.
Deborah turned on the couch, shifting her body so she could face him.
“Tell me what you can about your relationship with Adeline,” she implored. “I have heard her side of the story, and the staff’s. Now I should like to know yours.”
Cedric drew in a breath. He’d never spoken to anyone about his relationship with his niece or sister before. Even Godric had very few details on the matter.
“My sister and I had drifted apart,” he started to explain. “She did not wish to have anything to do with the men of our family, which I do not judge her for. Our father was…well, let us just say he was cruel.
“When she got married, she kept us at arm’s length, even after Adeline was born. Then, unfortunately, a year ago, Winnie- that is, my sister- died in a carriage accident. At that point, Adeline’s father was already dead, so she came to live with me.
“I knew nothing- and I do mean nothing about children,” he went on, “But I did try. I insisted we share meals every day. That we spend time together. Go on walks. Play with her dolls. I was willing to do anything she wanted, but it did not matter. She did not want me near her.”
He shook his head, then took another long drink of his brandy.
“She would start to throw these tantrums, you see, when I would not leave. I thought that I was being responsible for not giving in to her whims, but then one night, about a month after she came here, one of those tantrums turned into one of her fits. I was scared witless the first time I saw her go through one. Afterward, I was told it was best not to upset her. So I stayed away. I thought that eventually she would come to me, but that never happened, so I went back to my old life and hired nannies and governesses for the girl. But, as you know ,she chased them all away.”
Deborah was silent for quite a while after Cedric finished, and he let the quiet stretch between them as he watched her expression shift through an array of emotions. Fear, pity, sympathy. Then, finally, understanding.
“Her heart aches for her mother,” Deborah said, her soft tone breaking the silence, “Probably more than you realize.”
“Of course it does,” Cedric agreed, but Deborah shook her head.
“You do not understand,” she replied, “Their bond? It was more than just mother and daughter. Your sister was Adeline’s best friend. Her confidant. Some might even say a soul mate. It is so very rare for such relationships to form, and it is devastating to lose them.”
That passion that Deborah spoke with, the way her eyes misted, told Cedric more of the story.
“You had that bond,” he said softly.
Deborah swallowed, keeping her eyes on her glass.
“Yes,” she rasped.
“What happened to it?” He asked.
She closed her eyes, and a tear escaped down her cheek, making Cedric want to lean over and hold her close. Pleasure was something he was used to giving women. But comfort? That was foreign to him. The realization of such kept him still, and instead of reaching for her, he waited.
“It is gone,” she whispered. “And so is she. I have no idea where she is now after what…what happened to her.”
Something clicked in Cedric’s mind.
“You are speaking of your older sister. Hester,” he ventured.
Deborah nodded, then reached up to flick away the lone tear on her cheek as she opened her eyes.
“Tell me what happened,” he implored, shifting closer to her.
She huffed out a humorless laugh and shook her head.
“You told me yourself you heard the rumors,” she muttered.
“Rumors are not facts,” Cedric replied, his tone serious. “And I also told you that I listen to them for amusement. I do not take them seriously.”
When she did not reply at first, Cedric felt the urge to press her. Instead, he went against his own desires and waited, feeling as if he was about to receive something of grave importance.
“My uncle blundered the fortune our father left us,” Deborah finally started to explain.
“Everyone knew it, too. We became so poor so fast, that when Hester debuted no one wanted to marry her. So, she decided to try the auction. Our uncle explained that it was not as horrible as the others. That most of the women at such an auction became well-treated mistresses. Some of them even became wives for nobles who did not wish to deal with courtship.”
Although he knew she was not trying to prick at him, he felt the sharpness of her words all the same.
That was precisely what he had done. He had not felt guilty about it in the moment.
His needs were far too important at the time.
Now, though, he was beginning to understand how little choice the women at those auctions had.
Even if they had entered into it willingly.
“As you know, my sister was purchased by Sylvester Fairborne, the Earl of Whitford,” Deborah went on, “Shortly after Hester went to live with him, I started receiving letters from her.
