Chapter Twenty-Six

At the sound of her sister’s voice, Lily gasped. She turned, meeting Sophie’s stare. The rushlight fluttered over her older sister’s determined expression.

“How long have you been there?”

“Long enough.” Her shoulders set in her impeccable restraint, Sophie glided forward until she stood nearer. “I don’t think I have the full story, however. Lily? What haven’t you been telling me?”

Lily looked down to her fingers twined with Adam’s. “I didn’t want to upset you.”

“I think it’s time you do. Let me fetch Willa and we’ll have this out.”

Lily’s heart jumped into her throat. She reached out to catch Sophie’s arm as she turned away, but Adam stopped her. He squeezed her hand. “Let her. They are strong women in their own right. Don’t you think they deserve to know what you’ve done for them?”

No. However guilty she felt at keeping secrets, all of her actions had been to ensure they had a happy future. She could not regret any of it—and if Willa’s censure was any indication, her sisters would try to get her to repent. If they didn’t simply storm out of the room.

Adam cupped her face. He kissed her sweetly, as if he couldn’t help himself. “You have the family I’ve always wanted. They want to do as much for you as you do for them. Please, lean on them for once in your life.”

Lily swallowed hard. She was accustomed to doing everything herself. To relying on no one but herself. She’d been doing this for so long—protecting her sisters—that she didn’t know how to stop.

As if reading her thoughts from her expression, he raised his eyebrows. “Let’s tell them what’s happening. At least that.”

She swallowed hard, her fingers tightening on his, and nodded.

Ten minutes later, everyone except Mama gathered in the sitting room. By unspoken agreement, they’d left their mother in peace. Perhaps she had once had the backbone to handle the news, but that strength of character seemed to have died with Papa. Otherwise, wouldn’t she have taken up the mantle for this family, rather than Lily? Lily loved her mother no less for her mourning, but there had been times—so many times—when she’d begged to have the woman who had raised her.

But her sisters were here now. Did they still support her, after all she’d explained?

Adam stood with his hands bracketing her shoulders, lending his support and his strength. He didn’t speak, leaving the explanation to her. Willa glared at them, her arms crossed over her slim chest and her lips pressed together hard to restrain from further interruptions. But Sophie… Lily was afraid to look at her, afraid to have lost her good opinion as well.

Willa shattered the silence first. “Did you do it? Did you steal the item?”

Her chin wobbling, Lily nodded. “Tonight. In a little more than an hour, I must meet with Reid at my shop to turn it over. He’ll forgive the debt if I do. And Adam will have to leave again.”

Silence reigned in the sitting room. It smothered Lily. She swallowed hard, trying to call moisture into her mouth.

Willa reiterated, “There must be another way. Put it back and we’ll take our chances.”

Sophie snapped, “Don’t be naive.”

Her mouth dropping open, Lily stared at her older sister. Sophie was everything that was virtuous and kind. She would never condone stealing. But there was no censure in her eyes, only a grim understanding.

Sophie added, “There may be no other way to repay the debt on the house, but perhaps I could convince him to reconsider. If there exists a shred of the man we used to know…”

Lily exchanged a glance with Adam. He pressed a kiss to her temple, bringing warmth back into her skin.

There wasn’t. Lily had seen that, hadn’t she?

But what if Willa was right and there was another way?

Sophie shook her head. “He left you for four years without a word. He orchestrated for your husband to leave you with nothing. There is one villain in this, and it is Reid Chatterley. So what are we going to do to rectify it?”

Tentatively, Adam said, “I think I know where he’s keeping the papers he is holding against me. It won’t solve everything, but if we burned them…”

Sophie stood, briskly brushing down her dress. “But you need someone to meet him at the shop and keep him busy while you’re away.”

Lily nodded. “That’s precisely what we need. As for the stolen artifact… At the very least, I can buy us a few more days to think. As long as he doesn’t ruin us in the meantime.”

Sophie took Willa’s hand and held it tight. They stood in front of Lily, a unified force. “Then leave this to us. We will keep Mr. Chatterley busy.”

