Theodore and Cecily, when they had discovered their father’s greatest shame, had been obliged to stay with him out of familial duty and financial need. Veronica, it occurred now to Nathaniel, had no such requirement—and that terrified him. She could ruin him, ruin their family. Thiers was an happy marriage, but even if it had been built on the deepest of passions, he would not have expected her to remain with him, not after something like this.

“Forgive me,” the wizard pleaded, fear and desperation in his eyes.

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