Page 58 of A Star is Scorned

Livvy concealed a scoff of disgust at his attempt to play the chivalrous gentleman. She wished that they could expose him. But for now, the plan was to disgrace his family. The only way to get Flynn out of this was to create a scandal—and the only way to do that was for Livvy to make a scene.

Livvy ducked back down and listened as the priest began the ceremony. “‘Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to celebrate the union of these two individuals in holy matrimony.’”

Not if I have anything to say about it.

She settled back against the inside of the pulpit and waited for the ceremony to go on. It would be quite some time before they reached her cue, so she might as well get comfortable. She half listened, waiting for the words, “Speak now or forever hold your peace.”

She would then interrupt the ceremony and claim that she was working at the convent the night that Rhonda abandoned her baby on their front steps.

That Flynn could not marry this woman who had conceived a child out of wedlock and then concealed it from him.

It wasn’t true, and it was going to require the best acting she’d ever done in her life.

But, as Judy had helped her realize, she was excited to tackle the challenge.

Part of her did genuinely feel bad about besmirching Rhonda Powers’s reputation with such a gargantuan lie.

But it was the only thing she could come up with on such short notice that would stop the wedding and leave Flynn’s own reputation intact.

After only a few minutes, Livvy had a crick in her back from crouching in the pulpit. She tried to adjust and Rallo squirmed. He crawled out of her habit and began bouncing around the small area where they were hiding.

“Stop,” she hissed through clenched teeth, praying no one could hear her above the priest’s droning below.

She reached for him, springing forward, and he jumped away, eluding her grasp. She climbed to her knees, hoping it would be easier to catch him if she wasn’t sitting down, but Rallo gave her a look of disdain and jumped up onto the ledge of the pulpit.

Stanley Devlin was in the middle of a reading about love being patient and kind. Livvy slowly pushed herself up, trying to only expose the top of her head as she crept up behind Rallo, hoping if she snatched him down, no one would notice. But the monkey was too quick for her.

The next part seemed to happen in slow motion as Rallo leapt from his perch on the pulpit.

“Rallo, no!” Livvy cried, unable to stop herself. She sprang up and reached after him, but all her hand grasped was air. The monkey seemed to have a singular purpose, landing atop the tulle pastry of a veil piled on Rhonda’s head and beginning to tear it to shreds.

Flynn’s look of shock shifted as he burst into laughter, doubling over while Rallo continued to terrorize his bride-to-be.

Rhonda screamed and clawed at her head, causing Rallo to tug on her veil and push it backwards before hopping back to Flynn’s shoulder.

Flynn, still laughing, reached for Rhonda, trying to prevent her from falling back as the weight of her veil pulled her down.

Instead, he fell with her and landed on top of her, tangling in the layers and layers of her gown and veil.

Rallo crouched atop them, grabbing snatches of tulle and lace and throwing them into the air.

In horror, Livvy watched this all unfold. This was so far from the plan, she had no idea what to do.

The entire church was in an uproar. Except for Flynn’s mother, who was standing to the side laughing hysterically.

Stanley Devlin had picked up the golden crucifix from the altar and was now swinging it wildly at Rallo.

He missed and instead, as the monkey ducked, Devlin collided with Dash, who was also trying to intervene.

“Bannkkkkksss,” Devlin bellowed as Dash fell to his knees, clutching his gut in pain. Joan rushed to help her husband.

Flynn looked apoplectic as Devlin raised the crucifix again, apparently trying to brain the monkey. “Don’t you fucking dare,” he cried, struggling to extricate himself from the dress and tangling himself further.

But he needn’t have worried. With one look at the crucifix being held as a weapon, Rallo bared his teeth and jumped onto Devlin’s face.

The monkey held on to the man’s ears and dug his legs into the barely healed wound on his face.

Livvy would have felt bad for Devlin if he didn’t deserve it so much.

Livvy looked around desperately. The guests were screaming in confusion.

Some of them had stood and made a run for the exit.

She had to stop this, but if she tried to go back down the stairs, she could end up crushed in the crowd.

Dash was still out of commission, with Joan trying to get him to sip from the chalice of communion wine as he lay crumpled on the floor.

Her eye caught on the green fabric hanging next to the pulpit.

She looked up, noting that it hung from some type of metal rod at the top of the church and reached nearly to the floor.

It was better than nothing. She grabbed it and pulled it back, creating as much momentum as she could in the tiny area she had to work with.

