by Joyce Alec
Lord Astley snorted. “I do not know what you speak of.”
“Yes, you do,” Miss Williams interjected, before anyone else could speak. “You arranged for Lord Wiltshire to be attacked, for him to almost lose his life, only to then inform me that if I did not do as you asked, there would be dire consequences for him.” Her eyes turned toward her father. “Whether or not you were complicit, Father, I cannot say, although I am quite certain that you were in agreement with his plan.”
From the look on Lord Swinton’s face, Phillip knew that what Miss Williams had stated was quite true. Disgust rolled around in his belly, forcing him to look away from the man.
“Despicable, Swinton.” Lord Crampton’s voice was loud and filled with wrath. “Utterly despicable.” He shook his head and glared at his brother-in-law. “How you can call yourself a gentleman and do such a thing, I cannot even imagine.”
Lord Swinton lifted his chin and looked directly at Phillip, his countenance a little pale but his words still direct.
“I expect my daughter to wed Lord Astley,” he said firmly. “It was taken out of my hands by my interfering sister and her husband, but the decision remains the same.”
“Nothing was taken out of your hands, brother,” Lady Crampton said, sitting down carefully and gesturing for Miss Williams to do the same. With a quick glance up at him, she left his side and went to sit by her aunt, with Phillip himself coming to stand beside her. “You were entirely within your rights to demand such a thing. Many gentlemen do. However, I believe that during our discussion about such a matter, you were not able to express to us why such an arrangement should take place, particularly when another viscount had expressed interest in Lucinda also.” Lifting one eyebrow, she gestured to Lord Astley. “Perhaps you might care to do so now.”
Silence fell across the room as everyone turned to look at Lord Swinton, including Lord Astley. From the expression on the man’s face, Phillip realized that he was most reluctant for Lord Swinton to speak, for the man’s eyes were narrowed, his jaw working furiously, and as Phillip watched, he spotted a tiny shake of Lord Astley’s head.
“If you had been able to tell us why you were so insistent upon Lord Astley, brother, then we might have understood,” Lady Crampton said quietly, when it became clear that they were not about to receive an answer from him. “But from this evening’s entertainment, might I suggest that it has something to do with the fact that both you and Lord Astley are making large winnings from card games that are, shall we say, tipped in your favor?”
Lord Swinton began to breathe heavily, his hands curling into tight, angry fists as he glared at his sister, who remained quietly looking back at him, one eyebrow lifted as she waited for his response.
“You know nothing!” Lord Swinton exclaimed, taking a step toward her. “Remain silent! You—”
“You shall not speak to my wife in such a manner again, else it will be all the worse for you.”
Lord Crampton moved swiftly to stand beside his wife, one hand outstretched as he pointed at Lord Swinton, his voice calm but holding so much authority that even Phillip felt it ringing through the air. “Particularly when I know she speaks the truth, Swinton.” He gestured to the rest of the group, including Phillip and Lord Hoskins. “In fact, we are all aware that she speaks the truth, for we have witnessed it.”
This statement seemed to throw Lord Swinton back, for he stumbled as he retreated, suddenly looking quite desperate as he looked to Lord Astley for answers.
“I saw you, Father,” Phillip heard Miss Williams say, her voice barely loud enough for him to hear. “You have extra cards in your pocket.”
“And you,” Phillip continued, looking to Lord Astley, “remove the extra cards when the round is won, so that no one is any the wiser.” Lifting one shoulder, he let it fall in a half-shrug. “No doubt it is also done the other way around, so that one of you wins the game and, of course, takes the winnings.”
“That way,” Lord Hoskins added, speaking for the very first time, “neither of you can be under direct suspicion. No doubt you do not win every game you play. Sometimes you will purposefully lose. But using this strategy, this deception, you have built up your winnings considerably and have added to your fortunes.”
There was nothing but utter silence for some minutes. Lord Swinton had dropped his head, one hand rubbing across his forehead, whilst Lord Astley watched the gentleman carefully, clearly determined that neither of them would say a thing. Phillip’s breathing began to quicken as he watched Lord Swinton, praying that the gentleman would be convinced, one way or the other, to tell the truth in its entirety. It was clear that Lord Astley had something of a hold over the gentleman but whether or not the man would have the strength to defeat such a thing was yet to be seen.
“We will, of course, have to inform the beau monde of your little scheme,” Lady Crampton said softly, her words shattering the quiet like a hammer blow. “This is now entirely at an end. You will both be in disgrace and thrust from the ton without hesitation.”
