by Jane Charles
In the next instant he was gone.
“You will never touch my sister again,” Wesley roared.
Lily looked up through tear-filled eyes.
Wesley threw their father against the wall. With his right fist, he flattened the earl’s nose. Blood gushed over his face. “I’ve wanted to do that for years.”
“What are you doing here?” Artemisia snarled.
“Checking on my sister’s health, not that it is any of your concern.”
Artemisia pushed Wesley away. “Go on, back to your mother, away from me and where you cannot sully my daughter.”
“It is not I who sullies Lily, but you.” Wesley sneered. “I am not the one who married one woman while still married to another.”
Lily gasped. She knew of only one wife – her mother.
Wesley turned toward her. “Lily, I am sorry. You were never meant to know.”
Know what, she wanted to scream but a screech came out instead when her father lunged.
Artemisia took advantage of Wesley’s distraction and pushed with all of his might. Wesley floundered back and fell over the baluster, landing on the tile floor below. Lily screamed and ran down the last steps and rounded the corner.
“Wesley,” she cried as she knelt down to check on her brother.
He opened his eyes and grinned. “It was but a foot or so, Lily. I will survive.” He stood then offered his hand to help her off the floor.
“You lie.” Artemisia towered over them from the staircase.
“No, I do not.” Wesley stood rigid and faced his father face on. “You married my mother, got her with child, me, and then slunk away like the weakling you are when your father insisted my mother wasn’t good enough to be a Bliant.”
“I loved your mother,” Artemisia insisted. “But, my father was right. She was not worthy of me. She was a household maid. How could she ever be good enough to bear the next Artemisia heir?” Lily took a step back, trying to take all this new information in.
“You abandoned her, left her on her own and sought a lady you thought worthy of you and your title.”
“Another disappointment, I assure you.”
Lily’s back went rigid at the disparaging remarks about her mother.
“I suspect it was she who was disappointed. Lily’s mother was a sweet, gentle woman who was far above you,” Wesley snarled.
Artemisia lunged. “She was not. She was not of pure blood. An Artemisia must be of pure blood. My only hope is in that.” He thrust a finger and pointed at Lily’s abdomen.
She placed a protective hand across her stomach and vowed her child would never know this grandfather.
“He will be mine to raise to be stronger and better than any Artemisia before him. He will rule England, as I should have.” Her father’s fist thrust into the air and Lily realized for the first time how mad her father truly was. His eyes darted between them. “Nobody can stop me now. Why in time, he could become king.”
“But I am your true heir, father.” Wesley spit the name with disgust.
The glorious smile fell from her father’s face. “That was my father’s mistake. He should have seen that the divorce was handled. Before you were born, before I married Lilian’s mother.”
“The divorce wasn’t finalized until a week after Lily came into this world and you never bothered to remarry her mother.” Wesley stood back. “Did Lily’s mother ever even know your marriage was not legal?”
The implication sank into Lily. Her brother was not the bastard after all. She was. What would Max think? His father was a duke and duke’s sons did not marry illegitimate women.
“It is a minor detail,” Her father insisted. “I refuse to allow the son of a maid to take my place when my grandson comes from ducal lineage.”
“My wife could be carrying a daughter.” Max said from the doorway.
They all looked toward him expectantly. His hands were balled into fists and his eyes met Lily’s for but a moment. Rage filled his eyes and his teeth clenched before he turned back to Artemisia.
Relief flowed through her at the sight of her husband, but she had never seen him this angry before. Was he angry at her father, or because his wife had been born on the wrong side of the blanket. He may embrace the orphans of questionable birth but that was a far cry from marrying a woman who was also a bastard.
“My daughter would not dare defy me or my plans by giving birth to a worthless girl,” Artemisia raged.
“Regardless of whether my wife carries a son or daughter, you will be no part of its life.”
Artemisia roared and lunged for Max, his hands around her husband’s throat. “You will not dictate to me. That child is mine.”
Max was pinned against the doorframe, his face red from Artemisia’s strangulation. Lily stepped forward to save her husband but Wesley blocked her gently with an arm and moved toward their father. Before he could be reached, Max pulled back and let his fist lunge into Artemisia’s gut. The man grunted and loosened his hold. Max didn’t waste a moment and pushed the man back on the floor.
Artemisia fell backward, his head striking the bottom step. It was not enough to knock him out though. He pushed his hands to the floor in an attempt to rise. Max placed a foot on his chest. “You will leave my house. You will leave my property and you will never return again. If you happen to see my wife in public, you will not approach her.” Max’s voice was cold, almost deadly before he grabbed him by the lapels and pulled him from the floor and onto his feet.
“You are making a mistake, Lily,” her father yelled back. “What can he give you? Nothing. If you don’t come with me now, you are dead to me. You never existed. The two of you will be poor. You’ve ruined his chance for a good match. Is that what you want for your husband? To ruin him as you have ruined me?”
Max grabbed the man’s arm and pulled him to the door and thrust him outside. “You will never speak to my wife again. If she is dead to you, then that gives me peace, for you will have no reason to acknowledge she ever existed.”
