Would I have gone through with marrying her?
He swallowed hard at the thought of marrying a woman he didn’t love. “I think we had better all take a seat.” Benedict gestured to the sofas.
“But, My Lord, I wouldn’t feel right sitting in your presence …” Thomas’s eyes widened in shock.
“I don’t think any of that matters right now,” Livinia said gently as she took a seat beside him. Her gentle manners made Benedict’s breath catch in his chest. How had he never noticed how different she was from Eleanor?
Thomas reluctantly took a seat opposite Livinia and Benedict.
“I think you had better start at the beginning and tell His Lordship everything you told me,” Livinia guided him gently with her hands clasped in her lap.
Benedict sat quietly listening to everything that Thomas had to say. A strange sense of calm came over him when Livinia reached for his hand and gently squeezed it. He wasn’t angry; he wasn’t even sad or upset. All he could think of was how strange it felt to finally hear what had happened to his parents. The strange feeling of having an out-of-body experience allowed him to speak calmly when Thomas finished.
“Were you in the room when it happened?” He suddenly realized that his palms had been sweating when he rubbed the tip of his finger against his thumb.
Thomas licked over his lips, which were sorely in need of a drink. “I was not, My Lord. I only entered the study once the deed had been done. It was Lady Eleanor who instructed them to push the shelves onto your parents …” The blood drained from his face as his voice trailed off into a whisper.
“Benedict?” Livinia asked quietly when he failed to say anything more.
“I trusted you,” was all he said as he stood and towered over Thomas.
Thomas shrunk back into his seat, cowering beneath Benedict’s steely gaze. “I know, My Lord, I have been eaten by guilt since that day. It wasn’t until I heard Lady Eleanor saying to one of the men that I would be next if I told anyone what had happened. I’m not sure if she realized I was still outside the doors or if she intended me to hear.”
Thomas stood and looked Benedict in the eyes as if facing his executioner. The man was truly sorry, the guilt in his eyes evident with the shimmering tears.
Rage clouded his vision as Benedict released the anger that had been building in his chest. His fist connected with Thomas’s jaw, and the man flew over the back of the sofa.
“Benedict!” Livinia screamed and reached for his arm, holding him back when Thomas scurried to his feet.
“This man is responsible for my parents’ death!” he yelled in a deafening tone, wanting to lunge at Thomas again.
The man backed away, cowering in the corner of the room like a snivelling weasel.
Livinia kept her cool, placing her hand on his cheek as she had done before.
“You have every right to be angry, and I don’t blame you for wanting to beat the life out of him, but the reality is that you need him to bring Eleanor to justice. Thomas was a part of her plan, but she was more to blame than anyone else. Her greed caused your parents’ deaths.” Her voice was calm as she looked into his eyes, gently moving the tips of her fingers up his face.
Benedict felt his rage subsiding as Livinia took another step towards him. He glanced at Thomas cowering in the corner before placing his hand over hers and lowering it to his side.
“I can’t say that I will be merciful in dealing with you, but what Livinia is saying is true. We need you to bring Lady Eleanor to justice.” Her name felt like poison on his tongue now that he knew what she had done.
How had he never seen what a vicious monster she was? Her motives from the start had been cool and calculated. She deserved the same kind of death she had orchestrated against his parents, but he wouldn’t allow himself to stoop as low as she had gone.
Thomas swallowed hard and shifted his jaw from side to side before standing. “I didn’t think you would be merciful, My Lord; quite frankly, I am lucky you didn’t take my life. I would have deserved that; all I ask now is that you allow me to right the past. I will face whatever punishment you see fit when the time comes.”
The urge to knock him senseless still filtered through his body, but Livinia’s calming presence made him see sense in what needed to happen.
“I think we had better sit down and come up with a plan,” she said calmly, placing her hand lightly on his arm.
Thomas hesitated for a moment, cautiously glancing at Benedict as he sidled around the sofa.
Benedict couldn’t believe he’d placed so much trust in a man who had helped destroy his family. How had he been so blind? Thomas had stayed out of guilt in an attempt to ease his own discomfort. Nothing he had done over the past years had been out of loyalty to the family; it had been out of loyalty to his own need to forget.
The trio sat down and discussed what needed to be done in perfect detail. Livinia took the lead while Thomas and Benedict exchanged glances in between. It wasn’t until they had all finished with the plan that Thomas seemed to work up the courage to speak.
“If I may ask, My Lord, what will become of me once Lady Eleanor has been dealt with?” Thomas seemed on the verge of tears as he clasped his hands between his knees and did a little rocking motion on the edge of his seat.
Benedict sat back on the sofa and placed his arm over the back behind Livinia. “I cannot say that I will ever forgive you but given the fact that you are willing to help bring Lady Eleanor to justice, I will not press any charges. If the authorities see fit to leave you as a free man, you are to leave this house without a reference. I’m sure that your cunning and wit will serve you well in finding a new position. I know you fooled me for many years.”
His voice was laced with ice as he stared down at the man who was now a stranger to him.
Thomas seemed relieved at first, but the colour quickly drained from his face when he finished talking.
“You can thank Miss Campbell. If she hadn’t been here, I can’t say that I would have been as merciful as I am.” He held back the urge to knock more sense into the man. He could live out his days in some other forsaken part of the country as long as Benedict never had to lay eyes on him ever again.
The doors to the parlour burst open once again as Theodora came barrelling into the room and launched herself into Livinia’s arms.
“I thought you were never coming back again.” Theodora began to sob as Livinia stroked her hair.
Benedict let them have their moment as he nodded to Thomas to leave the room. He waited for the man to stand before speaking to him under his breath. “I will give you up until the plan has ended; after that, you will have to seek alternative accommodation.”
“I understand, My Lord.” Thomas seemed as if he were about to burst into tears before leaving the room.
“Where were you?” Theodora demanded, drawing his attention back to the embrace. She pulled away from Livinia and held her at arm’s length.
Livinia’s face softened as she looked at the younger girl. “I didn’t mean to scare you; there were a few things that I needed to take care of.”
Theodora looked from her brother to Livinia. “Benedict went everywhere looking for you but forbade me from going along. I think it was awfully cruel of him to leave me alone.” She pouted a little and glared at her brother before hugging Livinia again. “Never leave me again.”
