The Love He Stole

The First Steps

Lily rounded the corner of the hallway, following Poppy close behind. Their only source of light was a small candle on a chamberstick that Poppy was carrying. It was late, past bedtime, and no one was supposed to be out and about the manor, but she had to see Rose to make sure she was okay. They quietly walked up to her door, and Poppy softly knocked on the door. I hope she’s still up, Lily thought.

A moment passed and they could hear shuffling footsteps behind the door. With a creak, the door opened just a few inches and Lily saw Rose’s dark figure outlined by the moonlight streaming in from behind her as she stepped into the candlelight, illuminating her red, watery eyes.

“Good evening, Rose. May we come in to talk for a minute?” Lily asked.

Rose didn’t say a word, but opened the door all the way to let them both in. They quickly went in, safe from being caught out of bed, gently closing the heavy door behind them. Poppy sat the candle on Rose’s bedside table and Rose sat down on the bed and began to sob, covering her face in her hands. Lily sat next to her, putting her arms around her in a tight hug. She pulled her head to her chest and caressed her hair.

“Please tell us what’s happened. Why are you being forced to marry that awful man? How did this happen so quickly?” Lily whispered. Rose took a deep breath, attempting to calm herself down and pulled away from Lily to wipe her eyes with the sleeve of her nightgown.

“He… he caught me with my lover after our lunch… the stable boy, Joseph,” she said, beginning to cry again. Lily grabbed her hand, squeezing it.

“Is this the boy you were telling me about earlier?”

“Yes,” she said, sniffling. “He’s the love of my life. But Mr. Charles walked into the stables for a horse and… And he saw us…” Rose explained.

“It’s okay, Rose,” Lily said. Poppy grabbed a nearby handkerchief and passed it to her, and she wiped her eyes, clenching the silk fabric tightly.

“No! He saw everything! We weren’t just kissing… We were… I was giving my maidenhead to him.”

“Your maidenhead, my lady?!” Poppy gasped.

“Your virginity?” Lily asked, remembering the term from a book she had read.

“Yes… Mr. Charles said I would be ruined unless I marry him. That he would tell mother and I’d be sent away. That any other man would refuse me because I’m spoiled goods.”

“He’s despicable… I will find a way out of this for you,” Lily said, cupping Rose’s cheek and looking her in the eye. “I promise.”

“You must be careful, Lily. He’s a dangerous man. He could…” Rose said.

“I know. I will,” Lily said. “Now get some sleep. It will be alright. Goodnight.”

The walk back to her room with Poppy felt ten miles long, her heart heavy with worry. Even Poppy looked upset, agreeing to help her with anything she needed.

“Where should we start,” Poppy asked.

“I have no idea… maybe Samuel can help.”

“I don’t know about that, Lily. Mr. Charles is my lord’s steward. He’s a very important man to my lord, his right hand man...”

“Of course he is,” Lily said, sighing and settling into bed. “I have to try. It’s all I’ve got right now. I will speak with him first thing in the morning,”

Poppy nodded and blew out the candle.

“Goodnight, Lily.”

————————————————————

After having a quick breakfast and getting ready, Lily headed over to Samuel’s study. She approached his door and straightened her skirts before knocking. Waiting there, she composed her thoughts into a foolproof argument that he couldn’t possibly disagree with. There was no response. She knocked again, a little louder. Perhaps he was lost in thought and didn’t hear. Another minute went by and still nothing. She decided to open the door to peek inside. The room was empty. She closed the door and turned around, wondering where to look for him when a manservant holding a basket of linens came out of his bedchamber next door.

“Excuse me, can you tell me where Sam, I mean Lord Samuel is this morning?” she asked.

“My lord is on the training grounds outside. He will be there until dinner,” he said, slightly bowing.

“Thank you, sir. Um, could you take me to him?” Lily smiled at him, but he looked put off, most likely due to his laundry duties.

“I can find someone to take you, just give me a moment,” he said, taking his leave.

