“The Widow,” Damien said with sudden understanding of her machinations.
“She arranged everything with remarkable efficiency. We wed by proxy just before James was born.”
“You married her,” Damien said slowly, the pieces finally falling into place. “Without telling me.”
Dominic’s face crumpled. “I wanted to, but I couldn’t,” his voice broke completely. “You’d sacrificed everything for my recovery—your home, your position in Society, your future with Laura. How could I confess that while you were protecting me from my demons, I had fallen in love with the woman you’d lost because of my weakness?”
The anguish in his brother’s voice cut through Damien’s confusion, revealing the depth of guilt Dominic had been carrying. In that moment, he began to understand Dominic’s own agony over Laura while believing himself unworthy of happiness.
“I planned to tell you once I united with Laura and James,” Dominic continued desperately. “To beg your forgiveness and ask your blessing. I should have gone to Whitehall first, but I couldn’t wait to see Laura and my son. I can’t fathom how Croft knew, but his men captured me on my way there.”
“He appeared when James was barely three weeks old,” Laura finished grimly. “He threatened to paint Dominic as apredator who had taken advantage of a vulnerable woman, to claim James was conceived during a relapse.”
“The bastard,” Damien said with cold fury.
Sir William, who had been listening intently, leaned forward. “What did Lord Croft demand in exchange for his silence?”
“Our cooperation in a larger scheme,” Dominic answered. “He wanted us to remain at his Richmond property where we could be displayed when the time was right—to challenge the Duke of Westmore’s proxy marriage. He planned to use our relationship—my involvement with Laura—to assert that the Westmore family is morally corrupt and dysfunctional. He planned to prove that the duke’s nuptial was a desperate attempt to avoid social ruin, therefore, making it fraudulent.”
Damien clenched his jaw as the magnitude of Croft’s scheme became clear. “He would have destroyed Eleanor’s protection.”
“Completely,” Laura confirmed. “Your marriage would be annulled, she would lose her legal protection. We would face social disgrace, and she would have no legal recourse against Croft’s renewed pursuit.”
Sir William rose with grim purpose. “I believe I have heard quite enough. The charges of kidnapping, conspiracy, fraud, and extortion are more than sufficient.”
As the magistrate departed, Damien found himself alone with his brother and sister-in-law. The cottage parlor felt stifling despite the cool air. He rose abruptly, pacing to the window where the starless sky seemed to reflect his emotions.
“Laura,” he said, turning back to face them. “At the ball—you sought me out. You seemed distressed but determined to speak with me privately.” His eyes narrowed as pieces fell into place. “That wasn’t coincidence, was it?”
Laura’s arms tightened protectively around James. She exchanged a quick, guilty glance with Dominic before looking down at her son. “Croft… he instructed me to approach youthat night. He said if I could distract you, draw you away from Eleanor even briefly, it would serve his purpose.”
Damien felt ice settle in his veins. “Distract me how?”
“He suggested…” Laura’s voice grew smaller. “He suggested I should try to rekindle whatever feelings you might still have for me. To make Eleanor doubt your affections, perhaps even question the stability of your marriage.” She finally raised her eyes, and they were bright with unshed tears. “He said all I needed to do was remind you of what we’d once shared, make you remember why you’d cared for me.”
“Bloody hell,” Damien breathed, running a hand through his hair.
“I am sorry. The moment I saw you with her, saw how you looked at her…” Her voice shook slightly. “I realized I was being asked to destroy something beautiful, but he gave me no choice.”
Dominic reached for Laura’s hand, squeezing it.
“Damien,” Dominic said quietly. “Can you find it in your heart to forgive me? For all your sacrifice these past three years, for falling in love with Laura? For causing you such worry these past months?”
Damien looked at his brother—truly looked at him—and saw not the troubled young man he had spent years protecting, but a husband and father who had made difficult choices out of love rather than weakness. The shame and guilt that had driven Dominic to hide his happiness suddenly seemed like the greatest tragedy of all.
“There’s nothing to forgive,” Damien said quietly. “You followed your heart to build something beautiful. I could ask for nothing more.”
He turned to Laura, seeing her as the woman who had found her true happiness with his brother. “I hope you’ll both be very happy.”
Laura’s eyes filled with tears as she shifted little James in her arms. “Would you like to hold him?”
Damien’s hands trembled slightly as he accepted the small bundle, marveling at the perfect features of his nephew. James was warm and real in a way that made the abstract concept of “family” suddenly tangible. The baby opened dark eyes and seemed to study his uncle with solemn intensity.
“Hello, little one,” Damien murmured, feeling his heart expand with unexpected love for this tiny person who represented hope and new beginnings. “I’m your Uncle Damien, and I promise you’ll never lack for family who loves you.”
As he gazed down at James, Damien felt the last vestiges of his old grief and resentment dissolve, replaced by something far more precious.
“He’s perfect,” Damien said softly, his voice thick with emotion. “Absolutely perfect.”