by Fanny Finch
She heaved a sigh then, a heavy one.
“Sebastian, I think we were mistaken. Father… he would never do a thing like that. I must have been very confused, is all. All of these things have been very overwhelming.”
Hmmm… she still wouldn’t look him in the eye. She looked at his face, his shoulder, the crowd, anywhere but him. He wondered why. Looking around, he easily saw it.
Lord Rothwell was standing just at the other end of the room, his eyes on them.
Oh goodness. Had he threatened Liliana? It was perhaps a stretch, but he would not put it beyond that man. His lady appeared scared. Why? Why would she not speak with him?
Perhaps she did not feel safe enough to speak?
“I understand, Liliana. I apologize. You know what? For one night, let us forget it all.” He knew Liliana, she would speak when she wanted to. Until then, he would be patient with her. “I only want to dance with you, and dine with you. Mayhap, hold your hands and stare at the beautiful night sky? It is lovely tonight, is it not?”
She smiled then, the first smile she had given him that evening.
“It is. It almost always is, these days. Must be the season. Ah… Li… sorry, Nora would have loved to be out on a night like this.”
“Nora? She’s not here?”
“Uh? No. No, she isn’t. She came down with a fever, but the worst is over. She is simply resting.”
“Oh… I’m sorry about that. She so hides to see these days. I do hope she gets better. Send her my love, would you?”
“I will, Sebastian. She would very much appreciate that. You are a good man, thank you.”
“You are welcome, my lady. It would appear, that you are right in time for the first dance. I was afraid we would miss it. So, would you do me this honor?”
Happily, she took his hands and as he led her away to the dance floor, he glimpsed her mood, getting better.
The dance was lovely. Tonight, they spoke of music. It was first they would speak so deeply of that branch of art. Thankfully. He was just as adept as she was.
By the time the dance ended, he realized that more and more, he was convinced that Liliana was the woman for him. Would things ever get boring between them? He doubted that.
They could spend a lifetime together and still be fascinated by one another, and the littlest of things. It was one of the reasons he loved her dearly. She found joy, awe, in the simplest of things.
Like himself, she was a woman who enjoyed creation, in all its forms.
He could not wait for all of this to be over, so he would finally tell her how deeply he felt for her, and ask her to marry him. To be joined together for ever. It would be nothing short of a dream come true.
The night went on uneventfully. She seemed to avoid the topic of her stepfather rather well and he made a point to keep Rothwell’s name out of his lips, even when he ached to tell her of the recent truths that have been uncovered.
Nonetheless, she did seem to have gotten over her dour mood and was now very happy, and he had never thought he would say this, flirty even.
The thought made him smile. Perhaps, she had taken one too many glasses of wine, but his shy, blushing, maiden seemed to have let her hair down tonight- not literally.
There was the occasional crimson shade here and there, but altogether, she appeared bolder.
This new side of her intrigued him, as well of other sides, and he was glad, if not for anything, that she was not letting all that was happening, put her down for too long.
“You know, Sebastian… I do believe I have taken too much wine. I feel all flush now. I do not think that is even a word, but it is how I feel. I fear, that I may need some air.”
He could not agree less. “Alright, my lady. I shall guide you to the balcony. Perhaps, we shall even take a walk in the garden. The night breeze would be welcoming, I’m sure.”
“Thank you, Sebastian.”
On that agreement, he took her hand, wrapping it around his arm. She was not drunken, far from it. Not even lightheaded, yet, he felt better knowing she had him by her side.
Begging their leave from the table, he turned to lead her way. That was when they ran into Evelyn and Sam.
“Oh, we meet again! I am beginning to believe that the universe keeps making our paths cross, for a reason, Evelyn!”
The other couple chuckled, understanding his jest.
“Oh, Sebastian… it’s a ball. You are supposed to meet people!” Evelyn chimed in return. Her husband followed, supporting her.
“That is very correct! How do you do, Longcross? And Lady Liliana? How are you?”
Liliana, beaming, replied. “I am fine, thank you. How do you do?”
It was Evelyn who responded. “We are fine, Liliana, thank you! Oh, that reminds me, I have been meaning to see you since we last met. You know, concerning that thing we spoke about?”
Sebastian looked from Evelyn to Liliana. Yes, they had had time to be alone when they had met at the park, as the men spoke. Sebastian wondered what they could have spoken about.
Liliana seemed confused.
“I’m not quite sure I remember.”
“Oh, right, I understand,” Evelyn replied with a wink. “Alright then, I see you are headed for the balcony. Perhaps, a little fresh air would make you feel better and refresh your memory. You do look flustered. Sebastian, take good care of her, will you?”
