I ran my fingertips over the rusted drops. How macabre to think the son’s blood now stained the mother’s wedding dress. As if the sins of the present had reached back to spoil the past and yet the past was responsible for the sins of the present. It was a snake eating its own tail.
Ignoring the chaos behind me, I picked up my skirts and headed toward the cliff’s edge.
Far in the distance, a beautiful amber and purple light broke over the horizon.
Dawn had come.
Despite the darkness of the last few days.
Despite the danger and upheaval of that horrible, everlasting storm.
Dawn had come…finally.
As I ventured closer to the edge, the wind whipped the dress about my legs.
I hugged my arms about me.
What now?
My mind was so numb I could hardly think except to wonder over and over again.
What now?
There was a crunch of gravel behind me.
I didn’t turn.
I knew who it was.
A warm jacket settled over my shoulders. I rubbed my cheek against the soft fabric as I inhaled the spicy cologne scent.
Pierce wrapped his arms around me from behind and pulled me close.
“So, it’s done,” I whispered.
He rested his chin on my shoulder as he nuzzled my neck. “It’s done.”
“The police won’t?—”
“The police will do as they are told.”
“And what exactly were they told?”
“The guests were told that a servant had injured themselves. As far as the police are concerned my brother is dead and buried. This corpse will be disposed of in an unmarked grave. Let the poor soul he took advantage of rest in a place of honor in our family plot.”
I stepped out of his arms. “How can you be so unfeeling to your own brother?”
Pierce advanced and placed his hands on my upper arms. “How can you offer him a shred of kindness, after all he has done?”
I sniffed. “Are his transgressions that much more egregious than your own? He acted out of bad temperament and bitterness. But what about you?”
“What about me?” he asked, each word slow and measured.
I backed up a step, too emotionally wrung out to be cautious. “You acted with cold calculation. You manipulated everyone around you for no other reason than you were bored.”
“My brother was planning on killing me, you remember?”
“And you will not convince me there was no other way to rectify that situation than blowing up my life!”
