Incredulous, he released a slow breath.“Well, I’ll be damned.”
5
After hearing Melody’s account of recent events, Samantha could think of only one thing to say.“You cannot marry him.”
“What would you propose I do instead?Run away?”Melody’s misery was visible in her bleak expression, accentuated by the unhappy laugh she gave.
Samantha was outraged on her behalf.However hurt Edward might be, he had no right to ruin Melody’s life.“I never would have thought him capable of such cruelty.”
“It is what I feared might happen,” Melody said.“Evie’s death broke him, but his heart remained open and hopeful, until I sliced it to pieces.”
“Not just you,” Samantha reminded her.She would not let Melody bear all the blame.“Adrian and I could have told him the truth as well, had we not been afraid of what Harlowe might do if he realized we’d leaked information about his project.”
She had been sworn to secrecy.Melody, Tara, Holly, and Hazel as well.To bring Edward into their confidence, potentially undermining decades of work, would have jeopardized them all.Harlowe might not have had any other choice but to shut down the program, which would have involved removing all evidence of it, including his agents.The understanding Samatha had with him would have evaporated as the threat of the Nightingale Project being revealed to the public expanded beyond her control.
After all, he was only willing to forgive her decision to confide in Adrian because the information she’d shared with him was contained.If that were to change — if Harlowe so much as suspected she’d brought others into her confidence – he’d come for her.Probably with the king’s army, just to make sure she would be overpowered.
“In the end, our attempt to do the right thing didn’t matter,” Melody whispered.“We’ve still ended up in the place we fought to avoid.”
“You said he spoke with Harlowe.”This was Samantha’s primary concern.“Do you know what was said?”
“No, but if he shared his knowledge about my secret identity, then Harlowe would surely have come to demand an explanation.”
Or rather, Melody and Samantha would not be sitting here having this conversation, but locked in a cell and awaiting trial.Or worse.
She placed her hand over her rounded belly.“Since that hasn’t happened, Marsdale must have refrained from mentioning it.”
“When he spoke with Lady Heathbrooke earlier, he used the kiss Moorland witnessed as his reason for demanding a hasty wedding.It could be he made the same point to Harlowe.”
“And Harlowe might be pleased by this turn of events,” Samantha mused.“When you speak with him next, I recommend you let him believe this was all part of a plan to infiltrate the upper levels of Society.”
“As countess, I’ll be privy not only to information but also to power.”
“Provided you go through with it, which I’m still not sure you should.”Samantha readjusted herself on the sofa.The pregnancy was making nearly every position increasingly uncomfortable.“Marsdale is being unreasonable.His behavior is out of character.”
“Which surely means his behavior is fleeting.”Melody’s brow crinkled.“Given enough time, I’m sure he’ll return to his normal self.”
“Is that truly a risk you’re willing to take?”Samantha hated the situation her friend was caught in.Such a marriage would be like a prison sentence.“I want you to be happy, Melody, not tied to a man who loathes you.”
“I have thought about running away, as you suggest.It wouldn’t be hard, returning to Italy.Alessandro might still want to marry me, but even if he doesn’t, I think I could build a peaceful life there.”
“Then do that.”Heavens, if she herself could escape Harlowe’s clutches, she would.Maybe later, once Adrian found the man responsible for his sister’s death, the two of them could move abroad.
“No.”Melody shook her head.“I made my decision before coming here.What happened between me and Edward is my responsibility.I’ll not run from it or from him.Instead, I’m going to fight for our future happiness.”
“Melody…”
“To abandon him now when he needs saving would be cowardly and wrong.It would suggest I don’t care what happens to him when nothing could be further from the truth.”Melody slumped in her seat.“I love him, Samantha.I’ll suffer whatever torment I have to in order to win him back.”
“There’s nothing I can say to convince you otherwise?”
A sad smile curled the edge of Melody’s lips.“No more than what I could have said to dissuade you from marrying the man you were meant to be hunting.”
“Point taken.”
Melody settled her hand over Samantha’s.“I have to fix this.I need to earn Marsdale’s trust once more and help him heal.It’s the only way in which I’ll be able to live with myself.”
“I understand,” Samantha said.She’d gone through hell in order to prove herself to Adrian and would do it again if need be.“You said the wedding is due to take place at Saint George’s tomorrow?”
