Persuasion (28 page)

bastard.

He swore under his breath and pulled away from her. “You will regret that

foolish act!” he threatened.

“No more than I regret anything else,” she spat and felt the carriage begin

to slow. Before he could grab her or hurt her, she managed to open the door

and jumped out as the wheels came to a slow halt.

Fleeing, she heard the door swing and bang against the vehicle, caught the

sounds of him cursing and swearing at her, but Lily ignored him and simply

continued to run. Run until she was on the grounds of her uncle's property

and she could once more enter through her usual entry point.

She did not have time to allow her emotions to overtake her, for were she to

allow them to overcome her, she would simply curl into a ball and die! Lily

knew that release would come only when she had traveled through the

house, from the servants' area to her rooms. Only then, in the privacy of her

quarters, would she even be able to think of expressing her heartbreak.

With her back to the door, a low keening cry escaped her throat so deep that

her belly ached from the piercing sound. She crumpled soon after, her body

slumping against the wooden surface and slowly tumbling downwards so

that she lay in a broken heap on the floor.

Her mouth worked, processing silent sounds. Gasps fluttered the orifice as

she tried to assimilate . . . tried to comprehend . . . . But there was nothing

to comprehend. Everything she had done, it had been entirely unnecessary.

Her mother had never been in danger. It had not been of vital urgency to

seduce the Earl to keep her mama safe and sound. And as she had done just

that, and followed the blackmailer's commands, Lily now knew why this

entire charade had been pieced together . . . to destroy the man she loved.

The man she was sure loved her in return.

Their love was to be used against Dorian, to weaken and further hurt him, to

damage him and his faith in humanity, in women. After this, any faith or

trust he had would be completely annihilated.

Suddenly she knew that she had to tell him first, that she could not allow her

blackmailer to share the bare bones of what lay behind her reasons for

visiting him. That Dorian would believe the bastard, she did not doubt. Love

could only do so much. It was time that healed the wounds, and Dorian had

not experienced enough of her love to cure the wounds that Camille's

presence in his life had created. He was still raw and open to distrust, for he

did not know better. Anything, anything that could be said against her in

malice would take root. She knew it like she knew her reflection in the

looking glass.

How Lily wished that when she had had the opportunity to speak the truth,

she had taken it. When the words had hovered on her mouth, she wished

that she had spoken them and made him listen to her part and hear that she

loved him, that her feelings for him, more than anything else, counted.

But she hadn't. She'd been a coward and now found herself in this sorry

state of affairs. It seemed ridiculous to have been afraid of losing him when

now she had done just that. He was lost, forever lost to her, and there

wasn't a damn thing that could be done to change that.

Silent tears coursed over her cheeks and she rolled on to her back as she

stared upwards at the ceiling. Her room was dark but the fire had been set

and still flickered. The shadowed wainscoting seemed to absorb all of her

attention for endless moments, but, in truth, she was staring blindly and

seeking hope.

Ridiculous perhaps, for was the situation not hopeless? But it was either that

or curl into a pained and agonizing ball of distress?

The only hope that seemed in sight was to approach him herself. The

thought had her curling upwards with a pensive expression cast on her

features. Why not indeed?

The blackmailer had said that he wanted her to never see Dorian again, but

why should that matter for aught? Had he not also said that he had never

intended to hurt her mama? And what could he do to her now? The one

thing that she could possibly prevent if she was to speak to Dorian first.

Of course, there was the threat to her reputation.

But again, that did not matter a damn to her. Why should it?

She had met the love of her life, and, if he would not have her, she did not

care if her name was blackened by the ton. Neither would Devlin, who had

spent the majority of his life in the same state and sadly her mother would

not even know! If the truth were to enter society, it wouldn't matter to her.

She would gladly return home with a sullied reputation, if Dorian were to

reject her overtures!

But he couldn't. He wouldn't. She would simply have to persuade him that

her words of love were the truth. That regardless of her reason behind their

midnight meetings, she had come to love him and would love him until the

end of time. She would have to convince him that part of their rendezvous

was not a lie.

She closed her eyes and sucked in a few deep and cleansing breaths. When

she reached a level of normalcy, she forced herself on to her feet and

quickly stripped down to her chemise and hurried into bed. She had to

awaken early. She had to be awake to be able to visit Dorian first thing and

Janie, after today's illness, would not be the one to awaken her. She would

leave Lily to sleep.

Rolling on to the bed, Lily tried to dispel the memories of her conversation

with her blackmailer and also tried to forget his image . . . the presence of

both in her mind were not conducive to a good night's rest and were she to

be awake with the next four hours, she would need just that.

Before her eyes closed and she drifted off, she prayed to God that Dorian

would believe her and more importantly, forgive her.

****

settled against the hard cushions with a grimace. It displeased him greatly

that she had seen his face. He had taken care throughout the entire

proceedings when dealing with Lily Mercer to keep his face hidden. It had

enabled him to keep an eye on her throughout all the society occasions she

had attended. Now he would have to be very cautious.

Damn it.

He tried not to recall her complete and utter lack of recognition, for it would

do his ego no good at all. But almost as though his pride took relish in it, he

knew that she had not remembered him at all. Not one ounce of recollection

had been imprinted on her features.

Had they not danced together? Had they not conversed at her come out?

It appeared that they had, but only in William's imagination!

