by Dayna Quince
“No.” Lilly and Dominic said together, glancing at each other. “I am going to ride just as I intended to, with or without your interference.”
“Interf—” Chance began to say, but Lilly had already walked away, and with Dominic’s assistance remounted Bella. Chance turned back to the carriage, kicking rocks petulantly.
Chapter 13
Lilly and Dominic quickly reached the stables ahead of Chance and left their mounts in Duncan’s care. They had just reached the informal garden parlor when a gentle rain began to fall. Escaping into the small but pleasant room decorated with spring floral patterns and white teak wood furniture, Lilly threw off her bonnet and collapsed onto a plush sofa.
“He’s really angry,” Lilly said to Dominic’s back as he stood gazing out on the rapidly dampening garden paths.
“I didn’t even think of telling him where we were. It must have slipped my mind.”
“Mine too,” Lilly said contritely.
“Lilly… I have to know something,” Dominic said somberly as he turned and walked to the sofa and sat beside her.
“What… What is it you want to know?”
“Is there something between you and Chance?”
“What?” Lilly cracked a smile but swallowed the urge to giggle. “You cannot be serious.”
“I need to know.” Dominic turned to face her, his expression taking all humor from the moment.
“No,” Lilly said. She was dying to ask him why it mattered, but she was a little afraid of his answer. “Our relationship is purely based on friendship—sometimes we even fight like siblings.”
“Well, that I did notice.” His countenance eased.
There was a soft knock on the door, which neither Dominic nor Lilly had noticed was closed. Fields entered, quickly followed by a brooding Chance. He took a seat across from Lilly and glared at them both.
“Will there be anything else, my lord?” Fields asked.
“The brandy decanter and tea for Lady Lillian will be all,” Dominic responded.
“Well, gentlemen,” Lilly said nervously. “What happens now?”
“I wish to speak with Lilly alone,” Chance announced.
“No,” Dominic said abruptly.
“Now, wait just one minute,” Lilly said indignantly. “I may speak with whomever I choose, with or without your consent. What say do you have over who I speak to anyway, Dominic?”
Dominic raised an arrogant brow. “Say what you wish, but I am not leaving the room. Deal with it.” He walked over to the far side of the room and took a seat, staring moodily out the window.
Chance quickly joined Lilly on the sofa and took her hand. “Are you all right, Lilly?”
She smiled at his brotherly concern. “I am fine, Chance, really. Between the two of you, I have more white knights charging to my rescue than I can handle. I have actually had a very lovely time here. It’s been nice to be able to be myself again.”
“I’m glad Lilly, truly I am, but I still think you should come back to London with me.”
“No,” Lilly and Dominic said in unison. Lilly glared at Dominic across the room. “You should at least pretend you can’t hear us,” she snapped.
Dominic snorted. “She’s not going anywhere, Chance. It is not safe, and I need her here to protect her and for the investigation. You can’t argue with that.”
“Then I’m staying as well,” Chance declared.
“No,” they both said again. Chance looked back and forth between them.
“I will be fine, Chance. I don’t want you involved in this. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“I don’t trust him,” Chance confessed, pointing at Dominic.
“He’s your friend,” Lilly said, bemused.
“Yes, and he’s also a first-class rake.”
“You honor me,” Dominic said humorlessly as Fields entered bearing a tray. Dominic took the balloon of brandy and swallowed it in one gulp.
“Dom, I love you like a brother, but I’m not about to leave a girl like Lilly under your roof—even with a legion of chaperones.” Chance stood.
“What do you mean a girl like me?” Lilly said indignantly.
“I didn’t mean it like that, Lil. You’re just too damn beautiful to leave alone with a man like him."
“Then why should I trust her with you, Chance?” Dominic came and stood in front of him, meeting him eye to eye, nose to nose.
“It’s not like that between us. I’ve known her since she was in leading strings. She’s practically my sister, for Christ’s sake.”
“This is ridiculous.” Lilly came and stood between them. “I am sick of the two of you arguing as if I’m not here. The only one who gets to control my life is me. End of story. Chance, you have to go back to London. I do not want you involved in my mess. As for you Dominic, well… I will see you at dinner.” She turned and walked out of the parlor, leaving no room for argument.
Once the door clicked shut behind her, Dominic stepped away from Chance and lounged on the sofa. “You can help me if you want but be careful. I need to know what is being spoken about town—who knows about the situation and who is just spreading rumors. Then check the gaming halls and clubs. I need all suspicion directed away from Lilly. No one can know she’s here, no one.”
“Why do I get the feeling that something has already happened to her?” Chance said.
“Because it did, and on my own damn property to boot. She was attacked and I didn’t know about it until I saw the bruises on her neck.”
“Bruises?” Chance sat down on the sofa beside Dominic and put his head in his hands. “I should have been there for her. The moment I found out about the scandal, I should have taken her away and protected her at all costs.”
“It’s pointless now, Chance. She’s under my protection and I will keep her safe. Together we can solve this and catch the bastard, as well as give Lilly her life back.”
“Her life?” Chance said incredulously. “She has no one to go home to, short of marrying her off to the first willing bloke. She has no home, no family, and no friends who can take her in.”