Climbing onto the edge of the pulpit, she quickly made the sign of the cross with her right hand. The only time she’d ever prayed and meant it was the night of the car accident. So, she wasn’t exactly devoutly religious. But, hey, it couldn’t hurt.

Livvy swung forward in the air, clinging to the material, and her stomach plunged as she heard the fabric tear.

She looked up and watched as one edge of the banner unraveled from where it was clasped to the rod.

She clung to the ripping fabric, descending to the ground at an angle.

Miraculously, she landed on her feet. Maybe she should consider going to church more often.

She grabbed Flynn and tried to drag him backwards, away from Rhonda, who was crying and flailing on the ground. “Sister, please!” he bellowed, before he snapped his head back and made eye contact. “Livvy? What are you doing here? And why are you dressed like a nun?”

“I’ll explain later.” She tugged on him again, heading back in the direction of Dash and Joan, who were now leaning against the altar.

“I thought we had a backup plan,” Livvy muttered to Joan.

“Not for this.”

The crowd was now climbing over one another, racing to get to the back doors of the church. There was no way they could escape that way. If it wasn’t such a disaster, Livvy would have laughed. All of this over a little monkey?

“What is the meaning of this?” Devlin blustered as he gripped Rhonda under her arms and tried to heave her to her feet. But Rhonda did nothing to help him, continuing to blubber on the floor incoherently.

Rallo had jumped off Devlin’s face and was playing in Rhonda’s skirts, upending the fabric, making it hard for her to see what was happening. Each time Devlin tried to shoo the monkey away, Rallo hissed at him and snapped his teeth.

“Someone get rid of that thing,” he yelled. He raised his foot, trying to stomp on Rallo, but the monkey sprang away to the top of the altar. Instead, Devlin came down on Rhonda’s leg buried under her skirts.

She shrieked in pain. “You idiot!”

“Like you’re helping!” he yelped.

Rhonda slugged her uncle, making contact with his groin, and he doubled over in pain.

“Stupid bitch,” he growled. “I should never have forced Banks to marry you.”

The comment only made Rhonda cry harder. He hauled back to slap her, and this time, Rallo did bite him, grabbing his hand and chomping down on his finger until Devlin howled in pain. The priest was cowering under his chair in the corner.

Devlin shrieked and started spinning in a circle, trying to propel Rallo to let go, but the monkey only bit down harder. Flynn’s mother was now doubled over, tears of laughter streaming down her face. At least someone was enjoying themselves.

Suddenly, emerging from behind them in the nave, Judy ran out, slightly breathless.

“Where did you come from?” Livvy and Flynn burst out in unison. Judy was supposed to be waiting in the getaway car, far from any potential run-in with Devlin.

“Never mind, I’ve got the car out back. Let’s go.”

The three of them turned to leave, but Livvy stopped, kneeling to help Dash. “Dash, can you stand long enough to reach the car?”

He nodded and started to stand, but then doubled over to his knees. “Go without me,” he croaked.

Livvy looked up, seeing Flynn and Judy had already made it to the side door.

“Livvy, come on.” Judy frantically waved her arms, beckoning.

Livvy froze, looking back and forth between Dash and Flynn. She’d come to rescue Flynn, but Dash had been essential to their success. They needed him.

Joan squeezed her arm and gave her a look of permission. “Go on, get out of here. He’ll be all right once he can breathe again.”

Livvy nodded and sprinted after her sister, trying not to slip as she took the marble steps down from the altar’s platform two at a time.

But just as she reached the door, her habit snagged. She turned and her eyes widened as she locked eyes with Devlin, who was holding tight to her gown. “Not so fast, Miss De Lesseps.”

She wrenched the fabric from his hands, hearing it tear, and stumbled slightly out the open door as Devlin advanced on her, something menacing in his eyes. “You couldn’t just let Banks save you and your sister. Couldn’t let him marry my idiot niece. You had to play the hero.”

She took one step gingerly down the stone steps, trying to back away. Flynn was already in the car. Judy laid on the horn, trying to get Livvy to run. But she couldn’t. She was paralyzed with fear as Devlin approached.

He raised his left hand and held it out to Livvy like the ghost of Banquo pointing his bloody hand at Macbeth. In the place of his pointer finger was a bloody stump.

She let out a gasp of shock. Oh God. Rallo had bit his finger clean off.