Persuasion (15 page)

left her at its door. Moments later, when she exited it and once more

traversed its length, she heard the sibilant whisper and knew that she had

been caught. That the moment she had been avoiding for the entire night

had arrived.

Lily did not welcome it. As soon as her ears processed that spitting hiss, she

shuddered with distaste.

“You have danced me along a merry chase this evening, ma'am, for that I

must commend you, and now to business. It does not do to avoid me, my

lady. I shall always find you. It would do you well to always remember that.”

Nerves assailed her, as did the shakes. She felt almost as though she could

collapse upon the gleaming parquet floor! "Why are you doing this? Why?

What have I ever done to you? In fact, do not answer that. I have done

naught to hurt you. Naught!" she spat, her voice coming out strong at first

and then petering out weakly as emotion rushed through her.

The man snorted under his breath and his impatience was quite evident as

he laughed harshly. “My reasons are my own, and none of your business,

my lady.” This was said with great scorn. “All that you need to know is that

your mother's life is in danger if you do not do as you are told. But then,

that is something of which you are fully aware. And I have to once more

commend you on your talents. At the last ball, you certainly managed to get

under the Earl's skin, did you not?”

“I did nothing of the sort!” she retorted indignantly. “I merely danced with

him! He discarded me like an unwanted present as soon as the music came

to an end!”

“I think you'll find that you did, my dear. Or is that a touch of a bruised ego

I hear? Does the lady dislike the fact that her charms failed upon so

handsome a fellow?”

“I am not your dear!” Lily spat.

“I see that the pretty butterfly has a sting!”

“I do, indeed. Perhaps, it would do you well to remember that! And no, my

ego does not come into this. If it did, then I should inform my uncle of this

sorry escapade!”

“Now, that, I do not believe, my lady.”

“What do you want of me?” she spat, her voice filled with frustration and

almost as soon as the question had escaped her mouth, she wished she

could withhold it!

Fate, however, was never so kind.

“From your talents at Lady Rutherford's ball, I would say that you have

learnt what a seduction entails . . . ?”

“Yes, I have had to abase myself before my Abigail. How dare you do this to

me.”

There was a low chuckling sound, and Lily wished at that moment that she

were a man and that she had attended Gentleman Jackson's boxing club as

had her brother, Devlin. How she wished she could pummel him into the

ground and terrify him as he had her. How she wished that that were

possible!

“I dare, because I have the power. You have realized, and I want an answer,

what a seduction entails?”

“I know that it entails the complete destruction and ruination of both my

reputation and my honor!”

Again that sound of laughter came from the shadows which he inhabited and

fury rattled through her. Her fear had dissipated now, as had her anxiety.

She merely wished that this interview between them were over and that she

was no longer in his toxic presence.

“Good, good. It seems your Abigail has been most informative. It is a good

thing, is it not, that you value your mother's life above your reputation?!”

She seethed inwardly at his retort and clenched her fists to physically

restrain herself from responding, for there was no need to respond. He

already knew her answer. And now that the time had come, Lily ceased to

worry about the future. The future could take care of itself. It was the

present that counted. Her life would not be over because of this misfortune,

she now realized. There were many girls out there who had been

compromised and who were no longer pure. She would simply have to . . .

explain to her future husband were she to decide to marry. Explain what . . .

she did not know.

Lily tried not to think about it. She also tried to divert her thoughts from the

fact that this man, this pig, would forever have this information over her and

would forever be able to use it against her. She shuddered at the thought.

"It is indeed good fortune for you that I value my mother's life and that I

love her. God truthfully smiles upon you, for was her state of mind not so

frail, I would have ignored your ridiculous threats and simply confronted her

with this farce. But, she is not as strong as she ought to be since my father's

death. It would seem ergo that God does not smile on the righteous," she

murmured quietly.

He hissed and grabbed her by the upper arm. As his fingers tightened about

her and she felt the tips of the digits sink into her tender flesh, she cried out

with genuine pain. Her arm stung from those pressure points and shards of

agony sliced along her forearm and shoulder.

“How dare you!” she spat and tried to pull away but ceased any attempts,

when he refused to release her.

“I dare, because I am in control. Now listen to me and stop your backchat.”

He paused and sucked in an angry breath. “Tonight, when the clock strikes

at half past three, a shrouded carriage shall be waiting for you at the corner

of your street. Within it is a key. That key will gain you entrance into the

Earl's residence.”

"Who are you? How can you have a key to another man's home in your

possession?” she hissed, surprised at the blackmailer's audacity in

possessing something so private.

“That is for me to know and for you to never find out, my dear.”

“How on earth, am I supposed to slip out of my aunt and uncle's house

without causing a stir?”

“That is your concern and not mine. I am sure they sleep heavily after such

a party as this one.”

“Perhaps, but they are not the problem. It’s the servants who will more than

likely capture me.”

He snorted. “Capture you? I should rephrase that were I you! What will they

do? You are their mistress. Not the other way around.”

Nervously, Lily lifted her free hand to her throat and tightened her fingers

about it. Her grasp caused her pain but it was pain that she needed to keep

her grounded, to remind her that this was not just some sordid nightmare,

but real life. She gulped and felt the ball of tears that had gathered at the

back of her mouth attempt to choke her. This entire situation seemed

completely surreal and how she wished it was. How she wished that it was

indeed a nightmare. That she would be able to wake up at this moment, and

realize that it was all make-believe.

