"Dad already called her."
"Why would he do that? I told him I'd handle this!"
"Who's Russelle?" Will asked.
"An old friend who thinks she's a part of our family just because she was best friend's with our mother. But if she wanted kids to boss around, she could have produced her own."
Anne fumed inside but kept any sharp retort inside. Eliza was already furious. Trying to correct her facts would only make things worse.
"She's a good friend of Anne's, too," Penny offered, standing aside from the group like a properly shy, timid girl should.
Anne backed up, suddenly feeling surrounded by people who wished her ill. "I'm going to make another call."
"To who?" Will asked, stepping toward her. Though his face was the picture of curious concern, that cold flash was evident in his eyes. He must not have liked Russelle being called instead of him.
Anne raised her chin, refusing to let him intimidate her. "A good friend of mine."
"Am I not your friend?"
No, she wanted to spat, but forced a tight smile. "I've known him longer."
"Him?"
Anne regretted using the pronoun. Rick worked at the same corporation. If Will somehow figured out he was involved, then Will might be able to doctor the evidence and get Rick accused as well. The last thing she needed was both her father and the love of her life heading to jail.
"Charles," she blurted out. "My brother-in-law. His sister's been in the hospital. I wanted to check up on her and also let Mary know about our father."
That cold flash in his eyes died down. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear about his sister."
"Don't tell Mary," Eliza cut in. "She'll just fret and fret and drive everyone up the wall."
"How about," Will cut in, "we all try to relax first? Shall we all go to dinner? It would be my treat."
"Oh, Will, you're so thoughtful!" Eliza crooned, leaning into him.
"Thanks," Anne said, "But I already ate." And had loved every minute of it even though she couldn't remember what the food tasted like. She'd been too busy chatting with Rick to care. "But you should go on without me."
Will grinned as if she had issued a challenge. "We won't do that. We'll go tomorrow—"
"Don't mind Anne," Eliza said, slipping her hand around his arm. "She always eats at weird times. Besides, now you can show me that restaurant you were raving about a few days ago. Penny, you can stay here and go through Dad's files with Anne to see if there's anything we can use for his case."
Penny nodded like a dutiful servant, her eyes downcast so Anne couldn't tell if she was secretly angry or fine with the proposal. Then again, Eliza giving out orders wasn't anything new.
"Come, Will," Eliza dragged him toward the front door. He shot a glance at Anne as if warning her that next time, she wouldn't succeed at avoiding him. She, however, hoped there would be no next time.
Once the door closed behind Will and Eliza, Anne faced Penny, a wild idea in her head. If she could possibly get Penny to confess, it would add more arsenal to her father's defense. Alas, she wasn't sure how to go about the process. They weren't exactly the best of friends. Then again, Penny had figuratively stabbed her best friend in the back already, so maybe friendship wasn't the way to go about it?
Not knowing what else to do, Anne sat down on the couch. "The news about my dad must have been a huge shock."
"Yes." Penny moved to the chair opposite of Anne. "I'm really sorry about it."
Anne hesitated, then leaned forward, hoping this didn't backfire. "Are you really?"
The shy demeanor of Penny's abruptly dropped as if she had dumped the facade like a cloak and she stared directly at Anne. "You weren't supposed to be involved. If you leave now, you won't get dragged into this."
Anne stared at her. "What are you talking about?"
But Penny stood up. "I keep warning you, Anne. Get out of here." She marched toward the front door, apparently finished with the conversation.
Desperate to keep her from leaving, Anne said the first thing on her mind, "I have proof you helped Will frame my father."
Penny whirled around, her eyes wide and shoulders hunched, the timid-facade falling over her like an invisible blanket. "What are you talking about?" Even her tone sounded like a frightened, innocent girl.
Since Anne had started it, she might as well finish it. "The envelope you took for the Darcy vs Wickham case. You swiped the documents and gave them to Will who used them later on when he took over the case. I have proof of that." At least, she hoped she would.
