by Sofia Daniel
The Liddells had swept the first rape under the table once. Then the second time he attacked her, they had gotten her thrown in jail. What if she hadn’t stolen anything after all, and those charges were trumped up to ensure her silence?
I picked myself up, rubbed by freezing palms on the wool of my blazer, and stepped through the double doors. The warmth of the entrance hall was nothing compared to the chill of learning that the Liddells could be that ruthless.
How could Mother stand to see me every day, a reminder of what Father Neapolitan did to her? Was this why she drank and took drugs? Anguish thickened my throat, and my steps faltered at the foot of the half-staircase.
It was all because of me.
“Are you alright?” asked a voice from the top of the stairs.
I raised my head to find Gideon descending toward me, his brow furrowed.
“No,” I croaked.
“Is this anything to do with why you weren’t at dinner and breakfast?” he placed a hand on my arm.
“Yes.” I blew out a breath. “No.” I shook my head. “It’s complicated.”
He offered me a gentlemanly arm. “Then we’d better sit somewhere private and have a cup of tea. The guest rooms have larger kettles. Shall we go to yours?”
Gideon and I walked in silence through the chiming of the clock tower and then through the crowds of boisterous students rushing from one class to another. I was supposed to be in Art and Design right now, but I wouldn’t be able to hold a piece of charcoal, much less a conversation. I couldn’t get the injustice of what happened to Mother out of my mind.
Thoughts of her suffering at their hands seeped into the pit of my belly, fueling anger and resentment I’d already held for Elizabeth and built it into an inferno. That family had hurt ours for long enough. They had used their influence to turn Mother from a well-brought-up girl to a neurotic jailbird with a drug habit.
And now they were trying to do the same to me.
Gideon squeezed my hand. “Whatever it is,” he said through the din of the rushing students, “we can get through this together.”
I could only offer him an absent nod on the walk to my room. We couldn’t discuss anything in public. If any of Elizabeth’s spies were close by, they would run back and tell the crazy bitch.
At the end of the hallway, I pushed open the door leading to the guest tower and reached into my pocket for the key. “Let’s hope this room is intact.”
“What do you mean?” asked Gideon.
I placed the key in the lock and turned it. “I walked in on Elizabeth Liddell ransacking my bedroom up at Mr. Burgh’s house.”
Gideon’s mouth dropped open. “Whatever for?”
“She didn’t say, but I have an idea.” I pushed the door open and inhaled a warm cloud of lemon-scented air. At least the place no longer smelled of musky dogs.
Stepping inside, I glanced around the room for signs of destruction. The round, circular room remained in its usual ivory splendor. Everything was in order from the double bed and its quilted headboard to the huge desk between the tall windows that overlooked the pond and its lily pads.
“It’s untouched.” Gideon followed me into the middle of the room and turned around, surveying the floors and walls and surfaces.
“The domestic staff might have already straightened out anything she damaged or messed up.”
“What did she want this time?” He headed for the desk and folded himself into the wheeled chair. “Her betting stub?”
After shutting the door, I crossed the room and headed for the tea-making equipment in the corner. Even though I wasn’t a guest, the domestic staff still kept it stocked with teabags and sachets of milk.
“Actually, she didn’t mention it.” I walked to the bathroom, filled the kettle in the sink and returned to the main room.
Gideon frowned. “Don’t you think you should return it?”
I blew out a breath and plugged in the kettle. “Who knows what her family would do to me if they discovered I had it all along. These are the people who planted crap in my room and got me arrested.”
He gave me a slow nod. “You’re right.”
I opened the little cabinet, pulled out a small pot of tea and two cups. “Half of me wants to throw it in the fire and consider it my revenge on the little twat.”
Gideon didn’t reply, but I didn’t expect a response. If I had a lick of sense, I would run back to London. No one wanted to kill me anymore, and Sammy would probably get bored of trying to partner up again after the first few times I told him to fuck off.
