Lily’s lips parted in shock. “You…you…”
“Oh, yes, I know all about that. As you said, Alice isn’t capable of covering her emotions when they fly to her face. I’ve known for months. I warned her to put a stop to the wicked affair. I told her what would happen if she didn’t do that and then marry this man without argument. Perhaps it’s time I fulfill that promise.”
“What promise?” Lily whispered, almost fearing the answer because it was clear her stepmotherdidn’tcare for Alice, after all, or at least not enough to put her first.
“To put Mary out on the street without reference,” Prudence said. “And be sure she can do nothing but lie on her back to pay for her bread.”
“That…that’s blackmail.” Lily shook her head. “You—youblackmailedAlice with vile threats toward the person she loves?”
“I gave her incentive.” Prudence shrugged. “But clearly not enough. So now we will move on to the punitive stage of this agreement.”
“No,” Lily said, lunging for her arm. “Please, think of what you’re doing. What you could cause if you press them. They’re desperate already, this could push one or both of them off the edge. You cannot wish to see this end with an avoidable tragedy.”
Prudence dug her nails into the hand that held her arm and Lily yelped as the skin tore. When she let go slightly, Prudence shoved her and she tumbled back, crashing partly into the table behind her and falling to the ground. Her cheek slammed against the table edge as she did so and stars lit up before her eyes as pain rocked through her.
“Stay out of it, you little bitch. You’ve caused more than enough trouble.”
Prudence left the room and Lily sat on the floor a moment, trying to regain her faculties. She could taste a tinge of blood in her mouth and her lip and cheek hurt fiercely. But she had to get up. Prudence would harm Alice, perhaps more than she knew, and it was clear now that Lily couldn’t stop her alone.
She could think of only one person who could help her now. And he had every reason to make sure this marriage went forward, along with every desire to see it end.
* * *
Usually George was good at billiards. In fact, he regularly routed Ramsbury, Delacourt and Kirkwood when the men gathered together. But now the group of them stood around his table, laughing and having a drink before they would retire to prepare for supper and he was playing like shite. He felt like it, too.
He snapped the cue against the ball and it went sideways instead of straight, missing all his targets.
He slammed the cue down on the edge of the table. “Bloody fuck.”
There was a long silence in the room around him as his friends stopped talking and looked at him. He saw them exchange little glances, little conversations with their eyes. About him. About his bad mood.
About the topic he couldn’t broach, not with them, not with anyone, because how could a man explain that he was in love with his intended’s sister? That he wanted to be with her every moment of every day, that he could only find her in his dreams and woke yearning all the more? That he was crushed at the idea that they could never be together, but couldn’t escape the trap he was now in?
A man couldn’t do that and not have everyone he cared for look at him like he was a monster. The entire situation was monstrous, after all.
“Are we ever going to talk about the obvious?” Kirkwood asked softly.
Fuck, here it came. He turned away and took a long swig of his drink. “What? That I’m playing like I learned the game three days ago? I suppose if you’d like to crow, I won’t stop you. I’ve earned the censure.”
“That’s not it and you know it,” Delacourt said, and started around the table toward him.
Before he could reach him, though, and start a conversation that George knew he would lose control of eventually, the door to the billiard room flew open and the object of his adoration and distraction flew inside.
Lily was wearing a beautiful pink gown that reminded him of spring flowers just beginning to bloom. But her face was pale as paper and there was a bruise on her cheek and blood streaked across her lip.
He lunged across the room toward her. “Christ, what happened to you, Lily?”
She was shaking and she caught his forearms with both her hands, staring up into his face with wild eyes. “I need your help. Please, I need your help, Lockhart. Alice…it’s Alice…Prudence will destroy her.”
The others had moved forward in concern and now they looked at her, looked at him. They didn’t have to have the conversation after all. George could see they all knew. Perhaps he’d never been good enough at hiding it from those who knew him well. Those who recognized a man in love because they saw him in the mirror every day.
“Can we assist?” Ramsbury asked gently.
Lily jumped and looked at the three men. She reached up to wipe her lip, but the blood only smeared a little across her pale skin. “No, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry to interrupt.”
“Clearly whatever you have to say is important,” Delacourt said. “We’ll leave you, but if you need help…”
He didn’t finish but gave Lockhart a meaningful look before the men left them. Once they were gone, George drew her to the settee.
