Chapter 27
Earlier that evening…
“Oliver,” Lily gasped, unable to believe her own eyes as she hurriedly looked around.
Stepping in her way, Oliver quickly blocked her path. “I would not scream if I were you, Lily, darling. One glimpse of us alone here in the gardens and your reputation will be ruined.” He smirked.
A cold shiver ran down her spine as the gravity of his words flooded her chest.
This was planned.
She took one final look around before addressing him in an even tone. Her heart was pounding with fear, but she needed to keep her wits about her until she could escape. “What do you want, Oliver? I am a married woman now. You cannot possibly think that there is any way for you to interfere?”
The smirk on his lips faded into a sneer as he glared at her. “So I have heard. I still cannot believe that you would do such a thing to me, not after everything that we have been through.” His words dripped with bitterness as he spat.
“What have we been through?” Lily scoffed. “You mean the harlot you slept with while we were engaged? I would hardly call that an experience we shared!” she hissed back, balling her fists at her sides while still attempting to keep her voice low.
His sneer quickly turned into a look of rage, and Lily found herself regretting her words. “I would not speak to me in such a manner, if I were you, Lady Barnard…” He drew out her title with vicious intent, hanging on every syllable.
Her breath stilled in her chest as her fear continued to rise. It was not like Oliver to show up without a plan. “I will only ask one more time, Mr. King. Why are you here?”
His voice came out in a snarl when he spoke again. “I am here to take back my bride. I was promised your hand in marriage, and I shall have it.”
She took a step toward him out of anger, not thinking of the consequences. “I… Am… Married!” She emphasized each word, hoping to drive her point home.
He looked away from her for a moment as he sniffed importantly and then stepped closer to her. “I have heard, but that is what an annulment is for, my dearest one.” His smile returned as he held her gaze.
“An annulment?” Lily frowned as she searched his eyes.
Oliver nodded. “Yes, I am certain that you are familiar with the word. I am giving you twenty-four hours to start the annulment process. After which you will return to America with me, and we shall place this entire fiasco behind us.” He nodded toward the hall, encompassing all of Redding Hall.
“And why on earth would I ask my husband for an annulment when he has not done anything wrong?” Her pulse began to race as the fear of what would come next rose in her chest.
Allowing the corner of his mouth to hook into a sardonic smile, Oliver scoffed.
“He may not have done anything wrong, but you, dear, sweet Lily, have been implicated in the scandal of a century. What will the very stern Duke of Archibald have to say about your union when he hears of the help you provided me with in passing along the information to the Spanish? I hear he is quite the bulldog when it comes to the enemy countries.”
“But I never…” Lily could feel her face growing paler as the breath left her body.
Oliver shook his head. “Now do not say never, my dearest. Did you never question where it was that I got that diamond necklace from? The one that you were ever so fond of when I first started courting you?”
Every ounce of her body froze as she opened her mouth.
He could not have.
She swallowed hard, feeling the sinking feeling in the pit of her gut worsen.
“Yes, I see you have finally realized how you will be implicated in this story. The necklace was a gift from the Emperor of France. He was only too willing to contribute to the ambassador of Spain’s already generous gifts.” His laughter came out in a low growl.
All the blood began to drain from her face as he continued to speak.
“Who is to say that you were not fully aware of the information being passed from the start? You were only too eager to accept my gifts.” He shrugged.
She found her voice again as her fear turned to anger. “You cannot be serious? You have all but implicated yourself in treason of all things!”
“And what of it? The world knows by now that I am implicated. What they do not know, however, is that your dear husband served in the military and in the House of Lords, and is now married to a traitor. I am certain that the gossip columns would love to run with that.” He tsked his tongue in mock disappointment. “I wonder what they will all say?”
Panic began to set in as Lily’s breath caught in her throat.
He cannot do this.
Her breathing became more labored, and she sucked in sharply.
“Nobody can touch me here, dearest Lily. I can escape to Spain or France whenever I choose. The only reason I have not already is because I am waiting for you.” He took a step toward her and placed his arms around her shoulders as she stiffened.
