Capturing the Devil (Stalking Jack the Ripper #4)(48)
TWENTY-ONE
AN IMPOSSIBLE POSITION
AUDREY ROSE’S ROOMS
FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK CITY
6 FEBRUARY 1889
Thomas went preternaturally still, reminding me of the vampire rumors that ran in his family. Hair at the nape of my neck stood on end. A strange energy crackled in the space around us, a charge waiting for the tiniest spark to explode.
He stood, hands unmoving at his sides, chest hardly rising. I imagined on the inside he was a tangle of chaotic energy. It was the only explanation for how frightfully calm he was. Thomas always tapped his fingers or paced. He was never still. Not like this.
Finally, he blinked. “I’m eighteen. Father’s threat is meaningless. As of Mother’s decree, the property is now mine. And since I’m in charge, I say you can refuse the marriage and live in our family’s home forever. Ileana, too.” He looked at me, a glimmer of hope entering his features. “Wadsworth and I will live there as well. If she chooses to. We needn’t worry about London society or courts or pledges of unrequited betrothals. We can leave all of it behind. Father won’t follow us to Romania. If anything, he’ll be pleased his problems have been resolved.”
Daciana’s eyes watered. I let out a sigh. Thomas and I could still be together.
We’d move to Romania. All would be well. If this had happened just weeks ago, we’d all be in a world of trouble. I was still unsure how I felt about God; however, if He resolved this so swiftly—
“You misunderstand.” Daciana’s voice quavered. “His threat isn’t only to
me.” Her hand trembled slightly as she held the letter out. “He’s threatened Ileana. If we do not bend to his will, he’s going to tell her family about our relationship.”
I’d always imagined Thomas’s irises being warm like melted chocolate.
Currently they reminded me of burning coals. They were nearly black with his sudden rage. “He cannot prove—”
“He’s been reading my letters,” she said. “He’s made copies by tracing them.
It’s how he knew about your growing affection for Audrey Rose.” Thomas released a litany of curses. “And Ileana… she’s a Hohenzollern, Thomas,”
Daciana whispered. “The scandal will not only destroy her family but her place in the Order. She will be banished from their ranks. It would—the disgrace would destroy her.”
“Did you say she’s a Hohenzollern?” I nearly pitched forward. I’d known Ileana was a member of the Romanian nobility, but I hadn’t a clue how far up the ranks her family was. She was a princess of Romania. Our situation had gone from bad to passable back to hopeless in a few breaths. What his father was doing was deplorable.
I glanced at Thomas, tensing at the pained expression on his face. If this were a game, his father had successfully outmaneuvered him. There were no other cards for us to pull, no tricks we could use to wriggle out of this mess. Thomas would marry Miss Whitehall, or everyone he loved—aside from me—would be ruined. I was only ruined in a different way.
It was an impossible position. If he picked me, he was damning his sister and her beloved and losing both of his ancestral homes. He’d also lose his title. And he’d lose his future. If he did as his father commanded, he’d break my heart and his own. There were no winners in this game.
Except his father and Miss Whitehall. They’d get everything they desired.
I waited, pressing my hands hard against my center, wondering when it would feel like my heart had been punched out again. I ought to feel better, knowing Miss Whitehall was only after a marriage of convenience. That his father didn’t dislike me, but longed for status more than his son’s happiness.
Neither of those realizations dulled the growing ache.
I peeked at Thomas and the hole in my chest expanded. He appeared to be grappling with this same understanding, weighing out each decision and its consequence. In his face I saw the absence of hope. Our future was doomed.
Daciana collapsed onto my settee, head in her hands. “There’s no way around this. If only Ileana and I had been more discreet—”
Thomas was before his sister at once, expression fierce. He gently clutched her wrists, drawing them away from her tearstained face. “Do not ever blame yourself or Ileana. You have every right to love each other as freely as anyone else. He’s playing this game as filthily as possible because he has no options left.
If he did, he’d have saved these threats for some other terrible scheme. Father is twisted and brutal and this is his issue, not yours. Agreed?”
She sniffled, turning her pleading gaze to me. “Audrey Rose, I cannot apologize enough, if only—”
“Thomas is right.” I interrupted before she lost herself to hysterics and I joined her. “This isn’t your fault. This isn’t anyone’s fault.” I ran my hand through my hair, tugging it a bit to ease the headache that was forming. “Please don’t apologize or feel responsible.”
Thomas sat on the floor, lost in thought. Liza had been correct—he’d never stop trying to unravel this puzzle until he found a way to solve it. He’d run himself through before he gave up.
“What if…” Daciana rubbed her temples. “What if you married Miss Whitehall,” she asked, holding her hand up when Thomas appeared ready to launch himself into a tirade, “then you’d neither consummate it, nor ever live with her. It would be a marriage in name only. Then you and Audrey Rose might live in Bucharest together. Or travel the Continent. You needn’t stay in one place, lest your supposed ‘wife’ come searching. Who knows? If you don’t consummate it, perhaps she’ll beg for an annulment. It’s rare, but it has happened.”