Lily waited there for a few minutes, impatiently pacing the narrow hallway before stopping and realizing there was a portrait of Samuel on the wall. She stopped to secretly admire it and how accurate the artist’s work was. It perfectly captured his smoldering eyes and the look he gets when he’s not pleased. He exuded power and Lily was growing weaker to his demands, despite her best efforts. She found herself smiling and wanting him. Damn you, Samuel, she thought.

She grew irritated with herself and turned away from the painting and that’s when she saw Mr. Charles walking down the hall towards her. Her chest was hit with a wave of hot fear and anxiety, cursing herself for not waiting for the servant in her room.

“Miss Reid,” he said, a grim smile playing on his lips. “I am here to escort you to the training grounds.”

“I…I thought a servant was going to take me?”

“Unfortunately, they all have their daily chores to tend to at the moment. If you will follow me,” he said, holding his hand out in the direction of the stairwell.

Lily hesitated, thinking back to their encounter in the prison cell when she first got there. Anxiety was setting off her fight or flight reaction but she knew more people were likely to be down the stairs where they were heading. She would be safer following him right now than to spend another second in this secluded hallway.

“Very well, lead the way,” she said. She was just going to have to be brave. Surely, he wouldn’t try anything in broad daylight walking about the manor, especially now that they both were engaged. She maintained a good distance behind him and they made their way through the hall, down the stairs and finally out of the manor to the training grounds out back, which was a wide grassy area surrounded on all sides by the manor’s stone walls.

Samuel was just ahead, sparring with a man of similar build but he was clearly the better swordsman. Their swords clashed together until Samuel had the man’s sword deadlocked as he pushed his further toward the man’s neck. He spun around and whacked the man on the butt with his dulled sword and chuckled.

“Alright I yield, my lord,” the man said, laughing and rubbing his sore behind. Samuel handed his practice sword to a nearby child who must have been a squire. He smiled seductively when he noticed Lily waiting beside Charles and walked over with an air of grace and confidence. Lily heard a grumble come from Charles like he was mumbling under his breath but couldn’t make out what he was saying. She looked over to him and saw his lips pursed but quickly changed to a pretentious smile as Samuel came up to greet us.

“My lord Sam, your beautiful bride to be couldn’t stand not to see you for one more moment. So, Miss Lily,” he turned to face her with dark eyes and an egregious smirk, “as you wished, I present my lord.”

Lily was disgusted by him and his haughty attitude and could not believe Sam couldn’t see it. She forced herself to smile, hoping Charles would run back to whatever it was he did but he stayed planted right there between them.

“Um, my lord… I was hoping to have a private conversation with you,” she said, her eyes darting to Charles for a second before fixing onto Sam. She tried to play sweet, but Sam twisted his lips.

“Ahh, I’m sorry, my love. I was actually just about to head to my office. I have a lot of work to do…on top of all the wedding things that still need to be taken care of. I’m afraid I have no time this afternoon,” Sam murmured.

“Well, how about we have dinner together tonight? Maybe just the two of us?” Lily said.

“Hmm, you really want some alone time with me don’t you? However could I refuse,” he smirked. “Well, since I am on my way back to my office, why don’t I escort you back to your chambers? Thank you, Charles, you may go.”

Charles bowed to Sam and walked off, finally leaving the two of them alone. Lily realized she had been picking at her hangnails the whole time and her thumb was bleeding quite a lot. She tried to hide it from Sam to no avail. He grabbed her hand and inspected it closely.

“What happened? Are you hurt?”

She was surprised he was so concerned, and laughed nervously.

“No, I just need to take better care of my nails,” Lily giggled.

“I see. I will see what I can get from Master Damien to remedy these lovely hands. We do have a wedding in four days after all. I will get that maid to handle everything,” he said, kissing her knuckles.

She has a name, Lily thought to herself, too scared to speak it aloud. They began walking back to her room and even though they were alone, she knew she couldn’t risk offending him by bringing up Charles and Rose’s engagement for fear someone else might overhear and because he said he couldn’t talk now. She would have to wait for their private dinner and hoped that he could behave himself long enough for her to get her thoughts out.