[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-a-scandal-by-any-other-name":3,"chapter-a-scandal-by-any-other-name-a-scandal-by-any-other-name-chapter-70":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","A Scandal By Any Other Name",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1885668,2505,"Chapter 70 - Seventy","a-scandal-by-any-other-name-chapter-70",70,"\u003Cp>Rowan turned back to the conversation. He forced himself to nod as Lady Farrington discussed the merits of lace versus silk. But his mind was upstairs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Five minutes passed. Then ten.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The door opened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Simmons entered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t announce himself. He didn’t look at the guests. He walked straight to Rowan. His face, usually a mask of stone, was pale. His eyes were wide with genuine alarm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He leaned in close to Rowan’s ear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Something is wrong, Your Grace,\" Simmons whispered. His voice trembled slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rowan felt the blood drain from his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What is it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"She is not answering,\" Simmons murmured. \"I knocked. I called out. But I heard... noises. Like weeping. Or... madness.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rowan didn’t think.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stood up abruptly. His chair scraped loudly against the floor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Your Grace?\" Celine asked, startled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Forgive me,\" Rowan said. His voice was rough. \"I have... I have just remembered a crucial document for the railway contract. It cannot wait.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Now?\" Lady Farrington complained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Immediately,\" Rowan said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He turned and strode out of the room. He didn’t walk like a Duke. He walked like a man whose house was on fire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The corridor was silent and dim. The sun was starting to dip below the horizon, leaving the hallway in a dim light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rowan reached the door of the Blue Suite.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stopped. He listened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no singing. There was no movement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was only a low, frantic muttering. It sounded like a prayer, or a curse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rowan knocked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Miss Kingsley?\" he called out. \"Is everything alright? Are you ill?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, the muttering resumed. Louder this time. A stream of nonsense words that made no sense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Miss Kingsley?\" he called out again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still no answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He tried the handle. It turned. The door was unlocked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m coming in,\" he announced.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He pushed the door open.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The room was dark. The curtains were drawn tight. The only light came from the dying embers of the fire in the grate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rowan stepped inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Miss Kingsley?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked at the bed. Empty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked at the chair. Empty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he heard a gasp. A sharp, terrified intake of breath from the corner of the room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rowan turned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There, wedged into the narrow space between the heavy wardrobe and the wall, was a pile of silk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was Delaney.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was sitting on the floor, curled into a ball so tight she looked like a child. Her knees were pulled up to her chin. Her arms were wrapped around her head, shielding herself from the world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was rocking. Back and forth. Back and forth.Thump. Thump.Her shoulder hit the wall with every rock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rowan’s heart stopped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had seen her strong. He had seen her defiant. He had seen her bossy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had never seen her broken.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Miss Kingsley?\" he whispered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Delaney didn’t look up. She didn’t seem to hear him. She was lost in a world of her own terror.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The ink,\" she muttered. Her voice was a raw, scratchy whisper. \"The ink is red. It’s always red. Don’t sign it. Papa, don’t sign it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rowan froze.Papa?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"He has the scar,\" she gibbered, rocking faster. \"The eye. The grey eye. He sees everything. He sees the ledger.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was speaking gibberish. Fragments of memory. Shards of a nightmare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rowan took a step forward. \"Miss Kingsley, it’s me. It’s Rowan.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She flinched violently. She pressed herself harder into the corner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No!\" she cried out. \"Don’t let him in! He takes the silver! He takes the house! Hide the tin! Hide the tin!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rowan felt a surge of helplessness. She was hallucinating. She was terrified of something he couldn’t see.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He couldn’t leave her like this. He couldn’t go back downstairs and drink tea with Hawksley while she was falling apart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He walked across the room. He knelt down on the carpet in front of her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Delaney,\" he said gentle. \"Look at me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She didn’t look. She buried her face in her knees.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The boots,\" she whimpered. \"I have to run. I have to run before he catches me. If he catches me, Uncle will find me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rowan realized she wasn’t going to snap out of it with words. She was too far gone. She was trapped in panic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He did the only thing he could think of.