Chapter 28 #2
Corinna stepped backward. The heat of the room, the suffocating stares, the sight of her broken parents, and the bitter reality of her sister’s impending marriage suddenly pressed down on her lungs with unbearable force.
She could not do this. She had shown her face.
She had defied the broadsheets. But she could not stand in this room for another second.
She turned and slipped through the crowd, moving quickly and expertly dodging the clusters of aristocrats. She reached the hallway, requested her cloak from a highly confused footman, and stepped out into the freezing, damp night before anyone could stop her.
She did not wait for the family carriage. She hailed a passing hackney cab, climbed inside the dark, smelling interior, and rode back to the townhouse in absolute silence.
When Corinna unlocked the bright yellow door, the house was entirely silent. She did not light a single lamp. She walked down the corridor, her dark gown rustling against the floorboards, and stepped into Phoebe’s study.
The room was pitch black, save for the faint, silvery light of the moon spilling through the uncurtained windows.
Corinna walked over to the small, circular table in the corner and sat down in the wooden chair.
Before her sat the chessboard. The pieces were exactly where she and Thomas had left them.
Corinna sat in the dark, staring at the black and white squares. She felt entirely empty.
The front door of the townhouse clicked open.
Corinna did not move. She assumed it was Phoebe, returning early from the soirée to scold her for her unchaperoned retreat. She listened to the soft, hurried footsteps crossing the marble foyer.
The study door was pushed open.
“Who is there?” Corinna asked, her voice harsh in the darkness.
“It is Arabella,” a breathless voice replied.
Corinna turned her head, genuine shock piercing the numbness in her chest. Arabella Ashford stepped into the study. She was wearing a heavy traveling cloak over a beautiful evening gown of pale lilac silk, her hair slightly windswept.
“Arabella? How did you get inside?”
“I followed you from Lady Sophronia’s,” Arabella said, stepping into the room and closing the door behind her. “The door was unlocked.”
“You should not be here,” Corinna said, her voice tightening with a sudden, protective instinct. “If anyone sees the earl’s sister calling on me in the dark, the scandal will consume you as well.”
“I do not care about the scandal,” Arabella said, crossing the room to stand directly by the desk. She did not wait for an invitation. She pulled up the opposite chair and sat down directly across the chessboard from Corinna.
“You should,” Corinna argued. “Your brother has ruined my family to save his own neck.”
“That is not true, and you know it.”
“I know what my father told me. The special license is signed. It is finished.”
“This entire disaster is Cecily’s scheme,” Arabella stated plainly, leaning forward, resting her hands flat on the edge of the table. “Every single part of it. Cecily orchestrated this. Vivienne is her instrument, and neither of them will win.”
“It does not matter whose scheme it is,” Corinna whispered, the familiar, crushing exhaustion settling over her shoulders. “The trap worked. He is marrying my sister.”
“He is a fool,” Arabella said, her voice laced with a mixture of profound frustration and fierce affection. “He has been a fool since he returned to England. But he is not malicious. He is terrified.”
“He is terrified of the broadsheets.”
“He is terrified of destroying you further! He thinks by marrying your sister, he is saving your reputation from the fire.”
“He is locking himself in a cage with a woman who only wants his title.”
“I know that,” Arabella said firmly. “Julian knows that. And we are not going to let it happen.”
“Julian? What can Julian possibly do?”
“He can stand by my brother. Just as I am going to stand by him.” Arabella reached across the chessboard, ignoring the carved pieces entirely, and took Corinna’s trembling hands in her own. “Edmund loves you, Corinna.”
Corinna squeezed her eyes shut, a hot tear escaping to slide down her cheek. “Stop. Do not say that.”
“I will say it because it is the truth. He loves you more than his title, more than his pride, and more than he fears Cecily Vane.”
“He told me it was too late. He told me in the garden.”
“He was lying. He is the Earl of Ravenswood, and he has spent the entire Season lying to protect people. But he is a good man. You have to trust that.”
“Trust what, Arabella?” Corinna pleaded, opening her eyes. “The game is over. There are no moves left on the board.”
“There is one move left.”
“What move?”
“There is a ball in two days. The engagement ball,” Arabella said, her brown eyes blazing with an unshakeable conviction. “It is being hosted at our house. Every significant family in London will be there. Cecily will be there. Vivienne will be there.”
“I am not going,” Corinna whispered, her stomach twisting violently. “I cannot stand in that room and watch them. I will not subject myself to that humiliation.”
“I am not asking you to be humiliated. I am asking you to be brave.”
“Brave for what?”
“Because there is a plan,” Arabella said simply.
Corinna stared at her, the words echoing in the silent, dark study. “A plan? Arabella, what are you talking about?”
“I cannot give you the details. If I do, Cecily will see it in your eyes. She will know we are moving against her. I need you to walk into that ballroom completely blind, and I need you to trust us.”
“You are asking the impossible.”
“I am asking you to fight for him,” Arabella pleaded, her grip tightening on Corinna’s hands. “Because he is finally ready to fight for you. Will you come?”
Corinna looked at the chessboard between them. She looked at the trapped king. She thought of Edmund’s desperate, burning eyes in the garden, and the way he had confessed his love before the world had crashed down upon them.
“What if the plan fails?” Corinna asked softly.
“Then my brother marries a woman he despises, and you lose the man you love,” Arabella said. “The board is already lost, Corinna. We have nothing left to sacrifice but the King.”
Corinna took a deep breath, the cold air filling her lungs. “Two days.”
“Two days,” Arabella confirmed, a resolute smile touching her lips. “Wear your finest dress. And do not blink.”
“I will be there,” Corinna said.