Lily rose the next morning in pain. Lord Blackwood had handled her quite roughly, leaving bumps and bruises all over her body, and he took her roughly too so that it hurt between her legs, but worse than any of her bodily hurts was the hurt in her heart. She could not stop thinking of how wounded Will looked last night, and of how desperately she wished she could have joined him!
Minnie came up eventually to fetch her for breakfast. Once she was cleaned up and dressed, Minnie escorted her downstairs, as Lily was having a hard time moving this morning and benefited from a steadying arm as she descended the stairs and made her way to the dining room.
There she found Blackwood engaged with Old George. The manservant quickly scurried from the room upon seeing Lily. She sat down silently, staring at her plate.
“You'll say good morning to your husband,” Blackwood growled. Lily said nothing. He slammed his fist on the table. “Good morning!”
“Good morning,” Lily whispered.
“This is not the behavior of a loving wife,” Blackwood mumbled, “you had best find your tongue, girlie, I have sent Old George to arrange for us to be married tomorrow.”
Lily's voice deserted her. She hung her head and tried to choke back her tears, but one slipped down her face and landed in her porridge.
“You have no reason to cry!” Blackwood got up from his seat and stormed over to her. He pulled Lily's chair away from the table while she sat in it, then leaned forward with his hands on the arms of the chair. “You disgusting little bitch! You should be grateful I'm willing to marry you, with your soiled loins and ruined reputation!” He grabbed her shoulders and shook her. “Stop crying!” He straightened and stood back, but Lily would not look him in the eye, so he slapped her. She yelped, and put a hand over her stinging cheek.
“How could you...?” she whispered, “I shall cooperate with you, Lord Blackwood, if you promise to control your temper. I cannot have my daughter subjected to such barbary--”
“Your daughter! Hah!” Blackwood crossed his arms and sneered. “I have no intention of bringing some bastard little gutter rat to live in my house. My home is for my children--”
Blackwood's tirade was interrupted as Lily leapt to her feet and ran from the room. Blackwood tried to follow, huffing and swearing, but Lily was young and light on her feet, and Blackwood was fat and many years' tobacco smoke in his lungs, so she made a clean escape.
It was quite cold and raining as Lily sprinted to the stables. She mounted her horse and set out for the city at a gallop. All she wanted was to see Will, to tell him everything, and she thought she knew exactly where to find him.
By the time she reached the pub where he had boxed the day before, Lily was soaked through and shivering. Her pale pink gown clung to her, and the voluminous skirts were shrunk, making her look even smaller than usual. She entered the pub to a chorus of jeers and whistles, and she implored the bartender to tell where Will Blackwood was. He said that he had rented a room the night before and hadn't left since, which was unusual for the man.
Lily raced upstairs and hammered on the locked door. There was no answer. She pounded her little fist on the door again, this time saying, “Will Blackwood I know you're in there! Open up!”
Moments later, the door opened a crack, and a bleary-eyed Will looked out at her. He frowned. “What?”
“Let me in, Will, I--... I need to talk to you. I'm so sorry about last night--”
Will swung the door open and pulled Lily into an embrace, kissing her hard while his warm, strong arms wrapped around her small, shivering form. Lily kicked the door shut behind her as Will pulled her down on the bed and began peeling the wet clothes off her body. Lily assisted him gratefully and soon they were both warm and naked, tangled in the bedclothes and kissing and fondling one another. Lily surrendered to her desire for Will and lay back on the bed, parting her legs for him as he kissed her all over her delicate frame. He was ready to enter her when the door burst open and Lord Blackwood lumbered in, aiming a gun at his son.
“Get off,” Blackwood growled at his soon, advancing on the two of them. Lily clutched the blankets to her chest, trembling in terror.
“Stop!” she cried, “Don't hurt him, he's your son!”
“No he's not,” Blackwood sneered. “His mother was a whore, same as you. He's a bastard.”
“Lily doesn't love you,” Will snarled, “no one does!”
“Get off her before I kill you,” Blackwood demanded as he approached the bed. He grabbed Lily's wrist and yanked her off the bed, making her cry out as she scrambled to her feet, and Will threw himself at his father, tackling him to the floor. Blackwood released Lily's wrist to fight. Father and son rolled around, fighting for the weapon, when it discharged. Lily screamed and covered her ears as blood bloomed on Will's bare chest. She began weeping as Will collapsed, and Lord Blackwood loomed over him, aiming the gun at his head, but he was caught off-guard, and had assumed Will was done-for, but Will found the strength to spring up and steal the gun from his father. They grappled for a moment, then Will got control of the weapon, and did not think twice to shoot Lord Blackwood right between the eyes. Then the gun slipped from his nerveless fingers, and Will collapsed.