“So you are suggesting we should go along with it?” Was Lizzy saying what I thought she was saying? Was she really giving me the okay to woo her—even if it was fake?
She flushed and glanced up from the game. “If you don’t want to—”
I slid my knight across the board and captured her bishop. The tiny beating heart in the figurine went dark. “I’ll agree to it if that’s what you want.”
She visibly relaxed. “I do, for my father’s sake.” She bit her lip, but a small smile played on her lips as she moved her queen and captured my knight. The little pulsing heart carved into the marble stopped. “Sir Walter sure seemed to believe John Rittle may have killed your parents.”
“You noticed that, too?”
“It was hard not to when he mentioned—twice—how John was the last one who saw them.”
“I’m not above suspecting anyone near me,” I said as I moved again.
She advanced her other bishop. “It must be challenging not knowing who you can trust.”
“It has made things… difficult. As a prince, so many people will pander to you and give you whatever you want in hopes for something in return down the road, or for access to power. It’s hard to tell whether people like you for you. For a while, it was just my parents, Georgiana, Uncle, Charles, and I thought Wickham. But then when he hurt Georgiana and claimed he only wanted her money, it was a blow to me as well. Now I understand that wasn’t accurate, but the pain from it caused me to draw out my resentment longer than I should have.”
Lizzy gave me a quizzical stare. “Wait, Wickham didn’t try to marry your sister for her money?”
“Wickham said he wanted to wed Georgiana for her wealth, but he truly aimed to separate himself from his affection for her following some… incidents that affected him. He feared hurting her.”
A small ‘oh’ formed on her lips. “I see.”
Although I suspected Lizzy knew, I couldn’t betray Wickham by simply stating he was a vampire. I moved another pawn,capturing one of hers, leaving it exposed to her queen. “I’m sorry I misrepresented him in my letter. Turns out you were right, and he didn’t deserve my anger.”
“It sounds like a big misunderstanding.” She didn’t take the bait and moved her knight instead to take the pawn. She always saw right through me, which made her perfect for me.
I shook my head. “And what I did to Jane and Charles. Lizzy, if I’d known that Jane loved Charles—”
“I know. I’m just glad they ended up together in the end. They both deserve to be happy.” Her gaze flicked up to mine again.
If only I could read her half as well as she seemed to read me; hope kept creeping in, and I worried I was reading too much into every word she said.
“I’m glad too,” I said, “but I still want to apologize. Someone has taught me that it’s more important to worry about people over position.”
“And someone has taught me not to judge someone’s entire character from only a handful of interactions.” She leaned over the board, and I realized I did the same. I curled my fingers into my palm, resisting the urge to pull her close and kiss her. I didn’t know where we were in the game, but in my life, this woman had moved me into checkmate.
Her arresting gaze flickered. “Darcy…”
“Yes?”
“Our guest has arrived.”
I pulled back and turned. Sure enough, John Rittle made his way through the foyer. Rising from my seat, I forced myself to refocus on the task at hand.
“John Rittle?” I purposefully stepped into his path. John Rittle was a man who honored position above anything else, so I was most likely one of the few people who could do such a thing without him going off on them. Even so, annoyance flashed in his eyes. He and I didn’t agree on very much policy-wise, sodespite his forced respect, he probably didn’t care to see me on a supposed relaxing day about town. “Your—I mean, Darcy. To what do I owe this interruption?”
“We had a few questions we wanted to ask you about Darcy’s parents and their death,” Lizzy said.
John Rittle’s cynical gaze landed on Lizzy. “I don’t speak to reporters. Especially little half-witches who write for the town scrap heap.”
I stepped closer to him, leveling him with a stern stare. “She’s with me. You will show her respect.”
His eyes narrowed, but then he said coldly, “Forgive me.” Although I wasn’t sure if the words were for me or Lizzy.
“Apologize to her.”
He pivoted to Lizzy. “Forgive me. I have a natural distrust of reporters, but my words were uncalled for.”
