If You're Going to Sell Yourself, Sell It to Me - Chapter 18

“What brings you here this time?” Henry casually stepped forward to block their path and asked the officers. The fact that he used the word “this time” indicated they had visited before.

“We received a report just now.”

“A report about what?”

“A brother claimed his sister was kidnapped from this house. Do you know someone named Willow Courtney?”

“What? What are you talking about?”

Her shocked gaze caught sight of Willow peeking from the end of the alley. He seemed too frightened to approach due to the gun, hiding behind the corner. The sight of him, still trying to drag her down, filled her with a deep-seated disgust that quickly turned into hatred.

“I don’t know who this Willow is, but it sounds like a false report. He should be jailed for perjury,” Lockwood said coldly.

“Are you sure? And what’s your name, miss?”

The officers’ suspicious eyes wandered around the room before settling on Georgiana, who stood behind Lockwood. They looked her over, from her expensive dress to her delicate features, and their jaws dropped in surprise.

“Watch your words. This is no ‘miss’—she is our madam,” Henry interjected, stepping in front of her to block their view.

“She wasn’t home last time, was she?” one officer remarked.

“That’s right, they said there were only two men and a maid. This is strange,” another agreed.

“We’ll need to see some identification.”

With trembling hands, Georgiana lowered her eyes and pulled out her identification card from her bag.

“Juliana Limberton.”

The ID card contained little more than her name and basic information, but the imperial seal confirmed its authenticity.

“She’s not a Courtney—she’s a Limberton.”

“Yeah, no way that guy’s sister could look like this.”

“There’s no doubt she’s not the one, but since a report was filed, we’ll have to conduct a search.”

The officers seemed more interested in her than in the ID, their eyes lingering on her as they tried to enter the house.

Lockwood, who had graciously opened the door for them, issued a quiet but stern warning.

“If this commotion causes me to miss the ship, I will be charging the Metropolitan Police for the 5,000 pounds I paid for passage. You’re free to search the house, but you will bear the consequences.”

The officers, who had likely been hoping to find something worth taking, froze at his words. Their faces stiffened as they exchanged uneasy glances before turning to leave.

“Now that I think about it, we’ve got another urgent call. No time to waste here.”

“Yeah, I’m suddenly feeling dizzy. I should probably see a doctor.”

“Me too. My wife asked me to come home early today, and I almost forgot.”

Each of them mumbled an excuse as they hurried out, looking as pitiful as Willow had moments before.

Even as they left, they couldn’t resist stealing one last glance at her before disappearing, leaving only Willow at the end of the alley, looking confused as he watched them go.

“Shall we depart?”

Henry shook his head and climbed up to the coachman’s seat.

“Take my hand.”

Still somewhat dazed from the earlier chaos, Georgiana took Lockwood’s outstretched hand and climbed into the carriage. She carefully arranged her wide skirt on the seat to keep it from getting caught, while Lockwood waited patiently.

As she signaled for him to join her, her eyes suddenly widened in horror.

Reflected in her pale green eyes was the sight of Lockwood, looking back at her with a puzzled expression, and behind him, Willow charging with a knife.

There was no time to shout a warning.

She didn’t have the strength to pull him into the carriage.

Her frantic gaze fell on the rifle tucked inside Lockwood’s jacket.

She had learned to handle a gun a few times, as hunting was a popular hobby among the nobility. The rifle’s shape was familiar, though she had only practiced with unloaded weapons and had never actually fired one.

And yet, despite his monstrous nature, Willow was still her blood relative.

Her eyes darted between Willow, who intended to drag her back to hell, and Lockwood, who had come to her aid.

There wasn’t much time to think. There wasn’t much time at all.

If Willow hadn’t stolen her boarding pass, none of this would have happened. If he hadn’t come at them with a knife, things wouldn’t have escalated to this point.

Yes, after everything he had done to her, he deserved to die.

Her decision made, Georgiana gritted her teeth and lunged for Lockwood, pulling the rifle from his jacket in one swift motion.

As he instinctively reached out to steady her, she pushed him away, using her trembling hands to brace the gun’s barrel and curl her finger around the trigger.

As soon as the gun was aimed, her eyes locked with Willow’s.

For the first time, she saw fear in his eyes instead of the usual disdain or contempt. When he saw the hatred in her gaze, Willow hesitated, and a dark stain spread across his trousers.

He had been nothing all along.

A twisted smile curled her lips.

Bang.

The recoil from the shot sent her staggering backward. Lockwood caught her as she fell, collapsing into the carriage. He seemed to be asking her something, but her ears were ringing from the blast, making it impossible to hear.

Through the carriage door, she could see Willow clutching his shoulder as he collapsed.

For some reason, it felt satisfying.

Following her gaze, Lockwood turned and saw Willow lying in a pool of his own blood. The knife he had been holding lay nearby.

Lockwood’s face twisted with anger as he quickly reloaded the rifle, preparing to leap out of the carriage, but Georgiana held him back firmly.

“Just go.”

“If you want my advice, it’s better to finish this properly than to leave him like that. If you can’t do it, I will.”

“We’re leaving. We won’t see him again. Let’s just go. The gunshot was loud enough that the police will be back soon. We should leave before they arrive.”

Lockwood clenched his fist tightly, then took a deep breath before finally closing the carriage door.

Henry, who had seen what happened through the window, called out in shock. “That bastard came back? Did… did you shoot him, master?”

“Yes, so let’s move quickly. The police will be here any minute.”

“Is it alright to leave him like that?”

Whether the shot had missed or hit its mark, the amount of blood was considerable. If Willow didn’t receive immediate treatment, he might die or at least lose the use of his arm.

“Honestly, I hope not.”

“Pardon?”

“He’s no good to anyone, especially not to Georgiana. The world would be better off if he died.”

“I agree, but does Miss Courtney feel the same?”

Both men turned to look at her, but Georgiana was lost in her own thoughts, muttering the same words over and over.

“It would be better if he died.”

***

The ship’s stern came into view even before they reached the port.

The massive ship had ten decks, including three below and seven above ground level, making it look like an entire town floating on the sea.

It was twice the size of the ship they had taken to get there.

The dock was so crowded with over a thousand people that there was barely any room to move. The faces in the crowd were filled with anticipation for the New World, like waves crashing on the shore.

The boarding areas were divided according to ticket class, but even so, the alley leading to the port was so packed that finding the entrance was a challenge. People were laden with enormous bags, some nearly as big as the carts. On top of that, vendors had set up stalls all along the alley, selling everything from supplies to snacks, making the path even narrower.

“You’ll have to walk from here,” Henry said, shaking his head as he brought the carriage to a halt. Trying to push through would have meant risking hitting someone in the crowd.

There was a considerable amount of luggage, mostly due to the double packing necessary to hide certain items, but they had no choice but to proceed on foot.

The real problem wasn’t the luggage.

“Are you alright?”

Lockwood’s voice was soft as he called to Georgiana, who sat in the carriage, half-dazed. She was as pale as a doll and didn’t respond.

Since firing the shot, she had been in this state the entire way to the port.

Watching her, Lockwood regretted his decision to inform Willow. Her injuries were one thing, but her mental trauma worried him more.

It wasn’t something that would heal easily.

Even he had struggled when he first shot something alive. He had lost sleep for days after shooting a bird out of the sky. What she had shot, however, was her own family—Willow.

Considering how delicate she was, it was easy to imagine the extent of the torment she had endured.

And lately, he had been the cause of much of her suffering.

Lockwood sighed deeply and ran a hand roughly through his hair.