“And Lady Hane?” Sadie asked. “Did she always get what she wanted?”
“Lady Hane approached me when I was in London making arrangements for Essie’s burial. I was prepared to stay in London, stay near my Essie and find work in another household, but Lady Hane convinced me to stay on at Southgate. She understood what it was like to live in the shadows. She was the firstborn of an earl, but what did it matter? She couldn’t inherit, and then when William was born, she was on the sidelines until she was bartered off as a wife to the highest bidder. When she found me in London, she told me that she’d discovered a way to take that title away from William; to pass something down to her own grandson. After what the earl did to my future, I was more than happy to lay in wait, learn whatever I could, and pass it on to her. When I discovered that the earl was seeing his ex-wife again, I knew Lady Hane would be done waiting, and I was right.”
“I thought the earl was ready to tell everyone about his relationship,” Sadie said.
“Perhaps,” Grant said, with a slight shrug of one shoulder. “Things had begun to move quickly about that time. But the important thing was that Lady Hane was ready when the time was right.”
“That’s why you went along with everything?” Sadie dared ask. “For revenge?”
“For justice,” Grant clarified. He stood up from the bed and Sadie tensed again. But he didn’t turn toward her, instead he walked to the windows and drew back the curtains, carefully securing the tieback and smoothing the folds of the fabric. Sadie inched out from the pillows a little further.
“I loved her broken,” Grant said quietly, running his hand down the fabric as if caressing it. “The earl sent her out to be fixed and it destroyed her. Lady Hane had her own revenge to exact, but mine was no less important.”
“And Austin?” Sadie asked. “He didn’t kill John Henry, did he?”
“No,” Grant said boldly, almost proud. “He couldn’t be bothered with such tasks—they are beneath him. As usual, he waits for other people to take care of things—just like his grandmother.”
Sadie didn’t respond, but moved closer to the edge of the bed nearest the door.
“Lord Melcalfe deserves what he gets,” Grant said emphatically. “They all do. All they wanted was money and power—there wasn’t a noble desire within the whole lot of them. But me—” He put a hand to his chest. “I was fighting for justice, for love.”
“You believe that love is worth fighting for?” Sadie asked, thinking of Austin’s insistence that he went along with this for love—for Lacy. But she wasn’t sure she wanted to debate that fact with Grant right now.
“Of course it is,” Grant said with an indulgent smile. “Love is the only thing that matters in the world, which is why taking love away from someone is worthy of the greatest punishment.”
“Why did you come back?” Sadie asked, frightened by her own bravery even as she found it impossible to hold back. Yes, he was a deranged lunatic, but if he could see his hypocrisy then perhaps he could be reasoned with.
“It wasn’t finished,” Grant said. “The earl was not dead, which meant I had to finish my work—an eye for an eye, a life for a life, a love for a love. He took my wife and I thought that playing my role in Lady Hane’s revenge would be enough, but then I realized the earl might get better. That meant no one loses but me. That isn’t fair; that isn’t justice.”
“So you shot Liam,” Sadie said, glancing toward the open door as she put her legs over the side of the bed. Grant didn’t seem to be paying attention to her movements. “You shot the earl’s only son.” The words nearly stuck in her throat as she thought of Liam crumpled in the corner, possibly dying just as Grant had hoped. She hoped someone other than Breanna would be the one to initially check on him. She pushed the thoughts away and focused. “You’ve finished your mission then.”
That seemed to confuse Grant and he furrowed his eyebrows as he considered that. Sadie placed her feet on the floor as Grant turned back to the windows, the hand holding the gun falling to his side. “I hadn’t thought of that,” he said. “I suppose there isn’t much left for me to do, is there, Essie?”
Sadie scooted her body to the edge of the bed, took a breath, and then ran for the door, expecting at any minute for a bullet to hit her between the shoulder blades. She reached the earl’s sitting room. The hallway. The stairs.
On the fourth stair down, she finally heard the shot, and covered her ears as she heard herself scream and fall to the marble steps beneath her. She waited for the burn, to feel the searing pain the bullet would bring, but she felt nothing. Pounding feet came up to meet her from the main level and she realized Grant had never intended that bullet for her at all.
