by Lauren Royal
And she did understand, but it was frustrating to feel so helpless. Yet she was secretly pleased that he meant to confront his father at last, just as the marquess had finally, after all these years, confided in his son. Why, it was almost as if they were beginning to see each other as human beings.
“Trust me on this, sweetheart,” he added softly.
”Very well. But if I think of anything that could help, anything at all, I’ll come to you,” she warned him as they emerged from the woods.
In the soft grass that lined the banks of the river, he set her on her feet and pressed his lips to her forehead. “I wouldn’t want it any other way,” he murmured, the words a warm promise against her skin. “We’re in this together. Never doubt that, my love.”
FIFTY-SIX
DINNER WAS A subdued affair.
Bacon tart was usually one of Lily’s favorites, its flaky crust and sweet almonds contrasting with the salty meat, but today she only picked at it while she and Rand recounted the details of their predicament to her parents.
Mum looked very sorry that she’d let her daughters go to Hawkridge, although as Lily pointed out, their absence wouldn’t have changed anything.
“It would have spared you some discomfort, dear,” Mum said.
But that didn’t matter to Lily. The reward for that discomfort had been more time with Rand—precious time that could turn out to be their last.
Afterward, Lily saw him out to his carriage. “If you think of anything,” she told him, “anything at all—I want to know. And if I think of anything, I’ll send word to you in Oxford.”
“I may not be there long enough for word to reach me. Fewer than six days remain until the wedding. I mean to get back to Hawkridge well before that to begin investigating.”
“Then stop here on the way. Please. It won’t cost you but half an hour, and I may have an idea—”
She broke off when his lips descended on hers.
The kiss was fierce, desperate. It made her mouth burn and her senses reel wildly. She knew, without a doubt, that she would never find this with anyone else—and the truth cracked her heart.
When he finally broke the kiss, he shut his eyes and clasped her to him, so hard it almost hurt. “Lily, this cannot be the end for us. It just cannot.”
“It won’t be.” Gingerly extracting herself, she brushed her lips over his one last time. “You’ll stop by on your way to Hawkridge?”
He opened his eyes and nodded.
“Then I’ll see you in a few days,” she said, suspecting those days would be the longest of her life.
Rose, however, wasn’t going to let her mope around.
“I think tonight we should have our sleeping party,” she said when Lily reentered the house.
Lily rubbed her face. “So you’re speaking to me again?”
Her sister only shrugged and looked away, her expression contrite.
But Lily smiled, knowing this was Rose-speak for I’m sorry. She reached to squeeze her sister’s shoulder. “I’m so glad. That we’re speaking again, I mean. And Rose, I know I said some hurtful things last night, and I’m s—”
“They were true.”
“Pardon?” Lily’s brows snapped together. “But I accused you of—”
“Sabotage, yes. Just listen, and please don’t interrupt, or I might lose my nerve.” Rose took a deep breath, leaning against the balustrade as if for support. “I convinced you to go to Hawkridge because I wanted to break your betrothal. I was…very angry with both you and Rand. So when he seemed to fear introducing you to his ghastly father would put you off the marriage—a more than justified fear, I might add—I decided my best chance was to get you to Hawkridge Hall, one way or anoth—”
She broke off as two footman appeared, carrying between them an enormous silver tureen. And moving at a snail’s pace. Glancing about, Rose dragged her sister into the drawing room. Too mired in confusion and disbelief to protest, Lily sank onto the nearest couch. She saw Beatrix slip through the door just before it closed, and felt absurdly glad for the presence of a friend.
Rose remained standing, nervously toying with the bows on her sleeves. “Once we arrived at Hawkridge,” she went on, “nothing went as planned. The marquess was even worse than I’d hoped, but somehow you weren’t afraid of him. I saw you stand up to him over the dogs—”
“You were spying?”
“Observing,” Rose said haughtily. “Anyway, you were stronger than I’d expected. I certainly wouldn’t have stuck by Rand. Can you imagine having that beast for a father-in-law?”
