He grabbed his coat and called for the butler to get the carriage ready. Within minutes, he pushed the front door open, with the carriage already there, waiting for him.
“To the city, and fast!” Edmund urged his coachman, who immediately nodded, and bid the horse go the moment his master had settled in the carriage.
The horse galloped steadily, as if the animal itself understood the urgency of the matter. Feeling a strange inclination to look outside, Edmund pulled the curtains to the side, just as they had left the premises of Hudson Estate, leaving the gate behind them.
Bad men lie.
He would make sure this particular man would pay dearly for the lie that almost destroyed Edmund’s life.
Chapter 28
Rosalie didn’t reach very far, when she suddenly stopped. Her heart urged her that she was making a huge mistake. If she kept on running, what would she be running towards? An even more colorless and cold future, without Edmund and the girls in it. Because, Loveless would keep on haunting her waking hours, as well as her dreams. He would curse her with his every breath, and she would never be free. Never.
She couldn’t run away any longer. This was her battle, and she had left her friends alone.
Immediately, she turned back and started running even faster, despite the pain in her feet and the exhaustion that was overtaking her. It took her only a few minutes to find her way back to the wagons. There, by the still flickering fire, she could see her friends huddled around a body on the ground.
She approached them frantically, feeling the sound of her heartbeat inside her eardrums, every beat like an explosion that shook her to the very core. At first, her friends didn’t notice her return. They had their backs to her, their heads bowed. If she didn’t know any better, she would think that they were giving homage to someone dear, someone respected and well loved. None of those things could ever be said about Broderick Loveless.
“Is he…” she started, her mind aware of the word she wanted to use, but her lips refusing to say it out loud.
Hercules was the first one to turn to her. Then, the others did as well. The body on the ground was still alive, still wriggling. The soft firelight illuminated his wretched face. Blood was dripping from his nose. His hair was a wet, tangly mess of dirt and some more crusted blood. He was cowering, lying in a fetal position.
“Why did you come back?” Hercules asked. “I told you we would finish this.”
“Don’t…” she shook her head, realizing what he was really saying, what they all silently agreed to do.
There were no sympathetic hearts here. Only profound sadness which penetrated their very being. Rosalie knew what that felt like. This man had plucked every possible joy out of her heart. He deserved no mercy. And, yet, the storming whirlwind of emotions that reigned inside of her urged her not to do something she would regret for the rest of her life.
“What do you mean?” Hercules frowned. “He’s made our lives miserable, even more than they would have been otherwise.”
“Don’t soil your conscience with the likes of him,” she pleaded. “He is not worth it.”
“If we don’t do it, he will never leave us alone,” Hercules reminded her of what happened when she herself ran away.
“That is not who you are, Hercules.” She approached him, placing her hand gently on his shoulder. Despite his great strength, she could feel this man tremble. He was only a human after all, just like the rest of them. She turned around, making sure to look every single one of them in the eyes. “This is not who any of you are. Do not become like this man whom you despise with every breath you take.”
She paused a little, then glanced downward at Loveless. He was lying on the floor, like a worm. Not even a snake any longer, but just a meager worm, afraid of the whole world. She knew what that felt like when the world seemed to be the enemy. But she also knew that it was him who had made enemies of them all.
“I know this man deserves none of your mercy or understanding,” she continued, speaking from the heart. “I know he has left all of us feeling heartbroken and disillusioned. Believe me when I say that he can take all of that from you, but he can never tarnish your soul. Only you can do that. You will do it if you raise your hand to him any more than you’ve already done.”
For a moment, it seemed that Hercules was about to strike Loveless down with one single blow of his mighty fist. That would certainly end it all. Loveless would be no more. But Rosalie knew Hercules didn’t deserve to live a life with something so horrible on his conscience.
“If you do it, you will regret it for the rest of your life,” she whispered, her hand still resting on his shoulder.
Suddenly, she could feel his muscles loosening. His hand was no longer in a fist. That same anger still surged through his blood, but the need for vengeance had subsided.
“This man has done unspeakable things,” Rosalie revealed, “things for which he should rot in prison for the rest of his days. I shall make sure that happens.”
All eyes were on her as she spoke, even though not many knew exactly what she had been referring to. Unexpectedly, they heard the sound of footsteps behind them. Rosalie jumped, and so did the others. Hercules stood before the rest of them, trying to shield them all with his body.
Rosalie glanced into the darkness as a shadowy figure approached.
Mr. Goosevelt!
Her body trembled. He was there as well. He had probably heard all the commotion and wandered outside to see what was happening. She dreaded to even think what would happen in case that was true.
“Who goes there?” Hercules growled with his mighty voice.
