Chapter One
“Are you sure you still wish to do this?” Lord Laurent Harrington asked nervously as he glanced out carriage’s window. “There will be no going back if you do.”
“It is not what I wish to do, but what I must do.” Lady Thalia Harrington joined her older brother in looking out the carriage window; her heart thumped painfully, her stomach churned, and her knees shook with such violence that she worried when the time came that she might not be able to stand up.
“I cannot protect you,” Laurent said.
“I know that, nor am I asking you to.”
“When Damien finds out…”
“I will handle our brother.”
“And the Duke?” Laurent pulled his gaze from outside the carriage and held it on Thalia. There was fear in his eyes, matched by the crack in his voice. “Even if Damien forgives you, there is no telling what His Grace will do.”
“That does not matter.” Thalia focused on the scenery outside the carriage still, refusing to let her mind wander to the inevitable consequences of what she was about to do. “What matters is Rosaline, and I will not let this happen to her. Not if I can stop it.”
Laurent sighed as he took her hand. “You are a good friend.”
Thalia scoffed. “And don’t I know it.”
“And a good sister…” He looked at her knowingly, because they both knew the reason that Laurent was helping her to do this. Reasons that were not as noble as her own, but just as right.
She smiled and squeezed his hand back. “Once I have her, we will need to leave immediately. Make sure the driver is made aware. And that he is ready.”
“Go get her, Thalia.” Laurent took a deep breath as if it gave him strength. “Go save your friend.”
With those words said, there was nothing left to do but that which Thalia had come here for. She spared a final glance out the window, confirming her target. Another look of thanks at her brother, because she needed his strength and support toget through today. Then she threw open the carriage door and climbed outside…
It was cold day for this time of year. Grey clouds sat heavy in the sky. A cool wind whipped across the open pastures of land. And the gentle rumbling of thunder in the distance told of a storm that was about to arrive.
It has arrived already, and may God protect anyone who thinks to try and stop it…
Thalia set her sights on the church that sat at the end of the driveway. It was a modestly sized parish, chosen specifically because the ceremony taking place through its doors was quickly arranged, and attended to by only a few. Everyone involved seemed to understand how wrong it was that such a thing was happening, yet nobody thought to try to avert it.
Rather, nobody, save for Thalia, thought to try and stop it.
She hoisted up the skirt of her gown and strode down the driveway, her expression determined, her mind set on the task before her. She feared what might happen. She was terrified of the consequences; success or failure. And she was damn certain that this would all but ruin her already tattered reputation beyond repair.
She also did not care.
Thalia’s best friend was set to marry a man who did not love her. A man who did not even like her. A man who was better off living on an island free from society because men of his ilk brought nothing but pain and misery to all those who they touched. And Thalia, wasn’t going to sit back and do nothing.
When Thalia reached the closed front doors, she heard immediately voices drifting from inside. Fearing that she might be too late, she did not hesitate to throw the doors open and storm inside.
“Wait!” Thalia cried the second she crossed the threshold. “Stop this ceremony at once!”
Gasps circled through the congregation at Thalia’s bold entrance. They rang across the church, battering at the walls and ceiling, washing down over the guests, and ramming into the groom and his bride-to-be who stood at the altar in the midst of the ceremony.
Thalia found her best friend, Lady Rosaline Fairchild, first. She was dressed in a sky-blue gown, her dark hair was curled, her face was painted with make-up, and her jewelry glimmered. To some, she might have looked exactly how a bride should look, as this was supposed to be the best day of her life.
Thalia, however, knew better. And one look at her friend told her immediately that she was doing the right thing.
It was her eyes that Thalia focused on first. They shone red and wet from tears. Her chin, too, quivered. And that wasn’tto mention the way that she was standing, with her body withdrawn, shoulders trembling, her entire being rebelling as if she screamed at herself to turn and run.
“Thalia?” Rosaline said in shock. “What are you…” She looked past Thalia and her eyes widened with hope. “Laurent? Is he…?”
“What is the meaning of this?” From the crowd, Rosaline’s father stood suddenly. His face was as red as a tomato, and his body trembled as if he might explode. “Lady Thalia! How dare you!”