I placed two teabags in the pot, thinking of the best way to tell Gideon about my sordid past. My mind went blank, so, I blurted, “I know why Elizabeth hates me so much.”
Gideon leaned forward, resting his forearms on his things in an uncharacteristically inelegant gesture. “Don’t keep me in suspense.”
As the kettle boiled, I told him everything I had worked out, with Mother’s account of her ordeal with Father Neapolitan as proof of my shaky claim to the Liddell estate. “Even Mr. Burgh thinks I’m right. He sent me over here to swear the twins to secrecy.”
“Yet you’re telling me.” He frowned.
“What kind of godfather doesn’t speak to their consigliere?” The words slipped from my lips before I could clamp them shut.
Gideon’s lips quirked into a smile. “Is that how you see us?”
“It’s better than being Blaise Zabini and a female Draco,” I said with a huff.
We stared into each other’s eyes for a second before breaking into smiles.
Gideon shook his head. “I must say, you’re in a precarious predicament.”
“What?”
“Do nothing, and the Liddell family will continue to persecute you.” He counted off the option on his manicured fingers. “Flee and lose the protection of Mr. Burgh, possibly resulting in a situation similar to that of your mother.”
“Prison.” It wasn’t a question.
“That was the purpose of last term’s debacle.”
I squeezed my eyes shut. “A half-assed effort, considering they planted flour in my room. The only thing I might be guilty of is trying to make a cake.”
“What if…” Gideon tapped his chin, his head tilted toward the ceiling. His lips tightened. “That’s preposterous.”
“What?”
He turned his head away. “I don’t want to encourage you with wild speculations.”
“Speculate, speculate!”
“Alright.” He turned his dark eyes to me. “But if I tell you this, you are not to rush out of the room and do anything reckless.”
“I’m not—” The sight of his raised brow made the words die in my throat. Gideon knew about all the crazy shit I’d done while at Templar Academy. I couldn’t fool him into thinking I was sane. Shit, I had Liddell blood running through my veins. “Alright. I’ll sit here and drink my tea like a proper lady.”
After pouring the tea in both cups, I handed him one and settled on the edge of the bed.
“Very well.” Gideon sipped from his teacup and closed his eyes, likely savoring the floral notes of the bergamot in his Earl Grey tea or something equally as fancy.
My lips curled into a smile. He was about to reveal something groundbreaking—I knew it. “What were you going to say?”
An appreciative sigh later, Gideon placed the teacup on the saucer and gave me his full attention. “The raid last term was designed to have you arrested and imprisoned.”
“But—”
Gideon raised an elegant finger. “I haven’t finished.”
I clamped my mouth shut. This was going to be good.
Once he seemed sure I wouldn’t interrupt, he continued. “What if someone delivered Elizabeth a block of cocaine to plant in your room, but she decided to keep it for herself and create a slimming aid to revive her failing diet business?”
Excitement launched itself through my insides, and I shot off the edge of the bed. “Shit! You’re like the blac
k Sherlock Holmes.”
“Which would make you my female Watson,” he drawled.
I paced the room, my fingertips trembling. This was why Elizabeth often went psycho. “Everything makes sense. Everything!”
“Elaborate.”
Whirling around, I said, “The strange behavior partway through the term. She must have started using coke around then.”
Gideon’s brows drew together. “You mean when she threw a box of pins at the Fashion teacher?”
“Right.”
“Could cocaine cause such erratic behavior?”
I snorted. This was one subject where I knew more than Gideon. “It affects people in different ways, also depending on what else they’re using. My mum took coke all the time, but she cut it with paracetamol and drank gin.”
“That mitigates the effects, I presume?”
“With as much gin and tonic as she drank, yes. Some days, she didn’t bother with the tonic.”
Gideon cringed. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
He had told me about his parents, the doctor and the oil executive, but his life in Nigeria seemed a million miles from anything I had experienced in Richley.
