17. Chapter 17 #2
“Why are some born as dukes and some as street urchins? Is it not God who dictates such things?”
“Just because God decides who you are at birth does not mean you are destined to stay where you’re born. He gives us freewill and the ability to choose the life we want to live. And His love is for the saint and sinner alike. Does that not mean that all are able to have true love?”
“Yes,” Ames said slowly, pulling his hand back, “but a king cannot marry a commoner, and if true love exists between him and that commoner, they are not entitled to it.”
“Does that no seem unfair to you?”
“Perhaps, but there are social rules that deny it. Who am I to say what is fair and unfair?”
“Social rules that are man-made, not of God. And if the social rules are man-made, can they not be changed?”
“Some things are too big for one or two people to change.”
“What of us, then?”
“What of us?”
“You are a duke and I am a commoner. Why are the rules different for us?”
“Lily.” His voice was gentle, though frustrated. “You know why they are different. What is this truly about?”
I took a moment to answer, knowing I could not come right out and say what I wanted, but now was the best time. “I spend a lot of time with Molly—”
He briefly closed his eyes. “Please do not tell me you are advocating for my brother and your lady’s maid to marry.”
“If she was wealthy, like me, could they not have what you and I have? Is that the only thing hindering their true love?”
“It’s more complicated than that.”
“But if she was a wealthy heiress, would you have objections?”
“I feel like you are baiting me, Lily.”
“I am not. I am simply asking why the rules are different for me and Molly.”
Ames stood, and I regretted that I had ruined the moment, but I didn’t regret that we were discussing this important issue.
“Yes, the rules are different.” He spread out his hands.
“Is that what you want to hear? Money is powerful. It has created a new class of American people who are much desired by the English aristocracy. If it wasn’t for you and the other heiresses, we would have lost a whole host of manor houses and castles across England.
Your money opened doors into the aristocracy that are not open to people like Molly. ”
“If I did not have money, I would not be worthy of your love?”
He stared at me and I could tell he was trying not to be upset.
Instead, he joined me on the rug again. “You and I have come from two very different places. The truth is, if you were not an heiress, our paths would never have crossed. But they did. Your money does not make you worthy of my love, just as my title does not make me worthy of yours—it simply created a way. What we have is a gift that God allowed us to discover.” He took my hands into his.
“If you insist on hearing the truth, then yes, Brant and O’Neal deserve true love, but the reality is that they cannot have it, because of man-made rules we do not control.
I did not create them and I cannot change them.
Perhaps one day things will be different.
But for now, they are not. That is simply the way it is. ”
He ran his thumbs over the tops of my hands as I pondered his words.
“I was not trying to get into a fight,” I told him. “I was not baiting you. I know what you believe, but I wish I could change your mind.”
“’Tis not a matter of changing my mind, or what I believe. ’Tis simply how things are.”
“Is there no way they could ever be together?”
“I’m afraid not.” He moved a little closer to me. “What I do wish is that Brant would pay more attention to Miss Danby. She seems interested in him and she is a kind young woman who could make him happy.”
“And provide a tidy sum of money.”
He gave me a look.
“What?” I asked. “It’s what we’re all thinking.”
Ames wrapped me in a hug and made a low, growling noise. “There are things people think but do not say.”
I smiled. “I am an American, after all.”
“That you are, but we’ll show you there is a better way.”
I laughed as he pulled me even closer and kissed me thoroughly.
Something bumped against the wall of my bedchamber, causing him to stop as we both looked toward the sound.
“What was that?” I asked.
He let me go and then stood, offering me his hand to get off the floor. “It sounded like it came from the passageway.”
“Will you ever show me the extent of the passageways? I’d love to see where they go.” I smiled. “Who knows, perhaps one day I’ll need them.”
“I fear that if I showed you, you’d go exploring on your own and end up lost.”
“Then what better reason to show them to me yourself? I plan to live here for the rest of my life. Shouldn’t I know where they go?” I stepped close to him and entwined my fingers through his. “Besides, it would give us a good reason to see what made that sound.”
As I said the words, I suddenly realized it could be Everett and Martha using them again—and if Ames discovered the couple together, he would not be as lenient as me.
“Come.” He tugged me toward the corner of my room as he took a candelabra off the mantel. “If you insist. Let’s go on a little adventure.”
A shiver of delight and trepidation raced up my spine.
He pressed on a panel in the corner, and to my surprise, it popped open.
“Is there a secret door in each room of the castle?”
“Yes. It was designed this way for emergency escapes.”
“Was anyone safe during the medieval days?”
“No one in a position of power and authority.”
“Proof that things change.”
