Andrew was not doing alright. Everyone could see it, but no one could cheer him up. Thomas could not imagine a life without his wife. Despite the hate he first had for Madilyn, he loved her now more anything.

But Andrew had loved Victoria from the moment he saw her. and though a marriage of almost ten years sounded long, it was not at all. Not when one had lived thirty years without her and had to do another thirty more.

He had dressed Louis in black – as was common when one was in mourning – while Madilyn had dressed Alice in black. Andrew was holding his daughter, Sophia, who was cloaked with a black blanket. Though Andrew and the servants were perfectly capable of doing so, everyone needed all the support they could get. Losing Victoria was truly heart breaking for all of them.

"Come on," Andrew encouraged his children with a dark look. "We must go and say goodbye to your mother."

Thomas' heart broke at the sound of the sentence, but it broke even more when Louis gasped excitingly.

"Will we see Mama?" he asked.

Sadness crowed over Andrew's face as he shook his head. "No, we will not."

"But we must tell her goodbye," Louis argued.

Andrew simply nodded. "But without her."

He turned away from his son as Madilyn carried Alice outside, her cheeks wet from the tears. The little girl had not wanted to go outside, for she did not want to say goodbye. But unfortunately, words could not change the truth. And neither could hope.

Louis walked to his father and held on to his leg as they waited for the carriage to come around. "How long will you stay with us, Papa?"

Thomas supressed a gasp, then waited for Andrew to respond. He kindly turned to his son and crouched down in front of him.

"As long as I can, my dear," he said, then gave him a kiss on his forehead. "As long as I can."

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The carriage ride was long and silent. The heaviness of the silent could be felt on everyone. Especially for the children it was not easy.

Thomas and Madilyn had not taken their children along, except for Gwendolyn and Hazel. They were with Elizabeth, who took them along to the funeral. The other children would not understand what was happening, and would be too much of a burden when their parents could not afford the attention they demanded.

Finally the carriage came to a stop in front of the church his brother married Victoria. He said he had great memories here, and his wife had the right to remind him of them.

Madilyn helped Alice out of the carriage, then guided the numb girl inside the building. Thomas was about to do the same with Louis, when he noticed his brother sitting in front of him, his gaze distant.

"Andrew," he started, but his brother interrupted him.

"I cannot do this. I cannot let her go, for I need her. I do not know what to do."

Thomas bit his lip. Twas hard to give his brother courage when he too did not quite know what to do. Madilyn would, he thought, then realized that was exactly what his brother meant. No one knew what to do without his wife.

He took hold of Andrew's hand and looked him in the eye.

"You have lived without Victoria for years," he said, knowing he was not very good at comforting someone. "You had been a great man, and she made you even greater. But that greatness is yours now, and no one or nothing can take that away from you. You must be grateful because of everything she has given to you. Not only three gorgeous children, but also thousands of memories that you will remember forever."

Andrew nodded, wiping away the tears that had fallen from his eyes. Then he bend down and kissed Sophia's forehead. "I love you," he whispered, but Thomas knew he was not only talking to the baby.

He found the strength to stand up and exit the carriage, Thomas following quickly behind with Louis. Madilyn and Alice had been waiting for them, but did not ask any questions when they finally stepped out.

They entered the church to be greeted by Elizabeth, William, Mary, Eli, lady Anne and Malcolm. The oldest children - Francis, Gwendolyn and Hazel - walked toward Alice and Louis to comfort them, but neither left their father's legs.

Luckily many of the guests had already arrived and did not request a greeting with Andrew. Thomas was not certain his brother would be able to do that without breaking down.

Elizabeth wrapped her arm around Andrew's elbow and guided him to a chair in the front of the church. Thomas told the children to follow, which they kindly did, before he too followed and watched the ceremony from much too close to his liking.

Madilyn took his hand in hers and squeezed it, but Thomas could not look at her, for she would see the tears he was trying to fight back. So with an intense gaze on the vicar, he was reminded of how much his sister-in-law had meant to him. He was so grateful for the hope she had given Madilyn, for without those words, Madilyn might have never opened up to him, and he would have missed out on everything wonderful his wife was.

He was also grateful for the light Victoria had brought upon Andrew, and the kind children she had raised to be his children's friend. She had given their family an additional member, her brother Malcolm, who truly was a friend to them all.

Though every memory he had with the lady was a good one, they were the ones that hurt the most. He could not imagine the pain Andrew had to go through, for Thomas already felt so much.

Finally, after listening to the many sobs of his family, the too long ceremony ended and all the guests left. Andrew walked with the children to the coffin and laid his hand on it. With his eyes closed, he remained silent for a while. If Thomas had not walked to him and laid a hand on his shoulder, he was certain his brother would have remained there all day.