Lord Astley’s lip curled, and he swung toward the lady, his face coloring with heat. “You shall do no such thing.”
“I will,” she replied without a second of hesitation. “There is nothing you can do to prevent it, Lord Astley. You have nothing to threaten me with. And whilst you may have attempted to threaten my niece with violence toward the man she loves, you will now see, I am sure, that we do not all respond to such threats in the way you expect.” With a small smile, she glanced toward Miss Williams, who, taking in a long breath, lifted her chin and fixed her gaze upon Lord Astley.
“I shall never marry you,” she said, her words clear and defined. “You have done the darkest of deeds in attempting to remove a person’s life from this earth. It does not matter whether or not you held the knife. The fact that you arranged for such a thing to occur makes you entirely responsible, and I can never ally myself with such a person.” Her eyes turned to her father. “There is very little now you can say, Father,” she continued, her eyes beginning to glisten. “But there is a small chance for redemption.”
As Phillip watched, Lord Swinton slowly raised his head, looking at his daughter with something in his expression that Phillip had never seen before. Regret? Fear? He could not quite make it out but, praying that the gentleman would listen to his daughter, Phillip held his tongue and waited patiently.
“Tell me why you have been cheating in such a despicable way, Father,” Miss Williams continued, spreading her hands. “I do not understand. And explain to me clearly, telling nothing but the truth, why you were so eager for me to wed Lord Astley. It may be that, whilst the ton shall know of your deceit, they might come to know the reasons behind such a thing. Perhaps it shall not weigh as heavily upon you as it does upon another.” Her eyes flicked to Lord Astley before returning to Lord Swinton who, with a long, heavy sigh, sat down heavily in a chair nearby, appearing to them all as though he were a broken man.
“Lord Astley discovered the fact that I was deceiving others at a card game at White’s one evening,” Lord Swinton said, not looking at anyone but keeping his voice low and his eyes downcast. “I will not say how exactly it came about, but a certain agreement came into place between us.”
“You mean to say,” Phillip stated, a note of disgust in his voice, “that you both wished to deceive others for your own gain.”
“Which,” Lord Crampton said, his voice thin with anger, “included myself. Your own brother-in-law.” He shook his head as Phillip’s eyes widened in surprise. “I played with you many times and each time lost a large sum, either to you or to Lord Astley.” Narrowing his eyes, he set one hand on the back of a chair, his fingers white as he fought to contain his fury. “How dare you do something such as this, Swinton?”
Lord Swinton lifted his head, shrugged, and sat back in his chair, no longer appearing broken or sorrowful but rather quite practical, as though this was entirely to be expected and something that Phillip and the others ought simply
to expect.
“My wealth has become a little less these last few years,” he said calmly. “I needed a way to increase it. I see no harm in taking from those who have a little more than I.”
“But you could not be certain of their financial security when you sat down with them,” Phillip retorted, but Lord Swinton waved a hand, dismissing his concerns.
“I saw—and still do not see—any great harm in it,” he stated coldly. “Lord Astley and I have agreed that, in order to ensure that both our coffers were increased, we should split the winnings evenly thereafter.”
A chill ran down Phillip’s spine and he looked away from the man and toward Miss Williams, wondering how she fared upon hearing such news from her father. She was watching him, he noted, with a paleness in her cheeks that had not been present before, although her expression remained the same.
“That does not explain why you wished for Lucinda to wed Lord Astley with such eagerness,” Lord Crampton said darkly. “Explain yourself, man.”
Lord Swinton’s lip curled. He remained where he was and said nothing, glowering at his brother-in-law as he did so.
“I believe I know.”
A little surprised, Phillip turned to see Miss Williams rising from her chair, her face still pale but a determination in her voice that he knew stemmed from the courage within her.
“I have discovered that when I wed, there will come not only the dowry—small as it is—but also an inheritance from my mother,” Miss Williams began. “No, Father, you need not grow angry and demand to know how I found out such a thing, for it is of no importance.” Standing a few steps away from her father, she shook her head. “I see now that I mean nothing to you. In forcing the arrangement with Lord Astley, you both intended to share the inheritance between you, just as you have shared the winnings. That was the agreement, was it not? And, of course, you could not tell anyone at all, including Lord and Lady Crampton, for fear of giving yourself away. You could not tell the truth, for it is a truth so dark and despicable that everyone around you would shudder should they know of it.”
