Page 53 of To Break the Rules

Looking effortlessly cool and lovely, despite the fierce heat of the day, Lucia entered wearing a cream muslin gown, which floated about her like a delicate cloud. The colour highlighted her golden skin and the thick black tresses of her hair, and he caught his breath, stunned all over again.

“I’ll never get used to it,” he said, taking her hand and kissing her fingers with a light brush of his lips.

“What?” she asked, and he could see the nervousness in her tense stature, the slight hitch behind the word.

“How beautiful you are.”

She smiled at him but still looked ill at ease.

“You must tire of hearing men say foolish things to you at every turn,” he said, seeing her shrug a little in reply.

“It depends why they say it, and if they expect anything in return.”

She sat down on an elegant silk upholstered settee and gestured for him to join her. Silas did so, watching the way her slim hands tangled together, one gripping the other so tightly that her knuckles whitened.

“You’re afraid,” he said, his voice low.

She nodded, not looking at him. Silas reached out, covering her hands with his.

“I won’t change my mind, Lucia. I can’t think of anything you could tell me that would change my feelings for you.”

Lucia drew in a deep breath. “Well, I suppose we shall see,” she said, her voice a little tart. “You asked me if the Earl of Ulceby was my father, and I told you he was not,” she said, and he could see the rapid rise and fall of her chest as she forced the words out. “That is not entirely true.”

Silas frowned a little, puzzled, but she hurried on.

“The present earl is not my father, but… but the previous earl? He was.”

She cast a defiant glance at him before carrying on. “My father loved me despite my illegitimacy, and recognised me as his natural daughter. When he lay dying of malaria, he changed his will. Although he could do nothing about the entailed property, he left me a large sum of money which would become mine on my twenty-first birthday. He also gave my… he gave Anne-Marie enough to keep us in comfort until that time came.”

She looked down at Silas’ large hand encompassing hers as he squeezed a little, encouraging her.

“There’s nothing here so far that makes me think less of you, love. I can’t believe you could imagine it would. Not of me.”

Lucia swallowed and turned to look at him. “I promised to give you a part of my story, Silas, not all of it.”

“Very well,” he said, smiling at her. “But have a little faith, eh?”

That, at least, drew a hesitant smile from her. “I’ll try.

My father was ill for a long time and his heir, the current earl, got to hear of it. There must have been someone spying on my father, as news got to him that he intended to change his will, to leave much of his wealth to me.”

“I can imagine that news was not well received?”

Lucia gave a bitter laugh. “What, that the late Earl of Ulceby could be so lost to propriety as to settle a large sum of money on his bastard daughter? No,” she said with wry distaste. “It wasn’t well received.”

“What happened, Lucia?” Silas prompted, warmth behind the question, gently encouraging her to continue as she’d subsided into silence.

“My father knew he was dying, and that his heir was a ruthless man who would stop at nothing to get his hands on my fortune, despite everything he was due to inherit. He feared for my life. So, he made plans for Anna-Marie to smuggle me out of India, but… the man arrived much earlier than we anticipated.”

“Your father thought Ulceby capable of murdering a child?” Silas said, revulsion lancing through him at the idea.

“He thought it, and he was right,” Lucia said, the words increasingly uneven as her emotions rose. “I had to run. Dharani woke me in the middle of the night and made me run and hide in the indigo fields close to our home. She told me that… that evil man ransacked the house, looking for the will, but Father had already ensured it, and several copies, were with his solicitors both there in India and in England. When he realised that destroying the will wasn’t possible, he wanted me. There were other men with him, and they were brutal, terrorising the servants. None of them would betray me. He beat Dharani, demanding he tell her where I was. He hurt her so badly, Silas, but… but somehow, she had the courage to lie for me. She told him I’d left a week earlier, and she didn’t know where, but it was somewhere he’d never find me.”

“My God,” Silas breathed, unable to take in the horror. He’d known the present earl to be a despicable man, but to kill a child…! “Lucia, my love, I’m so sorry.”

Though she was rigid with misery, he gathered her in his arms, pulling her close.

“You poor child. My sweet girl.” He rocked her as though she was a little girl still, murmuring endearments and stroking her hair as her composure cracked and she sobbed into his shoulder, crying her heart out until he thought his own would break at the sound.