He couldn’t hold on to the façade any longer. He broke, hating the fact that she dared to sit there smiling at him. He hated the fact that she seemed so happy and content while Alice was undoubtedly quite terrified. He strode toward her, stopping behind an armchair and gripping the back of it in an effort to control his overwhelming fury.
“Where is she?” he bit out.
Lady Susan’s smile slipped, looking a tad bit bemused. “I beg your pardon?”
“Lady Alice!” he roared, making her flinch. “I know what you did. I know that you sent someone to kidnap her.”
“Kidnap—?” Lady Susan broke off, blinking rapidly. “I…I do not understand what it is you are trying to say, My Lord. Have you come here to accuse me of kidnapping Lady Alice?”
“You confronted her the night of Lord Brownley’s ball and then, not long after, someone grabbed her sister thinking she was Lady Alice. Then, you sent someone to harm her at her own home, didn’t you? And when those two plans failed, you decided it would be best to simply kidnap her and be rid of her once and for all.”
William was unable to stop himself, his accusations spilling forth from a well of anger and fear. He needed to stand behind the armchair, needed to keep from doing something he would later regret.
“And for what, Lady Susan? Because you believe you have a claim on me that no other lady could possibly possess? Because you believe me to be your fated match even though we have barely spoken to each other beyond the confines of our Fathers’ friendship? What could have possibly pushed you to do something so horrible?”
Lady Susan’s lips thinned, hurt flashing in her eyes. She blinked them rapidly, looking away, and William wondered for a moment if she was holding back her tears. She didn’t say anything for a few seconds and William was once again hit with the urge to shake answers out of her.
“I cannot believe that you would think such a thing of me, My Lord,” she murmured after a while. She sniffled, then lifted teary eyes to him. “And I never knew you could be so cruel. I fell in love with you the moment we first met. Yes, I do believe I am meant to be with you, and I see no crime in that. Nor do I see how that could possibly mean that I would be so horrible as to kidnap a lady simply because I do not want her getting in the way of us, which you are so clearly implying.”
“Then are you saying you do not admit to these actions?” he demanded to know.
“I shall not admit to something that I have not done, something I have not even considered.” She wiped at her tears with frustration, looking away. “After I spoke with Lady Alice, I went right back into the ballroom. I socialized and danced with a great many people and I shall procure a list for you if you would like to corroborate the truth. Therefore, I would not have any time to send someone to attack Lady Alice that night and, though I may not have the evidence to prove it, I also did not send anyone to harm her in any manner.”
The confidence with which she spoke broke through William’s determination. If Lady Susan was not the person behind this, then…who was?
Despair lanced him painfully. William hung his head, gripping the back of the armchair so tightly that he began to lose feeling in his hands. This couldn’t be it. Coming up against this solid wall like this, with no longer any clue as to what might have happened, had that despair spreading through him like a sickness.
“You have fallen in love with her, haven’t you?” came Lady Susan’s soft question.
William swallowed harshly, then lifted his pained eyes to meet hers.
She’d dried her face of her tears but more already shimmered in her eyes.
“Yes,” he whispered.
A single tear spilled over her cheek and she turned her face away. William looked away from her as she visibly tried to collect herself. He knew he needed to do the very same thing.
“I’d somehow convinced myself that I would be the only lady that would make you feel that way. I’d believed that once you had grown tired of your flirtatious ways, you would be content to live the rest of your life with me by your side.” She sniffled again. “Did I ever stand a chance?”
He didn’t know how to tell her the truth and so he simply shook his head. Lady Susan nodded slowly to herself, as if she was trying to process that response as quickly as she could, even though more tears streamed down her face.
“I see that I was wrong.”
“As was I.” William straightened, drawing in a shaky breath. “Please forgive all that I have said. If you can, I hope you will forget that we ever had this conversation.”
He turned to leave, his legs heavy with dismay. He didn’t know what to do now, didn’t know how he was going to go back to the carriage with no news about Alice’s whereabouts.
“Lord Erlington, wait,” Lady Susan called out from behind. He faced her, seeing that she’d risen to stop him. “I need to be sure. Does your heart truly belong to Lady Alice?”
“Without a doubt, My Lady,” William said without hesitation. “I love her with all my heart, which is why I will go to the ends of the Earth to find her.”
Lady Susan’s shoulders sagged. But still, she said, “If that is the case, then I shall help you. I may not be the one who holds your heart, My Lord, but I love you enough to wish for your happiness. If Lady Alice is who will make you happy then…” she seemed to struggle to get the words out, “then, I must do whatever I can to ensure that that happens.”
William shoved aside the shock he felt at her words, focusing on the first thing she’d said. “How will you help me?”
“At Lord Brownley’s ball, I overheard Lord Brownley himself boasting to his father that he will soon have Lady Alice as his own. At the time, I’d hoped that he would succeed, if only to see Lady Alice out of my way so that I could have you to myself. I did not think, for a moment, that there was any nefarious intention behind it or I would have certainly mentioned it to her. But, now that you’ve told me all that has happened, I cannot help but wonder if that had been the Earl’s intention all along.”
The truth hit William like a ton of bricks. Suddenly, it all made sense. It was Lord Brownley who had grabbed Lady Emma that night, hoping that it would be Lady Alice. It was he who had shot after them, a bullet that must have been meant for William rather than Lady Alice. And now, he’d managed to lure her out and steal her away to do…to do God knows what.