Lily just looked at her.
“Oh, right. I suppose you can.” Turning away guiltily, Rose drew another deep breath. “After that, I realized having you at Hawkridge wasn’t working in my favor. What you accused me of…you were right. I was trying to convince you to give up and go home, hoping that without your influence, Rand would succumb to Margery’s charms and his father’s coercion. But Lily,” she rushed to add, “I didn’t say anything that wasn’t true, did I? You really didn’t have a prayer of changing the marquess’s mind, and Rand is too good to abandon Margery, and—”
“That makes it so much better,” Lily said flatly. “My own sister was trying to destroy me and the love of my life, but at least she didn’t tell a fib.”
“Yes, was. I was trying to hurt you. But now I’m not. I’ve changed my mind.”
Lily just shook her head. After an incredibly draining few days, she seemed to have no emotions left, not even anger. “Why should I believe you?” she asked wearily.
“Because I know I was wrong, and I’m so very, very sorry. Last night, when that beastly man came up with his horrid offer, and I saw what it did to you—to all three of you. You were so devastated, I can’t even describe it. Devastation like that is something I’ve never felt. Not even when Grandpapa died, and I loved him more than anyone in the world.” Her dark eyes filled with tears.
Lily bit her lip. “The way I love Rand is different from loving Grandpapa,” she said gently.
“I know. Now I know. Lily, I never wanted to hurt you like that. I never want to see that look on your face again.”
Lily gave a wan smile. “I’m afraid you may have to, unless Rand somehow manages to dig up proof of Lord Armstrong’s innocence.”
If he truly was innocent…but she had to believe he was. It was the only chance she and Rand had.
“If there’s anything I can do to help…”
“Thank you.”
For several minutes, the only sound in the room was Beatrix roaming atop and around various items of furniture, occasionally pausing to lick herself.
Eventually Rose cleared her throat. “So…am I forgiven?”
Lily thought about it. “If I’m forgiven.”
Relief dawning on her face, Rose hurled herself on the couch to wrap Lily in a hard hug. “I don’t deserve you,” she said in a sniffly voice.
Lily hugged her back. “You’ve got that right,” she replied, startling her sister into a laugh.
FIFTY-SEVEN
AFTER A LONG visit with Rowan in his bedroom, where he was more or less confined until he could manage the stairs, Lily changed into a more comfortable gown for supper. She didn’t need to impress anyone here at Trentingham.
At she reached the bottom of the staircase, she saw Violet coming in out of a light drizzle. “I didn’t know you were joining us tonight,” Lily exclaimed happily, running to kiss her on the cheek. It seemed ages since she’d seen her eldest sister. “Where are Ford and the little ones?”
“At home, pouting.” Violet removed her spectacles and wiped the spatters of rain with a lace-edged handkerchief. “But they can survive one night without me. I wouldn’t miss your sleeping party for the world!”
“My what?”
The front door swung wide again, and a cloaked figure entered, drawing back its hood. “Lily,” Judith cried, “what a sensational idea! Thank you so much for the invitation.”
“What invit
ation?” Lily said as a footman took her friend’s cloak. “I’m sorry, Judith—and it’s lovely to see you—but I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Her face fell. “But I received a message this afternoon. Was it a mistake?”
“I got one, too,” Violet put in.
“What message? I didn’t send any messages.”
“Then who did?”
Voices from above drew their notice to Rose descending the staircase, carrying a vibrant flower arrangement in a Delftware vase. “Fruit, nuts, bread, and cheese,” she was saying to her maid. “And see if Mrs. Crump will bake nun’s biscuits, since those are Lily’s favorites. We’ll need it all brought to her room at nine o’clock.”
As her maid hurried off to alert the cook, Rose arrived at the bottom of the stairs, smiling wide behind the blooms. “Violet, Judith! I’m so glad you both could attend.”
“Attend what?” Lily demanded, wondering if she were going mad.
“Your sleeping party, you goose.” Rose braced the vase against one hip so she could wrap her older sister in a one-armed hug.
