“No, you did not,” Cedric insisted. “You had the right start, the right reasons; you just got a little lost along the way. It happens to all of us. But Deborah? You Did. Not. Fail.”
Deborah raised a curious brow as she brushed her tears away.
“How can you possibly say that?” She asked, “After what just happened in there! Sylvester was going to make me disappear just like you said!”
“He did not, though, Deborah, he did not,” Cedric insisted, “And that display just delivered its own sort of justice. He might not end up in prison, but word of what he just did will spread through the underground. He will never be allowed to step foot in a place like that again. Which means he will not be turning out his own girls anymore.”
Deborah’s eyes narrowed.
“What do you mean?” She asked.
Cedric took a breath and turned so he could take both her hands.
“We were wrong about him having a hand in this auction, but hewasrunning one of his own. He was poaching women from this place. Women who were willingly entering were being bought by him, and he was forcing them into a different sort of auction. One where they did not choose to enter and where the men who would purchase them would not let them go. The worst of men with the worst perversions.Youstopped that tonight, Deborah.”
Though she still felt guilty for the mess she had made, a sliver of relief worked its way through her heart.
“We have to find them,” she insisted, “Those women. We have to find them and set them free.”
“Godric and I have already done that. Sylvester kept records. One of our spies found them, and we got everyone out,” Cedric explained.
He paused, licking his lips.
“And Deborah? That is not all we found. There were other records. Dozens of women he had tricked the same way he tricked your sister. Twelve of them had children. Not only that, but he is indeepfinancial trouble, and once we break word off all of this, the seat he has in parliament, which he has barely kept hold of, will be forfeited as well. Once we release this scandal, even if we leave out the auctions, he will lose everything.”
An intense wave of emotion washed over Deborah. She sat back, stunned.
“You did it,” she whispered, “Everything you promised.”
Cedric’s grin was small and charming.
“I told you I would,” he answered softly.
Deborah managed a smile.
“Now all I need to do is find my sister,” she replied. “I can finally bring her home. She will be free!”
Cedric’s grin widened as love shone in his eyes.
“Godric and I found her. She is at the house with Adeline as we speak,” he confessed.
Deborah’s jaw dropped in shock. Then suddenly, the guilt of all she had said to Cedric, all she had accused him of, hit her like a weight, and she gasped as fresh tears sprang to her eyes.
“Oh, Cedric,” she sobbed, “Cedric, I am so sorry! I am so sorry I did not trust you. That I was not patient enough! I was just so used to handling this all on my own, I thought- I thought-”
“Shhh, it is alright,” Cedric whispered, pulling her back into his arms, “Please. Stop, Deborah. You have been carrying all of this weight alone for so long. Just let it go now. Let me take it on for a while.”
“I threatened you with an annulment,” she croaked, fresh guilt washing over her.
“Oh, I know,” Cedric said with a dry chuckle as he held her, “I received the papers.”
Then he pulled her back, just enough to rest his forehead against hers.
“However, Deborah, you must know that seeing those papers woke me up. They made me see the truth that I was trying to deny myself. That you are not just a partner in an agreement. You are a woman I love. That I need. That I will do anything to keep happy and by my side.”
Deborah’s tears poured faster as she tightened her grip on his shoulders and pressed her forehead tighter to his.
“I love you,” she sobbed. “I love Adeline, too. Both of you so, so very much, and after losing Hester, that in itself frightened me.”