Bewitching the Duke
Page 111
Chapter 27
Colin backed away until his leg hit the table. It wasn’t possible. They had all told him there was nothing that could have been done. It had been God’s will that they died. All these years he had blamed her mother. They had told him Mrs. White delivered the baby. Mrs. White had even given him the heartwrenching news.
They had lied.
To protect Selina.
“Please say something,” she begged.
He couldn’t look at her. Her bedraggled look and tears would ensnare him. His wife and child might have survived if not for her. The room felt as if it was closing in on him. Without a word, he strode from the house.
He rode back to his house and stumbled into the study. He didn’t care if he’d barely recovered from a night of drinking, it was not too early to start again. He poured a large glass of brandy and gulped it down. Then he poured some more.
“Have you heard anything?” Kate asked from the doorway with a worried look on her face.
“Get out of my study and close the door behind you,” he said in a menacing tone. He didn’t want to speak to anyone.
“Oh, God, what happened? Is she . . .”
“No, she is not dead. My wife and child are dead but the bloody wise woman lives on.”
“What happened, Colin?” She walked into the room and closed the door behind her. “You need to stop drinking and tell me what happened.”
“The hell I will.” He poured another glass, gave her a salute, and drank it down. Nothing would ease the pain he felt in his heart. Everyone had betrayed him. “Get out, Kate.”
“The hell I will,” she parroted and then sank into a chair. “Sit down and tell me what happened. Did you see Selina?”
“Do not mention her name again.”
“What happened when you saw her?”
“She told me the goddamn truth . . . finally.”
“The truth about what?” Kate asked slowly.
“How Mary and my son died.” He drained another glass before collapsing into a chair. “It wasn’t her mother’s fault, Kate.”
“Then . . .”
“Yes, it was Selina’s fault.” He rubbed his hands over his face.
“Tell me what she told you.”
He told her the story that Selina had revealed to him. As he spoke, his heart grew heavier.
“Wait,” Kate said just as he finished. “How old is Selina . . . twenty-four?”
“Yes, but what has that to do with any of this?” He rubbed his rough jaw.
“She was only sixteen when this happened. Her mother was too drunk to do her job. And you have the audacity to blame Selina? She told you that she had never delivered on her own. God, Colin, she was only sixteen.”
“Kate, they lied to me. Every goddamn one of them told me it was God’s will. That God had taken them because he needed them in heaven. He didn’t need them yet. She didn’t know what she was doing.”
Kate rose up from her chair and stared down at him in anger. “Of course she didn’t know. Her mother was too drunk to help her. It wasn’t Selina’s fault. I’m certain she did everything in her power to save both your son and wife. You’re a drunken fool for blaming her.”
“They all lied to me. My servants, her mother, and even Selina lied by omission. She should have told me from the beginning.”
“They lied to protect her from you. You are a complete and utter arse!” She stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind her.