A scowl lit his features and he lifted his cane and tapped it against the

carriage's ceiling. The horses were soon knocked into shape and the vehicle

took off in the same path they had only recently just traversed. Dorian's

house was the ultimate destination, and William took pleasure in the

realization that his dreams would soon find culmination.

Soon, he would be the Lord. The Earl with the gold and the titles to proceed

him, with the position in society and ability to do whatever the hell he

wanted and damn the tabbies.

In truth, he should have had all of this years before. Had that stupid whore

Camille not entirely ruined his plans, then he would be the Earl and he

wouldn't be wasting his time destroying Dorian's life, for it would already

have been destroyed and the man would be dead and buried, gone

forevermore.

He pursed his lips and lifted his arm to scrub a hand over his face. He was

tired, dead tired. And now was not the time to be feeling entirely uncertain

as to whether his plan would bear fruit. He recalled a conversation where he

had witnessed the lows to which Dorian had sunk and this plot had spread

directly from that point.

Dorian had been drunk and maudlin. William had seen how close he'd been

to the edge. He'd decided at that point, to push himself over the precipice.

While it had seemed unimaginative to use the same plot against him,

William had decided that only his cousin's stupid whore of a wife had been

the ruin of his plans, not the plot itself.

When he'd met Camille, prodded her into falling in love with him, then

tupped her and ultimately, impregnated her, he'd known that the girl had

been in the very palm of his hands, ripe for the plucking and equally as ripe

for manipulation. William had known that Dorian would find Camille's starry-

eyed beauty appealing and so had delicately told her that even though she

was carrying his babe, he couldn't marry her due to the lack of funds. He'd

then managed to persuade her to entice Dorian and a marriage between the

two of them had quickly ensued and all without much hassle. Camille had

been a foolish girl, lacking in brains and so distraught by the situation she

had found herself in, unmarried and with a babe in her belly, that she had

been relieved to have a solution.

She had believed him when he'd told her that they could be together later,

that when his plans would come to the fore, they'd be wealthy and their

child would be the heir to all of that wealth and power. And she had believed

him, the stupid, stupid chit.

It had all been going according to schedule and then the stupid bitch had

died during childbirth and all of his plans had unraveled. He had been right

at the very beginning again. When he thought of the time he'd wasted, it

still angered him.

For a while, yes, Dorian had been distressed, it hadn't been enough for him

to do anything drastic. His plans had indeed come to naught, but a part of

him had hoped, in vain, that Dorian would expire from a broken heart and

do William a favor by killing himself.

Sadly that had not happened. And now, William could only hope that the

grief of Camille's death combined with the added stress of losing another

love would finally push him over the edge!

The carriage finally came to a halt and a surge of relish erupted through

him. They'd arrived and he had finally arrived at the point for which he'd

been waiting for over a decade. But he would have to tread softly. It would

do no good to simply walk in there with a melodramatic tale. It would be far

better to be cautious and cause damage by merely planting a seed of doubt.

From the one seed, an entire forest would grow and, with it, Dorian's

demise.

Jumping out of the coach with glee, he walked down the path that led to

Dorian's, soon to be his, townhouse and unlocked the door with a key that

one of his cousin's footmen had given him a few months ago. He stepped

into the hallway and strode down it towards the study where he intended to

sit until Dorian awoke in the morning and came down to see to his papers.

William opened the door and stepped through it, coming to an abrupt halt as

he spied Dorian sleeping on the floor before the fire. Hiding a malicious grin,

he gently closed the door and walked towards the armchairs. Taking a seat,

he watched as within moments Dorian began to stir and rolled to a sitting

position with a bleary yawn.

“William?”

“Yes, cousin.”

“It isn't that I don't appreciate the visit, William, but what time is it?”

He smiled slowly. “Time I told you the truth, Dorian. That's what time it is.”

Dorian frowned and stood, using his blanket to cover himself from the waist

down. “The truth? What are you talking about?”

“You do realize, don't you, that she was just after a wealthy husband.”

“Who? Camille?”

William snorted. “No. The Mercer chit.”

Dorian tilted his head to the side. “Lily Mercer?”

“Yes. Have you heard the rumor?”

“No, what rumor?”

“Devlin's pissed the fortune down the drain,” he lied easily.

Dorian laughed. “Don't be ridiculous! It would take a damned sight more

than two years to piss away the Mercer fortune!”

He waved a nonchalant hand. “Perhaps. Perhaps not.”

“How do you even know I've been . . . with the Mercer girl?”

“Dorian, I just saw her leaving!” he further fabricated. “Why do you think

I'm even telling you this story? Gossip is hardly your best friend. When I saw

her leaving and obviously in a state of . . . well, shall we say, undress? I

knew that I had to come to you and tell you to get away from her! She'll

only cause you more pain.”

“What are you even doing here?” asked Dorian with a glaring scowl.

“I needed to talk with you about a business deal and know that you rarely

sleep nowadays. What better time to discuss my proposition with you?”

Dorian grinned. “Ah, but those days are gone.”

William tutted. “Haven't you heard a word I've been saying?”

“Lily is hardly a mercenary bitch, William!”

“They all are, Dorian. They all are.”

“Not Lily.”

He cocked a brow. “Have I not told you that she is seeking a wealthy

husband?”

“She has dowry aplenty, William. It is more than likely separate from the

family's main fortune, so even if Devlin has wasted it all on the gaming

tables . . . it won't touch her!”

“Still . . . it must make you question her, surely?”