Page 54 of Cruel Shame

Elizabeth’s betting slip lay among a pile of papers on my desk, making me suck a breath through my teeth. The staff here must be super honest. Anywhere else, they would have skipped town and cashed in that slip. I shook my head. Three-hundred-thousand pounds could buy someone a very nice house in Richley.

I plucked it from the desk and handed it to Maxwell.

He whistled. “Keep that safe. Now that Elizabeth’s cocaine empire has crumbled, she’ll need every bit of money she can scrounge.”

“Right.” I glanced around for a hiding-place and slipped it into the inside pocket of my blazer. “The police raided all the drugs she’d left in Myra’s room.”

“And Lady Liddell stopped her allowance and cancelled her credit cards. It was one of Father’s conditions considering the engagement.”

I shook my head. “As long as her family continues going to such extreme lengths to protect her reputation, she’s going to get worse.”

“True.” His gaze swept down my body. “But situations like these have a tendency to self-destruct.”

“And bring down innocent people.” I said with a huff. “Come on, let’s go to dinner.”

Nearly everyone was in attendance in the dining room, even Mrs. Campbell, who made a point of leaving an empty gap at Mr. Burgh's seat on the head table. When our eyes met, she offered me a gentle nod, proving that she wasn’t the one behind that bullshit text message about indefinite leave.

The scent of roast beef and red wine sauce filled the air, as did the gentle hum of subdued chatter. Most of the girls sat around their tables, looking subdued, with the two boys who had distributed the cocaine curry noticeably absent. I continued to the larger table I now shared with the knights and marveled at how one person could wreak so much misery just for financial gain.

Kendrick was the first at our table to rise, followed by Gideon. Orlando cast them a cautious glance, then turned to see us approach, and stood. My steps faltered at the curious display. The knights never rose from their feet when Elizabeth sauntered into the room.

“What’s with those two?” Maxwell muttered.

“I think Kendrick sees Gideon as a rival,” I murmured back.

Maxwell snorted and placed an arm around my waist. “Nobody could out-gentleman Adewale. He’s the only person on that table who doesn’t want to get into your knickers.”

As we walked to the table, the other students glanced and giggled at the display, as though it was one of the funny things the boys did every day.

Gideon and the knights remained standing until Maxwell made a show of pulling out my seat and pushing it in as I sat. A burst of giddy happiness filled my chest, but ruined by a stab of guilt. How could I enjoy myself when Mr. Burgh had been cast out and branded a predator?

No sooner had the servers ladled out a minty watercress soup than loud chatter spread across the room. Students turned in our direction. I stiffened, wondering why they were choosing now to gape, when they barely reacted to the boys rising from their seats.

Gideon, who sat opposite, narrowed his eyes and glanced over my shoulder, his lips pursed lips with disapproval.

I turned to find Elizabeth standing in the doorway with a face like a slapped ass.

Chapter Twenty-Two

A sharp breath whistled through my teeth, and my fighting instincts reared up in a hot rush of fury. How dare she show her face after everything she did? I dropped my spoon in my bowl and placed a hand on the table, ready to stand, but Maxwell grabbed my arm.

“Don’t,” he whispered.

My nostrils flared. “But she—”

“We all know what she did, but let someone else have a go at her. The more of her former customers and admirers who turn on her, the better it will be for us to dismantle her.”

“Alright.” I picked up my spoon and stirred my soup.

Some of the students sitting around the table glanced at me as though to ask what I was going to do about Elizabeth since she had screwed me over the most. I ignored them and continued eating.

Elizabeth cleared her throat. “I would like everybody’s attention, please,”

I didn’t turn around. The annoyed twist of Gideon’s lips was enough to tell me that Elizabeth was looking pathetic standing in the doorway about to make a speech.

“There have been rumors of impropriety—”

“Rumors,” bellowed Mr. McGarr from the head table. “You went and bloody told everyone on TV that Mr. Burgh was a molester.”