Two footmen approached. “See that he is loaded into his carriage and have four men escort him back to London. If he gives you any trouble, take him to Bedlam where he belongs.”
Lily watched from the doorway as Max helped thrust Artemisia unceremoniously into the carriage. Her father yelled incoherently and Lily couldn’t stand any more.
It was too much. Her father was mad. Truly mad. Something she’d only come to suspect once they arrived in London.
Not only had Max married the daughter of a madman, but his wife was a bastard as well.
He deserved so much better than this.
The perfect day had turned into a nightmare and Lily needed to escape. She could not face her husband now and she needed to be far away from her father.
She scooted across the foyer and entered the parlor. She had to escape the ugliness of what had occurred, but she couldn’t escape the truth of herself. The circumstances of her birth could never be changed.
From there, she exited onto the terrace and made her way across the lawn. She knew exactly where she was going.
A large willow tree grew at the side of the pond. Stepping beneath the leaves and branches, Lily sank to the ground and rested her back against the bark. Oh Lord, what am I to do now? And then she burst into tears.
Max waited in the drive and watched as Artemisia’s carriage pulled away. When he was convinced Artemisia was truly gone, Max returned inside and went directly to the parlor where Lily had fled. Wesley stood in the center, a glass of brandy in his hand. “Where is Lily?” Max asked.
“I don’t know. She disappeared when we stepped to the door as you escorted my father out,” Wesley said with disgust.
Turning, Max mounted the steps to go to their room. Perhaps she had gone to put something on her face.
Max could not recall being so angry before in his life as when he saw the mark on Lily’s cheek that could only have come from being struck. He knew Wesley had not been the assailant. Never
had he felt such rage, or the desire to kill someone. It was so unlike him. But this was also the first time someone he loved had been threatened with physical harm.
The chamber was empty.
Max hurried through the house, calling her name. Had Artemisia gotten her somehow?
He questioned the servants. Nobody had seen her.
Oh, Lily. Don’t run away again.
As she was not in the house, he went outside in search of her. He called her name over and over, but she never answered. It would be dark soon. Where could she have gone?
The cottage. It had been her refuge before.
Max hurried to the stables and grabbed a horse, not even bothering with a saddle and headed toward Lily’s former home.
Once he arrived he pushed open the door, and lit a lamp. It was vacant. Cobwebs hung from the rafters. No one had been here in quite some time. He mounted and turned the horse toward home, calling her name over and over.
There was no answer.
Max returned inside once again, but nobody had seen her return and so he wandered his property, roamed the gardens and called her name to no avail.
Just as he was about to return to the house and ask the servants to join him in the search, he heard a sound coming from the willow tree by the pond. He paused a moment and listened to see if he was mistaken.
There it was again. He wasn’t sure if it was mumbling or crying, or a combination of both. If it was Lily, she surely would have heard him yelling her name, which meant she wished to hide. Should he leave her be, now that he knew she was safe, and wait for her to emerge?
Max quietly walked toward the tree. Once he was assured of her health, he would leave her be.
“Lord, it is what I always knew would happen, yet I hoped the day would never come.”
Her words were broken through her tears.
“I know Max loves me, now. But what of the future? He should have married a lady. Instead, he is saddled with me, a bastard, and we are now going to have a child. A duke’s son does not marry someone born on the wrong side of the blanket.”
She sniffed. Max crept closer.
“I don’t want to die, but if it is Your will, and best for Max, I understand. With me out of the way, he would be in a position to marry again. Someone who would not bring shame to him.”
What was she talking about? Max stopped. It wasn’t possible for Lily to ever bring him shame. He was honored to have her as his wife. She was his heart. Did she not know him well enough to realize it did not matter that her parents were not legally married? He loved her.
“Max will deny that his love will die. I know that about him. But what of the future? What if Society learns? My shame will become his. My shame will be attached to the child I carry. Oh Lord, I don’t know what to do. The only thing I’m certain of is my love for Max will never die. I only wish I were worthy of him. He deserves so much better than me.”
Tears stung his eyes. She did love him. He’d hoped, but she’d never said the words.
It had been ages since he had cried, but the ache he felt for his wife and her suffering was so strong and painful. Max stepped into the shelter of the tree. Lily’s tear-streaked face looked up to him. She didn’t say anything, just looked away. Stark pain reflected in her eyes. A fist squeezed his heart. This was all his fault.
No, all fault lay on Artemisia. He was the one who had taught her that all love comes at a price, must be earned, and could be yanked away in a heartbeat. Lily may understand what unconditional love is now, or at least, how deep love can be since she just confessed it in her prayer. But how long before she accepted that she was worthy of the same love in return and that there was nothing she could do that would ever make him stop loving her?
“Are you watching birds?” What an inane question! He recalled the stories in his mother’s garden so long ago.
A smile pulled at her lips. “When I was a little girl, I used to play in the willows. Here, I could be anyone I wished.” Her voice was quiet and Max strained to hear. “As I grew older, I discovered I could watch nature, without the animals being the wiser. I also discovered it was a safe hiding spot. Nobody ever found me in the willow.”
