Sweet Enemy (43 page)

“Not in particular. But I’m worried. She was unhappy, yes, but also very anxious. And cryptic.” The girl frowned, an expression that seemed entirely out of place on her normally open face. “She said that whatever happened, she hoped people would understand why she did it and not judge her harshly.” Miss Belsham shook her head. “I can only assume she meant walking out on the betrothal, but that makes no sense.”

She hoped people would understand why she did it?
Did what? Left the man she was to marry? Unless…had her agreement been just another ploy to placate him until she could recover her evidence and avenge her father?

The blood left his face in a dizzying swoop.
Son of a bitch.
What if she’d returned to the folly and took the letters? It wouldn’t have taken her long to find them, smart girl that she was. And now she intended to do…what? Make his family pay for what they’d done to hers?

Geoffrey let his forehead drop into his hands. He should have known. Liliana came here to solve her father’s murder and get justice. She’d risked much, and he’d thwarted her plans. He should have known she wouldn’t just let it go. Wouldn’t let herself just marry him and sweep it under the rug.

Yet he understood. He wasn’t even certain his father
had
been killed, and he was ready to tear into his uncle, his last remaining male family member, to get at the truth.

But damn it all. That didn’t make him feel any less a fool. Christ, if only he hadn’t opened his heart to her…but it was like a door that, once opened, he couldn’t slam shut. Geoffrey closed his eyes and let out a pained exhalation. After years of watching his own father suffer the sting of love unrequited, how had he come to this? And how had he underestimated how badly it would hurt?

Still, there was too much at stake. Liliana had to understand
that she was sacrificing more than just one life for her family’s honor. If his reputation was harmed, and his Poor Employment Act failed, the welfare of too many innocents was at risk. He had to find Liliana and stop her, which meant finding Uncle Joss would have to wait.

Geoffrey gave Miss Belsham a curt nod and turned on his heel, heading for the stables.

“You must think me a great fool, as only a dimwit would take you back to Somerton Park.” Wentworth eyed her skeptically, his gaze narrowed.

Liliana tried to keep an indifferent expression on her face, but inside, her heart thumped a frantic beat and her mouth felt like she’d swallowed a drying agent.

“You followed me this morning,” she said, certain she was right. “You know I don’t have any treasure with me.”

Wentworth huffed. “I was certain you’d finally found the treasure and were making off with it, planning to keep it all for yourself.”

“Well, you were wrong,” she said, quite proud that her voice didn’t warble when she spoke. “But you were also right. I did discover the key to finding the treasure, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to get it without drawing notice.” Her only hope was to keep him convinced that she alone could get the treasure for him. But first she had to get him to take her back to Somerton Park.

“So, I left,” she said. “When I departed, I left with nothing. I also left behind an insulting note guaranteed to prick Stratford’s pride,” she lied. She
had
left the betrothal ring, but she’d been too upset to put any of her feelings into words, deciding instead to make a clean break. “And that’s the beauty of my plan. I told him I was returning home and demanded he not follow me. You know how he is…all full of duty and honor. He expects people to do what they say they will. He will be so angry at my defection, he won’t be able
not
to give
chase. He’ll be halfway to Chelmsford, never suspecting that I circled back and recovered the treasure on my own. I plan to be long gone before he realizes he’s been duped.”

One of Wentworth’s winged brows rose and his lips thinned into an ugly line. Liliana jutted out her chin just a bit, challenging him to refute her ludicrous explanation.

But she could see his mind working, debating whether she could be believed.
Please, please…

Liliana knew she had only one chance. Geoffrey didn’t trust her. Once he discovered her gone, he’d probably suspect she’d double-crossed him and went to the folly to find their fathers’ letters. If luck were on her side, he’d arrive at the folly after she and Wentworth, and she’d be rescued. She’d say whatever it took to convince Wentworth the key to finding the treasure was there.

“So I was right about you…you were using him to find the treasure,” Wentworth said.

“Of course,” Liliana answered as loftily as she could manage. “You don’t think I actually planned to marry into the family I hold responsible for my father’s death, do you?” She scoffed, hoping to come off as greedy as him. Greed understood greed. Maybe, if she sounded convincing enough, he’d believe her. “The treasure should belong to me for all that your family took from me.” She looked down at the pistol still lodged against her ribs. “However, I can be persuaded to share, I suppose…”

Wentworth laughed, a hollow sound, but better than the agitated desperation he’d exhibited earlier. He called out to the driver to turn the carriage toward Somerton Park, and Liliana nearly wept with relief.

“I’m afraid my debts will devour most of the treasure’s worth, my dear, and I’ll need the rest to make my escape from England, so there won’t be any left for you. However”—he nudged her with the pistol—“since I will be long gone from these shores, I suppose it won’t matter
if I let you live. If you find the treasure for me and hand it over without a fuss, that is.”

Liliana didn’t believe that for a moment, but she pretended to contemplate her situation. She let out a forced sigh. “You leave me no choice.”

L

“Stop the carriage here,” Wentworth called out, rapping on the ceiling. The conveyance lurched to a stop.

Liliana released her hold and tried to quell her churning stomach from the wild ride.

The door cracked open and she squinted against the harsh rays of sunlight that illuminated the carriage’s interior. She cast her gaze beyond the opening, trying to ascertain where on the property Wentworth had taken her. Panic buzzed in her chest. She didn’t recognize anything, not a landmark, not a copse of trees. He could have taken her anywhere.

“Let’s go,” he ordered, waving the pistol at the door. She moved slowly, inching her way off the seat and toward the opening, scanning the landscape. She’d need to keep her wits about her, look for an opportunity to escape. If she could just discover where she was, perhaps she could run.