“Twenty-four hours, that is what you have before I unleash hell on your poor, unsuspecting husband.”
She placed her hands on his shoulders, gently pushing him away as she lost all strength in her body.
Oliver smirked at her again. “I shall be waiting, and do not think that I am bluffing. I will not stop until you are at my side once again.”
Lily balled her hands at her sides, turning away from him as she headed in the direction of the ball.
I have to do something.
Her hands were trembling by the time she entered the ballroom and began to look for Arabella. If there was anyone who could give her advice, it was her friend. She did not want to interrupt Julian’s evening until she had all her thoughts in a row.
She spotted Arabella from across the room and quickly made her way toward her, pushing the guests aside as politely as she could.
“Lily, there you are!” Arabella hurried toward her, her face glowing as she smiled and reached for Lily’s hands.
“Arabella, I must tell you something,” Lily breathed as she nervously glanced around her.
It was too obvious for Oliver to have followed her, but that did not mean that he had not placed spies at the ball.
There had to be someone who had been feeding him information; he would not have known about the ball that had been arranged in such a short time.
“Are you engaged as well?” Arabella drew her attention back to their conversation.
“I beg your pardon?” Lily asked, taken aback by the sudden turn of the conversation.
Drawing her lips between her teeth, Arabella tried to hide her smile, but failed. “I am engaged, Lily. Mr. Southampton asked for my hand in marriage, and I accepted!”
Joy mingled with confusion in her chest as Lily looked at her dearest friend. There was no possible way that she could ruin her evening by telling her what had happened.
“Are you not happy for me?” Arabella lowered her tone as her face fell in disappointment.
Quickly fixing her face, Lily smiled at her.
“Of course, I am overjoyed. It was just so sudden that I did not know what to say. You are engaged to be married. I am so happy for you!” She drew Arabella in for a tight hug, trying her best to forget her own worries that still plagued her mind.
A single tear of frustration fell down her cheek as Lily drew back.
Taking Lily’s hands in her own, Arabella gave them a gentle squeeze. “I knew you would be happy for me, Lily. You are the first person I have told.” She practically beamed with delight.
“And I think it is time that we go and tell our families.” Benedict came up from behind and placed a hand on Arabella’s arm.
Turning to her now fiancé, Arabella melted in his gaze.
“I think we had better. I know my mama will be bursting to know the outcome.” She sucked in a sharp breath as she turned to Lily and smiled, practically bursting at the seams with delight.
“Will you be all right on your own for a moment? I am certain that the viscount has been looking for you.”
Lily nodded as she held back the overwhelming flood of emotions. “Go, I shall see you later.”
Arabella turned toward Benedict without another word and allowed herself to be guided away by him.
What will I do now?
Lily watched them go, feeling her chest clench with anxiety as her palms began to sweat. She needed a moment alone with her thoughts as she came up with the right words to tell Julian what was going on.
Making her way from the guests, she exited the ballroom and headed toward the lower library, where she knew nobody would bother her. Once inside, she shut the door behind her and walked over to the fireplace, where a single candle had been placed on the mantle.
She used the tinder box to light the fire, something she had not done since her days on the farm, and then let the candle burn once the fire was blazing.
“Did your meeting with Mr. King go well?” A cold voice suddenly carried from the doorway.
Freezing at first, Lily sucked in a sharp breath.
I cannot be…
Her heart shattered into a million pieces as she turned to see Eleanor smiling at her from the doorway.
The look of triumph in the woman’s eyes made Lily even angrier than she had been before.
“You betrayed me?” she said in disbelief.
After everything that Eleanor had said and done, Lily still had not thought that she would stoop as low as to contact Oliver.
“Are you surprised?” Eleanor bumped the door shut with her hip and smirked.
Lily had been so lost in thought that she had not even heard the door open behind her. “How could you?” she asked when she finally found her breath again. The realization that Eleanor had orchestrated the entire meeting made her chest feel numb with anger.