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He moved closer. He sat down on the floor beside her. He ignored the dust on his trousers. He ignored the fact that he was a Duke and she was his employee.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Are you alright?\" he asked softly, knowing the answer was no.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She didn’t answer. She just kept rocking.Thump. Thump.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s okay,\" Rowan whispered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He reached out slowly. He touched her shoulder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She jerked away as if he had burned her. \"Don’t touch me! Stay away! Stay away from me!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s just me,\" Rowan said. His voice was steady, calm, a lighthouse in the dark. \"It’s Rowan. The fruit. Remember? The apple.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t pull back. He kept his hand on her shoulder. He let her feel the warmth of his palm. He let her feel that he was real, and solid, and safe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Slowly, the violence of her flinch subsided. She was still shaking, vibrating with fear, but she didn’t pull away again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rowan moved his arm. He slid it around her shoulders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He pulled her toward him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Come here,\" he murmured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He gathered her into his arms. He pulled her out of the corner and into his lap. It was awkward at first—she was stiff, resisting, her limbs locked in fear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Rowan was stronger. He held her tight. He wrapped both arms around her, cocooning her against his chest. He tucked her head under his chin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Shhh,\" he soothed. \"I’ve got you. You are safe. Nobody is here.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Delaney let out a sob. It was a broken, jagged sound.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"He’s here,\" she wept into his coat. \"He’s downstairs. The monster. Don’t sign anything, please!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"There are no monsters here,\" Rowan said gently. \"Just boring people drinking tea. Just Fifi eating biscuits. .\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No,\" she moaned. \"The scar. The scar. I thought I could stay and fight but I can’t. I don’t have the courage anymore. He would take me with him.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Shhh,\" Rowan rocked her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He began to rock her back and forth, matching the rhythm she had been keeping, but slowing it down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rock... pause. Rock... pause.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He held her like she was precious. He held her like she was made of glass and he was the velvet case.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He rested his cheek on the top of her head. He could smell the jasmine scent of her hair, mixed with the sharp, metallic scent of fear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I won’t let anything happen to you,\" Rowan promised. He didn’t know what she was afraid of. He didn’t know why Hawksley scared her. But he knew, with a fierce certainty, that he would stand between her and the world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You are safe,\" he whispered. \"You are with me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Delaney’s gibberish began to slow. The frantic words turned into soft, hiccuping sobs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don’t leave,\" she whispered. \"Don’t go back.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m not going anywhere,\" Rowan said. \"I am right here. I am staying right here.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He kept rocking her. Minutes passed. The fire in the grate burned low, casting long shadows across the floor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rowan hummed. He didn’t know any lullabies, so he hummed a low, tuneless melody, the vibration of his chest rumbling against her ear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Slowly, the tension began to leave her body. Her fists, which had been clutching his lapels, relaxed. Her breathing slowed from frantic gasps to deep, shuddering sighs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The exhaustion of the panic took over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Delaney’s head grew heavy on his shoulder. Her lashes fluttered against her cheeks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Safe,\" she murmured one last time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes,\" Rowan whispered. \"Safe.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her breathing evened out. She went limp in his arms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was asleep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rowan didn’t move. He didn’t get up. He sat there on the floor of the guest room, holding the sleeping matchmaker in his arms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His legs were cramping. His arm was going numb. But he didn’t care.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked down at her face. In sleep, the terror was gone, leaving her looking young and incredibly sad.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He brushed a stray lock of hair from her forehead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Who hurt you, Delaney?\" he whispered to the darkness. \"Who made you this afraid?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He thought of Hawksley downstairs. He thought of the way Delaney had reacted to the name. He thought of the \"scar\" she mentioned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A cold fury began to build in Rowan’s chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t know the story yet. She hadn’t told him. But he knew one thing for certain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was going to get to the bottom of it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He kissed the top of her head lightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sleep,\" he whispered. \"I will keep the monsters away.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the Duke of Ford sat in the dark, guarding his mouse, while the rest of the world waited downstairs.\u003C\u002Fp>",1476,"2026-06-10T06:52:00.501Z",1,"novelbin.me","0d04a3cc03d41a6b57552e4f6bee9508242da99b705b254d428365c578d9ea4b","a-scandal-by-any-other-name-chapter-71","a-scandal-by-any-other-name-chapter-69",335,null]