Page 45 of The Replacement Duchess

“Believe me, I know. Regardless, I have to try. Perhaps if I am kind about it, he may feel secure enough to confess. That is the best way to do it, at least.”

“I hope that you are right, and I hope that this is all a misunderstanding.”

“As do I, but I shall not know until I try.”

“Good luck, Sister.”

Diana went to find their father then. They had had breakfast together that morning, and he had not told them of any plans to leave afterwards, so she thought that he would be there for a conversation.

It was as she had said to Samantha, she would be kind and try to at least understand what he was doing. Perhaps he knew that his fortunes were changing and so he wished to try a business venture, and he knew what he was doing and simply had not told them. Given his reputation, it was unlikely that any upstanding gentleman would view it positively, and so maybe that was why he had not been taken seriously.

But Diana could not find him, and nobody seemed to know where he had gone. It did not make any sense. They always had the same routine—they would have breakfast together, then he would either accompany them on their trips or he would…

Diana did not know what he would do if they did not have plans.

She felt a chill run down her spine, immediately going to find Samantha again.

“Where does he go during the day, Sister?”

“Father? I do not know. I do not see him after breakfast. Nobody does.”

“Then I will wait for him to return.” Diana nodded. “I shall find him one way or another.”

She dragged a chair to the hallway, took one of the books from the library, and positioned herself comfortably. She was not suspicious at first—gentlemen had things to do outside of their households. But then an hour passed, and then another, and then she was completely unsure of how long it had been since she had seated herself there.

All she knew truly was that the sky had darkened and still he was not there. Then, it happened. She could hear a commotion outside, a sort of clattering and cursing, and then the door swung open and he was there, unsteady on his feet and grumbling. When he saw her, his eyes widened, and he stumbled backwards slightly.

“Diana,” he slurred, “what are you—Why are you here?”

“Go to bed, Father,” she sighed. “We shall discuss this in the morning.”

“You are not my—my mother.”

“To be sure. Goodnight.”

There was no use arguing with him when he was in such a state. It was far easier to send him to his room as if he were a petulant child that had been caught misbehaving, which she had to admit described him well.

One look from her seemed to tell Samantha all that she needed to know. Their father had been waiting until they had gone tobed and then coming home to hide his activities, and it had been working well, that was until a friend of the Duke had caught him. Perhaps the rest of the accusation was true too.

The following morning, he seemed quite sheepish indeed. He was clearly aware that he had been seen, but instead of anger, all that he could do was shrink down in his seat and pretend they could not see him. Soon enough, he rose from his seat.

“I shall see you girls later,” he said sharply. “I have some matters to tend to.”

“I require a word with you first,” Diana replied.

“Can it not wait? It is vital that I go.”

“Then I shall accompany you. Either that or you sit in the drawing room and we talk. The choice is yours.”

He scowled at her, but he nodded. “Then we shall go to the drawing room.”

“I thought you might say that.”

She gave Samantha a quick glance over her shoulder as they left, and then she walked with her father. He shrunk away from her as if he were afraid, and she almost liked it. He should have been; she knew his secret, and he knew that, but he did not know the extent to which she was aware of what he had been doing.

“Alright,” she said coldly, “I wish to know everything.”

“I am unsure of what you are referring to.”

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