Penny stood still, the mask of confused innocence frozen on her face. Anne wasn't sure if that meant she had scored a point or not. Nor did she know what to do next. What she really needed was a confession from Penny, preferably recorded or in writing. Continuing to threaten Penny probably wouldn't lead to either.
Since Penny continued to remain rooted to her spot, Anne decided to try a different tactic. "Penny, sit down. It's okay. You obviously fell for Will, he convinced you to get him the papers to prove your love, and then he dumped you once he had it," Anne continued, making a wild guess. Penny thawed slightly and Anne hoped that meant she was right. "I'm pretty sure Russelle could make a plea bargain and get you off without much punishment."
Penny thawed a little more and stalked to the couch. When she sat down, she leveled a stare at Anne. "Why didn't you fall for Will yourself? He's rich, attractive, charming, and obviously likes you. Any girl would fall."
Anne sighed. The saga about Rick would take too long. "It was his laugh."
"His laugh?" Penny asked as if Anne had declared Will was an alien.
"It was always the same, no matter the situation. Cold and polite, never any genuine warmth. Creeped me out."
Penny stared at her for a long moment. Then she laughed. Not her weak, timid one or like Will's polite one, but a real one as if she could finally release her emotions.
"You know," Penny began once her laughter subsided, "I've always admired you."
Anne blinked, stunned. "Me?" She wasn't pretty, smart, or conniving enough to get such admiration.
"You're good with people. You know how to control your family better than I have ever managed to figure out. And," she ducked her head. "You're nice. All the time. I don't think I've ever seen you angry."
"You just did. I was furious that you helped Will frame my father."
"That's not angry. You didn't raise your voice once."
"You mean like my family?"
Penny glared at her hands. "Why didn't you end up like them?"
Anne sighed. "Honestly, I don't know. I think Russelle, my godmother, had something to do with it. But, Penny, if you hated seeing them angry, why did you remain Eliza's friend for so long? You're not dumb. You can tell she uses you, just like she uses me as her scapegoat. But while I have to love her since she's my sister, you could leave. You're smart enough. You could get a job elsewhere and not have to work for my family anymore. Why did you stay?"
Penny's glare didn't lessen. Neither did she say anything. Anne wracked her brain, trying to think of something that would induce Penny to answer, but alas, her befuddled brain was coming up with nothing. So, she sat in silence. Listening was more her thing, anyway. Maybe that might do the trick.
To Anne's shock, it did.
"Eliza once was nice to me," Penny whispered, still glaring at her hands, "back when we were kids. She was the cool kid and I was the nobody and she invited me to sit with her at lunch. I don't know why she picked me. My father hadn't yet started to work for your dad. I was just a nobody, but I assumed she thought I was special. I worshiped her for that act for, I don't know, so many years. It took me a long time to realize she was using me. That I could be replaced with ease if I didn't follow the rules she had laid out in our relationship. And then she started making insinuations of getting my father fired if I didn't comply—"
"She said that?"
Penny ducked her head and fell silent. Anne wished she hadn't said anything
. She had ruined the moment.
"I wanted revenge," Penny whispered, head still down. "I wanted Eliza to know what it's like to have everything ripped away from her. Will didn't trick me. He gave me the opportunity I already sought. And I thought that maybe, if I helped him..." she gave a short, bitter laugh and shook her head. "Well, he ended up using me like everyone else. I should have known he'd fall for someone else." Penny raised her eyes, a fierce determination sharpening those intelligent eyes. "But I hated that it was you. You were the nicest person I had ever known and I knew he'd only ruin you. I wanted you to get away, to not get involved. This whole plan was never supposed to include you. Just Eliza and your father. But Will," she glared at her hands again, "I don't think he's ever encountered pure goodness. And he wants to own it. Control it. But I won't let him." She shifted her glare to Anne, but it morphed into a steady stare, like one who was ready to face their death. "You said you have proof of my involvement?"
Anne hesitated for a moment. "Yes, but Russelle is a really good lawyer and my best friend. If you help our side, I'm sure she can cut you a good deal."
