Page 29 of When a Duke Desires a Lass

Yes, he had children.

She never would.

What was more, and perhaps the worst of Clement’s sins, the mangy cur might’ve left her carrying his child. He’d given no consideration to that possibility but had discarded her as if he tossed an old pair of boots into the rubbish bin.

Tobias made a soothing sound deep in his throat.

“I don’t even know if any of what he told me was true,” she whispered, the anguish she’d believed she’d buried rising to the surface once more. “If he was married or had children. He might very well have lied about that too.”

Those first months after Emily had returned to England with Justina, she’d been terrified someone would inquire about her married surname, but no one ever had. She supposed the name was common enough that no one had taken notice.

“The bloody scunner.” Tobias snaked an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into the comforting shelter of his body. “He deserved to be horsewhipped.”

In his anger, Tobias’s brogue had intensified.

A log shifted in the fireplace, sending angry orange and crimson sparks flying up the chimney.

How glorious it was to hear someone else speak the truth about Clement and defend her.

“He died before he made it to England,” she said.

A queer, twisted sort of justice.

Her brother had been the one to tell her, all the while believing when Grenville reached England, he’d have sent for his bride. Richard had gone to his grave believing that lie.

Emily focused on the blustery weather visible through the window lest Tobias see the embarrassment and regret in her eyes.

“If it were known that I’m not really a widow… I’d be considered a fallen woman. I’d have to leave England lest I bring disgrace upon Justina…Avery.” You.

“Och. Bollocks to that. Ye were wronged, lass.”

He grazed her jaw with his fingertips. “The whoremonger took advantage of yer trusting nature and gentle heart.”

Which was why Emily had wrapped both in an impenetrable, protective wall. Terrified she’d make the same stupid mistake again. Except now…she was older, wiser, and a good deal more cautious.

“Ye have nothing to be ashamed of, and any self-righteous prig who would judge ye when ye are the victim of a foul deed isn’t worthy of your company.”

Tobias squeezed her shoulder with his large palm, and sensation zipped along her nerve endings.

There was no sense denying his effect on her.

Not anymore.

To do so was futile.

Not only was Emily attracted to Tobias in a way she never believed herself capable of again, but he’d also managed to awaken something dormant in her heart.

“If the bugger were alive, I’d run the blackguard through and send him to the lowest level of hell where the vilest demons belong.” Emotion rendered Tobias’s voice rough and gravelly.

Emily adored him all the more for his chivalry.

She feared that the walls she’d so carefully erected and fortified all of these years were in danger of crumbling completely. Leaving her vulnerable and exposed.

Would that be so awful?

Yes. No.

She honestly didn’t know.