Sebastian nodded, not understanding what was going on, but he would not pry.
“Do have a lovely evening, Liliana. I hope we get the chance to speak before you return home to tonight!”
“Thank you, Evelyn. I shall be looking forward to that. Fare well now,” Liliana chimed.
That must have satisfied Evelyn for with a few more words, she was on her way once more, dragging her husband along.
Sebastian and Liliana continued on their way. Thankfully, there were no other interruptions, except for when they reached the door that led to the balcony.
One of the waiters stepped in front of them, offering them two glasses of water.
“I am certain you would be needing this. One for my lady, and one for my Lord.”
Thinking nothing of it, Sebastian accepted the glasses, with thanks to the waiter and they continued on their way.
Soon, they were out in the balcony and walking the fields, glasses emptied and left behind.
Sebastian took in another lungful of air, grateful for how clean it was. He looked at the woman by his side. She seemed awfully satisfied with herself. She wouldn’t stop looking at the sky either.
They made her eyes twinkle in an entirely different light. It was beautiful. Everything about her was beautiful.
“Liliana?” he called, breaking the silence.
“Hmm?”
“You know, we are safe here. Away from prying ears… and eyes. We can speak freely.”
She stopped then, abruptly, turning to look at him.
“Oh? Talk? Oh yes… talk. Yes, yes we must. How far have you come with the investigation, Sebastian?”
He had been right. She had been afraid to speak because Lord Rothwell had been near. Perhaps, she had gotten herself flustered, so that they would have an excuse to come out here.
Smart of her. Very.
“We are close. It is only a matter of time until this is all over. We… we sent someone to Il…”
He paused, shaking his head. Strange. He suddenly felt drowsy. Heavily so.
“I… and R…” he stopped to shake his head again, but it was not going away. It was simply getting worse. What was happening to him? How could he suddenly feel so heavy with sleep?
“Sebastian? Are you okay?”
He followed the voice, but his vision was starting to blur. He could make out her face, barely, and the last thing he heard before his world went blank, was a gasp.
“Oh goodness!”
_
Sebastian awoke the next morning, with no record whatsoever of what happened the night before. It was strange. He felt od
d, well. Yet, try as hard as he did, he could not seem to place all that had happened the night before.
The last he remembered, was stepping out to the balcony with Liliana.
He rose to sit, and with one look around, he could see that he was in his chamber, in his home.
How was this possible? Who had brought him home?
Needing answers, seeking one, he got up to dress. Only, as he did, pain struck his head, making him groan.
Oh great! A headache! Memory loss and on top of that, a headache! Could this day get any better?
Disregarding the throbbing by the side of his head, he shrugged into decent clothing and found his way below stairs, to the dining hall.
He was right in time as his mother and father were there, dining. They looked up the moment they found him, bright smiles immediately taking over.
“Oh, look who has finally decided to wake up! The groom to be himself!” his mother chimed.
Sebastian stopped in his steps, not understanding. His mother was already on her feet, walking towards him. She reached him in no time, her greeting, two kisses on both cheeks.
“Groom?” his confusion was evident. He felt his brows furrow as he looked from his father to his mother. Good Lord, this could not be what he was thinking, was it?
“Of course, the groom! You see, we must admit, we are not too happy with the way you went about it son, but we are thrilled, nonetheless, that we are finally going to have a daughter-in-law. Isn’t that right, dear?”
His mother was already leading him to the table and Sebastian still did not understand a thing.
“Yes, you are right. We would have rather it be done the proper way, but a proposal is a proposal. Good thing, there was also a witness!”
Okay, what was going on?
Stopping, he released himself from his mother’s hold and stared at both his parents in the eye.
“I am afraid, I do not understand a word of what you are saying. I woke up, unable to account for events of last night from when I took Liliana out to the balcony for some air. My head hurts and I’m still trying to understand how I got to my chambers.”
“Oh, we had you brought home, of course! As for the memory loss, drunkenness does that to one, sometimes,” his mother explained dismissively, returning to her seat.
It only made Sebastian more confused.
“Drunkenness? I was not wrong. I barely touched any wine.”
“Well, it would appear you do not remember that part either, son, but you did get drunken. So much so, that you proposed to Lady Swan, and lost consciousness, not long after.” That was his father.
What?
“Wait… what did you just say about a proposal?”
