Chapter 23
The moment Liz rushed off, my aunt marched up to me, a giant scowl marring her features. “What do you think you’re doing with that little whore?”
I stepped up to my aunt and glared. “Not one more word.”
“But—”
My teeth ground together while I pulled out my phone. Funny, I didn’t even have to say anything, but my aunt’s jaw clapped shut with a snap. After I texted my driver, asking him to take Liz wherever she needed to go, I slipped the device back into my pocket. “What in the name of all that’s holy did you think you were doing?”
Aunt Catherine pointed in the direction Liz had gone. “That woman—”
“Is the most amazing woman I’ve ever met. She has an MBA as well as went to the Cordon Bleu. She came up with the concept for her bakery, which has become a raging success. Not only that, but she inherited her uncle’s bookstore on the Upper West Side, which has flourished under her leadership. Moreover, she displays more heart and caring than most people in this world. Gigi adores her as does Annie—”
“Your sister’s name is Georgiana, and my daughter’s name is Anne, after your mother.”
“And she prefers Annie and has for as long as I can remember. Liz was the one who made me see that I was disrespecting Gi by not abiding by her wishes.”
My aunt sniffed. “What a load of rubbish. As parents, it’s our job to name our children and to know what’s best for them. Since your own dear mother isn’t here to guide you, that job falls to me. I’ve selected the perfect young lady—”
“Aunt Catherine, no! The last thing I want is you picking my dates, much less who I’ll marry. My mother made it clear that I was to choose the woman who made me happy, and that’s what I’m going to do!”
My aunt sucked in a breath through her teeth, making an odd whistling sound. “You most certainly will not! You have a responsibility to ensure the Darcy name retains its prestige and its connection to the wealthiest families in the world.”
I recoiled. “What do you think this is, Georgian England? I will marry for no other reason than to ensure my happiness, and if you continue on this tirade, you’ll no longer be welcome in my homes. And just so you know, Gigi and Richard won’t take this sort of interference in their lives either. If you don’t begin treating us like the adults we are, you’ll end up bitter and alone, because no one will want to be around you.”
“William,” she said in a breathless tone.
“Yes, I’m being serious. You’ve already alienated your own daughter, who’s with someone who makes her happier than I’ve ever seen her. She’d waited for so long to come out to you, and she’d been so terrified that when she finally found that strength she’d been needing, the end result was that she’s experienced a freedom she’s never known. It’s never too late to be a part of her life.”
“I will not accept how she’s living, nor will I accept you with that woman you’re dating. You will abide by my wishes, or you’ll be dead to me too.”
“Then goodbye, Aunt.” Much as Liz had, I turned my back on Aunt Catherine and strode back into the ball. As I entered, Richard was walking toward me.
“Security heard yelling. When I checked it out, it was you and Aunt Catherine. What the heck happened?”
I ran my fingers through my hair. “From what I can tell, our aunt ambushed Liz when she came out of the ladies’ room. Just considering what she likely said horrifies me. At some point, Liz had an urgent phone call from her younger sister and somehow, Aunt Catherine hung up the call.”
Richard’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding.”
“No, unfortunately, I’m not. She took some of Liz’s hair with it too. Liz needed to leave, so I told her to take my car.”
“And you had it out with Cruella.”
I chuckled and shook my head. “Do you know how difficult it is not to call her that to her face?”
My cousin perked up. “Can I do it?”
“Be nice. I do need you to have security show her out. Aunt Catherine will tell everyone here how she’s been mistreated, and I want to keep tonight about the charity.”
After he nodded, Richard made to pass, but put a hand on my shoulder. “What are you going to do about Lizzy?”
“I have to finish out this event, then I’ll call her when I’m leaving. If I can go over and talk, I will, but I need to respect that her priority this evening is her sister. I just want to make sure we’re okay.”
His eyebrows drew down a little in the middle. “Do you have reason to believe it isn’t?”
I sighed. “She did kiss me quickly before she left, but if you were in her place and accosted by Aunt Catherine, wouldn’t you have second thoughts about being in a relationship with me?”
Richard laughed. “I don’t need second thoughts—or thirds for that matter. I’d never consider a relationship with you.” He scrunched his nose. “You’re too needy.” After a stupid grin, Richard walked away, grabbed two of the men on the security detail, and waved them to follow.