"You don't want me to go to jail? Even though I purposefully set out to take your family down?"
Anne winced. "I don't like what you did, but I can see why you did it. And, well, Will has already ruined another friend of mine about a year ago. I want justice for her and my father. If I can get your help, we can finally put Will behind bars where he belongs."
Penny's glare softened to a smile. "I wish we had been friends instead of Eliza and me. I always wanted to be your friend, but never knew how without..."
Anne knew what the end of the sentence would be. If Penny had sought a friendship with Anne, Eliza would have been furious and sought to ruin her life. Ironic that Penny would be doing it first. Anne leaned forward. "Well, we can be friends now. You don't need Eliza's approval anymore. How about it?"
Penny nodded. "Yes. I'd like that." She paused. "Speaking of friends, there's something else you should know about Will."
Chapter 30
Anne fidgeted in front of the restaurant. She had huge news and no one to share it with yet. Well, she could have shared it with Rick over the phone last night, but once he had heard about her father's arrest, he'd gone into mission mode and had hung up in order to call his boss and start the process of getting those papers. Russelle was her next option but she had been too busy speaking with her father and setting up his case. So, Anne now waited in front of Russelle's favorite restaurant for their promised lunch date.
Her phone pinged and she checked the text: Running late. Traffic.
Anne sighed, but a second later, the phone rang. To her delight, it was Rick.
"Rick! Were you able to reach your boss?"
"Better than that. I have the papers!"
If Anne wasn't in a public place, she'd have squealed. "Rick, that's amazing!"
"Even better, I've had it analyzed and you were right. Some of the pages that Will used, they were printed with your printer. I already informed Bingley and he's arranged for all of what Will has done for them to be re-analyzed for fraud. I have a feeling he's not going to be working for us much longer."
"Oh, he can't be fired yet! He'll run and we won't be able to charge him."
"Good point, but I think the process will take a while. My boss mentioned that the process of analyzing everything to charge your father took several weeks. My company doesn't like to falsely accuse people. Oh and Bingley wants to personally meet with you and your family to apologize if it does turn out that this was all a setup."
Anne grimaced, not sure she wanted to subject the too-nice-Mr. Bingley to her family, but before she could object, Rick continued, "Hey, can I see you? Where are you?"
"I'm at a restaurant, about to meet Russelle."
"Oh." There was no joy in that statement.
"She will be handling my father's case." She hesitated for a second. "Do you want to come? She'd love to hear what you just told me." And it would probably greatly improve her opinion of him.
There was silence on the other end.
"Livvy, the friend I was telling you about, she'll also be there and she would love to meet you."
"All right, I'll come."
Anne did a little hop of joy, then gave him the directions to the place. But it was after she had hung up that she realized she'd forgotten to tell him her big news. Well, now she could tell Russelle, Livvy, and Rick all at the same time, assuming the meeting went well. She knew Livvy would get along with everyone just fine, but Russelle and Rick may not fair as well. She hoped they could become friends, though. The three coming to the meeting were her three favorite people in the world and it would be disheartening if they couldn't like each other.
She resumed her fidgeting, half wishing this meeting was already over with.
Livvy arrived first, arms full of files. She'd brought everything she thought would be relevant to the case against Will. Anne couldn't believe the amount she had.
"I thought you didn't have any proof?"
"Nothing concrete. Most of these are details of his past burned relationships and their cases. I've spotted patterns that could possibly help with your dad's case and maybe lead us to the evidence we can use."
Anne couldn't help grinning. "Actually, I have some really big news—"
"Anne!" Russelle cried as she came up to them. "It’s so good to see you not looking glum! And who is your friend?"
"This is Livvy Smith, my old friend from college."
"Oh, yes, I remember you. Anne mentioned you would be coming. I assumed you'd like to work on the case yourself? You do have your law permits for Massachusetts still, correct?"
"Um, actually," Anne began. "She's here to make a case for the man who framed my father."
"Is that so? And who are we going to accuse?"
"William Elliot," Livvy said with steel in her tone.