“What about her guardian, the fop who inherited the title?” Dominic asked.
“He could be dead for all we know. He’s been in Europe for years. Lilly’s never even met him.” Chance grew silent. He stood and walked to the windows to stare at the wet landscape, now dreary and dark from the thick layer of clouds overshadowing the land. “I’ll have to marry her,” he finally said.
Dominic’s gut clenched because of those few words. He might as well have been punched in the stomach. It was a startling revelation, but he would not—could not—let anyone marry Lilly. “Why would you do that?”
“Why?” Chance repeated, moving back to the sofa. “It is the only way she can regain her formal life.”
“That’s a rather large sacrifice on your part just so she can attend a few parties every year.”
“Maybe, but she is my friend. If this is the only way I can help her, then why wouldn’t I?”
“What if she has feelings for someone else? You wouldn’t be doing her any favors by locking her into a lifetime commitment.”
“I would know if Lilly was in love with someone.”
“I didn’t say love.”
“Lilly isn’t like that. She does not do things by half measure. If she had feelings for someone, she would fall hard and be completely devoted to loving that man with her whole being.”
“And you want that man to be you,” Dominic said aggressively.
“No, I mean… I just want her to be happy. Even if we clear her name and her stepfather is caught, she will still have no money and no means to take care of herself. There is no other socially acceptable help I can give her except to marry her.”
Dominic was silent, his gaze focused on his clasped hands before him.
“Unless you marry her?” He asked the words quietly, but they seemed to echo throughout the room.
“Pardon?” Dominic’s head snapped
up, and he met his friend’s eyes. “Why would I… How could I?” His thoughts and emotions jumbled together, rendering him temporarily dumbfounded.
“Well, you said you needed a wife, and it’s brazenly obvious you’re attracted to her. But will you do the honorable thing? Give her your name, a home, and secure her rightful place in society?”
Dominic was still silent. He was not prepared to answer those questions. The easiest answer would have been no, but Dominic could not say the word. He was not ready to explore the turbulent feelings he felt for Lilly, but on the other hand, he was not about to let anyone else have her either. Did he want her? God yes, he wanted her. He wanted to be inside her, explore every valley and plane of her body, and make love to her until he had nothing left in him. While he could give Lilly every physical pleasure imaginable, he doubted he had the ability to love her the way she deserved to be loved. Did he deserve her love in return?
“Let’s not rush into things before we have all our answers and all avenues explored,” he finally said, getting up to refresh his drink with the decanter Fields left on the side table. “Based on her earlier outburst, I hardly think she will tolerate us deciding these things for her. I have ways of locating her cousin and forcing him to return to England. There’s no need to make such drastic decisions for her, not yet.”
“All right,” Chance said slowly. “Not yet, but there will come a time when we will have to consider that we are perhaps her only option.”
Chapter 14
Dinner was subdued, and once they had finished, they retired to the drawing room so Dominic could begin to question Lilly about her stepfather. Chance sat and listened, adding more details as Lilly’s ordeal began to unfold. She started from the very beginning: her father’s death, her mother’s marriage to Mr. Hollow, and then her death. Lilly had never liked Mr. Hollow; he was a social climber who was manipulative and slimy. Lilly honestly felt her mother was duped into marriage for her social standing. It was not long after the wedding that Lilly’s mother had fallen ill.
“She never heard the gossip that was spread about him,” Lilly solemnly said. “He was very wealthy in his own right, but even with his extravagant clothes and lifestyle, others could see right through him. Everyone but my mother.”
“When did she become ill?” Dominic carefully asked.
“About three months after the wedding, she claimed she didn’t feel herself. She was always tired and started sleeping a lot throughout the day. She felt weak but could not eat anything. It was as if she began to waste away. They said it was a lung fever and barred me from seeing her. I begged Mr. Hollow to call the family doctor but he refused. He kept bringing in all these crackpot physicians, but they all said the same thing. They sent me away and I stayed with Olivia, but it was only a matter of days before I was told she had passed. He sent me a note telling me I could return. It was frightening to know that I had no one in the world to love me or care for me. I had to return to live with that evil man. He never cared about my mother, that slimy bastard. I wouldn’t be surprised if he killed her himself.”
The words were shocking and spoken from an angry and frightened young woman, but Dominic suspected it to be true. From what she had said about the illness and the secrecy behind it, he probably poisoned her slowly and used false doctors to solidify his story.
“Do you know anything about his business life?”
“Shipping, but I never saw him actually working. He would leave the house at all hours of the night and he kept his study door locked. He even supervised the maid who cleaned it.”
“Did you notice anything else suspicious about him?” Chance asked.
“Everything was suspicious about him. Everything about him was just wrong, like all the light had been sucked out of his soul.”
Dominic sat silently while watching her. She was fighting to control her sorrow and not fall apart. If he could have, Dominic would remove every ounce of pain from her being and erase every painful memory.
“I wish you would have told me, Lil,” Chance said, getting up to sit beside her and lay a comforting arm across her shoulders.
“What would I have said, what could anyone have done?” She stood and began to pace restlessly.
