Mine, All Mine (Fated for Love, #1) by Ella J. Quince

Author:Ella J. Quince
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: historical romance, erotic historical romance, Regency erotic romance, Romantic Fiction, Regency Romance novel, erotic spy novel
Publisher: Ella J. Quince
Published: 2013-09-08T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

Dinner was subdued, and once they had finished they retired to the drawing room so Dominic could begin to question Lilly about her stepfather. Chance sat and listened, adding more details as Lilly’s ordeal began to unfold. She started from the very beginning: her father’s death, her mother’s remarriage and death. Lilly had never liked Mr. Hollow; he was a social climber who was manipulative and slimy. Lilly honestly felt her mother was duped into marriage for her social standing. It was not long after the wedding that Lilly’s mother had fallen ill.

“She never heard the gossip that was spread about him,” Lilly solemnly said. “He was very wealthy in his own right, but even with his extravagant clothes and lifestyle, others could see right through him. Everyone but my mother.”

“When did she become ill?” Dominic carefully asked.

“About three months after the wedding, she claimed she didn’t feel herself. She was always tired and started sleeping a lot throughout the day. She felt weak, but could not eat anything; it was as if she began to waste away. They said it was a lung fever, and barred me from seeing her. I begged Mr. Hollow to call the family doctor, but he refused. He kept bringing in all these crackpot physicians, but they all said the same thing. They sent me away and I stayed with Olivia, but it was only a matter of days before I was told she had passed. He sent me a note telling me I could return. It was frightening to know that I had no one in the world to love me or care for me. I had to return to live with that evil man. He never cared about my mother, that slimy bastard. I wouldn’t be surprised if he killed her himself.”

The words were shocking and spoken from an angry and frightened young woman, but Dominic suspected it to be true. From what she had said about the illness and the secrecy behind it, he probably poisoned her slowly and used false doctors to solidify his story.

“Do you know anything about his business life?”

“Shipping, but I never saw him actually working. He would leave the house at all hours of the night and he kept his study door locked. He even supervised the maid who cleaned it.”

“Did you notice anything else suspicious about him?” Chance asked.

“Everything was suspicious about him. Everything about him was just wrong, like all the light had been sucked out of his soul.”

Dominic sat silently while watching her. She was fighting to control her sorrow and not fall apart. If he could have, Dominic would remove every ounce of pain from her being and erase every painful memory.

“I wish you would have told me, Lil,” Chance said, getting up to sit beside her and lay a comforting arm across her shoulders.

“What would I have said, what could anyone have done?” She stood and began to pace restlessly.

Dominic didn’t like seeing Chance touch Lilly so freely. He was relieved when she stood up.

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