Veronica nodded woodenly again, but inside she was seething.

“Well, he was at my house,” Melissa continued, “but not for the reason I led you to believe. He came because I had written him saying I had to see him immediately. I told him I was with child.” She paused and rolled her eyes, looking the slightest bit guilty. “His child.”

Veronica clenched her jaw, but otherwise, she remained entirely still. “I see.”

“And?” Sebastian prompted, glaring at the woman, clearly waiting for Melissa to say more.

“And it wasn’t true,” Melissa continued. “None of it was true. I merely wanted to get him to come to my house so I could write you and make you jealous. I had sheets tucked under my skirts. He discovered the lie almost immediately and promptly left.”

Veronica remained frozen in her seat, a hundred thoughts flying through her head. “Why are you telling me this now?”

Melissa shrugged and a catlike smile popped to her lips. “I have a new protector,” she said with no small amount of pride. “I no longer need His Grace’s favor.” Veronica didn’t miss the narrowed-eyed glare the woman gave Sebastian.

“And I convinced her to do the right thing,” Justin interjected. “In the spirit of Christmastide. Correct, Miss Wilson?”

“You promised you’d secure my invitation to the Markham’s holiday ball next year, Lord Whitmore,” Melissa replied, in a whining tone.

“Oh, and that.” Justin sighed, waving a hand in the air.

Melissa stood and made her way to the door, obviously finished with her little speech.

Justin stood too and grinned widely at his sister and his friend. He bowed at the waist to them. “You’re welcome. Now, I’m leaving to escort Miss Wilson home. You can thank me later,” Justin announced before offering Miss Wilson his arm and escorting her promptly from the room.

The moment they were alone together in the sitting room, Sebastian turned to Veronica, an inscrutable expression on his face.

Veronica felt as if the wind had been knocked from her chest. “She told you she was with child?” she intoned in a flat voice. She couldn’t quite wrap her head around it. But…all this time…all these months…she’d never imagined there’d been any other reason for Sebastian to visit Melissa. Still… “Why didn’t you tell me?” she heard herself ask next.

“Because I wanted to discern for myself first if it was true,” Sebastian replied in a clipped voice.

Veronica shook her head. It was as if nothing made sense any longer. “You wanted to discern for yourself if it was true before you told your wife that your mistress was having your baby?” She squeezed her eyes shut, completely confused by the turn of events. What was he saying?

Sebastian stood and expelled his breath. He drew a hand down the front of his dark-blue coat. “That’s right, Veronica. That’s the entire story, the whole awful truth. I kept my visit to Melissa’s from you because I’d sworn to you to have no further interactions with my former mistress. And until that day, I hadn’t seen her in months. Since before we courted. But how could I ignore the possibility of a child? I would never do that. Once I’d confirmed her to be the liar I’d suspected, I didn’t want to upset you. But when you caught me out in the lie, nothing I said mattered. You didn’t believe me. You can’t forgive me, so what did it matter why I was there?”