Chapter Fifteen
There was a collective gasp from everyone in the room at Felicity’s confession. Lucien stared at his baby sister, whom he loved with all his heart, and couldn’t stop shaking. Elise’s hand tightened on his arm, holding him steady as he lived through the images of all Felicity had suffered, all she had kept silent over the years since that night.
“You killed him,” Rosalinde finally whispered when the room had been silent for what seemed like an eternity and Felicity had not yet found the power to go on.
“Yes,” Felicity said, the sound drawn out in a long whisper of brokenness and pain that felt like it pushed Lucien’s own pain wider and fuller. “He died on the floor of my chamber, cursing my name. His family was powerful and as vindictive as he was, and I knew I would be arrested for the crime. No one would have cared that I’d defended my life—they would only care that I had killed a viscount. I was ready to call for the guard and face the consequences, but my husband’s servants came to my rescue. They rallied around me, they made his death look like the hunting accident it was eventually claimed to be and they swore they would never tell the truth.”
“But someone did,” Elise whispered. “Someone did.”
“That is what I’ve lived in fear about for years,” Felicity sobbed. “And now to hear it’s true...”
She buckled, and both Gray and Lucien rushed at her, catching her and both holding her as the three of them huddled together. Lucien had always respected Felicity’s strength of character, her calm collectedness in the face of any situation. Now that was gone and she wept against Gray’s shoulder, great wracking sobs that shook her slender frame violently. Lucien could do nothing except smooth her hair and whisper gentle words of comfort that felt so damned empty.
For not the first time, he longed to spin the clock backward and do anything in his power to stop Felicity from marrying the brute who had brought this on his family. But he couldn’t.
“Felicity,” Gray whispered as their sister’s crying ceased. “Sweetest love, why didn’t you tell us?”
She pulled back and looked first Gray, then Lucien, in the face. “Both of you already carried such guilt that you’d allowed the match, I couldn’t allow you even more of it. And what could you have done? Barbridge was dead, the covering up of his murder complete. I saw no point in bringing up my secret and forcing you both to carry it with me.”
Lucien felt no satisfaction in that answer and Gray didn’t seem to either, judging from his pained expression. But Felicity didn’t allow them time to respond. She pushed from the circle of their arms and moved toward Elise.
Stenfax turned toward her, too and was surprised to find that Rosalinde had silently joined her and had an arm around her as they watched the family process this bitter news. He found he was happy to see she had support when he couldn’t provide it. After all, her part in this story wasn’t over.
There was more to come and he dreaded it because he now had a clearer vision of what Elise had done and why. She would have to say it and he would have to hear it.
“Youcarried it with me,” Felicity whispered, moving toward Elise. “This secret.”
Elise swallowed hard, and it seemed she was bracing herself for a rejection from Felicity. She nodded. “I did.”
“He told you about what he knew. I assume that was his way to destroy Lucien.”
Elise drew a long breath. “He would have settled for that, of course. But he would have had to be very careful how he revealed your secret. Society could have eaten him alive if they found out he had such terrible information and turned it against you. You both might have burned in those flames. And even if he hadn’t that concern, he wanted a more direct hit on Lucien. He wanted Lucien to know it was Kirkford who had bested him. So he offered me a choice.”
She stopped, dipping her head. Her shoulders shook, her hands shook. Lucien couldn’t see her like that. Not now.
“Throw me over and marry him or let him unleash the truth about Felicity into the world,” he said softly.
Elise jerked her face up and met his gaze. Her green eyes were bright with pain and regret and loss. “Yes,” she admitted. “Thatwas his bargain. Hurt you by rejecting you as I did, orchestrated by him. Or allow your entire family to be destroyed in a flurry of trial, prison, death and destruction.”
Stenfax reeled away as the full weight of this confession crushed him like a vise around his heart. He pictured that night long ago when he’d received her note ending their relationship, but now he knew she was being forced to write it. He thought of how he’d banged on her door and been refused, but now he knew she’d been upstairs brokenhearted about that choice.
He pictured all the times he’d hated her without knowing the truth. He’d thought his life was empty while she moved on, but in truth she had been just as desolate as he had. Only he’d had his family to support him. Her parents had died just after her marriage and she’d been left alone with a man who was capable of such twisted manipulation and cruelty.
“You chose the marriage,” Felicity whispered, breaking through his tangled thoughts and making him look back at Elise. “Even though you knew it would be miserable.”
“To protect you and Stenfax? Yes.” Elise let out a long, shaky sigh, as if holding those words in for so long had been painful. “And I would have kept that secret, I would keptyoursecret, Felicity, until the day I drew my last breath. I would have endured your hatred and your censure with the knowledge that I’d done the best I could to protect you. Only now something has happened that forced my hand.”
“What?” Gray asked, but for the first time his voice was not harsh toward her.
“After Ambrose attacked me, I drew a gun on him, just as you did on Barbridge.” Stenfax caught his breath. He knew she’d been assaulted, but not how bad it had actually been. “It stayed his attack, thank God, but not his tongue. He vowed that he would have what he wanted one way or another. And he claimed…”
She covered her mouth as if what she would say was too painful. Felicity moved toward her, taking her hand. “What did he say?”
“Ambrose said that Toby, Kirkford the last, kept a book of all the secrets he held over others. A bragging book, I suppose you would call it. And though Ambrose has no idea of what could be in that book, if it exists and he finds it, I don’t think he’d make a bargain for it. I think he would unleash the truth just to cause pain to me and to those I love.”
Felicity released her hand and staggered across the room, back to the chair where she had started. She sat down in it with a hard thud and placed a hand over her eyes.
Stenfax stared at Elise, trying to remain calm, trying to get all the information before he reacted. “And do you think this book exists, or is the new Kirkford just toying with you?”
