Page 34 of Midnight Conquest

Lilias stood beyond the threshold, her face blotchy and red, eyes swollen from tears.

A flicker of pity sparked in Davina’s chest. Just enough to move aside and let her in.

Lilias entered hesitantly, as though afraid of being turned away. Davina shut the door and leaned against it, arms folded.

Lilias twisted her hands. “Davina…I came to say I’m sorry.”

Davina’s jaw tightened. “Sorry, are you?” Her voice held a brittle edge. “Let me guess. Uncle Tammus arrived, and you panicked. One look at your brother and you spilled every word like a frightened child caught at the pantry. Tears, excuses, and all. Aye?”

Lilias flinched but lifted her chin, her expression hardening like frost. “Iamsorry Tammus struck you. I didn’t wish that.” She hesitated. “But I’m not sorry for making things right.”

Davina’s brows arched, her voice cold. “Making things right!Tell me, Mam—how is it ‘right’ to cast your daughter to the wolvesand call it mercy?”

Lilias stiffened, fingers fidgeting at her sides. “What you did was illegal, Davina. You ken that well enough. If Tammus weren’t so merciful, you and Liam could be swinging from the gallows this very moment. Instead, he’s offering you a choice. You should be thankful.”

“Thankful?” Davina’s bitter laugh cut the air. She turned, pacing across the chamber like a bottled storm. “For what? A string of brief interviews with strangers I’m supposed to bind my life to? And I’m to hope they won’t turn cruel the moment Tammus is gone? You think that’s a blessing?”

Lilias stepped closer, her tone softening. “Your uncle’s trying to help you.”

Davina spun, her voice trembling with rage. “Do you not remember Ian? Do you not recall howcharminghe was? How he convinced everyone—you included—that he adored me? Up until our wedding night, when his mask cracked, and I saw the devil underneath.” Her voice constricted, but her fury pushed through. “He was a cruel man, and youknowit.”

“Davina!” Lilias hissed, glancing toward the nursery door. “You shouldn’t speak ill of the dead.”

“I’ll speak ill of him and every man like him,” Davina growled. “Dead or living, he was a monster.”

Lilias’s mouth opened—then closed. Her gaze dropped to the floor, her shoulders sagging under unseen weight. “I ken things were hard for you. Harder than I ever imagined. But Tammus is giving you a chance to start fresh. You’ve a bairn now. It’s time to do what’s right by her.”

Davina’s laugh came hollow and cold. “Like when I married Ian? Tell that to the wee bairn he beat from my womb. I thank God in heaven Cailin will never know what her da truly was.”

Tears welled in Lilias’s eyes before she closed them and nodded.

Davina turned away, fists trembling at her sides. “I’ve no mood to talk further. You’ve said your piece. Now leave.”

Lilias hesitated, her breath catching in her throat. But with no further argument, she turned toward the door, her head bowed.

Davina stepped forward, shut the door behind her mother, and leaned against it.

The right thing,she thought bitterly. Her mother could whisper that lie as often as she liked if it eased her conscience. But Davina knew the truth. She’d done the right thing once before, and it had almost destroyed her.

Her gaze drifted to the window, but the past bled into the room like a chill wind. She remembered the night she’d nearly taken her own life. Cailin, growing inside her, would have died with her. The weight of that moment still clung to her bones.

Cursing her life, she thumped the back of her head gently against the wood. Arms folded tight, she looked to the door of the nursery where Cailin slept—small, safe, and blissfully unaware of the storm pressing at their walls.

What chance did she have of finding a man worthy of them both?

How could she know his heart in just three weeks?

Her breath caught.

She pushed off the door, spine straightening.

Her eyes widened. Her heart stirred.

Maybe there is a way,she thought.

And a plan began to take root.

Chapter Six

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