"Again?" Madilyn asked, her eyes wide in both surprise and wonder. All Thomas could do was nod. For the third time, he had seen Eleanor sneak out of the house in the middle of the night. They had not spoken to her about it, for what she did was her own business. But since she was seeking shelter with them, she was not expected to exit the house. Especially not at the most dangerous time of a day.

"I can no longer stand this," his wife said as she lowered herself on the coach. "We must speak with her."

"I belief so too," Thomas admitted. "I have been thinking of what your parents said when they were here, and I am inclined to believe them over Eleanor. Lord Woodward seemed genuine when he admitted his mistakes of marrying you and Adelaide off. I do not think he would do it again."

Madilyn nodded. "I believe so too. And tis not like Eleanor is reliable."

With a nod, Thomas stood up and asked the butler to fetch Eleanor. Only a few minutes later, the lady sauntered in the room, her chin high and an haughty air around her. She took a seat on the coach opposite from them, then said: "I hope this is important, for I was reading a very beautiful book."

Madilyn sighed loudly. "We would not talk to you if it was not important."

There was a shock in the lady's eyes, but she quickly recovered and gave them a smile. "Fine. Then what is it?"

"Are we providing enough for you?" Thomas asked, looking at her as she visible wondered about his question.

"Very much so," she responded after a while.

"Then why do you not stay here every hour of the day?" Madilyn asked accusingly.

There was a shock that passed Eleanor's eyes, but as she blinked, the surprise disappeared and was replaced by a haughty look. "I do not know what you are talking about."

"Stop your nonsense!" Madilyn shouted as she stood up and looked angrily at her sister. "Where do you go to at night, thinking we do not know of it?"

Eleanor's eyes opened wide, and her mouth fell open. "Have you been following me?" she asked, a similar accusing tone in her voice as Madilyn had used on her. She stood up to level her sister's intimidating gaze.

"You are simply not very good at hiding it. And then Mother and Father came asking about you."

The youngest lady gasped. "Did you tell them?"

"I wish we had," Madilyn sighed, but her angry looked remained on her sister. "Well?" she asked when there was a silence. "Where do you go at night?"

Eleanor fell back on the coach and sighed theatrically. "What I do with my days is my business."

"And my guests is mine," she shouted in response. "So either you tell us where you go and what you do, or I shall fetch Mother and Father."

The youngest lady scoffed and waved her hand. "I am not bothered with what you do. I am very happy, and not even Mother and Father could take that feeling away from me."

"Then mayhap you would be less happy to live on the streets," Thomas said, but she merely chuckled and diverted her look. "Or mayhap you would talk when we threated with captivity in your room."

Her eyes turned to slits as she looked at her brother-in-law. "You would not dare to."

"I would gladly take the challenge," he told her with a similar look.

Her jaw tightened as she was clearly annoyed by the seriousness of his threat. But eventually she threw her hands up and gave in. "Fine. I shall tell you all. For whatever your reasons for curiosity might be, your knowledge will not change anything. The past cannot be changed, and my responsibility is obvious."

"Speak," Madilyn ordered, clearly annoyed by the stalling of her sister.

A mischievous smile played Eleanor's lips and she gave her sister a challenging look. But Madilyn did not respond to it, so Eleanor finally told them: "I am meeting with my lover."

Thomas swallowed, almost choking as he did so, while Madilyn's mouth merely fell open.

"Lover?" Madilyn asked. "Have you fallen so low that you have a lover now?"

"Did you not do exactly the same?" her sister pestered with a childish voice. "And look where it got you. Happy as never before with too many children to count."

"You do not even like children," Madilyn said, reminding them all of the many sighs Eleanor would let out whenever one of theirs would laugh or shout.

"That does not stop me from doing my duty," Eleanor said with a smug look on her face.

Madilyn sighed in despair, and Thomas' heart stopped beating in fear when she made her statement. "Please do not tell me you are with child."

There was a silence that followed, but twas filled with the all-knowing smile Eleanor gave them, pride in her eyes. In a big motion, she moved her hand on her flat belly and rubbed it. "Soon I will start to show," she said too smartly that it almost seemed mean.

Another desperate sigh escaped Madilyn, and she fell back in the coach. "I am not a good example, Eleanor."

Thomas took his wife's hand in his and squeezed it, and she squeezed back. But her eyes remained on her sister. Twas true that Madilyn was not a good example. Their marriage had not been a happy one for almost a year, but people seemed to forget that. All they spoke of now was how many children they got and how happy they were together.

Though Thomas did not like Eleanor, no woman deserved to go through what his wife had gone through. Being with child before being married was the biggest scandal a person could be in. Twas not about how your life suddenly and unexpectantly changed. Twas about the looks people gave you, the whispers they hid behind their fans and lies that came out of their mouths.

Eleanor, weak as she was, would not be able to stand any of that. Especially if she was with child and did not have plans yet to be married. Or did she?

"When will you wed?" he asked bluntly, not being bothered about how it might sound to her.

She merely gave him a smile and a shrug. "When everything has calmed down. But that is not the question you should ask, Thomas. There is another one that interests you, surely."

"Which is?" he asked, his eyebrow raised.

