Forever My Love (Berkeley-Faulkner #2)(125)

Guillaume was waiting for her with an odd smile on his thin face, his dark eyes trained on her alertly. Mira was torn between pain and hatred as she saw him… she could not believe that they had come to this, not when they had once been as close as a brother and sister could be. They had helped each other to survive, defended each other from the rest of the world. But still, inside she had always been aware of a small flicker of fear; she had seen what he had been capable of doing to other people, she had recognized that he always put his own interests first, before everyone else’s, before hers.

“More debts to pay?” she asked dully. “I knew you would want more from me. But the truth is that I haven’t much more to give.”

“The rest of your jewelry would be a good start.”

“I brought it, in this bag. But after you take this, I have no other resources.““You’re married to a bloody duke, Mira—you have other resources. Here, give me that.” Opening the bag and surveying its contents, he sent her a glance snapping with disdain. “Trinkets. I need more than this.”

“I don’t have any more!”

“That’s too bad. I don’t relish the task of telling your husband about you, petite, but it looks as thougli—”

“Wait,” she said, biting her lip as her eyes welled with tears. With shaking hands she plucked at the golden chain around her neck, pulling the Falkner medallion out of her bodice. In the shade of the trees, the medallion gleamed with an almost unearthly brightness, rich and heavy, glittering with perfectly faceted gems. It was warm from her body, retaining the heat of her skin long after she had removed it. It had been hers ever since her first night with Alec… for months it had been her only link with him… it was their bond. Clutching it in her fist, she held it for one moment longer before giving it to Guillaume, feeling almost a physical pain as its weight was taken away from her palm and relinquished to his.

“Yes… something like this is more what I was expecting,” Guillaume said, staring down at it appreciatively. “This should do very well… for now.”

“It’s the last thing I can give you,” Mira replied, nearly choking with resentment. “I won’t ever come to meet you again, Guillaume, no matter what you threaten to tell my husband. You’ll never take anything from me again.”

“You’re wrong about that,” he contradicted in a soft, insolent voice. “You’re going to find more to bring to me… and I’ll be here tomorrow morning, waiting.”

“I won’t be here.”

“If you’re not, I’ll tell him everything—”

“Tell him about Maman. I don’t care. You just might be underestimating him and his capacity forunderstanding and forgiving those he loves—and he loves me.”

“He might forgive you about Maman,” Guillaume conceded. “It’s possible.”

“He will.”

“And I’m certain that he loves you. But love always has its limits.”

“For you, perhaps. But not for—”

“You’re a lovable little creature, Mira—I’ve always thought so—I imagine he’d be able to forgive you almost anything. Anything but murder.”

“What murder?” Mira asked sharply, feeling her face go white. “You’re talking like a madman.”

“The murder of his cousin,” Guillaume replied, seeming to relish her stunned expression.

“But that… that happened before he met me. I had nothing to do with that. Why… why did you mention it? I have no connection with his cousin’s murder.”

“I do,” Guillaume murmured. “I did it.”

“You’re lying,” she said, her voice shaking.

“I’m not. His cousin was asking questions around the Stop Hole flash houses, looking for one of the girls we’d taken… he found the right people, asked a few lucky questions, he learned too much. Naturally we couldn’t let it go on. It’s my job to clean up bungles and… complications, and I was the one who took care of him. At the time I had no way of knowing that he would have been a relative of yours… not that it would have made any difference.”

“You’re lying. It’s not the same man.”

“His name was Holt Falkner. Tall, slim, black-haired… strong bugger, too—as I remember, it took three of us to hold him down long enough to—”

“Oh God,” Mira said brokenly, sinking down to the ground and putting her head between her knees as a wave of nausea nearly overcame her. Guillaume’s storywas too awful, too improbable not to believe. “Oh God.”

“Yes, you realize exactly what it means. If he finds out what I did, he’ll think of it every time he looks at you, every time he climbs into your bed.”

Yes. She knew what Holt had meant to Alec… she knew the depth of Alec’s loyalty, she knew of the sleepless nights that Alec had spent wondering why and who ... No, he could not forgive this, even if he wanted to.

“I was such a fool,” she whispered, “thinking that I had a chance to be happy.”

“You still do—if you can keep it a secret from him. And that means keeping me happy, little one. So… until tomorrow, I’ll leave you to think of how you’re going to get more to bring me. Au revoir.”