Helena nodded jerkily, unable to speak for the lump in her throat.
Her brother took a step towards her and pulled her into his arms. To her surprise, she realized that they were indeed almost the same height. Charlie was going to be tall one day.
“I’m sorry,” she managed to say after swallowing back her tears.
“What are you sorry for?” he asked gently.
“It’s my fault she died.”
Charlie huffed. “It’s not you who shot her.”
“Yes, but the bullet was meant for me.”
“And if it had hit you, then you would be dead. Do you think that’s better?”
Helena looked at him. “I don’t know.”
“Put the blame where it belongs. On Uncle James. He is the one who did a bad thing.”
Helena nodded. “I suppose that’s true.”
Silas frowned. “Benedict?” He turned to his friend. “Could you get us a drink please?”
“Right away, old friend,” Benedict said briskly as he crossed over to the bar and plucked the bottle from the tray.
There was a kettle of tea on the table, as well as sandwiches and honey cakes. Silas poured them all a cup, topping them all up generously with the whiskey.
“Sit. There is much to talk about and discuss,” he said.
Charlie and Helena looked at each other before taking a seat on the sofa next to each other. Silas and Amelia sat across from them while Benedict took the armchair.
“Now that we’re all up and about and feeling slightly better, I thought I might catch you up as to the goings-on in your absence.”
“How did you find us?” Amelia asked.
Benedict explained about having men both watching Charlie at Downfield and watching the abbey.
“Once we knew that they were not at Downfield, we had to assume that they headed for the abbey. Luckily, Lady Downfield and Lord James had set out from Downfield towards the abbey on the same day that you and Helena were kidnapped. So, it was safe to assume that you were there or somewhere close by.”
“It was a guess?” Helena said with wide eyes.
“Yes,” Silas said quietly, looking somber. “I suppose it was.”
“Lucky guess,” Helena said incredulously.
“Not lucky.” Benedict held up a finger. “Informed.”
“But we were not at the abbey, were we?” Helena asked.
“No, you were at a property belonging to your uncle nearby. Lucky for us, he was quite sure that we would not be able to find him. Hubris,” Silas said smugly.
Helena nodded. “What of the rest of the conspirators? Were you able to find them?”
“Well, as you know, we were set to intercept a wagon headed for Dover. However, thanks to one of our men, we were able to access the goods right at the abbey. The presence of Sister Philomena, Sister Mary Gertrude, and Sister Frances at your abduction site was enough to implicate them. We were able to gather them all, though the two conspirators from the apothecary got away.”
Benedict grinned. “When faced with the hangman’s noose, they turned on each other so fast, each willing to implicate the other for a lighter sentence. We got everything that we needed.”
Helena nodded in understanding. “That’s good. But has the plot been foiled, or will you continue to search for the rest?”
