Page 98 of The Last Chance
Aaron gave a mirthless chuckle. “Natasha is a fool if she thinks I would subject my brothers to a lifetime of misery. Why the hell would I trust her?”
“We can’t stop her. She has men watching the house.” Mrs Lowry’s voice quivered like the tenuous hold on her nerve might snap. “We’ve followed the plan because Lucia was afraid Natasha would kill you. Just like she killed the gent at The Burnished Jade.”
Joanna gasped. “Natasha killed Lord Howard? Why?”
“His father hurt her years ago, and she said his son must repent.” Mrs Lowry cast a pitying glance at Lucia. “Lucia was told to cause trouble between Lord Howard and Mr Parker and get one of them to steal the dagger. We thought Natasha wanted to make life difficult for Lord Howard.”
Lucia shivered like she could feel the men’s clammy hands on her skin. “Mother said she wanted the dagger because it belonged to Ignatius Chance. I did what I was told. I didn’t know she would take it to The Burnished Jade and kill a man. I didn’t know you’d be a suspect.”
“What did you think she would do?” he snapped, angry that Natasha would use her daughter to do her dirty deeds. “Keep it as a souvenir? She made you an accessory to murder.”
Probably so she could control Lucia.
Water welled in Lucia’s eyes as she looked at him. “I didn’t know Mother was watching Fortune’s Den. She’s been looking for a way to destroy your family and steal your fortune.”
And she had come close to succeeding.
“Why use The Burnished Jade and involve Miss Lovelace?”
Lucia turned to Joanna. “She knew you were friends with MrChance and discovered what Lord Howard did to you. That’s when she decided to use you to hurt him.”
Joanna inhaled deeply. “Lord Howard must have confessed to his crime. You told your mother. What sort of mother would leave you alone with him, knowing he’s a monster?”
“I am just a pawn in her game,” Lucia said through a sob. “But if it is any consolation, Lord Howard was sorry for what he did. He confessed to me the night I cried when he tried to touch me.”
“Howard lied.” Aaron relayed what he’d heard about Miss Fitzpatrick’s planned ruination. “He came to The Burnished Jade to hurt another innocent woman.”
Lucia looked confused. “No. He came to The Burnished Jade looking for Mr Parker. Mother sent him an anonymous note. He thought Mr Parker was planning to hurt me. Whatever else you’ve heard is untrue. Mother stole the list of attendees so it would look like he came of his own volition.”
“It’s my fault,” Mrs Lowry said, sniffing back tears. “I should have done something years ago. But once Natasha sinks her claws into you, there’s no hope of escape.”
Aaron paused to think.
There was only one way to stop Natasha hurting his family.
A way fraught with danger.
“Why should I trust you?” he asked Lucia. “You were born to wicked parents, two of the most evil people I’ve had the misfortune to meet.”
“It’s not a life I chose.” Lucia delved into her coat pocket and retrieved a miniature in an ornate gilt frame. “I have always longed to be part of your family, and hoped you might regard me as kin.”
Mrs Lowry spoke up. “She’s a kind, caring girl, sir, who’s been forced to do terrible things against her will.”
Aaron gave a nod of recognition. “Our parents treated us likepuppets in their cruel games. When you’ve known nothing but wickedness, you’ll bear the scars for a lifetime.”
“I know affection, devotion and friendship,” Lucia argued. “Mrs Lowry loves me like kin.”
How could he argue? Mrs Maloney loved him, too.
“I told Lucia about your mother, Diana, sir.”
Hearing his mother’s name pierced like a blade through the heart. Nothing prepared him for the moment the girl handed him the miniature of a beautiful raven-haired woman and said, “This belongs to you, Mr Chance.”
Mrs Lowry was quick to explain. “I took it from your father’s desk when I left Hill Street but kept it hidden. I showed it to Lucia when she was old enough. I wanted to explain not all mothers are wicked.”
Aaron hung his head and stared at his mother’s image. A lifetime of regret squeezed the breath from his lungs. He felt his mother’s anguish, the grief for a life cut short. He imagined her in heaven, watching every beating, trying to guide him towards a better path.
“Did my father kill her?” He had to know if the gossip was true. “Tell me. Surely Natasha knew. My father found his match in her.”
