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Chapter Twenty-One

L ily knew there was no coming back from what she was doing.

When she had seen Colin sitting among his teammates in the glow of the pub from the outside window, she had told herself that she would wait for him in the street until he left.

But she had grown cold in the chilly early December air and had received more than a few curious and perhaps far too interested glances.

It had prompted her to decide that she was done with waiting and did not care anymore what her father thought.

As long as she didn’t jeopardize Colin’s position on the club or in the mill, she would do what she wished.

She was already facing the worst of consequences – the promise of marriage to Lord Nathaniel or another of his ilk.

When she had pushed open the door, the entire pub had turned to look at her, and it seemed most were well aware of her identity this time.

But the only man she had eyes for was Colin.

Until the captain had stopped her, and she had decided that the best way to protect Colin was to have fun with all of them.

Getting a slight rise out of him wasn’t the worst thing, either.

When Tommy kissed her hand, she sensed at once that he knew there was something between her and Colin—but how much he truly understood, she couldn’t be certain. Still, she trusted Colin enough to hope he hadn’t revealed everything .

Before she could say anything, the captain rejoined them.

“Listen, Miss Evans, it is not for me to question your decisions?—”

“You might as well,” she said with an eye roll. “You would only be joining an illustrious club, for it seems that everyone in my life is wondering what has happened to my sense of reasoning.” She paused. “Some present company excluded.”

Mr. Lockwood’s gaze swung to Colin, whose jaw clenched rather tightly.

“What did you do?” he demanded, and Colin glanced around at the growing onlookers.

“Since Miss Evans is now here,” he said, “it might be a good time for us to have a conversation I have been waiting to have with you. Tommy, would you join us?”

Tommy practically jumped from the table in his eagerness to be included.

Colin tilted his head and led them to a table in a secluded corner of the room – the very same one where he and Lily had shared lunch together at what felt like months ago. So much had changed in Lily’s life over the past few months that it seemed the fastest and longest of her life.

“Miss Evans and I have been spending some time together,” Colin began once they were situated at the table, Lily beside him, Rhys and Tommy across from them.

Rhys’s arms were crossed over his chest as he looked unimpressed with the start of this conversation, while Tommy appeared more interested in these revelations than sponsors were at a football game.

“But only because we were both looking out for the club's best interests.”

Lily noted that he only explained their intentions and not their actions, and she hoped the other men didn’t notice the same.

“Has Miss Evans been helping you with your dropkick?” Mr. Lockwood asked sarcastically, but Colin was patient enough to set that aside.

“Miss Evans is helping the club with bookkeeping and noticed discrepancies,” he explained. “Meanwhile, after hearing that there were shortfalls in funding, I decided to look into it myself.”

Rhys straightened. “Why would you take that on? That is my responsibility.”

“I felt a sense of responsibility as well,” Colin said. “I didn’t like that you had to help fund the club yourself.”

“Now, see here. That is my decision and I?—”

Tommy put his hands between them as a peacemaker.

“Let’s give Colin a chance to explain himself, shall we? Then we can make accusations and defend our egos.”

“Very well,” Rhys grumbled as he settled down, but the suspicions remained on his face.

“Miss Evans and I crossed paths while we were looking for answers, and we decided to work together. As it turns out, we were not mistaken.”

He and Lily took turns explaining what they had discovered, finishing by revealing that Lord Montgomery was behind the sabotage of the club and the mill.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Mr. Lockwood demanded.

“Well,” Colin said with some hesitation, “there was a complication.”

He looked to Lily, question in his eyes, and she nodded, agreeing that he could tell the men what had happened at the Montgomery Mill – for the most part. She knew he would leave out the more intimate moments.

“So, what do we do now?” Tommy asked when they had finished, his mouth hanging open in shock at all they had heard. “Not that we want to see your reputation hurt, Miss Evans, but we can’t put the club at such risk.”

“Actually, it doesn’t matter all that much anymore,” she said, sitting back.

“It seems my father heard rumors we were caught in a compromising situation, Colin. I convinced him that they were just that – rumors – but he has decided that he will soon marry me off so that there is no longer any concern about my reputation.”

Colin’s face darkened and his hand clenched into a fist, but he didn’t say anything – not in front of his teammates.

“Lord Nathaniel talked, then?” Tommy said, missing the signs that his friend was about to blow off in anger.

“He must have said something,” Lily said with a sigh. “Perhaps he thought that if he didn’t outright accuse us but rather planted whispers, he could still cause damage. No one else had any idea that we were there or together.”

“So, is that what brought you here tonight?” Mr. Lockwood asked accusatorily, “To talk to our leading goal scorer, asking him to help you? You do know?—”

“I know what is at stake,” Lily said quietly.

