Pride and Papercuts (The Austens #5) - Staci Hart Page 0,95
The debt Liam paid. The prenup and his exit from their lives. Even confirmation that he’d been texting her while courting me.
I’d been fooled, just as she had.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” she said softly. “But I thought you knew enough of the truth when we talked about it. I should have known he’d lied to you.”
“It’s not your fault, Georgie. He’s just so …”
“Charming? Handsome? He has this way of making you feel like the only girl on the planet, like every word he says is biblical in importance. Don’t feel bad about being tricked by him. You weren’t the first, and I doubt you’ll be the last.”
The question I’d been considering since I read the letter was finally asked. “Why did Liam pay Wickham’s debt?”
“Because he still loved Wyatt despite it all. His anger isn’t just over me—he lost someone he loved too.”
The knowledge shook me.
She shrugged, her shoulders weighted with sadness. “Wyatt needed the money so badly, he was willing to go to these lengths, to cause so much damage. He was desperate. But his brand of love consumes without giving. I’m better without him—he would have ruined me. And Liam was the only one who saw it, the only one brave enough to stop him.”
Humbled, I was quiet for a few steps.
“He’s not what you think he is,” she said. “When we got back yesterday, Caroline told him Catherine’s been sabotaging your family’s business. He confronted Catherine, threatened to expose her if she didn’t leave Longbourne and your family alone.”
I stopped dead, nearly dropping my coffee. “Wh-what?”
She turned to me, her eyes as soft as her smile. “She won’t be bothering you again—Liam made sure of it. He uses his powers for good far more often than evil. Really, all he wants is to keep the people he loves safe. I’ve always thought it was because we lost our parents so young, so unexpectedly. He was always protective, but after they died …” Her gaze shifted to the ground. “He doesn’t want to lose anything else. It’s easy to believe him unfeeling, but the truth is that he feels too much. So desperately, so intensely, that he clings to what he loves with all he has. I think he believes if he loses us, he’ll lose himself.”
I dashed a tear from my cheek and started walking again. Georgie fell in step beside me. “I’m afraid I was very wrong about him.”
“It’s easy to do. He makes it hard to see beyond what he chooses to show. He’s designed himself to keep people away, because less people to love means less opportunities for heartache when they’re gone.”
It was all too much, too fast. As plagued as I’d been by my misjudgment of him, Georgie’s testimony overwhelmed me completely—I was swept under the surface and carried away by the current. Everything I’d believed about him was wrong. Everything. The truth once again sent me tumbling in its wake.
The only true moments were the moments I’d been in his arms, blessed by his smile.
He’d done this for my family without asking for anything in return. Selflessly, he’d put himself between Catherine and my family, stopping the sabotage with a single conversation.
Everything that had passed between us flipped through my mind like slides. I hadn’t realized the bulb had burned out, and now that it was on, everything was illuminated.
Liam was so much more than I’d thought him to be.
“I need to see him,” I said, swallowing back tears. “I owe him an apology. Do you think he’ll speak to me? After everything … I can’t be sure. I can’t be sure of anything.”
Georgie smiled. “I think he’ll see you. He’s at the house now—unless you’d like to set something up instead?”
“Now is good. The sooner, the better. I don’t think I can walk around with my guilt much longer before I crumble.”
She took my arm. “Well, we can’t have that. And the timing couldn’t be better. He texted, asking me to come home for a minute, and if I know him, he’s already worrying over how long it’s taken to get to him.”
I frowned. “Did he know we were together?”
“He knew I was planning to see you, but no—I didn’t tell him where I was going today. I didn’t think it would bring him any peace of mind to know I was with you.”
“Does anything about me bring him peace of mind?” I asked on a laugh.