My Once Handsome Husband - Chapter 264

Delaney held the letter in her trembling hands and blinked, reading the last section over and over again.  She couldn’t believe it was real.  The King had denied Vincent’s request to break their marriage contract!

“What does it say?” Constance asked urgently, “You’re crying.  It’s bad then.  Oh Delaney I’m so sorry.”

Turning to her friend, Delaney bit her lip and held out the letter, folding it back until only the bottom and most important part was visible.  Constance frowned and read over it quickly.  Her mouth fell open and she snatched the letter from her friend’s hand so she could hold it closer and reread it to be sure she’d read it right.

“Oh my God,” she whispered, looking up at Delaney, “Oh my God he said no!  You… You don’t have to leave Vincent!”

Delaney laughed and nodded, happy tears streaming over her face.  Constance threw her arms around her friend then, hugging her tightly and Delaney hugged her back.  They both laughed happily and when they came apart, Constance clapped her hands together.

“Well, what are you going to do now?”

“I-I don’t know,” Delaney answered, shaking her head, “I don’t know what I should do.”

“You should go to Vincent!  You could go right now and you’d be there by an hour or two after midnight.  It’s not that late yet.”

“You think?” Delaney asked biting her lip and twisting her wedding ring on her finger.

“Of course!  Come on we have to tell Miles!”

Before Delaney could say anything else her friend grabbed her hand and dragged her up the stairs and back into the club.  They hurried through the card tables, making their way into the dining room where the music was still playing and people were still dancing.

Constance cut straight through the middle of the dancefloor, ignoring the unhappy protests of the dancers.  Delaney was still in such a daze from reading the letter that she could only follow along behind.

“Miles!” Constance called to him over the loud laughter of him and the other men, “Miles Adair!”

He looked up, his green eyes looking sleepy.  He grinned when he saw them and said something to the men before getting up from his chair and sliding along the wall behind them to get out.

“What is it?” he asked curiously, smiling at Constance’s big grin and Delaney’s small nervous one.

“Here,” Constance shoved the letter at him, “Read this.”

Miles looked surprised but took the letter and began to read over it.  It had come unfolded so they waited eagerly while he read the whole thing.  As he did, Delaney watched as his smile fell away and was replaced with a frown.

“Where did you get this?” he asked them once he’d finished reading it.

“A messenger came here to stay the night on his way to deliver it.  When he heard Delaney was here he went ahead and gave it to her.  He came straight from The King’s City.”

Miles frowned and looked down at the letter again before looking up at Delaney.

“What is it?” she asked quietly, “What’s wrong?”

“Why are you frowning Miles this is good news,” Constance added in confusion.

The man looked away, “Is there somewhere we can go?  To talk?”

Constance nodded still frowning but turned, taking Delaney’s hand again and leading them back around the dance floor this time.  They walked into the card area and past the bar, back into the back rooms where Constance’s mother and sisters lived.  Thankfully, none of them were awake.

Stepping into the small sitting room after the women, Miles closed the door and turned to find them both watching him, Constance looking annoyed and Delaney hurt.

“Delaney is going to leave tonight to go to her husband,” Constance informed him without preamble, “They’ve been apart long enough and now they know they don’t have to be anymore.”

“She can’t go to Edgewood tonight,” Miles shook his head, “It’s late and Vince is probably asleep.  He won’t like that.”

“What are you talking about?” Constance demanded, “Vincent will be thrilled to see her!”

“Constance Vincent is the one that sent her away in the first place.”

His words came out sharp and cold, surprising and hurting both women.  It was obvious that he regretted them as soon as they were out of his mouth.

“I’m sorry,” he sighed, running his hands over his face, “But I don’t think you can expect him to be happy to find out that the King has denied his request.  He wants Delaney to have the best life she can and he knows that’s not with him.  He’s not going to be happy to find out Daniel has taken that away from her.”