~ ~ ~
An intense wave of fear and gratitude and sorrow and relief pummeled Sadie as she came to terms with the events of the last several minutes, but as soon as her head broke the surface of reality she began calling for Breanna, who hurried to her side. They sat at the bottom of the stairs. Sadie touched her daughter’s face, her shoulders, her hair.
“You’re okay,” Sadie said, needing someone to say it. “You’re okay.”
“I’m okay,” Breanna repeated, grabbing Sadie’s hand and holding it in both of hers. Her eyes were swollen and her cheeks were wet.
“Liam?” Sadie asked.
Breanna managed a smile though she still looked scared. “The police are checking him out right now but he said it was just in his shoulder. He thinks he’ll be okay. An ambulance will be here any minute.”
“Austin didn’t kill John Henry,” Sadie said.
“I know,” Breanna replied. “You left your phone on, remember? The police heard everything.”
Sadie relaxed. “Oh, right,” she said, then she looked at her daughter. “I love you, Breanna,” she said. “But I never want to take another vacation like this again.”
Breanna managed a smile before Sadie pulled her into her arms. “Me neither,” she said into Sadie’s shoulder. “I’ve had all the drama I can handle.”
Yet as Sadie held her tight she felt Breanna shudder in her arms. “It’s going to be okay,” Sadie said, her own voice trembling. She said it so as to help herself believe that even when confronted with impossible obstacles, there were always choices. You could allow the bad to drag you under, as Grant had done, or you could fight your way to the top and live to see another day, becoming in the process a stronger, wiser, more humble, and more grateful person than you were the day before.
“It’s going to be okay,” she whispered again, committing it to memory. “It’s going to be okay.”
~ ~ ~
Sadie looked out the plane window Friday morning, watching London disappear beneath them. She kept watching until the river Thames was lost behind a veil of clouds. Then she took a breath; she was a little sad to be leaving, but a lot relieved to be returning to her regular, normal, uneventful life. She turned to Breanna, who had her head rested against the seat. She looked more relaxed than she had for several days. The experience wouldn’t be wasted if she learned something about herself, or Liam, or life in general—or perhaps all three. It had been an intense week.
Surgery had removed the bullet lodged in Liam’s shoulder six days ago and he was recovering well. Breanna had already missed the first week of the semester and after being assured that Violet—who had arrived to take over as sentry for her two men—would take good care of him, Breanna finally agreed to go back home. Lady Hane and Dr. Melcalfe had been arrested and were facing charges of fraud, conspiracy to attempt murder, and blackmail. Additionally, Dr. Melcalfe was facing an ethics board review as to whether or not he should retain his license to practice medicine. The earl was recovering, albeit slowly. Dr. Sawyer expected it would take a good deal of physical therapy for William to overcome the effects of the drug-induced coma, but everyone was optimistic that he’d be able to go home after another week—with a real nurse this time. And Austin? Well, Sadie had delivered Lacy’s ring after Liam came out of surgery. Austin had looked at the ring and finally said he was sorry. Sadie didn’t know where Lacy had gone after making her statement to the police. Sadie hoped she was healing.
“So?” Sadie asked, getting herself comfortable as she waited to hear what had happened during the last exchange Breanna and Liam had shared at the hospital that morning. “And don’t you dare tell me that it’s none of my business or that you didn’t talk about anything important.”
Breanna let out a breath and opened her eyes. “Believe me, Mom, I’ve learned my lesson about holding things back. I will never lie to my mother again.”
“Or simply mislead her,” Sadie added, making sure to cover all the bases. “It never works in your best interest.”
“Believe me,” Breanna said. “I know.”
“So?” Sadie asked again.
A family sat in the row ahead of them and their baby squealed, peeking at Sadie over the seat. She smiled and crinkled her nose at the toddler, but she hoped the child was going to sleep. It was a nine-hour flight to Chicago, but would seem twice as long if the baby screeched the whole time. The mother pulled the baby back onto her lap, provoking another high-pitched squeal in the process. Sadie turned her attention back to her daughter.
