Chapter Thirty-Nine
Lady Lillian, Duchess of Alton
Fingers moving over the keys, I dictated my thoughts through my hands.
Kendrick was due home at any time, and I needed to keep myself occupied, lest I give in to my cowardliness and not tell him how I felt about him.
I had commandeered Colt’s old office for my own.
The machine under my fingertips was the same one I had used aboard the ship.
The Q key stuck, but it wasn’t enough to stop me from using it.
Lord Golden and the dark knight had returned to the scene of the crime. They—-
“Lord Kendrick isn’t home, Gavin. I must ask you to leave and leave now.” Henry’s shrill voice cut through the steady cadence of my typing.
Fury shot through me at the sound of his name. I truly hated that man. Whether or not he was Kendrick’s lover, he’d no right to keep pushing his way into my house uninvited.
“I’m not here to see Lord Kendrick. I’m here to see Lady Lillian, and I’ll not leave until I do.” The belligerence in his tone was intimidating. He was an actor and was used to projecting his voice. I had no idea if he were dangerous or not.
I glanced around the room and spied the dueling pistols displayed on a shelf. With shaking legs, I pulled a pistol down. It carried a fine layer of dust and looked to be merely decorative. It wouldn’t matter. Gavin wouldn’t know that. I shoved it into my pocket just before the door opened.
Gavin burst in, followed by Henry. The smaller man’s color was high, his eyes shooting daggers at the actor. “Lady Lillian, I’m sorry. I’ll order the butler to call the constable.”
“You might wish to curtail that plan.” Gavin held up a slender volume—a very familiar volume—and brandished it in front of my face. My stomach dropped, and my hands shook as I recognized the book cover.
The actor wasn’t nearly as tall as Kendrick but no less intimidating. He was showing signs of excess up close, his face puffy and broken vessels over his strong nose.
How I had ever thought him objectively attractive was beyond my reasoning at this moment. “Henry, please leave us alone,” I said, barely above a whisper.
He glanced from me to Gavin, uncertainty in his worried frame. “Are you sure?”
I wasn’t sure of anything. If he guessed the truth about the book, I had to hear him out. There was no other option. “I believe Gavin merely wishes to talk.”
“I will be outside if you need anything.” Lips pressed tight in disapproval, Henry left the room.
The tension increased without Henry’s presence.
Birds chirped in the garden beyond; otherwise, there was a deafening silence.
My gaze drifted to my desk, and my heart sank.
I didn’t remove the page from the typewriter!
I edged my way over, careful not to move too quickly.
Panicking wasn’t an option. “What, um, what do you want?” I asked, displeased by the reedy quality of my voice.
It showed weakness when I desperately needed strength.
He lifted the book and pointed to the title before rifling through the book's pages. “Kneeling at the Altar of Lord Golden. It has a very distinctive title. One I recognized.”
Moran had insisted on changing the title to Lord Golden and not Achilles since the body of the work was transformed so much.
The way I saw it, I had two options: either deny or admit to the truth.
If I was sure of his integrity, I might choose the latter.
I opted for the former instead. “I’m not familiar with it. ”
“Really? You are not Mr. Lillian?” he cocked one brow, daring me to contradict him.
It required all of my strength not to yield to the black dots overcoming my vision. I had fainted the night of my engagement. This time, Kendrick wasn’t here to catch me. “No. Whatever gave you that idea?” My bravado might have been convincing if my teeth weren’t chattering.
“Your husband asked me to play the part of Lord Golden. You were on the balcony the day I was modeling for him. You saw us. Do not deny it.” He sneered, a line of spittle forming at the corner of his wide mouth.
I swallowed the bile rising in my stomach. “What do you want, Mr. Gavin?”
“What do I want? I want what you have.” He glanced around the room, his eyes locking on my typewriter. If he read a single line, my lie would be exposed for what it was.
“You want my husband. That part is obvious.” The more I considered what he might want, the angrier I became. I couldn’t confirm his accusation, nor would I give him ammunition to use it against me.
“I can have any man I wish for, Lady Lillian. I want a place of my own with an allowance. Kendrick can give that to me. From what I read of your work—and it is brilliant writing, I’ll give you that—you were open to his specific tastes.
” His stern regard lessened, and a more sinister light replaced it. “I’ll be your Lord Golden.”
“You are trying to blackmail me on an assumption?” It would be laughable if it weren’t so serious. My marriage had come about because of what I had seen. He was playing the same game.
“It is no assumption, and you know it. The author is Mr. Lillian. The title page drifted into Alton’s garden from your home.
Kendrick asked me to be Lord Golden. He promised to pay me, and he reneged on that promise.
Now, I’m a reasonable man. I simply wish to have what you have.
” He approached until he was mere arm length away and tried to use his greater size to intimidate me.
My heart in my throat, I backed up. My bottom connected with the desk. Dread strangled my throat. I sank my hand into my pocket and pulled the gun from the fabric. “You go too far, Mr. Gavin. Step away from me. Now.”
He stared at the gun, his eyes widening before holding up his hands.
“You don’t know what you are doing. I need simply say the word, and I can expose you to all of society.
Your husband will be ruined, and you will bring about his shame.
Is that what you want? To bring shame to his family and yours? ”
“There is something you are forgetting. Kendrick is my husband and my lover. He’s not yours now, nor will he ever be again.
” My words gained strength as the numbness of my thoughts faded.
I had the upper hand, not him, and I would use it.
The upstart thought to take what belonged to me.
I wouldn’t let him do it. “I’m the Duchess of Alton, and I have the power to ruin you.
By the time I’m finished, you will rue the day you ever thought to blackmail Kendrick or me. Go, tell the world who you think I am.”
