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Chapter Twenty-Five

“ T hornton!”

Colin looked up in surprise at hearing his name over the constant hum of the machinery. Most of those who worked here called him “ Mr . Thornton,” which meant that it was either the foreman of the mill or – even worse – the owner.

Which was not promising when he had been sneaking around and making love to the man’s daughter every chance he could get.

He knew it was only setting them both up for heartbreak as, so far, he could find no future ahead for them, but they couldn’t seem to stay away from one another.

The truth? If he truly wanted to admit it, at least to himself?

He was falling in love with her.

Sure enough, Lord Harcourt stood upstairs in the office window, motioning for him to come up and join him. With a turn in his stomach, Colin called out to one of the other workers to take over for him and began a heavy trudge up the stairs to the mill manager’s office.

“Lord Harcourt,” he said with a slight bow in the doorway before the viscount waved him in, gesturing to one of the hard-backed chairs in front of his desk.

“Take a seat,” he said, his face hard, unrelenting.

Colin sat with some inward trepidation.

“Has my work been satisfactory?” he asked, unable to remain in suspense for any length of time.

“Your work is fine,” Lord Harcourt said, leaning back in his chair, his arms crossed over his chest as he studied Colin. “My daughter says you are trustworthy.”

“I believe that to be the case, my lord.”

“And yet…”

Colin waited for him to say that he had discovered him with his daughter, that he knew they were sneaking around, that he would have no choice but to end all ties to him.

“What is this?” Lord Harcourt said, tossing a piece of paper across the table toward him, startling Colin. He and Lily had certainly never sent one another notes or anything that could link them to each other.

“I’m not sure,” Colin said, reaching out and taking it, his heart sinking as he read over the words.

Lose to the Old Estonians. Don’t make it obvious. Miss the goal. Make a bad pass. You will receive half for the attempt and half if you lose.

And on the top of the page was written one name. Thornton.

He lifted his gaze to a very disappointed Lord Harcourt.

Colin wasn’t certain if it was fury or distress that was overwhelming him in hot waves.

“I understand how damning this looks, but please understand, Lord Harcourt, this is the first time I have ever seen this note.”

“It was found in your bag,” Lord Harcourt said, tapping his fingers against the arms of his chair. “When I became aware that there was at least one traitor in our midst, I hired an investigator. He searched through the belongings of all the players while you were practicing.”

“He can’t do that!” Colin said, outraged at the intrusion, but Lord Harcourt only lifted a brow.

“Are you so angered because you were caught?”

“I was set up !” Colin countered. “By someone who obviously knew your plans?—”

“That’s not all,” Lord Harcourt said, lifting a handful of paper money bound together. “This is also yours, is it not?”

“I couldn’t say as money is money, but I do not recall ever having that much in my possession at one time,” Colin said truthfully.

“Well, it was found amongst your belongings as well,” Lord Harcourt said with a sigh. “It is all a shame, really. I was willing to overlook rumors because of your value to the team, but this is difficult to ignore. I had so hoped to win the Cup this year and thought you were the key.”

“I am the key,” Colin said, fixing his stare upon Lord Harcourt.

One thing he could say for certain was that he believed in his abilities, and he hated that this might all be taken away from him because someone had gotten it in their mind to make him appear guilty.

“You do realize that you are playing into the hands of those who want to see to your downfall? By blaming me, not only do they continue on with their plan of taking down our club, but you also will be rid of me, losing your top goal-scorer.”

Lord Harcourt sighed, and Colin did see true chagrin on his face – but he had a feeling that it was more to do with his loss of a chance at the Cup and less to do with feeling guilty for blaming Colin for something he had no hand in.

“I have no choice. My hands are tied,” he said. “I must ask you to part ways with the club and with the mill.”

“The mill?” Colin said, his mouth dropping open as he sat upright. “This has nothing to do with the mill. I am good at my job, Lord Harcourt.”

“You are. I will admit that,” Lord Harcourt said. “But how can I trust you with the mill's operations when I know you could easily be swayed to work against me?”

Colin dropped his head in his hands for a moment as everything unravelled around him, and this time, it was through no fault of his own.

At least if he had been brought down because of his connection to Lily, it all would have been worth something.

But this meant absolutely nothing, and even worse, was only leaving the club open to more attacks against it.

Unless this didn’t have anything to do with Lord Montgomery – perhaps Lord Harcourt was the very one behind it. If he did know about Colin and Lily, he would never admit it, for it would only cause the ruin of his own daughter. Was he using this as an excuse?

“I have one question,” he said, to which Lord Harcourt nodded. “How much of this has to do with a planted bribe, and how much is due to you not wanting me anywhere near your daughter?”

Lord Harcourt’s demeanor and face color shifted so suddenly that Colin immediately knew he had made a misstep, allowing his emotion to overwhelm his better judgment.

“Get out!” Lord Harcourt bellowed. “Get out of my office. Out of my mill. Away from my club. And above all else, stay away from my daughter!”

With a stiff spine, Colin stood. There was so much he wanted to say, so much that he would have gotten off his chest, words that he would have gladly thrown back at Lord Harcourt.

But he wouldn’t.

Because of Lily.

No matter the circumstances, this man was still her father. And she deserved to remain close to him, to not allow Colin’s experiences with the man to sully her relationship with him.