“Sooo,” she asked for the third time.
“So, he apologized for how horrible the trip turned out and for the things he did,” Breanna said. “He’s worried about me missing so much school.” She lifted her arms above her head and stretched.
“That’s it?” Sadie said, feeling her face fall.
“No, not exactly,” Breanna said, lowering her arms to the armrests. “He also gave me the name of someone to talk to about possibly getting a job at the London Zoo this summer.”
“And you said . . .”
“I said I’d think about it.” Breanna batted her eyelashes and smiled at her coy response. “But I was really impressed with the London Zoo—and it would give me a chance to see England in a different way—so I’m going to look into it. Maybe just for the summer. We’ll see.”
Sadie smiled and patted Breanna’s knee. She was glad Breanna wasn’t giving up on Liam just yet, but equally glad that she was taking her time to be sure this was the course she wanted to take for the rest of her life. “So, what exactly made you change your mind?” Sadie asked. “A week ago you were ready to walk away.”
“It’s hard to say what it was that turned the tide,” Breanna replied, looking thoughtful. “Maybe it was realizing how much Liam needs me in his life. Maybe it was admitting how much I wanted him in mine. Maybe it was talking to Violet and realizing how much she and William lost because of their determination not to see each other’s point of view. Or maybe I’m just not ready to turn my back on the possibilities.”
“Maybe,” Sadie repeated with a nod. “What England needs more than anything are people on both sides of the divide willing to fight for equality.”
“I think I could fight for something like that,” Breanna said. She looked at her mother. “Besides, a wise woman once told me that life is a little like English trifle—it comes in layers. I’m too young to regret something this big later on.”
“Sounds like good advice to me,” Sadie said. “You ought to listen to this wise woman a little more often.”
“I’ll take that into consideration,” Breanna said, leaning back in her seat and closing her eyes. “I’m so tired I think I could sleep for a week.”
Sadie agreed, and leaned back in her own seat as well, turning her head to look out the window that was still clothed in clouds. She took a deep breath, feeling her muscles relax. As her mind drifted into sleep a hundred images from the last week played through her mind. Who’d have thought their trip to England would turn out this way? She thought of Pete, who would be eager to hear all about the trip, and she was eager to explore a new level of their relationship—perhaps over a plate of scones . . . once she figured out how to make them.
As much as Sadie appreciated taking things slow, she was invigorated by the reminder that nothing lasted forever and that forces were at play that didn’t always make sense at first sight. Life and love were not without risks, but just like Breanna, Sadie was too young to regret something this big later on.
Layers.
Hmmm.
Sadie’s Scrumptulicious Scones
1 cup sour cream (light works just as well)
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup butter
1 egg
Combine sour cream and baking soda in 2-cup bowl or measuring cup (mixture expands, so you’ll want to have extra space). Set aside. Whisk together dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Cut butter into dry ingredients using a pastry blender until mixture resembles course cornmeal. Add sour cream mixture and egg. Mix until a soft dough forms—use your hands if necessary. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead a few times, then pat or roll until 1-inch thick. Cut into circles or use pizza cutter to cut into triangles. Place scones two inches apart on lightly greased baking sheet. Glaze, if desired. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until bottom edges are golden brown.
Makes 8 to 14, depending on size of scones.
* Pete likes them cheesy—no sugar or glaze , add 1 cup grated sharp cheese instead.
* If using margarine in place of butter, dough may be sticky. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before rolling out.
Glaze (optional, but super yummy)
1 egg
1 tablespoon whipping cream
Mix together egg and cream. Brush on top of unbaked scones and bake as directed. Sprinkle cooked scones with powdered sugar. Set oven to broil, but leave oven rack in the center position. Put pan in oven, keeping door open about an inch and watch closely. Sugar takes 30 to 90 seconds to turn a golden brown. Remove scones from oven; serve while still warm.
* To freeze scones: Bake scones as directed. When cool, put in zip-top plastic bag, removing as much air as possible to ensure freshness upon defrosting. To defrost, remove from freezer and let thaw at room temperature for 2 hours. Can reheat in microwave.