"She fainted in my arms and I took her to my room. I came back to find the butler and we both returned to the room." He paused to take a deep breath. "He was dead by then. Just one strike and the bloody bastard died. He did not suffer enough," he gritted out. "For everything he had done to those around him—to me, to Fiona—he deserved more."

"And what did you do next?"

"We locked him in the room. When Fiona woke up, she asked me what happened. That's when I ordered the butler to get me a hackney. I couldn't use my father's carriage. I had to take her somewhere before she remembered out what happened. Or what she did."

He let out a shaky sigh.

"Then your servants are aware."

"Yes. But they won't talk. They're loyal only to the Trilby they serve. At the moment, that's me." He shook his head, as if he, too, found his story unbelievable. "Fiona doesn't remember killing him and I hope it stays that way."

Margaret could not agree more.

Edmund looked at Cole, as if he was torn between the feeling of betrayal and the helplessness.

"You can't send her back to the Manor, Edmund," Cole told him.

"She's safer there than she is with us. I don't see any other choice."

"Taking her back to the Manor will only give her father easy access to her," Margaret pointed out.

"I know, but the Manor has rules. And everyone abides by them. Noah will not repeat what he did."

"How can you ever make that certain?"

"I'm certain," the young man said, but his flickering eyes that would not meet them told otherwise.

Cole sighed. "If you want her safe, Edmund, let me take care of her. The Manor is not the best place for her. She needs family. I can give her that."

Margaret's eyes went to Cole and a tear fell from her eye. Edmund was silent for a while, lips pursed in an internal battle that only he could feel. "I know," he finally whispered. "I don't know where to take her. I don't know how I can keep her away from us." He stared at Cole. "And God, help me, even after what you did, I still trust you."

"And you can," Cole insisted. "I meant to talk to you, but you disappeared."

"Of course, I did. I just found out you exposed Fiona to her," Edmund said, throwing Margaret a look. He shook his head. "Even if I trust you with her, she can't stay with you or the Haverstons. The work you do will only put her in much greater risk."

"I know the place for her," Margaret said. "It's not with the League, I promise."

Both men looked at her, one baffled, the other filled with doubt.

"My brother Benedict and his wife are building a school for children who lost their families. Fiona can stay there without anyone ever knowing where she came from. She will be with children her age. She will have a semblance of a normal life."

Edmund closed his eyes and sighed. He looked tired.

His shoulders shrugged in resignation and he slowly nodded. "I need to think about this."

Cole stared at him for a long time, hands resting on his hips. "Who is helping you, Edmund?"

"A cousin."

"And this cousin has a name?"

He shook his head with a scoff. "I cannot tell you. Don't ask me anything about my family, please."

"Does your family know you've taken her?"

"Not all of them."

"And those who do agreed that you can keep her?"

"They will have to." Edmund looked at them and sighed. "Not all of us are evil, but those who are have the power to control everyone. And for those who wish for something, we have to pay for what we want."

"And what did you pay for Fiona?"

Edmund smiled weakly. "My loyalty. That's why I can no longer work with you. If they find out, I'll be in trouble. And then Fiona will be in trouble."

Cole shook his head. "You can help us take them down, Edmund."

"No," Edmund said, rising to his feet. "Maybe someday, but not now. Not when I remain in their clutches." He looked at them, eyes jumping from Cole to Margaret and back. "Noah will find her. Not now, but once he gains more power in the parliament, he will find her. He's as crazy as his dead wife. The first place he'll go to will be the Haverstons. When he can't find her there, he will search again." He looked at Margaret. "If I decide to hand over Fiona to your family, I cannot assure that Noah will not turn his attention on the Everards."

Margaret nodded. "I'd actually love to see him try."

Edmund only shook his head. "I will know when I made my decision. For now, Fiona stays with me."

Long after Edmund left, Margaret sighed in disbelief. She felt numb, lost, her thoughts everywhere but the present.

"We have to leave," Cole said in a tone so calm it was almost surreal.

"Where?"

"Ashmore. We need to send word to the Haverstons."