Every time Colin had been with Lily, he had known that it was a stolen moment in time, that there was no way for them to truly be together – even though he had hoped, with that part of him that knew the truth of his feelings for her – that somehow, someway, they would find a way forward, that there would be a hidden pathway they could sneak down to seek out their happily ever after.

This was his grim reminder that he was nothing more than a mill worker and football player. She was the daughter of a viscount.

He would be best to do as Lord Harcourt said and leave without a look behind. Forgetting about her and their forbidden future.

“Lily, there you are. What are you doing down here?”

Lily looked up at her father expectantly as he stood in the doorway of the kitchen, looking sorely out of place.

It was telling that he had no idea this was a place of familiarity for her.

She and Emmaline were seated in front of the counter, Emmaline telling her what her predictions were for the rest of the football season.

After a few years of listening to such descriptions, Lily had finally found the same interest – although for different reasons.

“I was hungry.”

He looked confused but didn’t comment on that.

“I have to speak with you urgently about something.”

“Go ahead.”

“It’s best we talk alone. It is a discreet matter.”

“What do you mean?”

“With the club. We have found the traitor.”

“Who? How? When?”

She and Emmaline shared a glance as her father motioned them out of the room. They said goodbye to Mrs. O’Conner, thanked her for the treats she had shared, and eventually settled in the parlor.

The stare he fixed her told her that this would not be good news, and she braced herself. Who was involved? Was it one of the club sponsors? It couldn’t be Rhys or Tommy, could it? She had been so sure that they were loyal to the club.

“A note about bribery to sway the game and a roll of money were found among the possessions of one of the players during practice.”

“Oh, no,” she said, her heart dropping. Colin would be so upset to hear that someone had betrayed them like that. “Who?”

“Colin Thornton.”

“What?” she said, her head snapping up to meet her father’s stare, noting how closely he watched her, likely trying to gauge her reaction.

Let him.

She no longer cared if he knew her feelings.

“He was the one who was working against the team. I released him immediately from both the club and the mill.”

“But Father, he didn’t do it!” Lily exclaimed, her heart falling.

He arched an eyebrow. “You cannot be certain of that.”

“But I am!” she insisted, desperate to protect Colin and the life he had worked so hard for. “I know him. I—I worked with him, closely.”

“Sometimes we do not truly know the people we seem closest to,” her father said, reaching out and patting her hand. “You will understand one day.”

“There is nothing to understand,” she said stubbornly. “For you have this wrong.”

Emmaline leaned in slightly closer. “My apologies for interrupting, Lord Harcourt, but from what I know, Colin Thornton is an upstanding, loyal man.”

Lily’s father looked from one of them to the other. “Truthfully, I cannot be certain of anything. But what I do know is that I cannot have a man working for me or playing for the club when he has given us reasons to be suspicious of him.”

“Did the other committee members agree with him leaving the team?” Emmaline asked, and Lily had to give her friend credit for not withering under her father’s glare.

“I am the main sponsor of the club.”

“That may be true, but I believe that all have a say in player relations,” Emmaline said. “They might have an issue if you have released a player without their approval or a vote.”

“Very well. Then Thornton left of his own will.”

“But he didn’t!” Lily cried out, hating the desperation in her tone but unable to overcome it.

“He did,” her father said, standing, tugging at the bottom of his jacket. “He is gone, Lily. You must understand that, accept it, and forget about ever meeting him. It’s what he has done regarding you.”

At that, he was marching out of the room, Lily watching him go helplessly before she turned to Emmaline, trying to prevent the tears from leaking from her eyes.

“You don’t think that is true, do you? That he actually just left, without a word to me?”

“This likely came as a surprise to him as well,” Emmaline said, running a hand over Lily’s back. “It’s not as though he is gone forever. His life is here. He still has his home and his family. He has you.”

“But Emmaline,” she said, her voice a whisper. “What if the reason my father made him leave had nothing to do with the club or the mill but rather was because of me? What if my father found out about us, or was even suspicious, and used this opportunity to get rid of him?”

“Then so be it,” Emmaline said gently. “Colin decided to become involved with you as much as you did him. He chose you. Give him a chance to tell you what he is choosing now. Take the opportunity to tell him what you want after you decide that for yourself.”

Lily eyed her. She knew in her heart exactly what she wanted.

“I want him,” she said.

“There’s the spirit,” Emmaline said with a wide grin. “And now the previous impediment between you is gone. There is nothing your father can threaten him with any further.”

“I suppose, but?—”

“Then go after what you want,” she said. “Tell him how you feel. What do you have to lose?”

“My dignity if he denies me,” she said, to which Emmaline shrugged.

“It’s worth it.”

Lily couldn’t help but laugh as she reached out and pulled Emmaline close to her, grateful for her friend and the fact that she was always there for her, no matter what was to come at them.

“I must find a way to speak with him.”

“I can get a note to him if you’d like. My correspondence isn’t exactly closely read.”

“Thank you, Emmaline,” Lily said before they busied themselves writing the note, Lily simply asking Colin for a conversation.

She and Colin had found ways to come together before, but he had always found her, telling her that he couldn’t have her putting herself in danger anymore by attempting to seek him out alone.

She hoped that continuing to honor his wish would show him how much she cared about what he thought and requested.

And she prayed that he would understand she wanted him, no matter what her father said.

She felt, deep in her heart, that what they had together was more than just a passing fling, that he cared for her as much as she did him.

But she had been wrong before. Many a woman had.

She supposed she would soon know – one way or another.