Page 83 of Deviant Duchess
“I cannot tell you how so very glad I am that you are here,” she breathed.
“As am I,” Hester whispered, hugging her back. “Though it was quite a feat,” she said with a chuckle as she pulled away. “The moment I saw your husband and his friend in their fine clothes, I nearly ran out the back door of the pub. They were clever, though. They did not stay at the pub long, and when they returned, they did so with little Adeline. She was the onewho explained to me who they were, how they knew you, and convinced me that it was safe to return to London with them.”
Affection, fierce and maternal, rose in Deborah as she heard this. Adeline was so young in so many ways, yet she had been brave and bold beyond her years in order to help Hester come home.
“She is a wonderful child,” Deborah agreed, “I am so glad that you are here and will be able to get to know her.”
Hester’s smile widened.
“And your husband is a wonderful man, you know,” she said quietly, “And surely you know me enough to understand I do not say something like that lightly. After all Sylvester put me through, after all the hands and faces I had to slap away from me after my reputation was found out, I never thought I would trust a man. But I trusted him. I trusted him because from the moment we spoke, I knew he loved you.”
Deborah nibbled at her bottom lip, her body trembling with emotion.
“I love him too,” she answered softly. “Even when I told myself not to. Even when I tried to convince myself that he was tricking me as Sylvester tricked you…I could not help myself.”
Hester leaned forward and squeezed Deborah’s hand.
“I am happy for you, sister,” she said quietly. “Truly.”
The sisters talked long into the evening, whittling away the midnight hours with stories of their lives and the pains they had experienced since they had been forced to part. Hester shared her agony over her lost reputation and broken heart, which took far too long to heal. In turn, Deborah shared, with reticence, how she fell in love with Cedric, and Hester, to Deborah’s great relief, blessed not just their marriage but their relationship, even if it had not started in the best of ways.
“Cedric told me that he offered you a room with us,” Deborah said once they were caught up. “I do hope that you will accept. I know you probably want to see Mother and Grace, but I would feel much better if you stayed with us. Cedric likes to pretend that he is carefree, but in truth, he is quite vicious when it comes to protecting those he holds dear. He could protect you as you acclimate back to your life in society.”
Hester gave a tentative nod.
“He said with me found and Sylvester soon to be dealt with, that we could all go back to Calder,” Hester replied. “I think I should like that. I am not ready for London just yet, but time with you? Most definitely.”
Deborah breathed a sigh of relief, happy to hear that they would not be in London for much longer.
“And Mother?” She asked.
“Perhaps in a few days. When I am ready… You could go with me to see her and Grace and Uncle Archibald?” Hester asked.“I missed them too, especially Grace, but after all that has happened… After Mother and Uncle Archibald failed to come to my defense, I am not sure I am ready to face them alone.”
“Of course I will,” Deborah promised, “And perhaps Grace could even come stay with us a while in Calder. In truth, my relationship with Mother and Uncle Archibald, despite living with them, has also been strained. I never could quite forgive them for giving up on you so quickly.”
She looked down, fear and anger threatening to close around her heart again.
“It was…it was if you had died. They did not try to help you. Try to make things right. They just cowered away from the scandal. I think…I know it sounds awful, dreadfully awful, but I think I even hated them for a time. Until I realized just how weak they were.”
Hester’s hand covered Deborah’s, and she looked up to see her older sister’s eyes full of compassion.
“I was weak too, you know,” Hester said softly. “I was ready to end it all, but it was you- your strength- that saved me from myself that day with those scissors. It was your voice in my head when I was out there alone trying to survive.”
Deborah drew in a shaky breath, speechless.
“You werealwaysthe strongest one of us, little sister,” Hester whispered emphatically as she squeezed Deborah’s hand, “Please remember that.”
Deborah’s bottom lip quivered as the grudge she’d held over her Mother and Uncle Archibald began to slip.
“I should try to forgive them,” she rasped.
“Perhaps that is something we can work on together then,” Hester offered, and thought it was slow to form, Deborah smiled.
“Together,” she agreed. “Absolutely.”
They talked a little more, filling in the little crevices of time they’d first glazed over with the larger chunks of history. There were good times, Deborah was relieved to learn, for Hester. Brief friendships and pockets of time where no one knew who she was, and life was simple. There were harder times, too, though they seemed to last much longer. Through it all, though, Deborah despised one thing: that Hester had had to face it all alone. Strong or not, Deborah had not been able to prevent that.
Finally, when the clock struck two, they both agreed that it was time to get some rest. Together they walked upstairs, and Deborah was both relieved and pleased that Cedric had put Hester in the room beside her own, sandwiching Deborah between her sister’s quarters and her husband’s.