“My sleeping party?”
“Well, I’ve handled the preparations, but it was your idea, remember?” Rose’s dark eyes filled with concern. “You said Violet should come over to sleep. And I thought you would like to have Judith, too, since she’s your best friend.”
“But—tonight?” Lily didn’t want to be rude, but the last thing she needed just now was a party. Tonight she just wanted to crawl into her bed, curl up, and think hard about how Bennett Armstrong’s innocence could possibly be proven.
A flush touched Rose’s cheeks. “You told Rand that two heads are better than one. Well, four would be even better, don’t you think? Perhaps tonight we can hit upon a solution.”
Though she still wasn’t sure she felt up to what Rose had planned, Lily was touched. “Thank you,” she said, “for caring.”
“Gemini,” Rose said, hefting the vase, “you’re my sister. Of course I care. Now, I must get this arrangement to the supper table. I made it specially for tonight—won’t it cheer up the dining room?”
As Rose bustled away, Lily looked after her in wonder. She’d never seen her sister so industrious—nor half so thoughtful.
A soft drizzle continued outside, turning the world gray and dismal to match Lily’s mood. The whole story was told again to Violet and Judith over supper. By the time they all made it up to Lily’s room for their sleeping party, laden with a decanter of wine and the refreshments that Mrs. Crump had prepared, Lily was exhausted to the point of numbness.
She collapsed crosswise on top of her white coverlet. “I’m afraid you’re going to have my party without me.”
Violet set down a bowl of fruit and reached a hand to help her sit. “I’m sure you’re tired,” she said sympathetically, settling beside her on the bed. “But we have a mission to accomplish.”
Even in her state, Lily couldn’t help but notice the faint circles under her oldest sister’s eyes. “You look rather tired yourself.”
“Two babies will do that to you,” Violet said with a tender smile. But it faded as she watched Lily lay a hand on her abdomen. “You’ll have children, too, Lily.”
“We just have to put our heads together and come up with a brilliant idea,” Rose said as she sat herself on Lily’s other side.
The three of them against all the injustice in the world.
“I think I’ve missed something, Rose,” Violet said, swinging her feet back and forth. “Why all of a sudden are you willing to help Lily wed Rand Nesbitt?”
“Baron Newcliffe,” Rose corrected, her cheeks reddening. “And as to why…well…” She darted a questioning glance at Lily, who made a locked lips gesture, indicating her silence. Rose looked relieved. “Seeing them face so many obstacles to be together made me realize I’d never loved him like that. I only wanted him because he’s handsome.”
“And titled,” Violet reminded her, leaning across Lily to send their sister an arch look.
“Well, that, too. I do want someone of consequence, you know. But Lily and Rand—they belong together.”
“Thank you,” Lily whispered, hearing truth in Rose’s words even though it wasn’t the whole story. How bittersweet it was to have her sister finally approve at the same time her betrothal was falling apart.
Seated at Lily’s dressing table with a platter of bread and cheese, Judith stopped eating long enough to release a languid sigh. “You and Rand are so romantic.”
Lily eyed her friend thoughtfully. “You look happy.”
“I am.” Judith’s pale blue eyes shone. “I’ve spent some time alone with Edmund—I mean, Lord Grenville—”
“You’d never been alone with him?” Rose interrupted.
Buttering bread, Judith blushed. “Well, it’s not exactly proper, I know, but Papa managed to talk Mama into allowing it. I was so very unhappy, not really knowing Edmund and thinking I might never come to love him.”
Lily began filling four goblets with wine. “So what happened?”
Judith looked up, her cheeks flushed with wonder. “He’s ever so marvelous. The sweetest man. I cannot imagine why I expected to fall in love at first sight. It takes getting to know someone, don’t you think? What a gentleman looks like doesn’t matter as much as what he’s like inside.”
Rand, Lily thought, was marvelous both inside and out. She would never find another like him.
She handed Judith a cup. “So what is Lord Grenville like inside?”
