“Let us get this straight: she embraced me,” Lord Spencer protested.
“It was a mistake!” said May. “He is not to blame!”
Thatwas the worst explanation he could have asked for. Because, if he was being honest, it was May’s arms that he saw wrapped tight about Lord Spencer, her cheek resting onhisshoulder. And Elias could not handle that if it was not for agood reason.
“No, you summoned me here.” Elias backed up a step. “You knew I was coming… and when I did, it was to see…this. That was why you called me, wasn’t it?”
“No, Elias, it is not as you think—” plead May.
The pieces started falling into place. “You wanted me to see the truth of him. The only part that I don’t understand is, why now? After you took such pains to convince me to give him a chance at all? Unless...”
“Unless what?” Hannah filled in the silence.
Elias looked at May with desperate intent. She was nervous—why was that? Why did her gaze stray as if she had something to hide? He stepped up to her until they were separated by an arm’s length, as if closing in the distance would undo all that was unspoken between them.
“Why couldn’t you just sit and let this be?” he whispered. “Your job was done, I said so myself…”
“Elias, would you listen to me, please? That is not why I asked you to come. I wanted... to talk to you. For goodness’ sake, I thought he was you! It was a simple misunderstanding!”
“Am I to believe he got here by mistake in the middle of the night? At this hour?”
A quick look passed between Spencer and Hannah, but Elias was too busy watching May to dwell on it. And there was something to watch, for the dismay that blossomed on her face was very well acted, indeed.
“What? I did not ask him to come! Are you saying that I lured him here?”
“What other explanation is there for finding you in his arms?”
“Hannah.” Spencer was looking only at his sister. “I was confused for a moment, but… I did not touch her. I swear it on my honor.”
Elias reeled back. It was undeniable.
The truth always came out. May was content to play along until Elias proclaimed their contract incomplete. He thought he was being considerate, unwilling to appear mercenary in the face of their fledgling love connection. Yet she must have thoughtonly of the money she would no longer receive. It made perfect logical sense, and oh, how he loathed it.
I was going to propose to her. Yet I am made the fool, once more.
“You are very good at your job, Lady May. I thought Spencer was impervious to your charms, but I guess you didn’t put much effort into it until your payment was in danger.” Every word was harsh and unforgiving. “Thank you for doing us all a favor and revealing your true self now.”
“So, this is what you think of me?” Her voice trembled as it dropped to the barest whisper. “I’ve put it all on the line for you… I’ve told you this was all a simple error—will you not believe me?”
Elias’s heart clenched, but his mind was unbending steel, screaming at him to stand strong and not succumb to this deceit. He had to cut the cord that bound them while he was strong enough.
“Donottell me you took him for me! Fool that I am for loving you, I am not so gullible as to fall for the same deception twice. You came close—had you been less greedy, you might have had me. I thought the air of mystery surrounding you only meant I could learn everything about you as time went on. But deep inside, I knew it was too good to be true. I never should have ignored the difference in our stations. This, whatever this was, is over. I will see that you are properly compensated for your… time.”
Some small part of him screamed from the back of his mind, telling him to calm down and trust, but the avalanche had already come down, and all that was left was this: the aftermath.
May threw her chin up, eyes sparkling, though he could not tell tears from tricks of light. “I summoned you here to confess the truth to a man I thought I could reveal my true self to, only to find out this is what you’ve thought of me all along. I may not bea duchess or a lady, for that matter, but I know I am worth more than that. Goodbye… Elias.”
She disappeared into the hallway without granting Elias so much as a chance to process her words. He tried to wrap his mind around their implication, but there was no time to consider it as his sister rounded up on him.
“What did you promise to pay her for, brother?”
Elias had known this moment would come. He was prepared to face the consequences of what he’d started all along, but he would be lying if he said it was easy. He met Hannah’s eyes head-on. “I brought her here to put Spencer’s loyalty to the test, and it’s a good thing, too, given what we discovered here tonight.”
“You… what?” Hannah’s bewildered expression sharpened into hurt. “How could you do this to me, after what Father did to you?”
“It is not me you should be angry with, Hannah! I did what I did out of concern and love.”
“There is no love in that,” said his sister bitterly. Spencer took his place at her side, and her fingers entwined with his, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Elias understood nothing of what had occurred this night. Even after having definitive proof, his sister would believe that man over her own brother? “There is only fear. And I won’t live in it.”
