Chapter 23

CHAPTER 23

OCTAVIAN TOOK SYD'S hand as they sat in Parkhurst's magnificent parlor about to dine with the duke and Lord Harcourt. "Lady Thorne," the duke said once his footmen had served them and then left, closing the gilded double doors behind him. "It is long past time you were told the truth."

Octavian felt Syd's excitement shooting through her like bolts of lightning. "Yes, I wish to know. Who am I?"

Lord Harcourt, looking quite wan and beaten down, nodded.

"You are my brother's daughter," Parkhurst said, getting straight to the heart of the matter. "I said nothing while my wife was alive out of respect for her. You see, I loved Julia Crawford. That was her name, Lady Julia Crawford, daughter of the Earl of Crawford. But my brother was eldest, so he was meant to marry her. Our fathers had agreed upon it. Julia and my brother, Douglas, had no choice but to go along with the arrangement."

"But Douglas rebelled," Harcourt interjected. "He had fallen in love with Catriona Langley and would have no one else as his wife."

Parkhurst nodded. "Please know that I loved my brother and would never have done anything to interfere with his arranged marriage…even though Julia happened to be the woman I loved. This was all becoming a Shakespearean comedy. A Midsummer's Night Dream. Each of us pledged to the wrong people. Then suddenly, my brother and I saw how to make it right."

Octavian frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I helped my brother marry Catriona."

Syd gasped and almost spilled her wine. "What are you saying?"

"I was there at their wedding ceremony. I was his witness. You were born in wedlock, Lady Thorne. Not out of wedlock." He glanced from her to Octavian and then back to her. "It will, of course, cause some complication. If you and Captain Thorne were to have a son, he would have a superior claim to mine for the Parkhurst title. The terms of lineage are clearly set forth in the ducal grant of title."

Octavian stared at Syd's father. "Did you know this?"

"Not until a few days ago. Douglas…who is your true father, Syd…had rambled something about marrying Catriona on his deathbed. But he was delirious most of the time and I did not know whether to believe him."

"It wasn't Harcourt's fault," the duke interjected. "I lied to him when he asked me about it. Our father was in the process of amending the betrothal terms to replace me as the intended husband for Julia, the woman I loved. The only woman I would ever love. I did not want anything to jeopardize our happiness, especially any impediment to my claim on the title, for I knew by this time that she cared for me, too. So, when Harcourt told me what Douglas had confided to him about marrying Catriona, I denied it had ever happened."

The duke buried his face in his hands a moment before looking up at them again. "Fate had given me this opportunity, you see. I could not slam that door shut on my happiness. So I did the only thing that seemed logical at the time. Douglas was dead. Catriona had died in childbirth. Who was to know?"

"And I was desperate to have a child of my own," Harcourt said. "I knew my wife hated me and this would never happen for us. And there you were, Syd. This beautiful, green-eyed girl handed to me in answer to my prayers."

"Why did you wait until now to say anything?" Octavian asked, for he could see that Syd was too choked up to speak. "In truth, Parkhurst, why even say anything now when it might jeopardize your claim to the dukedom?"

"Because it was never about the dukedom for me. I would have been happy serving as the heir's spare for the rest of my days. But it was all for Julia. I would have lost her if her father believed I was not next in line to the title. I did it for love."

Octavian said nothing, for who was he to judge?

In his opinion, that marriage was based on a lie. Might he not have done the same if he and Syd were in those roles?

Had he not been willing to risk everything for Syd?

"Ours was a deep and abiding love," the duke continued. "I don't think two people were ever happier as husband and wife than we were. I lost her last year. We were never blessed with children, unfortunately. Perhaps I was being punished for taking advantage of my brother's death. Julia was innocent and completely blameless in all this. She never knew about you or Douglas's love for Catriona. We all kept it secret from her to her dying breath."

He now turned to Harcourt. "I'm glad you came to me and told me what your wife had done. This secret has lain buried too long."