After Andrew had stepped away with tears in his eyes and his gaze remaining on the coffin, Elizabeth and William made their way to the object of everyone's attention. They did the same as Andrew, only Elizabeth could not hide her tears and turned to cry in her husband's arms.

Then it was Malcolm's turn to slowly roll his invalid's chair to his sister's coffin. Twas only then that Thomas realized the man had no direct family anymore. He had seen both his parents die, and now he was saying goodbye to his only sibling.

Just when Thomas and Madilyn were to say their prayers at the coffin, Andrew gasped and shouted: "you!"

Thomas followed his bothered gaze and gasped as well. Near the church door was a tall, dark man, with a self-righteous smirk on his face. His eyes were on everyone, but mostly on his one year younger brother, who was storming toward him with a murderous look in his eyes.

Before Thomas could react, Andrew had already smashed his fist onto Arthur's jaw, making the man turn away, only to turn back with a smile.

"That is harassment," Arthur calmly said, making Andrew strike him again.

That was the moment Arthur started fighting back. He pushed Andrew's hands away from his face, so that his defence was down and he could strike him on his cheek.

Before Andrew could fight him again, Thomas ran toward his brother and took his hands in his so that he could no longer fight. As he tried to push his brother away, he saw Eli run toward Arthur and push him on the ground.

Thomas could not see the fight that occurred, for Andrew wanted to fight along and started pushing Thomas away. But Andrew was in too much despair to be stronger than his younger brother, especially when the latter whispered in his ear: "your children should not see this."

That made Andrew suddenly weak, tears streaming out of his eyes and sobs coming out of his throat as he accepted Thomas' embrace.

Elizabeth came to stand next to them and motioned her head to Arthur and Eli behind him. She accepted the broken Andrew, and Thomas trusted he was in good hands. Now he could concentrate on Arthur, and only Arthur.

William was fighting Arthur at the moment, Eli laying on the floor with red spots on his face. Thomas assumed they would become big bruises, but the man found the strength to stand back up and charge at Arthur again. He had a good reason to fight, so Thomas let him.

Too quickly, William had to give up, a hand on his belly where his wound was. He walked back and nodded at Thomas. Now it was his turn to defy Arthur.

Seeing how his brothers-in-law were not strong enough, and knowing that killing Arthur would not reveal where Nora was, he decided talking might be a better option.

"Arthur," he said, speaking loud enough so that he could be heard above the sounds of the fight. No one stopped it, even though there was a fight inside a church. No one presence was bothered by it, as long as Arthur got what he deserved.

"This was the wrong time to come," Thomas said, hoping Arthur was listening.

"No, it was the perfect time," the man responded through his heavy breaths. "Though I had nothing to do with her death, I cannot say I am sad."

He slammed his fist against Eli's eye, who fell on the ground and remained there while groaning.

"I have been training," Arthur said while massaging his knuckle. "As to lady Duncan, I found it the perfect time to remind our dear brother that it is not his title to own."

"He is not your brother," Thomas said sternly.

Arthur sighed dramatically. "Everyone tells me that. But do we not have the same parents? Do I not have every right to the title?!"

"No. You missed your chance years ago."

"I already thought so," Arthur said with a shrug. "Tis also not my main hope for the future anymore. All of you are. Or rather, your spouses and children. Just look at Andrew. Is it not wonderful to see him like this?"

Thomas refused to look behind him and see his broken brother, but before he could comment, Arthur continued.

"Tis not even close to the pain I felt," he said accusingly. "I did not lose one person, I lost my entire family."

"You had a hand in that!" Thomas shouted, furious that Arthur dared compare himself to Andrew. "You were nowhere near as loved as Andrew is!"

Arthur's eyes turned to slits. "Mayhap not. But it still hurt. Even more now, after hearing you speak those words. It seems you are not yet frightened enough to forgive me."

Thomas scoffed. "I will never forgive you! You killed many people, and-"

"But my biggest happiness - Andrew's broken form - was not even my achievement!" Arthur laid a finger on his lip as if he was thinking. "Mayhap that is what I should do. Wait until everyone is death so that I can finally triumph."

"The only place you will triumph, is in prison," Thomas told him with a threatening voice. "I will not stop hunting you down until I see you behind those bars with my own eyes."

Arthur grinned. "Mayhap you must take a photograph. That way you will remember me forever."

Thomas' jaw shivered in anger, but before he could react, Eli ran toward the man and jumped on top of him. Arthur easily shook him off, slammed another fist in his eye and ran out of the church.

Thomas quickly ran after him. He must catch the man once and for all! But as he exited the church, the square in front of him was filled with people. Some were wearing black and Arthur recognized them from the ceremony. Some were passers-by, attending the market.

And Arthur?

He had disappeared.