Delaney felt her stomach twist and she dropped her gaze.  Miles could be right.  Vincent might not be happy to see her at all.  He hadn’t written to her.  Maybe he really didn’t want to see her again.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Constance glared at him, “Your brother loves her.”

“I’m not questioning that,” Miles raised his hands, “And it’s because he loves her that I think he won’t be happy.  He wanted a better life for her or he never would have sent her away in the first place.”

“Well, that was stupid of him and luckily for us, the King knows better.”

Miles’s frown deepened, “It wasn’t stupid.  And what is this promise Sophia is talking about Delaney?”

He held up the letter to her and she reached out, taking it back.  “I just promised to keep a secret for her in exchange for something.”

Miles looked uneasy, “And what is that secret?  The last time you kept a secret the queen told you to you were poisoned.”

Delaney frowned, “I know.  But this is different.  It’s not a secret that hurts anyone but it’s her secret to tell.  Besides, it will be out soon enough.”

Miles nodded although he didn’t look at all convinced.  “Fine and what was her part in this then?”

She bit her lip and dropped her eyes.  She knew now that he wasn’t going to like it.

“She…  She agreed that if Vincent ever asked to break our marriage contract that she would be on my side and try to keep us together.”

“My God Delaney,” Miles groaned, running his hands over his face, “So Daniel only agreed to this because you convinced his wife to talk him into it?”

“No,” Delaney defended herself, “You read the letter.  The King decided to say no because he knows how much Vincent and I love each other and he knows there’s no better man I could ever find.”

Miles made a sound of frustration and rubbed his temples, “Well Vince isn’t going to be happy to hear about that.

“Why are you taking his side?” Delaney asked in annoyance, “You’ve always been on my side since I told you I was in love with him.  What’s happened that’s made you turn against me?”

“Delaney I’m not against you,” he shook his head, looking exhausted now, “I’m not on anyone’s side I just… I just understand what he was trying to do.  He just wants you to be happy.”

“She’ll be happy with him,” Constance cut in and Miles shot her an icy glare.

“She’s right,” Delaney agreed, “You know all I’ve wanted since we fell in love was that he forget about that stupid deal so we could just be happy together.  I don’t need anything but him.”

Miles sighed, “You don’t understand…”

“I don’t,” Delaney interrupted, “I can’t believe you’re talking like this instead of getting in the carriage and going to Edgewood with me.  You know how bad things have been since he made me leave and you know how desperately I’ve wanted to go back to him.”

“Delaney…”

“No Miles, please!  I want to go and be with my husband.  I want…”

“He doesn’t want to see you!”

Delaney stepped back from him as if he’d slapped her.  She swallowed hard and looked away from him.  It felt as if something was squeezing her heart and her chest felt tight.

“Stop it, Miles,” Constance hissed, “That’s not true…”

“It is!  He doesn’t want to see her.  It hurt them both enough when he first sent her away and he doesn’t want them to go through that again.  I know you’re excited about this letter Delaney but it doesn’t mean anything.  Vince will write again and if that doesn’t work he’ll go to see Daniel himself.  He’ll tell him about the deal with Sophia.  He loves you too much to be the reason you lost out on anything.  He won’t give up.”

Delaney felt the pain return to her heart in full force.  Her legs felt suddenly weak and she dropped down onto the couch behind her.  Constance quickly sat beside her and grabbed her friend’s hands, holding them tight.

“I… I’m sorry,” Miles looked at her, desperate for her to understand, “I wish I could fix things for you both but…”

“Just leave,” Constance snapped suddenly loud, “You’ve made your point Miles now get out!”

“But I…”

“Go!”

Miles hesitated, looking at the woman he loved like a sister sitting in shock and refusing to look at him.  He caught sight of Constance’s glare and knew she would make him leave one way or another.  At least he could trust he was leaving Delaney with someone else that cared about her.

“I’ll be right outside,” he said quietly to Delaney before turning and leaving, closing the door behind him.