"I know about the body you buried near where we met that day when you said your carriage wheel broke. I-They killed him," Eloise shared the burning confession.
Eloise couldn't keep it to herself anymore.
Before her wasn't a stranger, but the boy she had always confided in when they were friends in the past.
Eloise's fingers latched onto Damien's coat. "My uncle killed my father," she revealed in a soft tone.
Eloise felt numb.
She was struck by thoughts that her father was no more, and she wouldn't be able to see her father again because Clive was cruel enough to burn her father's body and deny her a proper goodbye.
Damien felt Eloise's body shaking and knew it wasn't from the cold night's air. The revelation of Clive killing his brother when he was sheltering his niece wasn't something Damien expected.
"Why do you suspect he killed your father?"
Percival stopped more than four arm's length away from where Eloise stood with Damien, trying to piece together why Damien was holding the woman already promised to him.
"I overheard them speaking in a room. They killed him. They took him from me, and I cannot see his body because he burned my father," Eloise said and almost fell as her knees lost the strength to stand.
Thankfully, Damien kept holding Eloise so she wouldn't fall.
"He did it because he wants my father's home. Now I know why he wouldn't look at me these days. He must feel guilty, but they are plotting to hide what he did. I would have given it to my uncle if he had asked. I just needed my father," Eloise said and slowly raised her head to look at Damien.
Tears fell from Eloise's eyes.
It was evil for Clive to place her in this position. To experience the cruel side of the world from someone Eloise loved.
Eloise had already lost her mother. Now her father was gone, and because of their actions, Eloise would lose Clive and Agatha. She only had Iris and her other cousin left, but he was away, and surely, Iris wouldn't turn against her father.
"My uncle is going to marry me off to Percival so he can have the home, and I will be out of the way. I cannot let him get away with it. To keep your secret, could you help me? Please," Eloise pleaded.
It was wrong to help hide a death, but Eloise didn't have anyone else to turn to. She didn't have any proof of what Clive had done, and who would listen to a woman without powerful backing?
Eloise wanted to return to the ballroom and expose Clive's crimes, but she knew without proof the town guards would never listen.
"I don't want to marry Percival, and I cannot let my uncle get away with what he has done. Please help me," Eloise said, hoping the boy she once knew was still present.
Damien, who had once been Eloise's friend, would never hesitate to help her.
"I could just kill you, and my secret would be hidden forever," Damien answered, but it was far from what he wanted to do.
From the moment Eloise collided with him days ago, it sparked feelings once buried in the past. He intended to court her, but unpredictable events now changed his plans.
Eloise backed away from Damien, fearing she had made a mistake.
"You only trust your family. Marry me," the proposal came before Eloise could think it through. She thought of Damien's family name, which would help her against Clive.
Marriage was also the only way to escape Clive's clutches. If she couldn't find a husband who could challenge Clive, then Eloise would be married off to Percival.
Eloise's hand trembled as Damien closed the distance between them.
"You know too much," he said, his voice low yet threatening.
"Then give me reason to keep your secret," Eloise replied, her chin lifting with defiance. She had nothing to lose now with her father gone.
Damien's gaze softened, just enough to keep her confidence alive. "Be mine, Eloise. Only then will both our futures remain intact," he accepted the proposal. "I will marry you."
Eloise's eyes widened. She didn't expect Damien to accept it so easily. She avoided his gaze as reality struck her. "I, I wasn't thinking. My cousin loves you. I would be betraying her."
"Your cousin never had a chance for us to wed. You have very little time to make a decision, Eloise. I only trust my family to keep my secrets, and as soon as you leave my side, your uncle will marry you off to the man behind you. Choose quickly," Damien said, his hand resting on her waist.
Behind Eloise's back, Damien mocked Percival.
From the very start, since Damien knew Eloise was back in town, he had been the victor in this race. He would not lose her again to a man like Percival. He would win even if he had to fill another grave to do so.
"Time is ticking, Eloise," Damien said, tapping his finger against her waist.
Eloise seriously considered the offer.
Without Damien, there would be no one at her side powerful enough to help her.
When Eloise told Iris what she overheard, Iris wouldn't believe her, and it was understandable. Iris loved her father just as Eloise loved her father.
"Lord Hawthorne," Percival spoke up, annoyed that his presence was ignored for so long. "Miss Eloise and I were having a conversation before you so rudely interrupted us."
"Rudely?" Damien questioned Percival's choice of words. "I would say I came just in time to help her. Run along while you can still run, Percy."
"It is Percival," Percival corrected Damien.
"Neither option helps you," said Damien.
Percival huffed and boldly approached the pair. "You are too late to stake your claim on her. Miss Eloise has already been promised to me by her uncle. I put forward a hefty price for her, and we are to be married in three days. It seems her uncle hasn't told her."
Eloise gasped, horrified by the news Percival shared.
While Eloise had been plotting with Iris to sneak away to see her father, Clive had already sold her off.
Eloise closed her eyes as she took a moment to prepare for the long road ahead. 'Forgive me, Iris,' Eloise thought, knowing her actions were wrong, but she was desperate.
"As long as you promise to get me out of the engagement to Percival, and help me to prove my uncle killed my father, I will marry you. You must promise me," Eloise requested, placing her trust in an old friend.
"I swear to you, you will avenge your father and be safe," Damien promised.
"Then, I will marry you," Eloise agreed to the plan.
"Eloise," Percival said, reaching for Eloise's hand to free her from Damien's hold. "A lady shouldn't stand close to a man she is not engaged to."
Rather than reaping the rewards he looked forward to for days, Percival was startled by Damien grabbing his hand and twisting it until pain shot up to his arm.
Damien's eyes burned with rage. "Keep your hand off my fiancée," Damien said, tempted to break the filthy hand.