And now he was no better.
He narrowed his eyes. “Just curious. Having been in the dark all this time, can you blame me now for wanting every detail?”
Liliana’s cheeks fired red. Good. Perhaps she’d be focused more on her shame, if that was what she was feeling, and less on why he’d asked that particular question. Still, Liliana was smart. It mightn’t take her long to figure it out.
Well, she’d given the letters to him. He wouldn’t give them back and allow her a chance to crack the code without him. Indeed, when he cracked it himself, he wouldn’t share what he learned with her at all. It would serve her right, to have whored herself for nothing.
“I never meant to hurt you,” Liliana whispered, her amazing violet eyes brimming with tears, and for a horrid moment, Geoffrey longed to engulf her in his arms and soothe her.
“Don’t.” Whether he said these words to her or to himself, he was not sure. The harshness in his voice betrayed more than Geoffrey would have liked. But he could hear no more of her lies. How many times early in his parents’ marriage had he watched his father give in to Mother’s tears and manipulations? How long had his father been made miserable because of his feelings for a deceitful woman?
“But, Geoffrey, I need—”
“I’ve heard enough of your lies,” he bit off. He could no longer contain his rage. She looked so beautiful there beside him, tears glistening off of her lashes just like the moisture clinging to the tips of that extraordinary plant they’d picked in the bog. Indeed, wasn’t she just like the majestic sundew, a carnivorous trap of a flower, luring creatures to their demise? Well, he’d made a close escape. But he wouldn’t allow her to devour his heart.
He gathered the contents of the box and stood, tucking it beneath his arm in possessive challenge. He raised his chin and pressed his shoulders back in a rigid stance. “I want you out of my sight.”
A lone tear slipped down Liliana’s cheek, and Geoffrey felt it like hot acid stripping a trail down his soul. She stood, a bit shakily, but only nodded and turned to leave.
A sick panic gripped him. “Liliana?”
Wide eyes turned back to him, a wealth of emotion churning in them.
He steeled himself against it. “Don’t you dare leave Somerton Park until I say you may go.”
She flinched, keeping her eyes downcast as if unable to meet his.
Part of him wished she would look up—whether to plead with him or so that he could rail at her, he did not know—but she left without another word.
Geoffrey told himself that he’d given that command only so that she would be nearby if he needed more information from her. But as he watched her walk away, he could no longer deny the painful truth he’d been holding at bay. Cursed love bloomed inside him with rough petals that scraped and stung no matter how hard he tried to stem it.
Just like his father, he’d fallen in love with a cunning, untrustworthy female.
Chapter Twenty-four
G
ringolet’s stall stood empty when Liliana arrived at the stable an hour before dawn. Whatever bravado held her shoulders high escaped like hydrogen leaking from one of Jacques Charles’ gas-filled balloons. She slumped against the wall.
If only she could float away on the breeze like one of those famed contraptions. Yet her desire to leave her heartbreak behind was tethered by a sad combination of her love for Geoffrey and her ever-present need to finally know the truth. She couldn’t leave Somerton Park without closure on both fronts.
Where had Geoffrey gone? Should she remain here at the stable until he returned? She hadn’t really expected he’d be here to meet her for their morning ride, but she’d run out of options. She’d already looked for him in his rooms and his study using the key he’d neglected to take back. The image of his face when he’d realized she’d used that key to search the family wing had haunted Liliana all night. Remorse ached inside of her, sharp and poignant, not blunted even by the conviction that she hadn’t set out to hurt Geoffrey specifically. She’d only been seeking justice.
She had to see him. Though her chances to convince him of the veracity of her feelings were slim, she feared how painful the regret would grow if she didn’t at least try. She also needed to tell him of the old valet’s suspicions regarding his father’s death. He deserved to know everything she did.
Her heart constricted. Geoffrey mustn’t feel the same, however. He was keeping something from her. Something important. Something that strangely enough had to do with where her father’s letters had been found, but she couldn’t fathom what it could be.
An impatient whinny and the irregular prancing clop of hooves drew Liliana’s attention to the neighboring stall. Amira must have sensed her presence and been anxious to run the countryside. Liliana’s turbulent emotions ceded a bit at the thought. A good hard ride might be just what she needed, and there was always the chance she’d come across Geoffrey on the grounds.
Liliana entered Amira’s stall and stroked the mare’s nose. In short time, she saddled the horse and galloped off toward the eastern sunrise with no destination in mind. This morning, of all mornings, she craved thoughtless escape.
Shortly after the sun broke the horizon, Liliana spotted Geoffrey’s stallion in the distance. Relief and trepidation rose in her. The beast was tied to a post outside the folly—the folly Geoffrey had offered for her laboratory as an inducement to marry him.
Liliana tried to picture that moment, the tender look upon Geoffrey’s face when he’d made his sweet proposal. But all she could dredge up was the pained betrayal in his eyes when he’d tossed her out of the library. She squeezed her eyes shut on her wretched emotions. They’d get her nowhere.
She slowed Amira as they came around the lake, bringing the mare to a halt next to Gringolet. The horses nickered in greeting. Liliana dismounted, secured Amira to the post and walked over to stroke Grin’s flank. Cool and smooth. He hadn’t been run in some time and had clearly been brushed down after arriving. Had Geoffrey spent the night out here, then?
She glanced at the shuttered folly, which looked empty and lifeless. Had she not seen Grin, she would have ridden right past…
Deciding on a plan, she untied the horses and led them around the back of the structure, where they were hidden from view, and found a tree sturdy enough to secure them to. The morning had handed her the perfect opportunity to hash things out with Geoffrey away from the prying eyes and ears of the manor.
As Liliana mounted the front steps, she was grateful it had been hours since she’d eaten. Certainly nothing would have stayed in her stomach with this nervous churning. But she vowed she wouldn’t leave the folly until she discovered what Geoffrey was keeping from her. And until he heard her apology. She couldn’t force him to accept it, nor did she expect him to. She could only hope saying it would be enough to release her from this gnawing guilt.
She didn’t knock, simply tested the handle, which turned easily. She pressed the heavy wooden door just wide enough to slip through, blinking as her eyes adjusted to the relative darkness. Dim slivers of light cut the shadow through the ancient slatted shutters but did little to illuminate the interior of the folly. The air seemed still. Yet Liliana’s body tingled with awareness. Geoffrey was definitely here.