Liliana kept her head down, faking submission or at least resignation. Hopefully, Wentworth would consider her less than a threat, giving her time to formulate a
plan. She was glad she’d dressed in boys’ togs this morning…She wouldn’t be hampered by skirts if she chose to flee. She was younger than Wentworth by at least thirty years, so she might be able to outrun him.

Her eyes flitted to the weapon he kept trained upon her, as she analyzed her chances. A standard flintlock pistol wasn’t known for accuracy, particularly at a moving target. If she could just get ahead of him far enough, he’d have to stop chasing her in order to aim, and maybe—

“Stay here with the carriage,” Wentworth said to the man on the box. “Keep it at the ready. I’ll want to leave quickly when I return.”

When I return.
Liliana’s stomach dropped despite the tight reign she kept on her emotions. Either Wentworth intended to let her go when she gave him the treasure, or he planned to dispose of her before escaping himself. Neither option boded well, for she hadn’t a treasure to give.

She wondered if she had any chance of appealing to the driver’s humanity to save her, but then he turned his face and shock ran through her—it was the man who’d searched her library. Wentworth must have sent him after the treasure. He would be of no help. She clenched her fist, drawing a breath meant to calm. She could only pray that she’d be able to string Wentworth along until she found a way out of this mess or until—

Wentworth stepped to her, taking her above the elbow. “Shall we?”

Liliana nodded, pretending a meekness she didn’t feel. Her muscles tensed with adrenaline. She tried to will her body not to waste the energy before she could use it, but it wouldn’t listen. Blood pumped through her and her skin tingled with the anticipation of flight.

Wentworth led her to the edge of the tree line. He was taking her into the woods? She could feel the thumping of her heart in her ears as breath became harder and harder to catch. Had he seen through her ruse? Was he
planning to cut his losses now that she knew him to be a villain?

“Where are you taking me?” she asked, unable to control the fear in her voice.

“You didn’t think we’d just enter the front gates and stroll to the folly, did you?” Wentworth scoffed.

Her chest eased. He still planned to take her as far as the folly at least. The rest was up to fate.

Or to Geoffrey.
She gambled on his distrust of her, a sorry state of affairs that just might save her life but would ultimately shatter her heart.

As she and Wentworth approached the edge of the forest, the markings of an old footpath became visible. It was well grown over now, but there was a definite, albeit tiny, break in the trees.

They walked in relative silence for several minutes, the noises of nature echoing around them. Wind blew through the trees, birds chirped as they flitted about feeding their young, twigs rustled as small creatures went about whatever business they had. Life in the forest carried on, oblivious to the drama unfolding within it.

A profound regret settled upon Liliana as realization became devastatingly clear. Her time with Geoffrey had shown that she had
stopped
living that long-ago December night when her father had been taken from her. Oh, she’d carried on outwardly, had made plans, had achieved successes, had imposed purpose to her existence. But she hadn’t lived where it mattered. She hadn’t lived in her heart. She had closed out those around her. She’d never really given people a chance. Not her aunt and uncle, who in their own way had wanted what they thought best for her. Not other girls who had tried to befriend her over the years. Not even men who had expressed interest. She’d never let any of them in, fearing to allow anyone close lest she lose them, too.

Until Geoffrey. He’d broken through her resistance with his gentle prodding, with his sense of humor, with
his ability to nettle and challenge her yet his willingness to listen and affirm her. And what had she done? Broken his trust. Broken any chance that he could love her.

She should have told him everything the moment she realized he didn’t know about her father. She should have trusted him as the honorable man she knew him to be. But she’d selfishly wanted the magical time with him to never end, and because of that, she’d lost him, too.

And if a miracle didn’t happen, she’d never get the chance to tell him that he’d changed her, that he’d unlocked a part of her that maybe, someday, would heal. Though she’d lost his love, she wanted to thank him for opening her heart.

The footpath ended at a small stone circle. The rocks appeared ancient, and weathered boards covered the top. Liliana could now see that the footpath curved around it, heading off to the right.

“What’s this?” Liliana asked as they passed.

“A dead well,” Wentworth said.

The well Geoffrey had mentioned, which meant they were in the grove of trees behind the folly.

“It used to supply some of the manor’s water, but my brother had it closed off when a man from Town told him the water was bad.”

Liliana’s head came up. Could
that
be how her father had met Geoffrey’s?

“Here we are,” Wentworth said as they turned another corner. The folly’s dome stuck up over the tree line now.

The adrenaline that had been flowing through her now settled like a sickness in her belly. Soon Wentworth would know that she’d lied to him, and who knew what he’d do then?
Please, Geoffrey. Be there.

And yet part of her prayed he would not be. Geoffrey couldn’t be expecting an armed man, much less his uncle. He’d be taken completely by surprise. If Wentworth were as desperate as she suspected, he might not blink at harming Geoffrey, too. Whatever she had to do, she couldn’t let that happen.

Wentworth led her to the back entrance. He reached out and tried the door, jiggling the latch when it wouldn’t give. “Damn it,” he said, kicking the door.

Here was her opportunity to enforce his misconception that she was after the treasure for herself. She pulled the key Geoffrey had given her from her pocket. “Here. I filched the key before I left Somerton Park.”

Wentworth turned and looked at her over his shoulder, his eyes narrowing in a speculative gaze.

Liliana tried for a smarmy smile.

He snatched the key from her outstretched hand and turned to open the lock. “You know, Miss Claremont, you’re craftier than I’d thought,” he said, the words sounding much like a compliment, but to Liliana, they rolled over her like slime. “I knew you were clever, of course. And I was quite impressed by the way you cozied up to my nephew, but going so far as agreeing to marry him publicly and then running off only to double back and double-cross him? Sheer genius.” He chuckled as the lock clicked open.