“Oh my! Are you still drunken? Do we have to repeat ourselves a thousand times? You went on your knees and asked Lady Liliana to be your wife! Of course, the little girl has some sense in her head and won’t give a response. Nevertheless, the whole of England has heard of it, and if we must save face, you must ask again! Everyone knows you two have been courting after all! Rothwell tells me the girl will agree, and the wedding will happen quickly too so that all this embarrassing business can be put behind us. In a fortnight, Sebastian. You shall be marrying in a fortnight!”
Sebastian could only stare at his mother as she finished speaking, jaw dropped.
She could not be serious, was she?
He had been drunken, got down on one knee, proposed to Liliana, lose consciousness and he could not remember any of it?
Chapter 34
Liliana had lost count of days now since she had been locked in here, and she had since lost hope that the sound of the lock coming open, meant she was finally being set free.
Lord Rothwell had meant every word he had said. He had made certain that no one attended to her, safe for a big burly man who said very few words.
He simply brought her her food, water, and stayed around whenever her bath was changed. No maids were allowed to tend to her. Rothwell feared she might get something out through them, somehow.
Nevertheless, she could not say that she was being treated so badly. No. She had light, she had her bed and if she would have chosen anywhere to be locked up in, as much as she hated it, it was her chamber.
She loved it here and she had books to rude, and embroidery to keep her busy. These days, she also wrote.
These things occupied her days and at nights, she let her thoughts roamed. They wondered about Sebastian. How it was. What he was up to. If he was safe. If he had someone, he managed to find out that her sister was taking her place, if he would come for her.
She wondered until the wiles of sleep took her under, and when she slept, she dreamed. She dreamed of him.
It was so frustrating to be locked up in here, but thankfully, she was yet to lose her mind. When it felt like she would, she took herself back to the swan, atop her horse.
She let herself roam free, and she felt all better. She would not be broken. Never.
She looked up at the guest that had just entered, expecting to see Wembley, but it was someone else.
“Nora…” she whispered, dropping the book she had been reading.
Ah yes, her dearest sister had visited a few times but it had taken only the first for Liliana to see that she had been brainwashed by Rothwell.
So, she had held her peace, saying nothing of her thoughts on their father’s mother and of course, Hanson’s brother. Apparently, she believed that Liliana was the one who had been brainwashed.
It was useless to try, so she had given up altogether. Nora would not believe her. Nora would not help her escape. What a sister.
Liliana had dared to hope. Believing that the bond they shared was far greater, but she knew now, that had been a foolish endeavor.
“Liliana, you are well, as always.”
“Ah, yes I am. Lord Rothwell has provided me with all I need, as you can see. Water, food. Fresh air. Sun light. Daily bath. Books… almost everything, except for my freedom.”
“You know it is only for a while.”
“Ah yes, of course. I wonder how you two think this would work. What you hope to gain from it. Nora, you are a good actor but you cannot fool anyone for that long. Sebastian would find out, one way or another, that you are not me.”
“We shall worry about that when he does. Well, I only came to let you know that we are set to get married in a fortnight. He has just left. He made a formal proposal.”
Truly?
“I did what you could not achieve, sister. I got the man to propose to me.”
Liliana could not believe it, yet she knew it was true. Something broke in her heart. Was it hurt? Jealousy? But she could not feel these, could she? Sebastian thought Nora was Liliana.
Only… only a part of her had hoped that he would know. He would know that this… the impostor was not his Liliana.
“What did you do?”
“Nothing. He got drunk and made a show of a grand proposal. It was seen by a few witnesses and well, as only right, he came to make a formal proposal just this morning. Father and I accepted. We shall be married quickly so that the whole thing can be put behind us. You know how society is. The entire spectacle has been a tad embarrassing.”
She still called him father. Liliana scoffed. If only she knew.
And Sebastian? Drunken. Never. That was not the Sebastian she knew. He always had his wits about him. Except…
“You drugged him, did you not? It is the only way Sebastian would have made such a fool of himself.”
Nora swallowed hard, her discomfort showing.
“It was only to put him to sleep.”
“So the proposal is a sham? You paid people to claim they witnessed it, did you not?”
“Damn it, Liliana! You read so many books! It is mayhap the reason you are so sensible! It took us a while to put this plan together. We are simply lucky it worked out.”
“So you shall get him to marry you, under false pretenses. Do you think I would never tell him of this?
When I do get out of here? It would appear I got all the sense in the family. All of this, it’s foolhardy! There is no way whatever father has planned would work. It was bound to fail. Right from the start.”
“It won’t. father knows what he is doing.”
“He is not our father…”
“He married mother and he has been acting like it for years. He has done better than many fathers can ever do, I dare say. We owe him our gratitude.”