Page 87 of An Orphan for the Broken Duke

“Papa!” she cried out as she started down the staircase.

That she called him as such did much to make Rhys feel better. For a moment, he was able to ignore the hurt and the pain, and focus on the good that had come from this day.

He watched Lucy slowly come down the stairs, and his smile was as real as it had ever been. She looked so much like Eleanor, and now he knew the reason. She was his niece… now his adopted daughter… and Rhys would never stop loving her. From this day on, everything that he did would be for Lucy so that she might live the life that she deserved, and one that would make his sister happy.

“There she is.” Rhys bent down and scooped Lucy into the air.

She laughed as he did so, and he pulled her into a tight hug, wanting to feel a sense of completion at having finally found his sister’s lost child.

Strangely, Rhys felt no such thing.

Oh sure, he was happy beyond belief. And yes, he was overwhelmed by the love in his heart. But it was not what he expected it to be. In fact, as he held Lucy close, Rhys realized that the feelings which swirled through him were the same as he would have felt no matter who Lucy was.

This last week had seen Rhys change greatly. He no longer cared for Lucy out of duty or obligation, but because he saw her as his daughter. It did not matter if she was related to him by blood, or that he had spent years searching for her. She was his and that was what mattered.

“Mama?” Lucy asked as he set her down. Lucy looked around hopefully.

Rhys grimaced. “No, Lucy. Just me.”

Her face scrunched into a tight ball. “Why?”

He grimaced again. “Because… Violet is…” He struggled to find an explanation that made sense. “It is just you and me, Lucy.” He took her hand. “But I love you.”

Lucy looked up at Rhys with hope in her eyes. “And Mama? She… Does she not… love me?”

“Of course she does.”

“Why?” Lucy asked again. “Where? I thought… we were family?”

That final word was like a knife in Rhys’ chest.

He winced and leaned back. He very nearly released Lucy’s hand. Dammit, he wanted to look away because the shame he felt in that moment was akin to being found in a storm—the one purpose of which was to see him drown.

Rhys was committed to Lucy, and that was undeniable. Now that he had accepted who he was, everything he would do was for her. But was that enough? And was he wrong to think that he alone could give her the life that she needed?

He had been angry at Violet, and rightfully so. She had lied to him, withheld information to manipulate him because she did not trust who he was. And as much as he hated to admit it… she had been right.

A week ago, Rhys was not a good man. And he was certainly not capable of caring for Lucy as she deserved. In fact, the only reason he had become that man was because of what Violet had done.

She might have gone the wrong way about it, but that did not change the fact.

Rhys found himself turning and looking toward the front door.

He pictured Violet then, back where he had left her, utterly distraught and bereaved and broken. It was an image he could see clearly, because he had seen her like that before. And always, he was the cause.

I have hurt her so many times, and even then, she stayed by me… she trusted me, when she had no reason to.

She alone had believed that Rhys could change, and it was because of her that he had done. She had denied her own happiness time and again, always done because she wanted him to grow and become a better person. It was not for her, and it was not so that she might feel good about herself. That simply wasn’t who she was.

And now that she needed help… I abandoned her.

It came to Rhys at that moment. Like being struck by lightning, a sudden voltage that had him snapping into himself. Always, Violet was the one to help when someone else needed it, but when she was the one who needed that help, who would be there to give it?

“Lucy…” Slowly, he released her hand. “I have to go.”

“Where?”

He stayed looking at the door. He pictured what he had to do. He realized that he had been wrong to accuse Violet. She was alone, she needed someone to help her, and as far as Rhys could tell, there was only one person in the world who might do that.