Page 69 of Claiming His Lost Duchess
Graham watched him scurry away, barely able to keep himself still enough to realize that these were the walls that his wife had grown up in.
Something about the colors of the wallpapers and the décor saddened him. Joan was such a vibrant woman, filled with so much passion and life. She deserved better than to be stuck in such a dreary place, especially since other horrors were confined within as well.
There and then, he swore to love her fiercely, with everything within him. No matter what, he would shower her and his daughter with all the affection and gifts they would want and more.
The butler returned, gesturing down a hallway.
“This way, Your Grace.”
Lysander nodded in the direction the butler had gone, letting Graham walk ahead so Lysander could follow behind. The butler led them to a drawing room with a lit fireplace, and in the middle of the room stood Georgina.
“Your Grace,” she curtsied, a glass of what looked like brandy nestled in the grip of her right hand. “How unexpected. I never imagined that you would seek me out like this.”
Despite the curtness in her tone, Graham could see the drink in her glass slosh around, as though her hand was shaking. She was certainly nervous, and her inability to hold his gaze was just as telling.
“I did not come to exchange pleasantries with you. I do not particularly care for you or your thoughts and opinions about me or my family. But this evening, my daughter went missing. And now, my wife is nowhere to be found, although she was seen rushing out of the house earlier with a letter in her grasp,” Graham said.
“And you think I have something to do with either of those events?” she scoffed, taking a step back. “Perhaps your staff are simply not as capable as you believe. Though I wouldn’t expect them to be, given that they have such a man as their master –”
“It seems you do not value your tongue, woman.” Lysander stepped forward, but Graham held him back with a single hand.
“Don’t bother,” Graham shook her head, before he approached Georgina. “She can only wag her tongue, because she knows she will not be seen otherwise. A woman like you, so proud yet so empty, with no family or husband to torture with your petty thoughts and ideals... it must kill you to see your cousin living such a fulfilling life, despite your belief that you know what is best for her. Though I must say, you know nothing of the despairs of life if that is all that keeps you awake at night.
“I know you have something to do with this. And you have two choices – either you tell me what you know, or dally – and watch as I set ablaze everything you hold dear. You may doubt me and my words, but make no mistakes — I cherish nothing more than my wife and daughter. And if you do not tell me where they are now, I will not even hand you over to the constables. I will take care of you myself. You are one of those who believe that I am nothing more than a beast — do you want to see just how beastly I can be?”
She was visibly shaking now, her face pale as she glanced back at Lysander, dismayed to find him uninterested in jumping to her defense.
“I didn’t think he would do something so rash,” she started quietly, her voice getting louder and more frantic with every word. “When I told him where she was, I thought he would simply swear her off and out of the family so we could finally —”
“Who? Who are you talking about?” Graham asked, narrowing his eyes sternly.
Georgina hesitated, her shoulders slumping in defeat.
“My father. The Viscount of Farhampton.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
“Your father? I believed he was dead.”
Georgina snorted at Graham’s words, lifting her glass to her lips as she muttered.
“So did I. But he turned up yesterday, alive and well, much to my shock and horror.”
“And why would he want anything to do with my wife and daughter?” Graham pressed, confused.
“I do not know! I thought — I wanted to believe that he had returned for me. I thought we would finally be a family, now that he had nothing else to distract him from me! But the first thing he asked about upon his return was Joan’s whereabouts. I thought… I thought that if I told him that she was married — to a Scot, no less, he would see that she was unworthy —”
“Do not speak of my wife like that. She did not want your father’s attention and he was a depraved man, putting his attention on a child like that. She did not come between your relationship with him. Your father never cared for you in the first place — did not care for anyone other than himself and his selfish desires,” Graham spat, feeling disgusted.
Georgina hung her head in shame, falling silent. With a sigh, Graham willed himself to stay calm, at least long enough to get the answers he needed from her.
“And then what happened?”
With a shaky inhale, Georgina continued, “He insisted on going to see her. He said that he wanted to introduce himself to Sophia, since he was her family too. He asked me to take him to the estate, to point at the entrance. I had no choice but to do as he asked. He looked like my father but his eyes… he had one thing on his mind and I knew I would regret getting in his way. So I did what he wanted me to, and once I had pointed out the entrances, he told me to return home at once and I did.”
That utter fool had involved his own child in Sophia’s kidnapping, whether or not she was directly at fault. And it made Graham livid, to remember that Joan had thought of her cousin so warmly once, had hoped that she would change and accept the choices Joan had made.
And yet, she had just admitted that she had a hand in the kidnapping of their daughter.
