Sleeping Engagement

XXXVI. The Spy

"They know more about the Manor," she said instead. She would take his blame and anger later, but for now, she had to have her wits with her while she still had control over them. At her words, he went still in his seat behind his desk and frowned. "It's aboveground as we suspected. It is very exclusive. They keep the slaves there, but they have very little contact with each other apart from the guests, people from both aboveground and the Town. The slaves serve these members."

When he did not open his mouth, she continued. "If you work with us, we will have a chance to solve this. We have Fiona and Faye and they have information. The League has a list of names—"

"What names?"

"Names of the guests. Names you don't have. Names we can connect to what you have."

He leaned over and planted his arms on the table. A slight relief rushed through her knowing she now had his attention. "And we also have your mother."

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

"In Osmond Trilby's room, we found a brooch with the Ashmore crest." As realization loosened his face, she added, "I believe Osmond Trilby was your mother's lover."

It took a while for him to react. When he did, he scoffed and leaned back with a shake of his head. "My mother would rather die than talk."

"To you, yes. But with the League, it may be a different matter." She shifted in her chair. "Please, Cole. I know you're furious. I would be if I were in your shoes. I admit I spied on you and I can't demand that you trust me as a member of the League. However, I'm hoping you trust me as Margaret Everard." Her nose flared as she talked, her eyes burning with unshed tears. She blinked them away. "With the League, we can make this work."

He stared at her for a long time, chest heaving, lips tight. All the while, Margaret held his gaze. If she let go now, she might break.

"This is why you can't say yes."

His statement surprised her and it pulled at her heart. "Yes."

"Well, I should thank you. I don't know how I'll ever deal with this if you did."

The tears did come then and she briskly brushed them off with the back of her hand. "I would not dream of trapping you in a marriage with me without knowing my secrets."

A bitter smile played on his lips. "I have to wonder which part of everything you did was true and which aren't."

"I would be lying if I say all of it was true. But it started to be since the night at the cabin."

Cole scoffed in disbelief, shaking his head. He refused to meet her gaze, looking everywhere but her.

"Tell me, Margaret. Does your family know?"

"Only my brothers and Tori," she admitted. "But it's only Ben who knows why I had to approach you in the beginning."

"To spy," he corrected scathingly. "Please do not put it so lightly."

She sniffled, nodding slowly. "Yes. I spied on you. I used our past to get close to you. I took advantage of what we shared in the cabin so I could go here and search every corner of your estate to scour for evidence." She caught his gaze and released a shaky sigh. "And I relished on what you offered. For a moment I tricked myself that I could be yours again. And for a time, I was, and it was true for me." She bit her lips to stop them from trembling. "Loving you is the only thing that's true while I was doing this mission."

His jaw clenched, the fury still hooding his eyes. "Be fair to me, Margaret. You can't tell me you love me after everything."

"I understand," she said, but her heart was in riot inside her chest. It wanted to go on a rampage. It was demanding to be heard. But she had done enough damage.