“Is that where you disappeared to the first night I was at your aunt’s home? She had willow trees along the back of her property.”
“Yes. I thought I had it all figured out. Wesley supported my decision. That was until he learned it was you. I felt betrayed by my own brother and I believe I was already half in love with you then. This,” she gestured to her surroundings, “is where I come to contemplate, to think in silence, now, to pray.”
Max glanced around. It was growing dark.
Lily looked around one more time and sighed. Max assisted her to her feet and then escorted her inside.
They entered the parlor, lamps lit to ward off darkness. Lily sank onto the settee, a look of defeat on her face. Her shoulders slumped. Max could not recall a time when Lily did not have perfect posture.
Sorrow darkened her eyes. “Max, I am not who you think I am. My father was married to Wesley’s mother and the divorce wasn’t final until after I was born.”
“Why should this make a difference?”
Lily turned toward him. Her mouth opened in shock. “Do you not understand that I am the bastard?”
“I am not so dense that I don’t understand that your parents were never lawfully married.”
“And it changes everything. If Society knew. . .”
A smile pulled at Max’s lips. “You think I care?” He grabbed Lily’s hands. “I love you. I don’t care who your parents are or were, or the circumstances of your birth. For all the things I have mentioned before, you are the one I love, the one who makes me whole. That is all I care about. And I will love you for as long as I live.”
Tears continued to stream down her cheeks, but she didn’t tell him of her love in return. He longed to hear the words from her lips, but he had, when she hadn’t known he was listening. All he could do was give her time. He just hoped it wasn’t forever.
Chapter 47
Oh, why couldn’t Wesley be here? He was her brother and a doctor, but he was also now the fourteenth Earl of Artemisia.
Her father’s death had been a shock and a relief. The footmen who were to return him to London under guard made it nearly home before her father threw himself out of the carriage, intent on returning to bring her back. The carriage happened to be traveling at the fastest speed the horses could travel at the time and her father broke his neck in the fall. Lily had been shocked, relieved and saddened all at once. At least she knew he’d never come for her again, but it saddened her that he had lived a life in such misery, making hers as miserable as his had been.
The greed of the Bliants. It infected each one stronger and stronger as each generation passed, but now that Wesley held the title, Lily was certain the hunger for power would disappear.
Lily braced a hand at the small of her back. She could not get comfortable, and was glad to have Max’s female relatives present, but she needed her brother, the physician.
Why did her back ache so? At least it wasn’t her abdomen. If it were, she would send a servant to find and bring Wesley to her now.
She returned her attention to the mortar and pestle before her and began to grind more herbs. Max had accompanied her to the small herb garden she had planted last year next to her cottage. Many had survived but the remainder were overgrown with weeds. She had harvested what she could and brought them here and began a new garden this past spring. The children from the Haven each had a plot of their own and she’d enjoyed helping them plant, weed and harvest their herbs, and had begun lessons on the medicinal purposes for each, reading from the family books.
Next year, the gardens would grow and she had already laid out plans for an herb garden. Knot gardens, similar to those used by her ancestors, and ones she could view from her bedroom window.
A smile pulled at her lips. She never dreamed she would be thinking about the
future this close to her confinement. Still, she worried, but not as much as before. She would be much calmer if her brother were here. With that, she ground the root into dust. Wesley may have important matters to attend to, but he knew how much she feared giving birth and he should be here.
A pain sliced across her abdomen and she dropped the mortar and pestle on the table. Oh no!
“Harriet,” Lily called from the dispensary off the kitchen.
“Yes, Lady Lilian?” the cook asked as she appeared in the doorway.
Lily gripped the table until her knuckles turned white as another pain gripped her stomach. Another one, so soon. It was not possible. They should be further apart. “Send for the doctor please.”
“Right away, but let’s get you upstairs first.”
“No, send someone else to me and dispatch a servant for Dr. Cornelius.”
“Right away.” The cook disappeared from the doorway, issuing orders to the servants in the kitchen. “Thomas, fetch Dr. Cornelius. Perkins, inform his lordship it is time. Mary, help Lady Lilian to her room. Alice, boil water. Helen, find the linens and take them upstairs.”
Another cramp squeezed her insides and Lily could barely stand through it all. Why are the pains so close?
The spasm released its hold on her as Max ran into the room. He swept her into his arms and took the stairs two at a time before depositing her in the middle of the bed in her former chamber. Lily insisted on giving birth in this room so as not to disturb Max during her confinement. It had taken her weeks to convince him this was best.
Lily grabbed his hand and squeezed, her fingernails dug into the back of his hand as another pain assaulted her. “They are too close,” she insisted through shallow breaths once the pain subsided.
“How far apart?” Her Grace demanded as she rushed into the room, her daughters-in-law close on her heels.
“It seems like only seconds.” Lily screamed as another spasm contracted her stomach.
“Max, you need to leave now. Girls, help Lily remove her dress.”
