Chapter Twenty-Six
West of Springfield, Vale Estate
It was late at night, and most of the staff had gone to bed.
However, Finn was still up, pacing back and forth in his study.
The room was unusually large and furnished with the most luxurious items, befitting for someone of his stature.
Being a baron—Finn liked to dismiss the fact that he was only a land baron—he demanded to be surrounded only by highest quality.
His two-story mansion in the style of a French villa amplified it.
He stopped in front of his massive, ornate oak desk and poured himself another glass of expensive cognac.
Wooden-clad walls were lined with tall shelves containing an impressive collection of books.
There was still a small fire crackling inside the fireplace, but he had instructed his butler not to put too many logs on it because the spring weather had heated up the house too much already.
It was just supposed to keep the nightly chill out while he waited for news.
Finn was curious whether Lucy’s plan would actually work.
It had been entirely her idea to use Neil’s new wife as a pawn to take him down once and for all, though now Finn began to wonder if it had been wise to follow Lucy’s lead so freely.
Giving her too much leeway was a significant risk.
Finn knew all too well how unstable Lucy could be.
Her constant mood swings were one of the things he liked to keep at bay by not letting her off the leash too much.
This time, he had given her free rein to execute her own plan the way she wanted to, but that meant that he had absolutely no control over her.
That woman could lose her temper quickly, which often escalated into streaks of violence.
His staff had testified to that. For all he knew, this could blow up completely.
Truthfully, he didn’t really care. As long as his name wasn’t brought into any of her escapades, he should be fine.
Finn drank a large gulp of the cognac and relished the smooth burn trickling down his throat. He resumed his pacing to and from the window on the far end of the room. It was almost midnight, and he hadn’t heard from her yet.
After their failed scheme years earlier, he just wanted her plan to finally work, because it would hurt Neil. That’s all Finn cared about. He wanted to humiliate Neil. He wanted to break him and bring him to his knees.
Finn smiled into his glass, thinking about his latest feat when he had bought the parcel on the eastern side of Neil’s ranch right from under his nose. He had been informed that Neil had been outraged, which made Finn so very happy.
He was quietly closing in, silently buying up as much land around Neil’s property as possible. Once he’d be able to force Neil to sell and buy his ranch, too, Finn would officially be the largest landowner in the entire state. Maybe he could finally obtain the title of a real baron by then.
Finn liked to sneak up on people with business deals his victims had no clue about. That was his domain, his way of gaining wealth, influence, and power.
Lucy had a different way of dealing with people she wanted to take down. Her domain was manipulation, using pressure and timing against them.
Suddenly, clacking sounds echoed up the large staircase. Finn recognized Lucy’s footsteps immediately. She had returned.
Seconds later, in typical Lucy fashion, she entered his study without knocking. She didn’t say anything either, just walked up to his desk, helped herself to a glass from the silver tray, and poured in some of the expensive cognac.
Finn should have put it away like he usually did. He didn’t like to share such luxurious things with a person who didn’t really appreciate it. He wasn’t sure if Lucy appreciated anything.
She walked over to one of the large wing chairs in front of the fireplace, plopped into it, and drank a sip from her drink. She immediately pulled a face and held the glass away from her.
“Disgusting! What is that?” she exclaimed, shaking her head with wide eyes.
“Something that wasn’t meant for you,” Finn replied coolly as he walked over to take the glass out of her hand. He wasn’t willing to entertain her attitude tonight. “How did it go?”
Lucy sighed.
“It was tough! I’m exhausted,” she complained. Then she smiled. “Both are in the basement, settling into their new accommodations,” she said with a giggle.
“In the basement?” Finn asked with raised eyebrows. “Why did you put them down there? Didn’t you ask the maid to ready a room for them upstairs this morning?”
“Mm,” Lucy replied nonchalantly as she shrugged. “I changed my mind. I don’t just want Neil to suffer, you know? Why not make her suffer, too?” She smiled menacingly. She could be so very cruel.
“Harsh,” Finn said. He knew that Lucy liked to torture people with her behavior, but this was actual physical torture.
The basement was dark, damp, and almost like a dungeon.
He didn’t really know how to feel about all of that.
Was Lucy finally losing her mind? Would he need to take drastic measures against her?
“Is it? I thought it was quite genius to be honest,” Lucy said all too calmly while she inspected her gloved fingertips.
“They don’t need to live in a posh room surrounded by posh things.
She’s a prostitute, and that brat is mute.
They shouldn’t live nice like that. Where they come from, they don’t even know what nice means! ”
Lucy started pulling off her gloves, revealing too much milky white skin. Exactly what working girls do, Finn thought to himself. The irony.
