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And despite her reservations, she found herself softening. “So, you had no idea any of this would happen?”
“This?” Baxter cried. “You thought I might have some part in you being taken?”
Arabella came to her side. “They were coming for me when they snatched her at the exact time you’d sent her. We’d be fools not to consider it a possibility.”
Bash looked at Baxter. “I swear we only wanted to help our siblings. If Baxter’s made one mistake, it was uniting the two of you.” And then he winked. “It’s obvious as a team you’ll both be a force to be reckoned with.”
Arabella’s hand found hers, and sandwiched between Ash and Arabella, Lily felt stronger than she had in years. Perhaps in her entire life. “What did you wish speak with Ash about?”
Bash’s mouth pressed into a thin line and all teasing vanished from his features. “The honorable thing to do.”
Lily blinked away her surprise as Arabella gasped. Honorable thing? What did that mean? Ash tensed against her. “You wish for me to marry your sister?”
“You have been alone with her. It’s only right.”
But Lily shook her head. “Right? You sent him after me. How does that make marriage right?”
“I sent him and Lockton. I did not intend—”
Lily stepped forward, glaring at Bash. Any fear was forgotten as she stared down the duke. Those were the semantics he planned to argue? “Your gaming hell has caused all this.” She spread her arms wide. “You moved me into your house without any idea of what to do with me. I left my life to trust that you had a better plan, so forgive me if your intentions no longer matter. You’ll not force me or Ash to do anything that we don’t wish to do, because it’s now obvious to me you’ve no idea what you are doing.”
“Lily,” Ash said from just behind her, gently touching her shoulder. “It’s all right. You don’t have to defend me.”
What did that mean? She looked back at him, and her brow crinkled in question. “You defend me all the time. Why wouldn’t I do the same?”
He gave her another of those gentle smiles. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate it. And in fact, it’s beautiful to behold.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I think that you and I should have a private conversation of our own before you expend more energy putting Bash in his place.”
Confusion knitted her brow. “About what?”
Grabbing her hand, he pulled her toward the door. “We’ll be right back,” he told the group at large.
What did he wish to discuss right in the middle of a difficult conversation? Her limbs felt heavy as he pulled her behind him. Was she going to like what she was about to hear? She’d had a moment of wishing to fight for herself and for him. Had that been a mistake?