Her upper lip curling, Willa said, “If he thinks he can take advantage of the Bancroft sisters, he is about to discover he is mistaken.”

…

Lily held her breath, leaning close. Adam was viscerally aware of her, and not only because she perched next to him in the shadows of a townhouse. They were about to take a dangerous risk.

And they had only a short window of time before Chatterley returned. Had he brought his valet with him to Lily’s shop? If he hadn’t, their risks grew exponentially. If Lily was caught trespassing with him…

She volunteered for this. No, she’d insisted upon it. As much as the situation chafed, he had to trust her, especially after he had urged her to accept her sisters’ help. They were partners, for better or worse.

Adam hoped that after this, they would begin to see the better.

“I don’t see any movement. Let’s enter through the back.”

Lily nodded. She followed in his footsteps, keeping watch when he bent over the keyhole. He made short work of the lock and motioned Lily inside first. As he shut the door behind him, extinguishing the light, he caught her hand and threaded their fingers together.

“I found a loose floorboard in his bedchamber.”

Her hand tightened on his. “Lead the way.”

She sounded confident. His chest warmed and tightened in turns as he towed her along the house, searching for signs of movement before entering each junction. Each empty corridor and landing bolstered his courage. He found the room by memory alone, but once inside they had no choice but to light a candle in order to find the papers. He shut the door and tugged a coverlet from the foot of the bed to dampen the crack, so the light didn’t shine through.

As he straightened, Lily turned to face him, the candle cupped between her hands. “Where?”

“Over here.” She followed him as he retraced his steps to the loose floorboard. His memory was vague and he took a few precious minutes to feel around on the floor before prying up the loose board. When he pulled up the box from within, she sucked in a breath. Her wide eyes glittered with the reflected light of the candle.

“Hold it steady.” He opened the box, finding a sheaf of papers within. He thumbed through them. The first few pertained to Lily’s debts. He had half a mind to burn those as well. Don’t. They might be the only proof the debts had been forgiven and were not languishing to other creditors. He set those pages carefully aside and continued to shuffle through the sheaf. At last, he lifted several pages. His brother’s enlistment in the navy, as confirmed by his former captain in a crew roster. A certificate detailing his brother’s death. Correspondence with his former captain, though he didn’t stop to read it thoroughly. And a copy of the record of his and Lily’s marriage, composed of parish records. With these documents, it wouldn’t take much of a leap to find Adam guilty.

One by one, he held the pages to the flame, beginning with the record of marriage—the proof that Adam Darling was still alive. It hurt viscerally to watch it burn, but he still had the marriage certificate he’d been given the day of his wedding. He dropped the first document only when the fire licked at his fingers and all that was left was a tattered corner. He stamped out the fire before it burned the house and held up the next.

“That’s them, then?”

He nodded, not trusting himself to speak. The roster went up in flames, then the correspondence with his former captain. Finally, the record of his brother’s death. His eyes filmed over with tears. He blinked hard, his throat thick, as he consigned the document to the flame. Goodbye, brother. He exhaled, ragged, his eyes focusing on the document a moment before the fire consumed it. He dropped the page, but it was already too late. Nothing was left to confirm.

Had it been a trick of his eyes, or had the clerical work in the certificate been sloppy? And the seal…

“Is that everything?”

“Yes.” His voice emerged as a croak. His stomach was tight, the relief he should have felt absent. With jerky movements, he replaced the box in its hole, covered it, and swept away the lingering ash. Whatever he’d thought he had seen, it must have been his imagination. His grief over his brother had blurred the page.

“Is that it?”

Adam nodded. His throat still thick, he didn’t trust himself to speak. He ran his fingers over the floorboard, making certain it was seamless. Chatterley might eventually learn of what he’d done, and he would undoubtedly suspect who had done it, but that knowledge would not help him. Adam was…free.

A door opened and shut below. Lily gasped. The candle flame flickered as her hand trembled.

“Snuff the candle. We must get home at once.”