As I scanned the room, Gigi was dancing again—this time with our uncle, Richard’s father. She was safe at the moment.
Since I was stuck here for the duration, I may as well make this the most successful Pemberley Ball in history. One of our most dedicated donors stood across the ballroom, so I made my way around the dance floor and approached.
“Good evening, Mrs. Jenkinson. How are you tonight?”
When the car was a block away from home, I sat forward. “I need you to pull up to the café, please.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
A moment later, the driver pulled up to the curb and hurried to open my door. After he helped me out of the car, I lifted my skirts and climbed the steps. Even though I wanted to move faster, I didn’t want to fall on my face in the heels I was wearing.
Before I reached the door, Mia opened it. “Good timing, Boss.” As soon as I entered, she locked the door behind me. “I’ll go turn out the lights and lock up. We just finished in the kitchen ten minutes ago.”
“Thanks, Mia.” I nodded, but my sister’s presence in the middle of the café held my attention.
Mary sat at one of the tables. Dark circles lined the undersides of her eyes, which were red and a bit puffy. She held a cup in her hands and a plate with the remnants of something sat in the middle of the table. She had two enormous suitcases nearby.
“I thought you wanted to stay longer. What happened?”
My sister shook her head. “My early decision came in from NYU. Mom went snooping on my laptop and found the email, which she then showed to Dad.”
“What program did you apply for?” I was certain I knew, but I needed her to say it.
“Fashion design.”
A snort came out before I could stop it. I covered my nose. “I’m so sorry. I can just imagine our father’s reaction to that little nugget.”
“I’ve never seen him turn that shade of purple before,” said Mary.
“I heard a rumor he’s been embezzling from the business. Whether or not the source is reliable, I don’t know—”
Mary winced. “I’ve overheard things. It’s why I stayed so long. From what he’s said on the phone, he wanted you to join the business to cover everything up. He thought Zio would pay out if you were involved.”
“But I’d never do that. Dad had to know that.”
“I don’t think you had to do anything at all,” said Mary. “If he rigged everything so it looked like you were guilty, Zio would’ve done anything to keep you out of it. Dad’s known that for a long time. How many summers did he want you to work at the office?”
“And I always worked for Zio.”
Mary nodded. “Exactly. You made it impossible for him for a long time. From what I’ve understood, he started when you were at business school. He’d convinced himself you’d come work for the firm.”
“Which was why he was so angry when I wanted to stay in Manhattan.” My stomach clenched even tighter. Why was my father like this?
“Right, but he couldn’t burn his bridges with you. He needed you to ultimately come work for him. He’s always intended for one of us to come work for him, hasn’t he?”
“I think he planned for me until I refused, and his ambitions ended up shifting to you.”
“Because he’s planned for one of us to be his get-out-of-jail free card if he gets caught.”
I rested my head in my hands. “We shouldn’t talk about this anymore down here. Come on.”
I stood and grabbed one of her suitcases and led her through the storage rooms of Novel Books until we reached the elevator. Once we were in the house, I led Mary into the elevator in the library. It was a heck of a lot easier to get those two heavy suitcases up that way than the staircase in the foyer.
As the doors closed, my mind immediately went to the last time I was in here. I leaned my head back against the wall and fought tears. “Mary, do you know if Dad put our names on any of that paperwork already? If he’s gone this far, what’s to stop him from falsifying records?”
“Last week, Jane came to the house, and she and Dad shut themselves in his study. Since Mom never pays any attention to where I am, I managed to sneak into the back stairwell and listen at the return air vent.” That vent shared ductwork with the return air in my father’s study. “I couldn’t hear everything. At times, Jane spoke too low, but our names were mentioned. Jane said something about forging a signature.”
I winced. “I’ll need to check with my attorney and see if she’s had access to my most recent signature. It’s changed since we were in high school.”
Mary shrugged one shoulder. “They’ve never seen mine. I’ve always printed anything they see. I’ve heard Dad speak of way too much to trust him or Jane, and our mother has never made any secret of the fact that I wasn’t wanted. I’d be stupid to trust any of them.”
Poor Mary had been a lot like Gigi in that she was a later-in-life baby for my parents. Except that where Gigi was adored and wanted, Mary was tolerated by my father and resented by my mother because Mary wasn’t the boy my parents had hoped she’d be.