The lady leaned back in the coach and sighed. "Mayhap we should invite Adelaide into this conversation as well. This could get very interesting."

Though his heart seemed to slow down in fear, he shook his head. "Tell us what it is you want us to know."

She shook her head. "No. I will only talk when Adelaide is present."

Thomas looked at Madilyn. She had a look on her face that said exactly what he was thinking. He did not want to drag Adelaide through this, but it seemed it was the only way to make Eleanor talk. With a sigh, Madilyn nodded, convincing Thomas to stand up and tell the butler to fetch Adelaide immediately.

The kind lady came quickly, but looked uneasy at the sight of her haughty sister, sitting overly comfortable on her coach. Instead of sitting next to her, Adelaide took a chair and placed it next to Madilyn.

"Speak," Thomas ordered, and Eleanor gave him a cold smile.

"I shall repeat everything for our dear sister," she said too sweetly, then turned her head to Adelaide. "I have a lover, and I am carrying his child. Thomas was about to ask me who this perfect man is."

Thomas stiffened, and he felt Madilyn do the same. Adelaide seemed to realize the same thought, for she stood up and shouted "no" in disbelieve.

The smile Eleanor gave them all only confirmed their suspicions – and worst fears. She had wanted Thomas to ask about the man. She had wanted Adelaide to be here when she told them who he was. She had kept him hidden from them. She was waiting until everything had calmed down.

"You are in love with Arthur Brompton," Madilyn concluded for all of them to hear.

Eleanor groaned, but a smile remained on her face. "I do not like how you say his name. it sounds like a curse word in your mouth."

"You have gone mad!" Adelaide brought out, and Madilyn nodded in agreement.

"That man is nothing but a curse word," she said while giving Thomas a squeeze in his hand. He was not insulted at all, in fact, he could not agree more.

"You do not know him as I do," Eleanor told them calmly.

Thomas nodded. "Indeed you do not. And that is exactly the problem. I am quite certain he has never told you of the pain he caused your sister. The fear he caused everyone of my family. The threats he still sends. The baby he has taken."

Eleanor scoffed. "You are speaking nonsense. You only wish for me to hate him, so that I cannot spill more information to him."

Thomas gasped, only realizing now that Eleanor was the reason why Arthur knew he had papers, why he knew when to hide and how he knew of Mary's "betrayal".

"You were helping him?" Madilyn asked, both surprise and disgust audible in her voice.

The lady sighed longingly. "The best thing I have ever done."

"Have you lost your mind?!" Adelaide burst.

"No, you all are telling lies," she calmly said, "trying to convince me of his bad will. But he does not have it. He loves me."

"Does he know you are with child?" Thomas asked, wondering how Arthur would react to such knowledge. Surely he did not mean to have a child with the lady. Merely some intel and some fun was all he wanted.

She proudly shook her head. "I am going to surprise him."

"He will kill you, for sure," Adelaide said. "And I know what it feels like to touch his murderous hands."

Eleanor laughed. "You truly have a touch for theatrics," she said.

"Theatrics?" Adelaide asked, then walked toward her sister with big steps. "You think these are theatrics?" To Thomas' surprise, his outraged sister-in-law took off the bodice of her gown and mover her arms up so that Eleanor could see it.

Four big scars ran across her arms, hugging her skin and looking very painful. Eleanor eyes widened, but she scoffed again. "Anyone could do that."

Adelaide ignored it and untied her stays, then lifted her chemise to show multiple bruises and scars, deep and painful, to her lower belly.

"Do you want me to describe how he did it?" she asked furiously. "Or would rather have me tell you of the murderous look in his eyes when he was doing it to me? Or how he told me that I was exaggerating? No, mayhap you wish for me to lift my skirts so that you can see what that monster did there!"

Madilyn rushed to her sister and took her in her arms, pulling her away from Eleanor before she started a demonstration. Thomas saw the youngest Hayes' sister's eyes were wide and fearful, but it seemed she still did not believe them fully.

Thomas slowly walked toward her, his hands behind his back. "Mayhap you prefer to hear how he stole my niece in front of her mother's eyes. He sends her photographs, accompanied by threats that he would kill the child if we do not do as he pleases."

"Thomas, I think she wishes to see the photographs your siblings have gotten from him," Madilyn calmly said while she helped her sister back in her gown.

"O yes," Thomas said, turning back at Eleanor. "The photographs in which he proves he has entered their house and watched them sleep. How he has been observing their children – innocent and pure beings – even when they are sleeping. Is that what you want for your own child? That he watches them and threatens you with them? That he proves he can get to your most precious thing? That your family – the ones you love so much – gets threatened by him too? That he kills your friend for asking too many questions? That he kills a family merely because he wanted a house? Is that the father you want for your child? Is that the man you wish to bed?"

Though her eyes had widened even more in fear, Thomas had continued, for once he had started, he could not stop. Arthur had done so many bad things to him and his family – every single member – that he could not forgive the man, even if he was kind enough to say the words. All Arthur deserved was a rotten room in prison.

Eleanor moved a hand to her belly, thinking of the baby and the situation he or she would have to grow up in. Then a tear fell from her eyes and she whispered in fear: "I am having his child."