Page 84 of A Baby to Seal the Duke’s Fate

Leopold stared at her. “I am not agreeing to this.”

His mother’s answer was immediate. “Then the alternative is the orphanage.”

The words struck with quiet force.

Cecily, drowsy in Leopold’s arms, stirred at the tension in the room and made a small complaint before settling again.

Leopold looked down at the child for half a second, then back at his mother.

“You would do that.”

“I would do what is necessary.”

“You would send her away.”

“I would protect the family.”

He gave a short, disbelieving laugh. “By placing a baby in an orphanage.”

Her face did not change. “By preventing the family from becoming a public joke.”

The silence that followed was sharp enough to hurt.

Leopold finally said, “I will not agree to marry Isolde Carrington because you have decided she is a solution.”

Her gaze did not soften. “Then think carefully about what you will do when the county decides it for you.”

She placed the letter on his desk in the study with deliberate neatness, then set another beside it.

Leopold looked down at the second envelope and knew at once what it was.

The orphanage had accepted the baby.

He felt the room narrow around the two letters.

She did not wait for his response. She turned and went out without another word.

Leopold stood still for a long moment, Cecily asleep against his shoulder, the two letters on the desk in front of him.

Then he reached for the one from Penmere.

The seal broke cleanly.

He unfolded the paper and read.

The reply was brief.

Polite.

And final.

Lady Isolde Carrington had already accepted the terms of the arrangement.

She would arrive at Belgrave at the end of the week.

Leopold stared at the page.

For one long moment he could not move.