***

Margaret looked around the Ashmore drawing room. The thought that Fiona was no longer in the household was disheartening. She was tired, but there were so much to do.

Since their arrival two days ago, Cole agreed that they needed to send word to the Haverstons. She spent most of two days with the twins and Faye, assuring them that Fiona was safe, and that hopefully, she could return. They were curious and they had a lot of questions. However, Margaret told them there were things she could not share. Matters better left unsaid for Fiona's safety and theirs.

Cole rarely saw them, and when he did, they did not talk about Edmund or Fiona. Margaret could not tell what he was doing when he was alone. She could only guess that he was working in his study.

When Calan Haverston arrived, he was with McKenzie, and with the man was his wife, Belinda. Surprisingly, Cole welcomed the woman. In fact, he asked that he told her about Fiona himself.

Belinda took the news about Fiona badly. She had refused to talk to anyone for a while, allowing only her husband to comfort her. Margaret now saw Belinda in a different light after learning where the woman had spent the five years of her banishment. If there was anyone who knew what it felt like to be in the Manor and to live in fear, it was Belinda.

"I never want her to ever remember," Belinda said, breaking the silence in the room, snapping Margaret back to the present. Her eyes were swollen from tears, her red hair loose over her shoulders. Her pale lips trembled as she spoke. "I can't wait to see her." Stealing Margaret a look, she sniffled. "I know, Margaret," she said, wiping her cheeks. "I know I cannot be her family for now. I can't tell her who I am."

Margaret reached out to squeeze her hand, her eyes also filling with tears.

"Please tell me he'll agree. He will let you keep her."

"I can't promise you anything, Belinda," she said. "Like you, I'm also hoping."

"She suffered more than I, Margaret. How could they have done that to her? How could they?" Belinda wiped her tears and let out a shaky breath, mastering herself. "I'm afraid," she said, voice clearer. "I'm afraid she'll remember. When she grows up, she will have questions and I don't know how to answer them. I won't know how to tell her about Julia and the monsters in her father's family."

"And we shall be ready," Margaret assured. "If Edmund decides to grant us the privilege, we shall fill her with enough love and care that when the time comes that we have to tell her everything, it will merely be a fact rather than a painful memory."

Belinda smiled at Margaret through her tears. "You will take care of her, yes?"

"I promise," Margaret said.

Belinda looked at the closed door. "Lord Ashmore is not pleased with your secrets, is he? I can tell."

"He understands, but I don't think he can forgive me," she replied said with a sardonic chuckle directed at herself and bad fate.

Belinda nodded. "Lies are a little complicated, you know," Belinda said. "We do it to save ourselves from pain. Or save others from the pain of the truth." She smiled weakly, as if recalling a memory. "You must first learn to forgive yourself."

Margaret remained quiet. Somewhere in the manor, the twins and Faye were waiting. Once the Haverstons were gone, they would leave, too.

***

Calan Haverston found him alone by the entrance of the garden. He did not turn his head when the man stood beside him. For a moment they both shared the silence.

"The League has agreed to clear you of any suspicion in regards to Osmond Trilby's death. Your mother has been cleared as well as there were witnesses who saw her in Tiny Town when the murder happened. As far as everyone outside the League of Founders knows, Osmond Trilby's death was but a case of robbery."

Cole nodded.

"And we also appreciate your decision to work with us on the slavery case."

"Before we go forward, I want to make clear that Edmund Trilby cannot be harmed. The young man has gone through enough. Whatever his decision may be about Fiona, I'd like to think he'll be doing it with her best interest in mind. We're on our own on this case, as we were before we decided to work together."

Calan nodded with a smile. "I understand. I know this case is very personal to you as well." He paused for a moment before adding, "We need your expertise as much as you need ours. I understand from Margaret that you would appreciate it more if I assign a different Leaguer as a liaison between us."

His jaw tightened. "You can send any Leaguer you deem appropriate, and one we can trust."

