Elegant Sins (Dark Secret Society 1)

My cheeks flamed. He was such a hateful man. I met Edith’s eyes and shook my head.

“I didn’t have sex with Mr. St. Claire. I swear. Montgomery and I made a plan. We talked it out with Mr. St. Claire ahead of time, in case the auction ever came up because Montgomery didn’t want me to have to be with anyone else in the Order. He outbid everyone else—including your husband—to protect me and as a favor to Montgomery. I just went behind the curtain with him, but we didn’t do anything other than kick the curtains a few times and make some noises.”

I shuddered even at remembering the farce we were forced to enact.

But Montgomery’s mother just smiled at me and then at Montgomery. “Jack always did like getting one over on your father.” Jack? I’d never learned Mr. St. Claire’s first name. “He’s a good man like that. Unlike my husband.”

Montgomery suddenly moved forward, putting an arm around my shoulder. “Mama, it’s my honor to introduce Grace Morgan. Grace.” Montgomery beamed at me. “This is my mother.”

I felt a blush heat my cheeks, but I smiled and extended my hand to clasp hers.

She could not have been more the opposite of Montgomery’s father, and I was suddenly glad that he’d had at least one kind influence in his life. I was probably looking at the reason Montgomery wasn’t a raging, entitled asshole. I couldn’t help it. Emotions were raging so high, I pulled Edith toward me and squeezed her in a tight hug.

When I pulled back, I could see by her eyes that she was moved by the gesture.

Montgomery immediately pulled me back underneath his arm. “Grace and I have been scheming for a while. I couldn’t have done this without her strength, intelligence, and dedication.” When I looked up into his face, all the confusion from earlier was gone. He was grinning down at me like he was proud and sure of me. Which was now confusing me. What changed?

It made my heart hurt, wanting this so badly. Wanting him so badly. I wanted to be the woman he was proud to show his mother.

But not if it was only temporary.

A heart could only take so much.

Yes, we’d made promises to each other under the tree by the lake.

But they’d only extended to the end of the trial.

We promised never to betray each other. We promised to be honest until the end. He’d told me just how hateful his father was, and he warned me about every Initiation he knew might be coming, and we made plans for how to navigate each one—like the auction. Montgomery knew Mr. St. Claire was tired of his father’s irresponsibility and petty cruelties, and arranged ahead of time for him to outbid everyone else.

We’d promised to protect each other and to do whatever it took to support each other so that both of us got through. We would be a team, and we would protect each other no matter what.

And then he’d just held me—just held me without pushing for anything more—under the sprawling oak by the sun-dappled lake.

That was when I first began falling in love with Montgomery Kingston. In spite of all the warnings to myself not to. In spite of all my many denials.

I turned away from Montgomery and his mother and swiped at my eyes. I forced a smile I didn’t feel before looking back at them.

“Well,” I said, trying for cheerful and probably failing miserably. “I should get going. This has certainly been…”

Life-changing. Revelatory. Heartbreaking.

“Anyway,” I finished lamely. “Maybe I’ll see ya.”

And then I turned to go.

I didn’t make it three feet before Montgomery’s arms wrapped around me from behind.

“I couldn’t promise you forever back then because it wasn’t mine to give. I wasn’t free and wasn’t sure I’d ever be free of my father. I wasn’t going to condemn you to a life by my side always under his thumb. But because of your help, I’m free now. And free to be with you.”

And then, before I could quite figure out what was happening, Montgomery had swung me around to face him, and then he’d dropped to one knee. At the same time, he pulled a small box from his pocket.

Was that a— No, it couldn’t be—

“What are you doing?” I hissed.

He just grinned at me. “I was waiting for Mama to bring the ring.”

My eyes bounced around everywhere. His mother had taken several steps back, but she was watching on with tears glassing her eyes and a smile on her face.

“Will you marry me, Grace Magnolia Morgan?”

“What?” I shrieked, stumbling a few feet backwards.

I caught my balance just in time to see the beautiful gold ring with a single shimmering black pearl in the center, surrounded by diamonds. The light of the front porch danced off of the many facets of the gemstones right as thunder rumbled overhead again.