“I wrote to Mr. King and everything. How else would he have known where to find you? He was only too willing to accept my invitation. Honestly, Lily, you should really not be so trusting. You made the game far too easy.” She crossed the room, closing the distance between them before folding her arms over her chest.
Balling her fists at her sides, Lily allowed her anger to bubble to the surface. “Have you any idea what this will do to Julian and his reputation if Mr. King implicates me? You will be destroying more than just one life!” she hissed at her.
Eleanor seemed unbothered by anything that Lily was saying. “Oh, I am counting on it. If you do not go through with the annulment, Julian, his mother, and especially his sister will be ruined forever. But you and I both know that you will not allow that to happen, will you?”
The breath left her lungs as Lily froze and pressed a hand to her stomach.
How was it possible that anyone other than Oliver could be this evil?
“Julian will never believe you. I will tell him the truth, and the matter will be settled.” Her voice came out a little shaky, but it gave her the strength to stand her ground.
Lifting an eyebrow, Eleanor smirked at her. “Oh, do you really think he will believe you?” Something in her gaze made Lily uneasy again.
“He will certainly believe me over you. He knows that you lied about the two of you courting and even wanting to get engaged. There is no possible way that he would believe you ever again,” she said determinedly, feeling as if there were a chance to set things right.
All she needed to do was go to Julian and tell him the truth.
And then all of the lies and scheming that Eleanor had done would come to nothing at all.
There was an end in sight to all the madness if she could just get past Eleanor and find her husband. She and Julian had begun to understand each other, and she had never given him any reason not to trust her.
I did not tell him from the start…
Her heart raced a little as she thought of how he would react. There had been more than one occasion where she had tried to tell him, but they had always been interrupted.
Eleanor huffed, rolling her eyes as she coaxed Lily back to their conversation. “You are honestly the most na?ve person that I have ever met,” she shook her head as she met Lily’s gaze. “Do you think that Oliver would believe you over his own eyes?”
Her palms began to ache as her nails dug into them while she clenched her fists. “Julian never saw anything. I was wrong for not telling him, but he never saw anything. You have nothing to hold over me other than the fact that I did not tell him from the start.”
Eleanor’s eyes flashed triumphantly as her smirk grew bigger.
“My dearest Lily, I made certain that Julian saw you and Oliver in the garden. Why do you think I lured you there in the first place? The scene was set for your downfall. Face the facts, I have won.” She gave a satisfied giggle that showed how malicious she had been all along.
Oliver saw us.
Lily thought back to earlier in the evening when Oliver had embraced her.
Had Julian been close enough to hear what they were saying, or had he been so far that he only saw them talking?
And then Oliver had hugged her. She had pushed him away, but to an onlooker, it may have seemed as if she were complacent in the matter.
Chewing the inside of her cheek, Eleanor unfolded her arms and let out a satisfied breath.
“I can only imagine what he must be thinking at this very moment, especially after I opened the ball with him and told him all about your secret little love affair with the man who holds your heart. Poor Julian must be devastated right now, what with everything that Anne put him through as well…”
She looked up with a faint smile dancing around her lips.
“Julian will never want you. Even if he wants our marriage annulled, he will never be with someone as malicious as you. If Julian had wanted to be with you, he would have done so after things had ended with Anne.”
Lily unclenched her fists, feeling more than just the sting of the conversation that had knocked the wind from her lungs.
Anger filled Eleanor’s eyes as she unfolded her arms and pursed her lips.
“He may never want me, but he will never want you again either, and that is enough for me. I have had enough of this conversation now. What will it be, Lily? Your ruin alone with Oliver King, or the downfall of the Sinclair family? I wonder what his dear mama will say when she learns of your scandalous past? I will leave you with those questions.”
Eleanor turned from her and slammed the door in her wake, making Lily wince.
I have no choice in the matter.
She realized with sudden clarity that Eleanor had only wanted to destroy her. She may have wanted Julian at the start, but she had changed her motives to revenge along the way. There was nothing in the world that Lily could do but confess and save Julian and his family from ruin.