I brought Mary to the room Gigi stayed in when she visited. It was on the other side of the upstairs, so she’d have all the privacy she wanted. “You can stay here with me for as long as you want. I’m going to call my attorney in the morning. We need to meet with him, and if this is as bad as I’m worried it is, we’ll need to contact the authorities. Neither of us going to jail for Dad’s bullshit and Mom’s selfishness if I can help it.
“Once that’s handled, if you want to live with me, you can, or you can live in one of the apartments in the buildings around me rent free while you go to school. You’ll never have to go back to our parents ever again. I can promise you that. You can do whatever you want with your life free of them. You’ll never need to even see them again if you don’t want to.”
Mary lunged into my arms. “Thank you! You always said I could come to you, but with all of this, I wasn’t sure what would happen.”
My heart split and bled. “All that would ever happen is that I’d help you. You’re my little sister and we’ve always been close, no matter what. I love you, and that’ll never change. We’ll get through this and be stronger than ever. Got it?”
“I can’t argue, even if I wanted to.”
“Nope.” I shook my head. “You’re stuck with me.”
“Lizzy?”
When I turned, Mrs. Hill was in the doorway. “I thought you were in bed.”
“I was watching a movie when the buzzer went off. Mr. Darcy’s downstairs. You left your clutch in his car, and I think he wanted to speak to you.”
I squeezed the bridge of my nose. “Thanks, Mrs. Hill. Mary will be staying with us for now.”
Mrs. Hill gave a grandmotherly smile. “I think we both knew she’d find her way here sooner or later. If you need anything at all, dearie, just tell me and I’ll make sure it’s done. Do you want some help unpacking your things?”
Mary glanced at the two suitcases. “Maybe tomorrow. I think I’m just going to shower and change into some pajamas right now. I’m exhausted.”
I could only imagine how tired she was. The falling out I’d had with our parents was hard as hell, but Mary had more backbone than I had at her age. She’d gotten away from it all long before I was willing to sever the connection.
“I took off tomorrow because of the ball tonight.”
“I’m sorry for taking you away from it,” said Mary.
“No, you needed me. Will, my date, has a younger sister, so he understood. But in the morning, I’ll let you know the plan for the day. With the possible severity of this, I’m sure Mr. Goulding will have us come in first thing.”
“Lizzy,” said Mrs. Hill. “Why don’t you let me help Mary get settled while you talk to Mr. Darcy?”
I nodded. “Yes, of course. You’re right.” I hugged Mary one more time. “You can come to my room and ask me anything if you need to. It’s the last one on the other side of the staircase.”
When I made it to the foyer, Will was pacing, my clutch in his hand.
“You look good holding a purse of silver and blue rhinestones.”
He chuckled and held it out. “I want to apologize about my aunt. She told me some of what she said. It was unforgivable. I’ve told her she has to accept you as someone important to me, or I won’t have anything to do with her.”
Without warning, my eyes stung and tears began pouring down my cheeks. I didn’t want to do this—my heart was screaming in protest—but what choice did I have? “I appreciate you doing that, but your aunt made some claims about my dad that I need to sort out.”
“What does that mean?” He stepped closer which made it that much harder to spit out what I had to tell him.
“Will, I don’t know exactly what’s going on yet, but I won’t have it harm you. You have to go. If this all blows over, then I’ll get in touch.”
He frowned and took my cheeks in his palms. “What do you mean if this all blows over? What’s happening?”
“I don’t want to say anything until I know for sure. It may be nothing, but it may be everything too. I don’t want you harmed by your association with me.”
“Association? We’re more than that, aren’t we?”
I couldn’t ignore the pleading in his eyes. God, my chest hurt worse than I could imagine. “Will, you need to let me go for now.”
“But I don’t want to.” His voice trembled, and my chest cracked open.
As much as it killed me to do it, I pulled his hands away from my face. “But I need you to.”
“Liz, let me help you,” he said, his voice tearing my shredding heart into smaller pieces.
“I can’t. I need to do this on my own. If you have any feelings at all for me, you’ll respect my wishes.” I barely got the words out. It was all I could do not to choke on them.
Will squeezed his eyes closed, turned, and walked into the elevator while my legs threatened to buckle underneath me. As the doors closed, he didn’t turn around or face me.
I gripped my stomach and choked back a sob. My entire heart just traveled down an elevator, and in those final moments, I’d realized just how much I loved Will Darcy. What was I going to do?