CHAPTER 48

THERE WAS NO SURPRISE or censure in the duke's eyes. "Would you be willing to testify to that under oath?"

"Of course! I would tell it to the queen herself if it meant exonerating Gabriel."

The duke nodded. "I suspected as much. I must warn you, though, that the resulting scandal could ruin you. It could possibly even put your baby's parentage in question."

Resolution firm, she stated, "There's no question about my son's parentage. Gabriel is his father."

No shock at this revelation, either.

"And that's probably the reason Gabriel refuses to tell the truth. He is trying to protect you and the baby."

"The best way for him to protect us is by our side. He already proved as much."

"I agree. By the way, the baby's father's information isn't necessary to reveal in court. Just the admission of an affair should be enough to give him a reason for being here. I won't ever reveal what you have told me."

"Thank you." She sat forward to ask the question that was clawing at her insides.

"Has Gabriel been..." She had to pause and swallow to say it. "Has he been imprisoned?"

"No. But the only reason he hasn't is because he's a peer of the realm. They hesitate to arrest him without solid evidence. And I've been exerting my influence over the other two justices and the chief constable."

"Take me to them, Aycliffe. I'll speak to them and exonerate Gabriel."

THE FOLLOWING MORNING , she settled into the duke's opulent carriage, ready for a journey to the nearest town assembly rooms. She didn't know how Aycliffe had arranged it so fast, but the duke had summoned the two other justices and the chief magistrate for a private hearing.

When the nursemaid handed her the baby and then boarded the carriage behind her, the duke eyed them dubiously. "You are bringing the baby into this meeting?"

She looked down. Her behavior was illogical, and she knew it, but she couldn't help it. "I-I need to have him near at all times. After what almost happened a week ago, I'm still shaken."

The duke looked at her with compassionate eyes. "I understand. Let's hope you will feel safe again soon." The unspoken implication was, let's hope Gabriel could be with them again soon. Only with him would she feel safe.

The meeting with the three men who had Gabriel's fate in their hands went easier than she had expected. She revealed her relationship with Gabriel, explaining what a comfort he had been to her after the duke's passing. She had shed a few tears while recounting how they were in love and Brentworth had proposed, but she had refused because she was still in mourning. They had agreed to wait a year and maintain their relationship in secret. And the earl was so honorable that he wouldn't reveal he had been with her that night when Blackwell broke in.

She told them how she had heard a noise, and they'd gone to investigate. And how they'd found Blackwell trying to harm her child. She cried in truth this time. The tears flowing at the remembered terror.

Everything she said was true. Even if she had not specified the order of events, or left out some other, rather important details. Aycliffe was right. She didn't need to reveal everything, just enough for them to understand that Gabriel was no murderer. That he had killed only to protect the baby.

"I can't say I condone your behavior, Duchess," one of the justices, a balding old man with a pinched expression, chastised her at the end of her testimony. "But loose moral conduct is not a crime that should concern me. I will not pursue an investigation and trial."

The chief constable, seeing the case slip from his hands, tried a last token protest. "But my lords, what if she is lying to protect her lover?"

"You go too far, Mr. Barrington," Aycliffe reprimanded the constable, who blanched at the duke's tone. "The duchess is a respected member of this community. Known and loved by all. Her devotion to the duke was always evident, and she's also shown her dedication as a mother. There's no reason to doubt her word."

"Moreover, she has no reason to lie, and much to lose if this story gets out," the other justice intervened. "There is no question of the duchess inviting Blackwell to her home. I was friends with the old duke, and there was no love lost between His Grace and his nephew. But the nephew did indeed lose much when the duchess's child was born. He lost a dukedom he had thought of as his for years. I daresay that's enough to drive an evil man to such a heinous act. I won't pursue the case either. Very nasty business, indeed."

The constable, finding himself outnumbered and outranked, had no other choice but to accept their decision.

She left the building with her reputation in tatters, but her heart whole.