Russelle jerked, eyebrows bunching together. "Will Elliot? Why on earth—" Russelle stopped, seemed to take a look around as if reminding herself she was in a public place and donned a more neutral expression. "I assume all these files are proof of this?"
"Not entirely—"
"Well, we'll deal with that after we're seated. No point in hashing it out on the sidewalk."
"Wait, there's one more person coming," Anne announced and both Livvy and Russelle stared at her in surprise, but Anne kept her gaze on Russelle. "Rick Wentworth."
Russelle's polite smile struggled to not morph into a frown and Anne winced. She had hoped for a better reaction. Still, this was probably the worst timing to throw the news on her. With all the chaos of her father's arrest and now the revelation about Will, Russelle was probably reaching her limit of surprises.
"Rick?" Livvy asked, leaning forward, eyes wide with excited glee. "You talked to him then? Is it all resolved? Or are you still estranged?"
"It's been resolved." Anne couldn't help the grin on her own face. "I'm sorry, Russelle, I was going to tell you, but it happened yesterday and between the chaos of my father's arrest and Louisa waking up—"
"The girl in the coma?" Livvy asked. "How was she? Is she going to be okay?"
"Yes, she looks like she'll be okay. She has some issues but nothing that seems major."
Russelle cleared her throat. "And you spoke with Rick?" Her voice squeaked on his name as if she wasn't sure she wanted the word to pass her lips.
"We had a misunderstanding, but we're good now. Really good."
Livvy did a mini tap dance. "I can't believe it worked out! You'll have to tell me all the details!"
"Yes," Russelle said. "Same here. But not now. Your Rick is late and I have a lot of work to get done." She motioned to the restaurant door. "Shall we? You can text Rick where we've been seated."
Anne forced a smile. "I'll wait out here for him if that's okay?"
"That's fine, sweetie. Livvy, will you lead the way?"
The two headed inside the restaurant, leaving Anne alone once again on the si
dewalk. But she didn't have to wait long before two strong arms wrapped around her waist.
"Hey," a familiar voice breathed in her ear.
She leaned into Rick's solid form and tilted her head to see him looking down at her. "Hey you. You're late."
"By eight years?"
She laughed. "Yeah, that, too." She suddenly wished she could spend lunch just with Rick and not go to the meeting with Russelle and Livvy. But, her father was currently facing dire charges and she was the type who fulfilled her duty.
"You ready?" She tried to step out of his grasp but he tightened his hold. She didn't complain.
"You're going to laugh, but…" he nuzzled his face into her hair. "Promise me," his voice was quieter, "you'll come out of this meeting still wanting to be with me."
Anne immediately turned around and clasped his worried face. "I survived eight miserable years without you. I am never going to let you go again, okay?"
He relaxed into a relieved smile. "Good." He straightened to his full height. "Okay, I can meet your Russelle now." He held out his hand. Anne happily interlaced her fingers with his and they strolled into the restaurant together.
To her relief, the meeting went a lot better than she had expected. Russelle and Rick were cold at first, but they slowly warmed up to each other, especially when Rick laid out the evidence of the printed papers. It gave Anne hope that the two would become good friends over time.
"There's one more piece of evidence that will nail Will's coffin," Anne added once Livvy and Rick were done reporting their ends.
Russelle faced Anne with a resigned look. It had taken a while, but Russelle seemed inclined to believe that Will was, in fact, the perpetrator in all of this. "Penny confessed to me her involvement in the plan."
"She did?"
"Yes, and," Anne pulled out a USB stick, "once the relationship began to sour, she started recording all of their conversations—"
"Anne, that's illegal in Massachusetts."
"I know. But she taped him in Rhode Island, too, and it's not illegal there. She also cozied up to a friend of his. A George Wickham."
"Yes!" Livvy pounced forward. "I know him. I've seen the two chat together, but he's just as hard to get information out of as is Will."
Persuading Him: A Modern Persuasion Retelling (Pemberley Estates Book 1) Page 25
