Page 77 of The Courtship Trap
Harriet let out a short, bitter laugh, rubbing at her hair again, heedless of how she was mussing the already-loose strands. “Yes,” she said hoarsely. “I had an affair with him.” She hesitated before forcing herself to continue. “But that was not the worst of it.”
She turned to face him fully now, her heart pounding.
“The problem was that he was here. In this house. When his father was murdered.” Her voice grew thready. “And I-I would not provide him an alibi. I was dismissive and selfish, and I refused to involve myself.” She swallowed, shame thick in her throat. “Lily stepped forward in my place. She gave the alibi I should have given. And so they had to marry.”
She braced herself, expecting Sebastian’s anger, expecting his condemnation.
Instead, he nodded. Accepting the truth.
But she was not done.
“It gets worse,” she whispered.
Sebastian’s brows rose. “How?”
Harriet squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself to be brave. She could not stop now. She had to see this through, no matter the consequences.
“I was drunk. And miserable. And I could not understand why my lovers kept leaving me to marry unsophisticated girls.” She let out a hollow laugh. “So I-I tried to seduce him after they married.”
Sebastian stiffened.
Harriet forced herself to meet his eyes, her face hot with shame. “Lily caught me.”
Silence stretched between them, thick and suffocating.
Sebastian’s voice was quiet, but there was an edge to it. “And Brendan?”
Harriet’s hands clenched at her sides. “He resisted me,” she admitted. “He did not participate. He did not betray Lily. I was the only one at fault.”
Sebastian was silent as he absorbed this.
Harriet waited. Heart hammering. Waiting for the moment he decided she was not worth forgiving.
The silence stretched so long that Harriet thought she might have lost all sense of time. Every muscle in her body was bracedfor his anger, his disgust, for the moment Sebastian finally realized she was too far gone to be redeemed.
But then …
He chuckled.
Harriet blinked, sure she had misheard.
Sebastian rubbed a hand over his face, shaking his head. “Well,” he mused, his voice wry, “the duke’s current resistance to you makes a great deal more sense now.”
She stared at him, her lips parting in disbelief. “You are laughing?”
“I am,” he admitted, amusement curling his lips. “Because I spent half the night trying to puzzle out why my customarily even-tempered brother was so damn stiff around you. Still. After all these years. And now I know.” His gray eyes gleamed as he gave her a pointed look. “I also suspect this is what Sophia meant when she said your secrets were your own to disclose.”
Harriet exhaled shakily, her hands still clenched at her sides. “Lady Saunton?”
Sebastian nodded. “She accompanied Richard to see me. To reassure me that I had not caught the two of you in an illicit assignation.”
“And you are not angry?”
Sebastian’s smile faded slightly, though not in disappointment—rather, with a quiet assurance that felt more certain, more enduring.
“I have been challenged,” he said, his voice thoughtful. “Challenged to be the man you need. And after hearing all this, I understand why you began your quest for redemption and why you need a strong man who keeps his head. I committed to this role when I decided to return to you.”
Harriet’s throat tightened, emotion swelling inside her. She had expected fury. Or worse, pity. But Sebastian only saw her.And after everything, after all her mistakes, he still wanted to be the man by her side.
