The Love He Stole

Explanations

Lily spent the rest of the afternoon organizing her new collection of books that Sam had delivered special just for her. A servant had dropped them off sometime while she was away. It was a massive collection of everything she owned at her apartment plus enough to fill the rest of her empty bookshelf, including books she had always wanted to purchase but never could afford. She gleefully sorted them by genre and alphabetically, setting aside a few she wanted to start reading soon.

She was about halfway through her pile of books when Poppy knocked on the door and entered the room, gasping at the sight of Lily sitting on the floor in her pretty dress. She quickly shut the door and ran over to Lily.

“My lady! Why didn’t you come get me to do this for you!” Poppy grabbed Lily’s hand and helped her stand up.

“Oh, stop it,” she giggled. “This is fun for me. Plus, I don’t like you doing everything for me. It feels wrong,” Lily said, looking at Poppy’s confused face.

“Well… It doesn’t feel wrong to me. I need this job for my family. The money helps them run their farm. Plus, I like working for you,” Poppy said, looking down at her dirty apron. Lily understood what she meant. She had to be useful or she’s out on the streets and Lily felt a pang of guilt. Why did she get luxury while Poppy had to serve, she wondered.

“I see… I can just say that you did this then. And anytime you are tired and need a break, just come to me and I will let you rest and pretend you were working for me. I will make up things for you to say you did,” Lily winked at her and Poppy laughed.

“That’s mad, my laa-Lily!” she said, catching herself. “You really are the best lady I’ve ever served. Now, I do need to get you into something less dusty for your private dinner with my lord,” she cooed, teasing Lily and tickling her arm. Lily’s jaw dropped in amusement and the girls busted out laughing.

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She was dressed and ready to go, wearing a dark plum dress and her hair tied up in a messy, curly bun with a few tendrils flowing loose. She followed the manservant who came to fetch her just to go a few doors down. It was so silly to Lily but who was she to argue with their customs. They quickly arrived at the door to Sam’s office and the manservant knocked.

“Come in,” Sam called from the other side. The servant opened the door and Lily went inside. He closed it behind her and finally, she was alone with him. She saw him standing next to his small table, dressed up nicely with an emerald green waistcoat over his white shirt, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. She could see his muscular forearms and the veins protruding down to his hands. She was mesmerized by the sight of him and for a brief moment, she forgot why she was there in the first place. She walked over to the food filled table, every ounce of her being focused on hiding her attraction.

“Hello, love,” he said, his voice deep and seductive.

“Hi…,” she whispered, hesitating to sit down.

“So, you wanted to see me… alone,” he smirked, closing the distance between them. He was towering over her and grabbed her by the waist, pulling her in as close as possible. There were only inches between their faces, and Lily’s breath became rapid and she looked into his deep brown eyes.

“Yes,” she breathed out, “I…”

Sam swept his fingers across her cheek, tucking a loose curl behind her ear. His touch was like static electricity on her soft skin. She couldn’t think properly, like she was intoxicated by him and she had to pull herself away to breathe. She turned away for a moment, gathering her thoughts before sitting at the table.

“What’s the matter, Lily?”

“I need to talk to you about Rose and Charles,” she said, biting her lip. She was afraid to look at him, worried she’d give up on the conversation if she saw any trace of displeasure from him. He sat down and started pouring some wine for the both of them. Lily quickly grabbed her glass, hoping a few sips would give her the courage she desperately needed. He didn’t speak, instead picking up his fork and knife and taking a bite of the roasted ham on his plate. She set her glass down and cleared her throat, fiddling with her hands in her lap.

“You can’t allow this marriage to happen, Sam.”

He paused his chewing, looking at her confused and then swallowed. He set his utensils down and wiped his mouth with a cloth napkin.

“Are you going to explain why?” he asked, almost annoyed. “He’s my most trusted advisor, he’s the second son of the renowned Lord Belgrave. I don’t see an issue.”

“He’s a vile man, Sam. Remember not even four days ago, he tried to… he would’ve… forced himself onto me if you hadn’t shown up! What if you hadn’t, Sam?!” she cried at him, struggling to even admit out loud what almost happened.

Sam looked away deep in thought, clearly grappling with what to say next. Lily was fighting back tears, retraumatized by talking about the incident.

“If I hadn’t shown up…things would be different. But they are not and I cannot end his engagement based on something that might have happened…”

Lily was dumbfounded by what he was saying. He looked at her with sympathy and continued his explanation.

“Besides until I am married, I really have no power over my sister’s betrothal. I’m sorry but there is really nothing I can do.”

“Then after our wedding, will you do something about it then?!” she pressed him.

“Lily, I cannot just disrespect Lord Belgrave’s son outrightly. You don’t understand how things work here… His father is the wealthiest lord in the kingdom, and great friends with the king. It would start a war, a war we would not win. And especially as Charles has been tremendously helpful in managing this manor’s daily business, no, I cannot do anything. I’m sorry.”

Lily was lost for words and absolutely disgusted with Samuel, and that he would cower away from delivering justice. She couldn’t have imagined a worse way for this conversation to go. She bolted up out of her chair and started to walk towards the door.

“Lily, stop,” he pleaded, getting up to follow.

She did not listen and continued walking away.

“Lily, I said stop! I am your lord,” he commanded. Lily turned around, her anger flaring throughout her entire body.

“You would not be my lord if you weren’t such a scumbag unworthy of literally anyone else! I did not choose to be here, hell, I wasn’t even born here! So no, until we are married, you are not my lord!” she snarled at him through gritted teeth.

Her words hurt him deeply. She could tell by the look on his face he was failing to hide. She felt a little guilty insulting him like that, not recognizing this version of herself that was so far from the shy, obedient type she’d been for the last four years.

She turned and left as fast as she could, afraid of what she would do if she didn’t get out of there. She ran to her room, where her rage bubbled over and her eyes unleashed a storm of tears.