While I was growing up, we had a cleaning lady but she was the wife of Billy Hancock’s driver. Gideon had nannies and tutors and an army of servants doing everything for them, not to mention a family mansion in what he called ‘the village.’ He was too modest to say, but I think he was related to Nigerian royalty.
Gideon continued staring at me like I was an injured puppy.
I raised my shoulder. “It wasn’t like I knew any different while I was little. But if you’re right about Elizabeth having the real cocaine, don’t you think they would have taken it from her?”
“Not if she gave it to someone else for safe-keeping,” he replied.
Realization dropped into my stomach like a boulder. “Myra.”
“Why don’t you think she gave it to Herbert and Williams?”
“They’re business partners who she probably didn’t trust.” I took a sip of my tea. “And I think I know the missing ingredient in that diet curry.”
Gideon’s face went slack. “Cocaine?”
“I’ve seen people rub it on their gums, and it keeps them rail-thin. It makes sense that she’d add it to the curry mix.”
“This is diabolical.” Gideon placed his cup on the desk. “We must call the authorities.”
“And have the Deputy Chief Constable cover it up?”
He shuddered. “I wasn’t thinking.”
“Maybe you’re right,” I said. “It’s not like the Liddells will step in if Myra gets arrested.”
“Unless Elizabeth confessed that it belonged to her.” Gideon rubbed his chin.
“Which she won’t, because that will mean admitting to having stolen their cocaine.” I stood. “Where’s Myra’s room?”
Gideon shot to his feet. “Wait!”
I frowned. “What?”
“Don’t go charging in there and getting yourself implicated.” He positioned himself between me and the door. “Tell Mr. Burgh and Mrs. Campbell what you suspect.”
I gave him a sharp nod. “But first, I’ve got to find Orlando and the twins and ask them to keep my secret.”
Chapter 31
I went to Orlando’s room, the location of the failed sex tape, and knocked on the door. One of the twins answered. He wasn’t scowling, but I couldn’t assume this was Maxwell, as I’d formed a sort-of truce with Kendrick. Besides, after the night I’d had, I fully expected Maxwell to grin down at me or leer.
His brows drew together. “Is there a problem?”
“I need to speak to all three of you about what happened today.”
Kendrick stepped aside, revealing Orlando and Maxwell sitting side-by-side on the bed. Maxwell’s eyes lit up, his lips curling into a wolfish smile. He patted his lap, indicating for me to sit.
I shook my head and waited for Kendrick to close the door.
“We thought Mr. Burgh would keep you for longer,” said Maxwell.
“Actually, I need to ask you not to talk about anything you learned today.”
“What’s happened?” asked Orlando.
The entire conspiracy spilled from my lips, ending with the theory of Elizabeth pilfering a block of real cocaine someone had given her to plant in my room before the raid. “If the Liddells would go so far as to discredit me so I couldn’t claim Elizabeth’s inheritance, what do you think they’ll do if they discover I’d worked out my claim?”
Maxwell wrapped his arms around me. “We won’t say a word. Will we?”
“I won’t,” said Orlando.
“Neither will I,” added Kendrick.
Maxwell drew back and tilted my head up, so our gazes locked. “At some point in the future, you need to sue them for your inheritance.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Why? So I can get blood money?”
“No,” said Kendrick. “But it’s the best way to strike at them where it hurts.”
“Maybe.” A sigh heaved from my chest, and I stepped out of Maxwell’s embrace. “But I want to earn my money, not have it handed to me on a silver platter.”
Orlando shook his head. “Just think about it. No one’s telling you to give up your dreams and live on their wealth.”
I shrugged. “Anyway, I’m going back to Mr. Burgh to tell him what I know about the cocaine.”
Maxwell placed a kiss on my lips. “I’ll walk you back.”
Orlando placed his hand on Maxwell’s shoulder. “I’ll help you escort Lilah.”
To Maxwell’s credit, he didn’t complain when Orlando joined us. And later, when we stood at the doorstep, they both took turns giving me toe-curling kisses that had me panting for more.