“What’s your plan with them anyway?” Lucy asked then. Her voice had a strange undertone to it. She folded her arms underneath her bosom and seemingly pushed it up a little. What was her intention? Was she trying to butter him up?
“I’ll keep her for a while, for entertainment,” Finn replied, not really thinking of anything in particular, but Lucy clearly didn’t like what he had said. She scoffed and crossed her arms in front of her chest, looking rather displeased with his answer.
Finn was surprised. Was she jealous? Her dislike for the other woman and the little girl seemed disproportionate.
Finn had no illusion that there was any kind of love between him and Lucy.
He assumed that deep down, Lucy’s heart still belonged to Neil.
He wasn’t foolish enough to think otherwise.
Lucy had attached herself to Finn purely because of his wealth.
He was fully aware of that. He had embraced it because it had broken Neil’s heart into a million pieces when Lucy had broken off their engagement.
However, seeing her acting like this because of that woman was new. He couldn’t deny the fact that it powdered his ego a little. Maybe he could tease Lucy a little with it. It was late, and he had gotten bored waiting for her. He also had a little too much to drink, which emboldened him.
“I’ll do whatever it takes to break Neil Albright,” Finn finally said. “If it means I’ll have to keep his wife hostage in my house, then I’ll do that. However long it takes.” Lucy grunted and let herself sink deeper into the chair.
“I also think that a woman of her caliber could be valuable,” he added. Lucy almost shot out of her chair.
“Caliber?” she screamed. “What caliber? She’s a prostitute!” She put special emphasis on every single syllable of that word. “What caliber, Finn?”
“All right, let me rephrase that,” he said, defensively holding up his hands, although he was laughing inwardly. “Maybe a woman of her skills—”
“You’ve got to be joking!” Lucy exclaimed. This time, she did jump up off her chair. “What could this hussy possibly have that I don’t already possess?” Lucy complained, almost angrily. “I am much more valuable than her!”
She twirled in front of Finn, then she put her hands on her hips and glared at him. Her nostrils flared. She was clearly outraged.
Finn laughed. He had gotten to her, even though he knew that it was just her pride that was wounded.
His showing interest in another woman had clearly triggered some kind of ego trip on her part.
Finn thought it was funny, and he took his time to enjoy it.
He drank the cognac she had poured for herself in one gulp.
After some time, when he could be certain that Lucy had calmed down enough, he continued.
“All jokes aside,” he finally said. “A woman like her could definitely be an asset in the right hands. I know of several business partners who might be interested in someone like her. So she definitely holds some value, which is why you should bring them upstairs to their room. She can’t be all dirty and gaunt if I want to use her for something.
” Lucy sighed a heavy sigh. Then she pouted.
“I won’t,” Lucy said, shaking her head defiantly. “They’re fine down there. At least until tomorrow morning anyway.”
Finn tilted his head to one side, contemplating Lucy’s surprising behavior.
The way she spoke to him made her seem overly possessive.
What seemed to be amusing to him at first wasn’t.
He didn’t appreciate it at all. He had never allowed anyone to stand above him.
Least of all, some crazy woman like Lucy.
Finn was about to put her in her place when she surprised him yet again.
“You shouldn’t forget why we’re doing this,” she said matter-of-factly.
“We aren’t kidnapping her because of some business deal or for one of your business partners.
You shouldn’t even worry about her.” Lucy got louder with every word.
She leaned closer toward Finn and pointed at herself.
“I got her here because of Neil. She’s my responsibility now. You worry about Neil!”
Finn’s eyebrows shot up. He never allowed anybody to speak to him that way.
“Watch your tone,” he warned calmly as he walked back to the desk.
He put down her glass before refilling his own.
“I can throw you out of my house and back onto the street where I found you. Just like her. Just as quickly. To me, there’s no difference between you two women.
She married Neil for safety. You stick with me for money. Same difference. You are all the same.”
He chose his words carefully because he wanted her to understand what he was saying, instead of riling up her anger.
When he walked around the desk and sat down behind it, steepling his hands, he saw that Lucy’s body had stiffened a little.
She didn’t look at him, but her hands clamped around the arms of the chair.
He didn’t know if she was just angry or actually scared. Either way, it didn’t matter to him.
“I’ll decide what will happen with her from now on,” he continued, watching Lucy closely. “And you’ll do as I say. Is that understood?”
She didn’t respond immediately. At first, she just sat there, stiffly, with her back toward him. But then she turned her head halfway toward him and glared at him over her shoulder. She paused before she spoke, and when she did, her voice sounded unnervingly calm.
“Then make sure you finish Neil this time!”