Lord Swinton drew in a long breath, then spread his hands. “You should never have undermined my authority, Lucinda,” he said with a glare. “If you had only wed Lord Astley as I had told you, then there would have been no difficulty whatsoever.” He gestured toward Phillip. “That would never have occurred.”
“Do not for one moment place such blame on your daughter’s shoulders,” Phillip said, striding forward and catching her hand. “It was nothing more than cruelty, selfishness, and wickedness that brought these circumstances about. And I, for one, shall be glad to take your daughter away from this, to show her what it is to live a life of love, of contentment, and of joy.” He wrapped one arm around her waist. “You and Lord Astley can deal with the shame that now comes with the revelation of what you have done. I shall be glad to shield her from it.”
Lord Astley, who had said nothing throughout this entire discussion, suddenly let out a loud exclamation. “You cannot do this!”
“Yes, I can and I shall,” Phillip retorted firmly. “Your reign has come to an end, Lord Astley. All has been made known and these three here,” he gestured to Lord and Lady Crampton and then to Lord Hoskins, “have no fear of you. They shall make your deeds well known to the ton and in doing so, you will find yourself the one being pursued by threats and violence. You shall be the one who will have to hide, who will live with fear at being discovered. Your life as you know it, Lord Astley, is now entirely at an end.”
“My dear, you have done very well.”
Phillip watched as Lady Crampton embraced her niece. Lord Swinton and Lord Astley had both left the house, with Lord Crampton stating loudly that Miss Williams would now be in his care and that, should Lord Swinton attempt to deny it, he would demand every single penny of the money that had been stolen from him. From what Phillip had seen, Lord Swinton did not intend to do so, once more choosing wealth over his daughter.
“I will leave you for a few minutes,” Lady Crampton murmured, reaching to kiss her niece’s cheek. “And then we should return home. We are all, I think, very much fatigued.”
“Thank you, Lady Crampton,” Phillip said as she took his hand and pressed it tightly. “You have done so much and without you, I am not certain that all would have come to this conclusion.”
“And without you, I might have seen my niece wed to that odious Astley,” she replied with a small shudder. “You will come for dinner tomorrow, of course. And I will invite Lord Hoskins too.”
Phillip bowed over her hand. “Gladly.”
With another warm smile in his direction, Lady Crampton quit the room and left both him and Miss Williams standing alone together. When he turned to her, she went into his arms without a word, her arms about his neck and her head resting on his shoulder as he held her tightly.
They stood together for a long time, neither saying a word but feeling such a sense of relief growing all around them that it was almost too much to bear. Nothing could hold them back now; nothing could keep them apart. There were to be no more threats, no more fear or anxiety. Instead, they could look together to their future, where they might live together as husband and wife, and where he could express his love to her every single day of his life, in all that he did and all that he said.
“I love you, Wiltshire.”
Her words were muffled as she whispered into his shirt, and Phillip could only smile, brushing a kiss against her temple.
“I love you, Lucinda,” he promised. “I am sorry for the pain that must have come in hearing such things.”
She lifted her head and he looked into her eyes and saw the tears sparkling there, his own heart aching with compassion for her.
“But I shall do all I can to mend that,” he promised, reaching up one hand to caress her cheek. “I will love you every day of my life. I will show you what life is like when it is filled with happiness and contentment. And together, we will find a future that is utterly joyous.”
Lucinda smiled up at him then, tears clearing from her eyes. “You have my heart, Wiltshire,” she told him, her hands still about his neck. “I trust you completely. Even when you were in the depths of pain, when you could have been taken from this world, you were determined to return to me.” Her eyes softened, her cheeks warming with color. “I do not think I could have found such devotion anywhere else.”
“And yet I am the one blessed to have you by my side,” he replied honestly. “I am the one who finds myself more than astonished that you have agreed to be my wife.”
A quiet laugh escaped her lips, her eyes twinkling up at him. “I do not believe, Wiltshire, that you have ever given me the opportunity to agree to such a thing,” she reminded him, making him chuckle. “But should you wish to do so now, I am quite certain of my answer.”
His fingers gently lifted her chin, his other hand about her waist. “My dear Lucinda,” he said, feeling a shudder of awareness run through him at the joy that was soon to be his. “Lucinda, who has my heart, who I love more dearly than any other. Might you accept the offer of my hand?” His eyes searched her face, even though he knew already what she was to say. “Will you be my wife?”
Reaching up, she kissed him lightly and Phillip’s heart leapt wildly.
“Yes,” she whispered against his mouth, her happiness as bright as the noonday son. “Yes, I will become your wife.”
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