She said she was no longer allowed to visit us, but that all was well.
That the Earl was treating her with kindness and love, and that she had, through the auction, met her true match.
“He seduced her,” she explained, her tone growing cold and bitter, “Promised her marriage. Love. Care. Then he threw her away as if she were some object he was bored with. It ruined her. Not just her reputation. Her. Her heart, her soul, he had crushed them both.”
Deborah sniffled, and this time Cedric could not help but reach out and smooth away her tears with his thumb. If Deborah minded, she did not show it, and her allowing him to do so seemed suddenly so momentous to him that it felt like a gift to be able to comfort her.
“I was able to smuggle her out of London,” Deborah continued, finally looking over to him.
The heartache in her eyes took him aback, and he had to look away.
“But after a year, she stopped writing. Then I found out she had left her original hiding place. I have no idea where she is now. If she is safe, or hurt…or worse.”
Her voice trembled on the last word, but Deborah shook her head and cleared her throat, clearly used to dealing with such heartache alone.
“And Sylvester? All he got was a few months’ worth of tarnished reputation before the ton forgave him.
He destroyed her,” she said, tilting her chin up as she spoke with pure determination, “So I am going to destroy him. My original plan failed, but I will find another way, and I will not stop until he is as miserable as my sister or worse.”
Foreign and unbidden rage swelled in Cedric’s chest. He was not a man to meddle in other people’s affairs, but hearing how Hester was destroyed and seeing how it nearly destroyed Deborah, he began to have a change of heart.
“One of your conditions to marrying me was receiving my help for your plan. I did not know what it was at the time, but I do now,” Cedric said, his tone gravely serious.
“I have ways of finding out information in a very private way. Let me use that to find out some of Sylvester’s weak points. Let me help you bring him down.”
The hard glint in Deborah’s eyes softened as he spoke.
“You would go that far to help me?” She asked, and Cedric let out a devilish laugh.
“My dear, you have no idea how far my reach extends,” he replied. “Something like this requires little effort on my part. Trust me when I say that with my help, you can make Fairborne wish he’d never discovered that auction in the first place.”
A deviant look that Cedric immediately adored took over the earnestness in Deborah’s eyes, and her answering smile was a breathtaking mixture of beautiful and wicked. Deborah was born for the light, but in that moment, Cedric understood that she could play very well in the dark.
“God, you are beautiful when you look so devious,” he breathed, daring to caress her cheek.
He expected her to slap his hand away, but instead Deborah batted her lashes bashfully and leaned into his caress, as if he’d given her the most wonderful praise. If he had not already yearned for her, he certainly did now. Only now, it was for reasons far beyond her beauty.
Cedric cleared his throat, realizing that he was growing distracted. Deborah, in turn, blinked and pulled away from his touch, as if the spell had broken for her as well.
“We do this together from now on,” he stated, his tone growing serious again. “We will end our honeymoon next week and start to attend events in London.”
Deborah made a face, and he laughed.
“I know, I am not fan of interacting with such loathsome creatures either. However, you know just as well as I how much gossip is shared at balls and parties. If we appear as a couple in love, people will stop talking about us and start talking to us. About many things.”
Though still appearing displeased, Deborah nodded.
“What about Adeline?” She then asked. “I still want to help her, and I want to mend your relationship with her as well, if possible.”
“We will bring her with us,” Cedric decided after a moment. “Perhaps I have kept her too shuttered in here. If you take her about town with you, to the modiste and such, perhaps her attitude at least will change.”
Deborah thought on this for a moment, then gave another nod.
“She seemed to really open up to my sister, Grace. Perhaps you are right. Either way, it is worth a try,” she replied.
“Very good,” Cedric said.
He then rose from his seat and offered his hand to Deborah. His heart fluttered when she almost instantly took it and stood beside him.
“So we have a plan?” He asked, raising a brow.
“We have a plan,” Deborah agreed, and he loved that deviant smile of hers lit up her face again.