“Thoughtful. Kind. He answered all my questions and listened when I answered his. He loved his first wife dearly, but he was ever so sad that she couldn’t give him any children. More than anything, he wants children. And I…I want to give them to him.”
“Have you considered,” Rose asked, “that the failure to have children might be due to some lack on his part?” It was just like Rose to say out loud what others would only wonder silently. “After all,” she added, “he’s thirty-five.” She said thirty-five as though the fellow were likely to topple over and die of old age at any moment.
“That’s not so ancient!” Judith burst out defensively. Lily’s sister blinked, clearly taken aback, but Judith went on. “Do you know, Rose, that someday you will be five-and-thirty, too? And for your sake, I hope by then—”
She broke off, leaving the rest of the sentence unspoken. But they all knew what she’d been about to say.
I hope by then you’ll have found a husband.
“Well,” Rose said stiffly. “I hope for your sake that Lord Grenville’s childlessness wasn’t due to his own shortcomings in the marriage bed.”
“Rose,” Violet groaned, raising her gaze to the heavens.
“I think,” Judith said just as stiffly, “I can safely reassure you on that count. He’s a very good kisser.” A hunk of cheese halfway to her mouth, she paused and glanced around as though waiting for a reaction. “Are you not scandalized,” she finally asked no one in particular, “that I allowed him to kiss me?”
Lily laughed. “No, we’re not scandalized. As a matter of fact, Mum always advised us to kiss a man before assenting to marriage. After all, it’s a lifetime commitment, so it’s a good idea to ascertain your compatibility in that area.”
“Oh,” was all Judith said.
In fact, Lily thought she looked a mite disappointed they didn’t think her a fallen woman.
“I’m so glad you’re happy,” she told her. “I imagine that now you’re really looking forward to your wedding.”
“Oh, yes,” Judith breathed.
Lily wished she had her own wedding to look forward to instead of dreading Rand and Margery’s. Five days now. While she was thrilled for Judith, for some reason her friend’s newfound happiness made her own situation seem that much more miserable.
Judith handed her a nun’s biscuit. “Have you kissed Rand, then?”
Lily nodded, biting into the sweet almond and lemon treat.
“She may have done
more than kiss him,” Rose said, waggling her brows.
Feeling her face flood with color, Lily gasped. “You have no reason to believe such a thing.”
“Haven’t I?” Rose countered. “This morning—” She stopped, gaping at Lily’s face.
Which was a picture of outrage.
Rose must have seen her return to their chamber this morning, Lily realized. Was she really going to spread tales about her late-night excursion? Just a few breaths after Lily had allowed her to gloss over her own indiscretions?
Rose’s dark eyes widened as she got the message. “Gemini, I was only jesting.”
Lily brushed sugary crumbs off her skirts while she thought of a way to quickly change the subject. “Remember that song I was practicing for Rand? The one he’s always humming?”
“What of it?”
“It has naughty words. And there are others, too. A whole book of them.”
“A book?” Rose sat forward eagerly. “Did he show it to you?“
Lily shook her head. ”He doesn’t own a copy. He said he read it in a friend’s library.“
“And you believed him?” Rose rolled her eyes. “That’s the oldest—”
Violet cleared her throat. “Could you mean An Antidote Against Melancholy?”
“Yes,” Lily said, reaching for her wine, “I think that was the title.”
“Then I believe Ford is the friend in question. I’ve seen that book in our library.” Biting into a strawberry, Violet looked quite unconcerned. “It is naughty,” she added with a grin.
“Let’s send for it,” Rose suggested. The glitter in her eyes belied her solemn tone. “It sounds educational.”
Violet laughed but scribbled a note to Ford. They sent a footman to deliver it and instructed him to wait and bring the book back. “Now,” she said, “while we wait, we must solve the problem at hand.”
Lily went over the whole story again, all the painful details. Then they tossed around ideas. But every solution proposed, no matter how promising at first, turned out to be flawed, impossible, or downright ludicrous.