Chapter 4

Every guest in the room was staring at me, waiting for me to speak.

Isabel's father, Ambrose Hartwell, finally emerged from the back of the crowd, his face red with embarrassment. "Nicholas… I sincerely apologize on behalf of my family…"

I slowly lowered my gaze to Stephen, who remained on his knees.

He looked up at me with tears clinging to his lashes, but the corner of his mouth briefly curled into a smirk. It vanished so quickly that I almost missed it.

I closed my eyes. When I opened them again, I had tamped down all my anger.

My voice came out hoarse. "Stephen, get up."

He shook his head between sobs. "I won't get up until you forgive me, Nicholas."

His performance brought several ladies in the crowd to tears.

"Don't be so hard on him, Mr. Nicholas. Mr. Stephen is a victim in this, too."

"They're both young. Once someone is that intoxicated, they don't know up from down."

"They were found in the same bed. You can't just punish them and pretend it didn't happen."

I drew a deep breath and was about to speak when hurried footsteps sounded from beyond the crowd.

"Mr. Nicholas!"

The voice was barely above a whisper. It was Adam.

My heart jolted, and my clenched fist loosened slightly.

Was Adam already back? Had he taken Isabel to her room safely?

Adam leaned in close and whispered so quietly that only I could hear him. Once he had finished, he stepped back and stood silently beside me as though nothing had happened.

My expression remained unchanged, but suddenly, everything clicked into place.

Margery continued to wail beside me, "Nicholas, please let them marry one another. I'm sure Stephen will treat Ms. Hartwell well for the rest of his life—"

I looked down at Stephen. "Stephen, you said you drank so much that you had no idea what happened. When you woke up, there was a woman in your bed, correct?"

He nodded through his sobs. "Yes… I swear I have no idea what happened."

"You don't know who she is, how she entered this room, or why she was lying beside you in her nightgown. You don't know anything at all. Is that what you're saying?"

Stephen nodded again as tears rolled down his cheeks. "I've been framed…"

I straightened up and swept my gaze across the room, taking in the faces of every guest before finally turning to Katherine.

"Mrs. Hartwell, you said that after what's happened, protecting Isabel's reputation should be our priority."

Her eyes were red as she gave a strained nod.

"Alright," I said. "Since everyone has already decided that the woman in that bed is Ms. Hartwell, why don't we have her turn around so we can see her face before we discuss this any further?"

Stephen's sobs abruptly stopped, and the guests exchanged uneasy glances.

"Isn't that Isabel Hartwell?"

"Isn't General Aldridge being a little cruel? Doesn't he care about her dignity?"

Stephen's lips trembled before he uttered in a strained voice, "S-She was facing the wall. I didn't see her face."

"You didn't see her face? You've been holding her for over an hour, yet you never saw her face before deciding she was Isabel?"

My question rendered him speechless.

Realizing that the tide was turning, Margery scrambled to her feet and blocked the bed, her voice rising to a shriek.

"This isn't appropriate! She's an innocent young woman! How is she supposed to live with the humiliation of being found in this state? Nicholas, you're deliberately trying to ruin her reputation!"

"Margery, you were just demanding that the Hartwell family marry Isabel to your son. Why weren't you worried about ruining her reputation then?" I asked.

Margery's face turned bright red. Her lips trembled, but she couldn't come up with an answer.

Just then, heavy footsteps approached from outside the room.

The crowd automatically parted, allowing a grim-faced man to enter.

It was Father. His brows were drawn into a deep frown.

The moment Stephen saw him, fresh tears filled his eyes. He released my pants, shuffled forward on his knees, and threw his arms around Father's leg.

"Father, someone set me up!" he cried. "I was drunk, and I didn't know what was happening. When I woke up, everyone was already in the room. Please help me, Father!"

Margery rushed over and clung to Father's other leg, sobbing so hard she could barely breathe.

"Walter, please! Stephen was innocent, and now he's been humiliated. You have to help him!"

Father looked down at them, his Adam's apple bobbing.

His gaze darted between me, Katherine, and the woman who remained asleep on the bed with her back to the crowd. His expression turned thunderous.

Just as Katherine was poised to speak, Father raised a hand to stop her. When he spoke, his voice was hoarse yet left no room for argument.

"Mrs. Hartwell, now that the two of them have already… found themselves in this situation, the Aldridge family will take full responsibility for your daughter.

"I understand that marrying Isabel to Stephen would be unfair to her. I'll make sure the wedding gift is generous enough to compensate for it."

Katherine's face paled.

As I watched Father stand protectively in front of Stephen, refusing to hear another word, something sharp lodged in my throat.

Just then, Father stepped forward and slapped me across the face.

I slowly turned back to look at him.

His anger hadn't subsided. "You're his older brother, yet you let him get embroiled in a scandal like this! How can you stand there without saying a word?"

I lowered my head and let out a quiet laugh.

Then, I gestured toward the bed. "You're right, Father. We need to settle this, so why don't you go see for yourself who is actually lying in that bed?"

Father frowned and gave me a puzzled look.

I said nothing more. Instead, I took a step back and cleared his path.

Father approached the bed, bent down, and brushed aside the strand of hair covering the woman's face.

Moonlight fell across her features, and Father's expression instantly shifted.