“Do they?” He motioned for me to follow him into the passageway, and one quick glance told me that whatever made the sound was no longer present.
“You said that some of the passageways are dangerous,” I told him, walking just behind him in the tight corridor. “Do you mean they are rotten?”
“I meant those that lead to the smugglers’ caves. The rest of the passageways are sound enough, though not entirely safe.”
“ Caves? Is there more than one?”
“There are several.”
He lifted the candelabra ahead of him. “Where would you like to go?”
“Can you take me to the chapel?”
Ames smiled, and it lit up his face. “That’s my favorite room in the castle.”
I held his hand as he led me through the dusty passageways. If he had not taken me, I would have easily gotten lost.
We stayed in the wooden corridors, not venturing into the passageways carved into the cliffside, staying away from the caves. We passed several doors and went down two flights of narrow stairs, which creaked with age and disuse.
“When did you start using the passageways?” I whispered, since we were passing by other rooms in the castle that might be occupied.
“My father showed them to me when I was perhaps five or six, but just like I cautioned you, he cautioned me. Some of them lead to the cliff face, and if you are not careful, you could fall right into the sea.”
“That’s terrifying.”
“That’s what I thought as a child, so I stayed away from them.” We continued to walk, but he added, “My mother used the passageways to visit her paramour. That’s how my father learned the truth. He suspected as much and laid in wait for her one night.”
I squeezed his hand tighter.
“These passageways were built to keep people safe,” he mused, “but they have been used for ill gain for centuries.”
We were quiet for a long time after that statement—and so we surprised Brant and Molly, who were standing in an offshoot of the passageway. Her back was against the wall, and he was leaning close to her, one hand propped on the wall over her shoulder as the other was caressing her face.
Ames stopped abruptly as the couple turned at the sound of our arrival.
The four of us stared at each other for what felt like an eternity. Eventually, Brant pulled away from Molly and turned accusatory eyes on me. “You told him?”
Ames frowned, his back rigid. “Told me what?”
“That Molly and I meet here.”
“You knew they’d be here?” It was Ames’s turn to look at me with accusation. “Have you seen them here before?”
“I—” I choked on the word. “Once, but—”
“And you didn’t tell me?”
“They promised—” I turned to Brant and Molly. “You promised you would stop seeing each other.”
Brant put his arm around Molly, who said nothing. “I cannot stay away from her. I love Molly and I want to marry her.”
Ames inhaled a quick breath as Molly dropped her gaze.
“Brant, you’re a fool,” Ames said, and then he looked at me. “Is this what that whole conversation was about? Did you know Brant wanted to marry her?”
Sweat broke out on my forehead and I felt ill—dangerously close to losing the contents of my stomach. “He—he mentioned it.”
“What?”
This was no longer about Brant and Molly—but about me keeping another secret from my husband.
“How could you have kept this from me?” he demanded. “After everything else.”
“I’m sorry, Ames. I told him it wasn’t a good idea,” I said lamely. “I was counseling both Brant and Molly to stop seeing each other. I even told Molly that I would talk some sense into Brant.”
“You told me you would try to talk sense into Ames,” Brant said.
“This is not my fault,” I told my brother-in-law. “I am not the one sneaking around behind Ames’s back.”
“Are you not?” Ames asked, pain in his voice. “You clearly know more about the passageway than you led me to believe, you have discovered Brant and O’Neal using it, you learned about the caves, and you knew Brant wanted to marry O’Neal—and yet you told me none of this.”
“Her name is Molly,” Brant said through a tight jaw.
Ames didn’t acknowledge his brother as he continued to stare at me. “Is there anything else you’re hiding from me?”
Panic filled my heart as I whispered, “Yes.”
His scar tightened as his jaw clenched.
“Late one night, I discovered Everett and Martha in my study—”
“My goodness, Lily! What kind of a house party are you hosting?”
My lips parted. “I did not tell them to meet.”
“No, but you did not hold them accountable, either.” He started to move around me but then stopped and turned to Brant.
“You and I will speak of this tomorrow.” He looked at Molly.
“And I want you out of this castle within twenty-four hours. Her Grace will write a letter of reference for you, but you will not work here again.”
Tears filled Molly’s eyes as she turned her face into Brant’s shoulder.
My pulse thumped and I took hold of Ames’s arm as he began to walk away. “Please, Ames. You cannot make Molly leave.”
“You’ve given me no choice, Lily. If you had stopped this before now, we might have avoided this outcome.” He pulled out of my grasp. “And I will be speaking to Everett tomorrow to demand that he make a marriage proposal to Miss Harrington before the day is over.”
With that final word, he strode down the passageway, not looking back.