Page 31 of Celestes Forever Marquess
Caleb blinked multiple times, shocked. He’d not expected that at all. Bile filled his throat that he’d been courting Celeste’s sister. “Burrows has never mentioned it.”
Derry smirked. “No matter how successful she’s become, he’s never acknowledged her.”
Horror and anger coursed through him. He and his family had been at the ball, and she’d not said anything. Caleb wished she’d told him, not because it changed his feelings, but because he would have never allowed the man to set foot in his home.
He drank the brandy provided by the men, still in shock. More than anything, though, he felt rage that this man knew Celeste existed and abandoned her. It broke his heart. Again, he asked, “Where is she?”
Derry said, “She is at my country estate with my wife. The Dowager Lady Burrows visited Celeste two evenings ago, and then she decided to leave.”
Caleb didn’t like the older woman; she exuded a coldness that had bothered him since they’d met. “What did she say to Celeste?”
“We don’t know,” Devons said.
Caleb rose. He would go to Burrows’ home first and then to Derry Hall. Devons pointed to the chair. “Sit. There is more.”
“You say there is nothing about Celeste’s past that will change your feelings for her?” Derry questioned.
“Nothing,” he bit out impatiently.
“Do you know what Devil’s Acre is?” Derry asked.
Frustrated and wanting to leave, he shook his head, his eyes flashing with annoyance.
Devons said, “Devil’s Acre is a slum in London. Not far from Mayfair, but it is a brutal place. When Celeste came to the Den looking for a job, she’d just been thrown out of a brothel in Devil’s Acre—a very shady establishment that did not care what happened to the ladies that worked there.”
Horror and sadness filled him. “I don’t care what her past is.”
“Her mother worked there, and once she passed away, the man wanted Celeste to take her place. I’m telling you this only, so you know what she likely fears London learning. She isn’t even aware that Derry and I know the details about her past.”
“The only thing that upsets me is that she had to endure such hardships. Did her father know?”
Devons and Derry nodded. “She had our messengers deliver letters to his home.”
Caleb stood and paced. “How do you allow your child and a woman you got in the family way to survive like that? Why did you allow him to frequent this club? Why did she?”
Derry sighed. “Celeste has always been very independent. Whenever we brought it up, she told us to leave it alone. I think she wanted to show him she was just as indifferent to him.”
He shook his head, hating that so much of Celeste’s life revolved around suffering. “I’m going to see Burrows, and then I’m going to Celeste. I love her. I don’t care about her past.”
Derry said, “Her mother’s name was Anna Hartly. Celeste changed her name when she started working for us.”
Perhaps another man would have been angry about all her secrets, but he only felt sadness. “Thank you.”
Devons said, “Good luck.”
Caleb strode from the room and out the front door. He needed to know what the Burrows family said to Celeste, and then he would make sure the man understood that if he ever came near her again, he’d destroy him. Disgust filled him that he’d planned on partnering with him on business ventures.
***
Celeste stared at the fountain in the gardens of Derry Hall. She closed her eyes and grimaced. By now, Caleb had received her letter. She didn’t want to think about how devastated he would be. Her heart ached, and Celeste wished she could go to him.
Returning to Devil’s Acre after ten years had been a shock. It was even more surprising to see that the squalor still existed. She read in one of the newspapers a few years back that the government had swept in and cleaned up the area.
She smirked, knowing that whatever had been done was probably a temporary fix. Celeste didn’t hate Devil’s Acre. She hated the pure desperation that hung over everything. Her mother flashed in her mind, remembering how sick she was, and how the brothel continued to make her work.
A tear slid down her cheek, thinking about the letters she sent to the Burrows resident begging for help and the brothel owner who thought she would step in and take her mother’s place. The Den had saved her.
Celeste hated that she felt ashamed about all these things that she couldn’t control. Her mother was a survivor. She shouldn’t feel that way. Still, Celeste didn’t doubt that theDowager Lady Burrows would reveal details about the end of her mother’s life if she stayed with Caleb.
