Chapter 66
Someone from a nearby village had been shot in the thigh—apparently an accidental discharge while trying to hunt wild boar. Somehow, word got out that Christian was in the area, and before long, someone came rushing to the de Bermor estate to seek him out.
“I’m really proud of Christian.”
“If you put it like that, I guess I have no choice but to go. Just promise me you’ll stay out of trouble while I’m gone, okay?”
“Of course! …Wait, what? When have I ever caused trouble?”
She felt a little offended at being treated like a mischievous child.
“Go on, already!”
In any case, there wasn’t really anyone else who would come by. For the past month, the house had been nothing but quiet.
“I’ll be back soon.”
Even as he left, Christian kept looking over his shoulder at Lilien, as if he couldn’t quite bring himself to go. She put on her brightest smile and waved until he disappeared around the corner.
Only then did she let the forced smile fade from her lips.
“Who would even bother visiting, anyway?”
As it turned out, she couldn’t have been more wrong. In the time Christian was away, a parade of unexpected visitors arrived at the de Bermore estate.
The first was a bank representative, there to deliver a final notice. He handed over the letter, emphasizing that this was the last warning, but magnanimously granted her a month’s grace period.
Lilien wasn’t surprised. The bank had been lenient up until now, mostly because there were plenty of valuable assets to seize if it came to it. She knew this was only a matter of time.
The idea that everything might go to auction before she even had a chance to visit the country villa was a little overwhelming, but at least she had some hidden royalties saved up, thanks to years of anonymous publishing.
The second visitor was a real surprise.
Lilien had been sitting on the garden swing, waiting for Christian to return. She rocked herself gently, toes brushing the ground, letting the breeze play with her hair. Just as she got up to leave, she heard a commotion at the front gate.
Nervous, she crept closer—and as soon as she recognized the voice of the visitor, she nearly fell over in shock.
“So, how have you been without me, Lilien?”
It was the person she’d been longing to see, Cairn. And he was accompanied by a group of suspicious-looking people.
* * *
Inside the drawing room, Lilien sat awkwardly in one corner, swallowing the tense air. After a moment’s hesitation, she stood up.
“Cairn, um, let me make some tea. Would you like something to drink?”
“Sit down.”
Brave as she tried to sound, one word from Cairn and she immediately sat back down.
“…Have you been well?”
“As you can see.”
Lilien’s lips were jutting forward in a faint pout. Cairn was being unusually curt.
‘Sure, maybe I did something wrong, but this is annoying. He didn’t seem to mind undressing me that night…’
She bit her tongue, stopping herself from saying what she was really thinking. She’d promised herself she’d apologize the next time they met, but his distant attitude was stoking a quiet rebellion inside her.
“If you’re here about my family’s business or the debt, now really isn’t a good time. My father’s representative, Christian, isn’t here. He went out to see a patient in a nearby village who was shot.”
Cairn knew everything.
He knew Christian had been granted authoritative power for the de Bermore estate, he knew about the patient, and most importantly, he knew that Lilien was alone.
He knew everything.
Perhaps it was bad luck that the estate’s affairs had ended up in Christian Grenor’s hands, but from then on, every bit of luck seemed to be shining on Cairn’s side.
“I’m not here for Lord Grenor. I’m here to see you, Lilien de Bermore.”
“M-me?”
“That’s right.”
Feeling guilty for all sorts of reasons, Lilien couldn’t even look up.
Cairn, meanwhile, leaned deep into the sofa, determined not to lose the upper hand after all her blunders. Calmly, he slid a stack of documents across the table to her.
“What’s all this?”
“Read it.”
Before reading the papers, Lilien absently tied her hair back with a ribbon—a little ritual she always performed before anything important. Cairn nearly smiled at the familiar gesture, but managed to restrain himself.
Lilien squinted and read the bold letters at the top of the first page aloud.
“Mar…riage… contract? A marriage contract?!”
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