“Trust me, I am well aware of the significance of our actions. Please trust me when I tell you we are trying to do what is best for the club. And for Colin’s family.

I came here to tell Colin that we are no longer tied to our pact with Lord Nathaniel because he has now broken it. ”

“I knew his word was not worth much,” Colin said, shaking his hand, his lips practically fused. “But this is… this is disgraceful.”

“That means we can share what we found, Colin, does it not?” Lily asked. “I didn’t want to explain to my father our actions or our discovery until I spoke to you, as I didn’t want to risk anything in your life.”

Colin’s eyes found hers, so much said between their gaze, but Tommy put into words what Colin must have been thinking.

“You would do that for him?” he said in surprise. “Risk your reputation? Marry someone awful, just so Colin’s life wouldn’t be ruined?”

“I would,” she said quietly, unable to look away from Colin.

“Well, you’ve actually proven me wrong,” Tommy said, shaking his head and earning an eye roll from Colin.

“Tommy, you’re wrong all the time.”

“Well, in this case, I thought I knew best,” he said, looking at Lily. “Miss Evans, you are not so bad after all.”

Their conversation concluded, they decided not to share the entire story with the team at this point, for it would be best to contain the information and handle it without a great deal of attention.

They returned to the table, where Lily was heartily welcomed, as confused as the other players were by her presence.

“How are you doing?” she asked Joey, who sat with the team, a crutch by his side.

“Better every day,” he said with a head bob. “I was able to return to work for a few hours a day, which helps more than anything.”

“I can understand that,” she murmured, wondering what it would be like to be so dependent on how your body was able to perform, whether on the football pitch or to make a living wage.

“Thank you for asking,” he said with a grin, and she nodded, though she was slightly confused as to why he would believe she wouldn’t care.

“Of course,” she said.

As the night wore on and the men became more accustomed to her presence, Lily began to enjoy herself – tenfold more than she ever would have at an event of her mother’s choosing.

She could understand why others would be envious of her lot in life. She had the luxury of sleeping to an hour of her choosing the next day, of having her every need met at the ring of a bell, of not having to worry about paying bills, buying food, or cooking for herself.

But it also wasn’t a life of much satisfaction, and she could see in the true camaraderie these men shared, the gratitude they had for the company, the club, and even the ale on the table before them, that everything they did held meaning.

And, for that, she was jealous.

Finally, the night began to wind down, and the men trickled out with a fond farewell to her as they left. Soon enough, Mr. Lockwood stood beside them with concern on his face.

“I will see you safely home, Miss Evans,” he said, but Colin was standing between them before Lily could get a word out.

“I’ve got her,” he said, and Lily leaned around him to see Mr. Lockwood shaking his head.

“You’re putting yourself in a bad position, Colin,” he murmured grimly. “Ask yourself if this is worth it.”

“I know,” Colin said softly. “Thank you, Rhys.”

As Mr. Lockwood walked away without a backward glance, Lily stepped around Colin to look up at him.

“I know what he is telling you, Colin, and he’s not wrong,” she said softly, her eyes searching his. “See me to a hack, and I will find my way home.”

“I will see you all the way home safely. That is a promise,” he said. “No argument.”

“Very well,” she said before looking up at him and biting her lip.

She wasn’t sure if she should ask it. But from how he reached toward her, allowing his fingers to brush hers, she also knew that he wasn’t oblivious to this charge between them, that she wasn’t the only one who felt something more than a friendship or a connection between two people with a shared purpose.

“Do you… do you truly want me to go home?”

Her voice became so low and breathy that it was a wonder he could hear her.

“Honestly?” he said, his brows rising as he looked down at her before taking a seat so their eyeline was closer to one another’s.

He reached out and took her hands. “No,” he said fiercely, surprising her.

“I do not want you to go home. I do not want you to set foot into that house where your father might marry you off to a man who will never have your best interests at heart, who would spend the rest of his life trying to break your spirit. I want to take you to my house, where I could protect you and make sure that you are never threatened or harmed again.”

He paused, his breath coming just as hard as Lily’s was.

“But I can’t,” he said, his voice nearly breaking. “I have nothing to give you. Nothing of value. Marriage to me would be just as bad as marriage to a man like Lord Nathaniel. Only I wouldn’t be the one to break you, but your circumstances would. I don’t know what to do with you, Lily.”

She leaned down, cupping his face. “You have more to give me than any other,” she said softly. “For you are more of a gift than anything or anyone I could ever ask for.”

She didn’t address the rest of it. There was no point. She didn’t have any more answers than he did.

But for now, for tonight, it didn’t matter.

She knew that when their gazes caught and held, no words were necessary as they decided their next course of action together. Her hand slipped into his, and he led them out of the pub.

Only for their night to truly begin.

Even if it was just one night, it would be a memory that would last forever.