Page 119 of A Baby to Seal the Duke’s Fate

“Your Grace,” he said with a voice that was as unsteady as his fingers.

Leopold crossed the room and shook his hand, forgoing stiff formalities. “Mr. Bellamy. What can I do for you?”

The older man looked at him for one long moment. Then he held out the letter. “My daughter.”

Leopold took it. The paper was creased from being opened and folded again, the handwriting on the outside blunt and hurried, and identical to the letter he had received.

Leopold looked at Barnaby, who nodded once.

“We need information,” Leopold said quietly. “This all goes back to Cecily, and we need to know how.”

Bellamy looked from one man to the other. “You do not know?”

“No,” Leopold said. “So tell me.”

Bellamy swallowed.

“Honora had an older sister,” he said, speaking slowly. “Her name was Celestine.”

Leopold nodded, trying to suppress his impatience.

“I recently learned that much,” he said. “Please, go on.”

Mr. Bellamy nodded.

“Honora was my wife’s and my biological daughter,” he said. “Celestine, however, was not.”

Leopold exchanged a glance with Barnaby, who shrugged.

“She was adopted?” Barnaby asked, clearly as surprised as Leopold.

“Yes,” Mr. Bellamy said. “She was born with skin and hair as white as snow and pale eyes. Her own parents, who were friends of my family, were fearful of raising her. So, after some discussion, my wife and I agreed to take her in.”

Leopold nodded again, trying to understand.

“So, Celestine was not a Bellamy by birth?” he asked.

Mr. Bellamy shook his head.

“No. But we all loved her just as if she was. And we were all thrilled when she gave birth to Cecily.”

Leopold blinked, confused. “Yet you left her here after Celestine died, instead of allowing Honora to continue to raise her.”

“Yes.” Bellamy’s voice cracked on the word. “I was a fool. I believed it was best for Honora, as I believed that she needed to focus on marrying and saving our family. I brought Cecily here because I was sure she would be safe, and that Honora would see, in time, that it was all for the best.”

Leopold stared, confused.

“But why did you bring Cecily here?” he asked. “Why did you feel that she would be safe here, specifically?”

Mr. Bellamy paused for a long time. He looked from Leopold to Barnaby, then back to his hands, which he was wrung and pressed together.

“Because she is your family, Your Grace,” he said at last. “My wife and I…we adopted Celestine from your parents. Almost immediately after she was born. No one else knew of her existence then. My wife had struggled to carry a child to full term, and it seemed that we would never have children of our own. When your parents brought us the idea of adopting Celestine, we were only too happy to agree.”

Barnaby glanced at him.

Leopold could barely breathe. “Celestine was my sister.”

Mr. Bellamy looked at him. “Yes.” The word was almost a whisper. “Your father was most generous, ensuring there was always plenty of money to care for Celestine. A few years later, we were blessed with Honora, and we raised them together as sisters. They did not know any different, and we loved both of them with our entire beings.”