“You are bluffing.”
“I don’t need to bluff. Just ask yourself, who do you think they will believe? Me or you?” Just because she shared the author’s name wouldn’t be enough to convince people. If anyone questioned Moran, he would point them to the Lillian Trading Company and not directly to me or Kendrick.
A slight scratching noise sounded from the servants’ entrance behind my desk, giving me added confidence. Henry said he would be outside the door. I wasn’t alone, and if I screamed, he would come running.
Gavin’s face paled the more I spoke, the winds taken out of his sails. “You wouldn’t come out of this unscathed, Your Grace. Moran will be outed for peddling libertine prose, and Kendrick will be tainted with the stench of his queerness. Give me what you owe me, and I’ll keep this to myself. I—”
“She owes you nothing. I owe you nothing.” Kendrick spoke in a low growl from somewhere behind me. “Colt, see to Lillian.”
I snapped my head around and spied my husband striding into the room from the servants entrance, along with Colt. Joy mingled with relief at the sight of the men, but the situation was too dire to let down my guard.
“There, you are wrong, Kendrick.” Gavin lifted his chin, eyes narrowed. “We have much to discuss.”
“It is Your Grace, and we have nothing to discuss. You broke into my home. You threatened my wife.” In three long strides, he clutched Gavin by the neckcloth and hoisted him against the wall. He was magnificent in his fury, a fierce warrior worthy of the dark knight of my dreams.
“Are you all right?” Colt appeared by my side, and I stifled a shriek, tears blinding me.
Lord Golden, the true Lord Golden, had joined the dark knight in their quest to save Lady X.
He slipped the gun from my nerveless fingers, his eyes a tender caress.
How and why he was there was utmost in my mind, but now wasn’t the time to ask the questions.
“It isn’t loaded,” I said, wanting to throw myself into his arms. It was time for me to stand my ground and not give in to my fears. My fierce heroes had come to my rescue. I owed them strength, not weakness.
“You owe me,” Gavin said, his face turning purple from the pressure against his neck. The man deserved to be punished, but Kendrick might go too far.
“Let him go, Lord Kendrick. There are better ways to solve this little dilemma. Killing him isn’t the most reasonable option,” Colt said, trying to defuse the situation. His customary calmness radiated from him, projecting a sense of well-being.
After a telling moment, Kendrick dropped his hold on Gavin. His chest rising and falling from the effort, he crossed his arms and glared at his ex-lover. “You’re lucky Colt is here.”
Gavin coughed into his sleeve, the color returning to his face. His shirt collar was askew, and his jacket was wrinkled from where Kendrick had clutched it. “You tried to kill me.”
Kendrick cocked one strong brow, the tick in his jaw more pronounced. “Did I? Who here will attest to your claim?”
“I think it is time for Gavin and me to have a few minutes alone to discuss a certain gentleman’s agreement he signed with me,” Colt said, motioning to the door leading into the hallway.
“That isn’t binding,” Gavin said.
Colt offered a telling shrug. “Isn’t it?”
“I need some air. Lillian, will you accompany me outside?” Kendrick held his arm out to me, a sheen of intense emotion in his direct gaze.
“Yes, of course.” I glanced over my shoulder, unsure if it was wise to leave Colt alone with Gavin, clearly a desperate man. My husband decided for me. The strength of his hand was welcome, for my knees were weak from the trauma of the last half an hour.
The second he opened the door leading into the foyer, three of our servants hopped back, concern etched on their faces. Frank held a walking stick with a sharp blade at the tip. The new maid a pair of scissors, and the chef a meat cleaver.
“It appears you had plenty of protection from our dedicated staff. Our thanks to you and your bravery,” Kendrick said, guiding me past them.
“Thank you,” I said, smiling at them all. Contentment cut through my earlier trauma. Kendrick was by my side, and Colt was where he belonged. Home.
It was night, and a mist hung over the garden. He guided me to the kiln, the embers still stoked despite his absence. I was glad for the warmth, but more so, the support of my husband.
“Lillian, I—”
I threw my arms around his neck, the tears beginning to fall.
His strength bolstered me, and I ached to lose myself in the safety of his arms. The entire week he was gone had seemed like a lifetime.
He was back, and I had to put my fears aside if I ever hoped to build a future with him.
“Oh, Kendrick. I missed you. I love you. I love you so much.”
“I’m sorry you were subjected to his horridness.
I didn’t kiss him earlier. He caught me by surprise.
Regardless, you have every right to be angry.
I was a fool to trust him.” He patted my back, his arms squeezing me tightly to his long frame.
Although he uttered no words of love, I sensed them in his tight embrace.
Joy bloomed inside my chest. He held me close to his heart, where I wished to remain until the end of my days.
“I’m just glad you are home.”
“When I saw you with that gun ... forced to protect yourself against a man bent on harming you because of me ... I, oh Lillian, I couldn’t bear to lose you.
You are the light in my darkness.” He palmed the back of my neck, his fingers buried in my hair.
He pressed a soft kiss to my temple, cheek, and jaw, each gentle caress strumming my heartstrings.
“And you are my dark knight. I’m in love with you, Kendrick, and I’ll not apologize for it.” I was proud that my voice came out strong and purposeful.
“I love you, Lillian.” He pulled back and cupped my cheek.
Warm lips played over mine, his tender kiss full of reverence.
I had been kissed by him before in friendship and passion.
Never with love. A tear traced a path down my cheek, followed by another.
Bliss radiated from inside my core, encompassing my entire being.
My dark knight had come to my rescue. Yes, he had flaws, and while he might stumble and fall along the way, I would walk the path beside him until my last breath.