Dominic didn’t like seeing Chance touch Lilly so freely. He was relieved when she stood up. He wanted to be the only man she turned to for comfort, the only shoulder she would want to cry on.
“I guess there’s no point in asking if the bastard left an extravagant diamond necklace lying around,” Dominic said sarcastically as he moved to stand before the fire.
Lilly’s head snapped to attention, then she looked toward the ceiling, her expression thoughtful. Both men watched her curiously as she poked her head out into the hall, spoke with a servant, and then calmly returned to the chaise and sipped her tea.
“Please tell me you have it, Lilly,” Dominic said, smiling.
“All in good time.”
Jenny entered the room and handed Lilly a stuffed toy bear and a small kitchen knife.
“You’re a little old for toy bears, Lil,” Chance teased.
“A gentleman would never comment on a lady’s age,” she returned playfully.
She sliced open the back of the bear, reached inside, and pulled out a glittering necklace of perfectly cut, large diamonds. Dominic’s jaw hit the floor. He had completely forgotten about the bear Lilly had clutched the night he discovered her. The bear had been concealing the necklace this whole time, right under his nose just as Lilly had been. He must really be losing his touch.
“That’s very clever, my dear,” he said as he plucked the necklace from her fingers. “You truly have a gift for hiding things in plain sight.” He examined the necklace in the pool of light beneath an oil lamp, its facets spreading orbs of light throughout the room.
“That must be worth a blooming fortune,” Chance said in awe.
“It is—the King of Spain’s fortune. Where did you find this, Lilly?"
All three of them stood around the lamp, admiring the necklace.
“In his study.”
“The one he kept locked?” Chance asked incredulously.
“I picked it. I wanted to know what his highness was up to, so I snooped and that’s what I found.”
“When?” Dominic asked.
“The day he was publicly accused of treason and my life fell apart.” She stepped away from the necklace and returned to the sofa. “What happens now?”
“I’m not sure. It’s a coup we have the necklace, but somehow I don’t think it will help us find Mr. Hollow.”
“Not unless we use it as bait,” Chance said snidely.
Lilly beamed at him. “Chance, that’s brilliant!”
“No,” Dominic said.
Lilly kept speaking as if she never heard him. “If I wear the jewels in public, he’ll come to take them. We can set a trap!”
“No,” Dominic said again forcefully, gaining their rapt attention. “It is too dangerous and you’re forgetting one prudent fact, Lilly. You’re ruined.”
“I’m not ruined,” Lilly said, her smile wilting to a forlorn pout. “My reputation is just a bit tattered, that’s all. If Mr. Hollow is caught, I will be free to return…” She met Chance’s skeptical eyes.
“I can go back.” She turned to Dominic, but his expression was one of pity.
“Think about it, Lilly. You know the world we come from. Even if your cousin comes back or some distant relative comes crawling out of the woodwork, you’ll just be married off to the highest bidder or sent off to the country while they use up what’s left of your dowry.” Chance’s words were cold but true. “You can’t even expect to marry well. The amount of speculation attached to your name is heavy baggage for a wife. No one has ever survived being accused of treason. It’s like a poison that spreads to everyone around them.”
“Thank you for those words of hope, Chance,” Dominic said bitterly.
“No, he’s right,” Lilly said. “I’m done for. Unles
s I come back legitimately married into a wealthy and extremely well connected family, there’s no hope for me. I guess retiring with my great-aunt is my only real option. I can spend the rest of my life walking the hills of Duckerton Pass with a bevy of small dogs…alone.”
“You have an aunt?” Dominic said. “Since when did you have an aunt in all this, and why the hell didn’t you stay with her instead of putting yourself at risk masquerading as a servant?”
“For your information,” Lilly said, “she’s not really my great-aunt. She’s the sister of someone or other in my family, but she’s kind and used to send me trinkets when I was a little girl. She never had any children of her own, or so I was told.”
“You didn’t answer my question,” Dominic said. “Why didn’t you go to her? Would she not have accepted you?”
“My Great-Aunt Agatha, as she is so dearly referred to, has secluded herself near the borders of Scotland. How exactly would I have gotten there without a farthing to my name? It takes one and a half weeks to reach Duckerton Pass by carriage. She probably doesn’t even know what’s happened to me.” Lilly sighed sadly. “I was going to work for the money to travel to her, but then you found me. She’s the last refuge I have in the world.”
“It doesn’t have to be that way, Lilly,” Chance said.
“Not now.” Dominic threw him a murderous glare.
“It’s her only opportunity to be happy. One of us has to marry her,” Chance blurted out.
“I don’t want anyone to have to marry me, Chance.” Lilly turned on him with a scowl.
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
“And I don’t want anyone’s pity. Is this what the two of you discuss when I am not present? My life? I have done nothing but follow the dictates of my parents and society, and look what it’s done for me. I am being punished for someone else’s crime. I’ve been scorned, publicly humiliated, and now the two of you want to decide who I will marry. Or more insultingly, sacrifice each other on my behalf. I appreciate your chivalry, but please spare me the indignity. I have nothing left but my pride, and I would like to keep it,” she snapped. Tears began to pool in her eyes. Lilly turned away from them and sped from the room.