Harcourt had tears in his eyes as he nodded. "I never meant to hurt you, Syd. You have always been my precious daughter. I tried my best, but I know I have been a miserable father. And now I shall lose you forever. There is no greater pain for me than to no longer have you, the greatest joy in my life."

Syd flung herself into his arms. "No! You are the only father I have ever had and all I want. You did the best you could. What child can ask for better?"

Octavian held his tongue.

Oh, lord.

The man was a weasel, an inveterate gambler, an idiot when it came to investments. However, Octavian quietly forgave him for all of it, even for attempting to marry Syd off to Sir Henry Maxwell. Well, that one required quite a bit of bile to swallow.

But Syd loved this man.

There was no denying he had done everything he could to protect Syd, in his own hapless way. He had stepped up when no one else would protect her. The man could have abandoned his wife and set up house with another woman. He could have found his happiness in one woman or a string of them if he wished, for he was an earl and women would have given themselves to him whether he was eligible or not.

But he had stayed with that cold witch in order to protect Syd's secret…or the secret he thought was true, that Syd was illegitimate. He had sacrificed everything to protect Syd, even given her the protection of his own name.

"Oh, my precious girl. How can you not hate me?" Her father was now blubbering as he hugged her and she hugged him back with fierce compassion. The two of them were shedding enough tears to drown them all.

Parkhurst was also sobbing.

Dear heaven.

Octavian set down his fork.

No one was going to eat a bite of this delicious meal.

After a moment, Harcourt looked over at him. "See, Thorne? Did I not tell you this girl was a golden charm?"

Octavian laughed. "Yes, you did."

Harcourt gave Syd another embrace. "I will admit, I was worried when I learned you had taken off for Gretna Green. I did my best to slow Sir Henry down in the hope we would not reach you in time. Still, I worried about your happiness, Syd. My stupid mistakes had forced your hand to find someone else to marry. I was so worried you would be leaping from one bad bargain straight into another."

Parkhurst grunted. "And I would have been as much to blame."

Syd turned to Octavian and smiled. "Octavian always loved me. He never wanted a make-believe marriage."

"And you, Syd?" her father asked.

"It was never make-believe for me, either. I have always loved him."

And this is what they admitted to their friends several days later during a dinner party hosted at the Hunstford townhouse. Ambrose and Adela were back from Devon. Julius had returned from York. The two dowagers were present, along with Marigold, Leo, and Gory. Marigold's aunt and uncle, Sophie and John Farthingale, were also in attendance.

Harcourt, the man Syd refused to consider as anything less than her loving father, was not present. He had taken his wife to the seashore for a rest cure.

Octavian expected the hotel they were staying at was in actuality a hospital and Lady Harcourt would not be returning home. However, this was not a matter to be discussed at a dinner party. He would not raise it, and knew Syd did not wish to talk about it, either.

The conversation remained mostly light and jovial.

No one was surprised when he and Syd admitted they had loved each other all along.

"Good grief, you had it etched across your forehead, Octavian," Lady Withnall intoned. "And you, Syd. You were even more obvious. Haven't I always said so? In truth, I've never seen so much starlight spring into a girl's eyes whenever that big brute walked into a room. Well, he is a big, handsome brute, isn't he? I can understand why it was impossible for you to resist him."

Ambrose laughed and rose to his feet. "A man never had two better brothers. Nor a better wife." He toasted them all. "Nor a better sister-in-law. Syd, you have not only tamed my brother, but managed to make him father to a duke should you ever be blessed with a son. He will have no better protector than his father, or Julius and myself as his uncles. I raise my glass to the next little Duke of Parkhurst."

"To the next little duke," everyone said and joined in the toast.

After that round of cheer and jests on how quickly she and Octavian might produce him, Lady Withnall thucked on her cane and rose. "I would also like to propose a toast to Lady Gregoria."

Gory choked on her wine. "Me? Why me?"

Lady Withnall cast her a knowing smile. "Because you are next, my dear girl. There is no escaping the Marriage Mart. You shall have your Season and find your match. Nothing short of murder will have you escaping it."

At the time, no one expected the dowager's words to ring quite so true.