Chapter Seventeen #2
Lockwood’s expression softened fractionally, though the calculation never left his eyes. “I understand your dilemma. I am not unreasonable. You may have until tomorrow evening at Lady Fenchurch’s ball to make your decision. You can give me your answer at midnight on the terrace.”
Relief mingled with dread in Courtney’s chest. One day. Not much time, but perhaps enough to formulate a response.
“Very well,” she agreed reluctantly. “Tomorrow evening.”
Lockwood bowed, his manner suddenly courtly. “Until then, Lady Courtney. I trust you’ll make the wise choice.” He straightened, his eyes hardening. “And I needn’t remind you that any attempt to flee London or warn Furoe would force my hand immediately.”
She regarded him coldly. “I understand perfectly.”
As Graves showed the baron out, Courtney sank back into her chair, her limbs suddenly weak.
The sapphire ring on her finger—Lucien’s mother’s ring—caught the firelight, sending blue sparks dancing across the wall.
Tears pricked at her eyes, but she blinked them back fiercely.
She’d already given it back once. Would she have to give it back a second time?
Lucien had been keeping something from her. She’d felt it. Deep inside, she knew Lockwood’s words would be true. She thought his heart was torn up by Ava’s loss because he loved her. But it was more likely because she’d lied to him.
She would not believe it of Lucien—even the Lucien she didn’t know that well—that he’d allow a child to be born out of wedlock. Therefore, it was a natural assumption that Ava must have lied and told him they were husband and wife. Lucien would not remember. Now she understood his trust issues.
He had never truly been married to her. That Ava-Marie, the child Courtney had grown to love during their weeks in Dorset, was born outside the sanctity of marriage and could be forever tarnished almost made her weep.
That Ava had deceived him thoroughly, taking advantage of his amnesia to create a fictional life where she was his respectable wife rather than…
How could Ava have been so cruel? But Courtney could hardly judge.
She led a life of luxury. How desperate must Ava have been?
Whatever Ava’s past, she had clearly loved Lucien and their daughter.
Had clearly provided him with companionship and care when he was at his most vulnerable.
Perhaps her deception had begun as opportunism, but surely it had evolved into something more genuine?
But why had she never told him the truth?
No wonder he struggled with trust. The woman he thought loved him had deceived him in the worst possible way.
She’d always envied Ava her time with Lucien and the child, but now she disliked her immensely. She’d stolen five years of Lucien’s life. He could have come home to her sooner. Stopped his father’s fall into gambling and vice and seen the family coffers remain full.
Courtney could have helped him with his memory loss… Tears welled. But then he’d not have Ava-Marie. But they might have had their own child….
Rising on unsteady legs, Courtney moved to the window, staring unseeingly at the street below.
What was she to do? If she acquiesced to Lockwood’s demand, she would save Lucien’s family and Ava-Marie from scandal, but at the cost of her own happiness.
If she refused, the consequences would be devastating—not just for Lucien, but for Lauren and Madeline, whose marriage prospects would be irreparably damaged by association.
And Lucien’s little girl…
What if she tried to somehow warn Lucien? Lockwood would ensure the scandal broke immediately. Besides, what could Lucien do? The lack of a marriage record couldn’t be remedied after the fact. Ava was dead; she couldn’t suddenly produce proof of a marriage that had never occurred.
Pressing her fingers to her temples, Courtney tried to think rationally. There had to be a way out of this trap, some solution that didn’t involve sacrificing either Lucien’s reputation, Ava-Marie’s birth, or her own future happiness.
A flash of inspiration made her straighten.
Perhaps there was a third option—one that required cunning rather than surrender.
Lockwood couldn’t be the only one capable of gathering damaging information.
Every man had secrets, vulnerabilities that could be exploited.
If she could discover Lockwood’s before tomorrow evening…
With renewed purpose, Courtney hastily adjusted her shawl and rang for Graves. When the butler appeared, she instructed him to summon her carriage immediately.
“I have an urgent appointment with Lord Ware,” she explained, her mind already racing ahead.
Perhaps Rockwell and Farah would know if this information was true because they had found Lucien in Ireland.
Rockwell also had contacts throughout London society, connections that extended into spheres Courtney had never navigated.
If anyone could help her uncover Lockwood’s vulnerabilities quickly, it would be him.
As she waited for the carriage to be brought around, Courtney’s fingers found the sapphire ring once more. She twisted it thoughtfully, her resolve hardening. She would not surrender Lucien to Lockwood’s machinations. Nor would she allow Ava-Marie to suffer for circumstances beyond her control.
Learning of Ava-Marie’s birth didn’t change her decision to marry Lucien.
If anything, it strengthened her determination to stand by him, to prove that her love wasn’t contingent on the approval of society or the circumstances of his past. How could he be held responsible for Ava’s deception?
A man injured in battle and with no memory?
But she couldn’t ignore the stabbing doubt deep in her chest.
He hadn’t trusted her…
Could love blossom without trust?
In all fairness, they were not married yet. Perhaps he would tell her soon. She could give him time. But if he didn’t tell her before their wedding day, could she marry him?
The carriage arrived, and Courtney descended the steps with renewed purpose. She had twenty-four hours to disarm Lockwood’s threat. Twenty-four hours to ensure that the life she and Lucien were building wasn’t destroyed before it truly began.
And Baron Lockwood would soon discover that Lady Courtney Montague was not a woman to be trifled with—especially when it came to protecting those she loved.