The next Friday night, Mr. Burgh told me to triple-check that no one had left anything dubious in my room because there would be an inspection early on Saturday morning before the Glasgow weekend. I only told Gideon and the knights in case Elizabeth had decided to target one of them.
On Saturday morning, the only members of staff sitting at the head table were Miss Martin and Mrs. Harper, the Home Economics teacher. We sat around our table, munching slices of toast and waiting for someone to appear and address the school.
“What do you think is happening?” I asked in a low voice.
“I suspect everyone who got caught is revealing their accomplices,” said Maxwell. “Mr. Burgh is a bit more lenient on those who give quick confessions.”
I worried at my bottom lip with my teeth.
Orlando, who sat on my right, placed a hand on my arm. “What’s wrong?”
“Herbert and Williams were scholarship students. What if they get expelled?”
“From my understanding, the bursaries are enough to cover all school expenses plus allowances for the tuck shop and Glasgow weekends,” said Gideon. “One cannot use financial hardship to justify the distribution of tainted food.”
“Do you think they knew the special ingredient in the curry?” Kendrick asked Gideon.
“Probably not, but it was a foolish endeavor. Anyone who has attended the academy for long enough knows that girls associated with Elizabeth end up expelled.” Gideon raised an eyebrow at Maxwell and Orlando, who both exchanged uncomfortable glances.
I spread a pat of butter over my toast and added a blob of lemon marmalade. “At least you know what it feels like to get into trouble for lewd conduct.”
Orlando shuddered. “Please, don’t remind me. I still can’t get my grandfather’s rants out of my head.”
Gideon turned to me with his brows raised, and I gave him a wink to let him know I’d tell him later. So far, Maxwell and Orlando hadn’t mentioned seeing Gideon crossdressing in Wank. But any mention of the ass-fucking-obsessed grandfather might turn the conversation around to Gideon’s relationship with Lachlan.
“What’s everyone doing tonight?” I asked.
Gideon brought his cup to his lips. “I’m staying with friends in Glasgow.”<
br />
I raised my brows. With all the shit going on with Elizabeth, I’d forgotten to ask whether Gideon had come to terms with his Christmas ménage. His going to their apartment was a good sign.
“We’ve booked a suite in the Glaswegian,” said Maxwell. “Do you want to come?”
I narrowed my eyes at his pronunciation of the last word. “Is there space for one more?”
Orlando grinned. “There’s always space for you, Lilah.”
My gaze flickered to Maxwell, who grinned from across the table. Kendrick kept a stony expression, but I think that was him trying to play things cool. Raising a shoulder, I said, “Why not?”
We continued our breakfast in silence. I bit into my toast, wondering what on earth was happening. Had Mr. Burgh called their parents? The police?
Just as the staff started clearing the plates, Mr. Burgh and Mrs. Campbell strolled into the dining room, looking grave. They walked to the middle and stopped.
“Could I have your attention, please?” said Mr. Burgh.
Everyone stopped talking. Some twisted around in their seats to listen. I glanced at Maxwell whose brows rose. Hopefully, this was where the headteachers revealed that those caught with cocaine had snitched on Elizabeth, but I didn’t hold out much hope.
Mrs. Campbell cleared her throat. “It has come to our attention that certain students have consumed weight-loss aids that may contain harmful and addictive ingredients.”
Chatter filled the air, drowning out the deputy headmistress’s words.
“Silence,” shouted Mr. Burgh. “Everybody, settle down.”
It took a moment, but the dining room quieted.
“Thank you,” said Mrs. Campbell. “Nobody is in trouble, but we need to know who ate a low-calorie, vegetarian curry from the tuck shop or purchased other weight-loss-related supplements.”
My gaze flickered to Mrs. Harper, whose face went slack. I’d bet the Liddell fortune that she’d put two and two together and worked out that she was in a fuck-load of trouble. The poor woman knew the boys had made the curry to sell to other students, but it hadn’t occurred to her to question what was in the container of spices.