“And what of the other half?” Lydia demanded.
“Your uncle intended to keep it for himself. That was why he needed my help, and not just some other noble who might make a suitable match.” Vincent let out a breath and said, “I am terribly sorry for my part in it.”
“But what happened? Was it my antics at Lord Verdurn’s ball that night?” she asked, and even Matthew came forward to stand beside her protectively.
Vincent scoffed. “Of everything I have done, I think that is the thing I am most deeply sorry for. I cast you aside the moment an opportunity arose, all without any care for the consequences you might face.” He stopped and held out his hand to Madame Saunier. “You see, I was already in love with Claudine. That is why I only made the offer of formal courtship at the ball, and not marriage. I did not know how to proceed, knowing how my heart already belonged to her. We met in all of the dealings I’d had with your uncle to arrange this little scheme of his, and I’ve never known anyone like her.”
Madame Saunier turned to Lydia. “I hope you can forgive me, and please know zat I thought very highly of you and your sister.”
Lydia nodded. “I know that. I have no quarrel with you. I could never deny you the love of someone you care about, but moreover, I owe you a debt of gratitude for caring about Elsie. I’ve learned what you did with her governess, and I would overlook any crime of yours as a result.”
“Thank you,madame,” the woman replied, dabbing at a tear with her fingers. “That is very generous of you, and I am grateful to you.” Reaching out a hand to stroke Elsie’s hair, she said, “But I would have looked after this angel no matter what. She is a very special girl!”
“Yes, one who almost gave us away,” Vincent said, chuckling softly. “I would steal up to your uncle’s house long after he thought I’d left for the evening, just to see Claudine for a few moments. Elsie mistook our speaking outside her window for someone else, I’m afraid.”
Elsie began to weep, genuine tears that turned into sobs in short order. “But I wanted it to be Father! I was certain I was hearing them speak to me!”
Lydia knelt down and pulled Elsie closer, wrapping her protectively in her arms. “I know you did, my sweet girl. I want that too.”
“I’m such a stupid girl for thinking it,” Elsie wailed, burying her face in Lydia’s neck.
“No! You most certainly are not!” Lydia said sharply, pulling back and taking Elsie’s face in her hands to look at her. “There is nothing wrong with hope. Hope is everything, and looking for that which makes us happy is a noble pursuit. Do you understand?”
Elsie nodded, even as the tears coursed down her cheeks. Matthew handed Lydia the cloth he’d used to cover his face from the smoke, and she wiped away her sister’s tears.
“Tell me, Elsie. Did it make you feel safe to think that Mother and Father were still at Bronson Manor?” Her sister nodded, so Elsie continued. “And did you feel the love they held for you as you walked the rooms?” She nodded again. “Then it matters not what you heard or what it really was. If Lord Lockwood and Madame Saunier’s voices made you think of our parents and reminded you that they cared for you more than anything in this world, then that is the most precious thing they could ever have given you.”
Elsie nodded solemnly, then rested her head on Lydia’s shoulder. Lydia stood up and held her sister in her arms, smiling at Vincent and Madame Saunier.
“Thank you for telling me the truth of this. No matter what has passed between us before, I can harbor no ill will towards anyone who was so loving to my sister. I can only wish for you the happiness I hope for myself,” she said to them before turning to Matthew. “Wait, Matthew? Where is he?”
Vincent looked around, turning in a circle to see where he could have gone. He ran over to the servants who were still carrying water from the brook to douse the flames, inquiring to see if Matthew had joined them. He returned, shaking his head.
“I don’t know, he was just here. But now he’s gone.”
Chapter 31
The end of the gun still pressed sharply into Matthew’s back despite his attempts to walk faster. He tried to keep from stumbling in the dark lest his assailant think he was attempting to escape and dispatch him soundly, but tree roots and large stones seemed to rise up before him every time he took a step.
“Nice of you to sneak up on us at that house, it’s a wonder no one saw or heard when you approached,” Matthew said, trying to prevent the tremble in his voice from becoming obvious.
“All part of the plan, Paxton,” Julius said, his voice surprisingly calm.
“But where are you leading me?” Matthew demanded angrily, hoping his false bravado didn’t give him away.
“Far enough from the house where the sound of your death won’t be so noticeable,” Julius answered gruffly. “Now move.”
“But why? What offense have I committed?” Matthew argued.Besides the obvious offense of stealing your niece and eloping with her, that is.
“You are in the way of my plans, nothing more. Otherwise, your life wouldn’t even count to me so much as that of a fly hovering over a pile of dung,” Julius said, shoving Matthew forward with the gun in his back.
For a moment, Matthew thought up a new plan. He attempted to walk very reluctantly, biding his time and hoping that Julius would not lead him too far from the house. When that failed—thanks to a sharp crack against the back of his head with the butt of Julius’ pistol and an admonition to hurry up—Matthew sought to move so quickly that Julius had trouble keeping up. The goal would be to put enough distance between him and Julius that the darkness swallowed him, permitting him to run away while Julius floundered to take aim in the black night.
“You don’t have it in you to cause me harm, not after the way Lydia feels about me,” he said, trying to sound peaceful and somewhat forgiving, as though this would all be a laughable misunderstanding.
“Of course I do. If anything, you’re the one man on earth I wish dead more than any other,” Julius said, his voice eerily calm. “You have single-handedly undone months and months of planning, and you shall remedy it with the forfeit of your life.”
“You won’t get away with this,” Matthew called out, now changing strategies with the hope of attracting attention. From whom, he knew not—after all, they had already left the vicinity of the house and the stables behind. His only hope was someone lingering in the farm shed up ahead.