Again, a long silence followed. When the man moved, he thought Calan was going to leave him alone. "She told me that you can never kill someone and that the only mistake you can do is to walk away from love."

Cole looked at Calan without giving away anything.

"I believe she will be leaving on the morrow?" Calan asked, turning to stare at the empty garden. "As a Leaguer, she will not demand that you stop her. We are trained to learn how to be alone. I think that's why she decided to join in the first place. She was desperate to learn how to thrive without anyone. Or at least pretend that she can."

Simply with those words, Calan Haverston turned and left.

***

When everyone had retired, Margaret penned a letter to Benedict to ask if he could make room for two more children in Agatha's school because she may soon bring two more. She would tell him everything, she wrote, once she was certain of her plans. Folding the letter, she prepared for bed.

The door to her room opened, startling her.

"You forgot to lock the door," Cole said, walking inside and closing it.

Heart hammering against her chest, Margaret said, "I was just about to."

He stopped in the center of the room, hands deep in his pockets.

"Why did you join the League?" His question surprised her.

"I thought I'll enjoy the work." When he just looked at her, as if waiting for the truth, Margaret swallowed. "I needed a distraction. I needed a purpose."

His lips pursed. God, he looked tired. His hair was sticking out in places, and she could smell brandy in the air.

"Was it worth it?"

Margaret struggled to fight the tears. She felt her face flush, her jaw tight and her hands balled into fists at both sides. Her heart wrenched as she prepared to say the words. "Yes. I got my second chance, didn't I?"

Through her tears, she saw Cole stride toward her. She blinked the tears away and for the first time since she confessed the truth, she saw his guard completely down.

His own eyes were moist with tears as he cupped her face gently, his thumb running across her cheeks. "Don't cry, darling. It's alright"

She sobbed through her tight lips. "I'm sorry."

Resting his forehead against hers, he swallowed. "I have made you lose faith in me and I hate myself for it."

"No. You know that's not what it was. I had my duty to the League."

His lips were trembling when he kissed her. She could feel the pain there, tasted the salty taste of regret. "God, I love you," he whispered.

A whimper of relief escaped Margaret and she finally allowed herself to touch him. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she kissed him.

Later, when they were both calm, when the tears dried, and he started to pull the strings of her nightdress open, Margaret bit her lips and said, "I will not be leaving the League."

His hands stilled and for the first time, a small smile broke his face, his eyes glittering with amusement as she held her breath. "I would never ask you to do that. The League has been a part of your life when I never was."

Pulling her into his length, he kissed her forehead, her nose, traced her jaw with his lips. "I've always known you're courageous, but I'm awed and proud that you found a way to make use of it." His fingers raked her hair off her face as he searched her eyes. "You have a beautiful mind, a heart better than the jewels your family mines, and a spirit that is stronger than ten men combined. You are a perfect Leaguer."

Margaret smiled, eyes burning with renewed tears. "I love you," she whispered.

"And I love you," he said, burying his face in her neck. "And be mine, darling. Please, be my wife."

She laughed in his kiss. "Yes," she said. "Yes."

They made their way to the bed, their clothes discarded and thrown to the side. He did not give her time to wrap her head around what had just happened, or what was about to start, her senses focused on what they had just began.

She watched in awe as he trailed kisses up her navel from where he just gave her frenzied pleasure, smiled as she saw nothing but open desire in his face as he rained open kisses between her breasts, his body fitting perfect over her and between her legs.

"When we're married," he whispered in her ear, smiling as she moaned with the teasing roll of his hips. "Will you also tell me the rest of the League's secrets?"

"Do not go as far as that, my lord," she retorted, laughter rumbling in her chest and coming out in a gasp as he slowly claimed her.

"Ah, and here I thought love is an all-powerful force."

Margaret threw her head back and laughed. "On matters of the League, no. On matters of the heart, it most definitely is."

She knew when the teasing was over when he hissed in her ear and his shoulders tightened in her arms. "We'll talk more later, yes?" he asked, blowing hot breath in her ear.

Margaret could only manage a quick nod. No more words were needed for a long while that night.