"And once I have the key?” she whispered as she sucked in a deep breath.

If he heard her tear-laden voice, he made no mention of it. But then, she

expected no less of a heartless brute such as this man here.

“Must I spell it all out for you?” he asked impatiently.

“I'm afraid so, sir. Before I met you, I was naught but a well-reared lady.

You are the first to sully my good nature!”

“A prize indeed,” he retorted scornfully. “Anyhow, once you have opened the

door to the Earl's residence, there shall be a manservant waiting inside for

you. He will guide you to the room in which the Earl is . . . relaxing. And

thereafter, what you do is up to you. You can enjoy it. You can hate every

moment of it. The choice is yours. However, I have two requirements. He

must enjoy you and secondly, he must break your maidenhead.”

Lily felt most disturbed by his explicitness but, what more could one expect

from a barbarian such as this pig of a blackmailer? Lily closed her eyes at

the term, ' break your maidenhead.' How was any woman supposed to enjoy

a man's attentions, if he had to break something in the process? Feeling her

lip curl with distaste, she attempted to forcibly stop her train of thought. But

to no avail. His words had swiftly informed her that the little she knew of

seduction would be quite inadequate for the evening she had ahead of her.

"You swine!” she hissed.

Suddenly, his hand released its grip on her arm and as she was freed from

his hold, Lily swayed on her feet as she attempted to regain control of her

body. As she did, Lily heard his low toned laughter fade away as he too

blended into the darkness and left her alone in the shadowed corridor to

contemplate his orders and how she would go about obeying them.

****

of her aunt and uncle's house and felt uncomfortably like a thief stealing

through the night. Each step that she took was hesitant for the hallway was

pitch black and she couldn't see a damned thing! The remaining staff on

duty when they had returned from the soiree had only just gone to bed, for

she had listened for their trudging steps as they had risen to their quarters.

This fact combined with her anxiety and nervousness had forced her to

decide against using a candle to aid her in her exploits and so the possibility

of falling down the steps was probable. Her hand shook as she gripped the

banister and her heart ceased to pump at all, instead it seemed to take

residence in her throat, as the clock struck at half past the hour.

She was late.

Instantly, terror flooded her nervous system. Would the carriage wait?

Would it simply ride off into the night without her?

Logic told her to stop being foolish. However, she was not feeling rational or

logical. The clarity of mind that had been her companion when talking to the

blackmailer had disappeared. She felt very young at that moment. Almost

like a child and she wished that she could run to her mother and beg for

help. But, she could not. It was her turn to be the protector, and protect her

mother Lily would.

The thought fired her courage and she managed to reach the entrance hall

of the London mansion without damage to herself or the property. Gripping

the banister all the while, Lily closed her eyes and sought help from her

memory. In the dark, the entrance hall appeared to be completely different,

almost alien. It was only as she traversed the path to the kitchens in her

mind that she was able to physically walk that same route.

The first ten steps were quite simple, however, by the next ten she had

almost walked into a console table and only by the grace of God, had she

managed to resettle the overflowing vase of flowers that sat upon its

surface! Finally she reached the door that led downstairs and another set of

stairs lay before her. Only this time, Lily had no idea of how they twisted

and turned.

As soon as her foot was resting upon the first tread, she knew that this

would be more difficult than earlier. The steps were narrow and rickety and

as she moved, and her weight was displaced upon the wooden tread, they

squeaked loudly. By the second step, she had ceased to fear the seduction

that rested before her, Lily felt quite certain that a tumble down these steps

would be the next thing to befall her and now simply feared for her life!

It was then that the idea came to her.

She could recall a younger cousin descending the stairs on his bottom, when

he had been naught but a toddler. Deciding to do the same, she awkwardly

rested her behind on the narrow planks and managed to enter the depths of

the servants' quarters.

This area was an easy part of the house in which to travel. She stood at the

foot of the stairs and as she looked down, there were four doorless jambs.

The part in which she stood at this moment in time, was obviously a scullery

for a faint light shone through the mullioned window which was close to the

ceiling and above a large sink. About which, were myriad plates and dishes.

She walked through the first doorway and realized it was the kitchen. The

next heralded the dining room, which contained a large table, odd sets of

chairs- this she could ascertain from their shadows, and a fireplace, whose

hearth still glowed from the dying embers of a fire. The last room was quite

obviously a salon. Again, there were a number of chairs and pride of place,

beside another gently glowing fireplace, was an armchair and a rocking

chair. Cook and Rodgers, the butler would take their rest in those particular

seats!

The kitchen and salon had very little natural light for there were no windows.

But the dining room had a relatively large one and she stole to that opening

and as quietly as possible, and damning each loud squeak that escaped from

the hinges, Lily managed to lift it to an adequate height.

Huffing for her breath, Lily pushed her way out of the house and almost fell

to the ground with a bump! She had been too hasty and only instinct had

had her throwing out her hands to catch her fall. While her palms might be

grazed, at least she wasn't lying comatose upon the cellar ground!

Rolling her eyes at the thought, Lily jumped up and run up the ten or so

stairs that led to the street. It was mostly dark and quite difficult to see, but

at the end of the street, she could see a shadowed box and she knew that

that was the carriage meant for her.