The whole room filled with a quiet stillness that buzzed with tension. Every eye was trained upon Lord Fitzherbert, and he slowly became aware of it, looking away from Daisy and then to his left and to his right.
“What is it you think you know, Miss Williams?” he said and laughed, the sound rattling around the room. “I know nothing of Lord Harrogate.”
“That is not the truth,” Daisy answered, her voice filled with a fresh confidence that seemed to physically knock Lord Fitzherbert back. “The truth has been discovered, Lord Fitzherbert. There is nothing you can say to defend yourself. I know you killed my father.”
She watched Lord Fitzherbert as his expression suddenly grew ugly. Gone was the teasing smile, the bright eyes, and the laughing expression. Instead, his face grew dark, his lips pulling back into a snarl and his eyes darkening.
“You should be careful of what you accuse me of, Miss Williams,” he spat, his anger reaching out towards her. “I am not a man to be trifled with.”
“As well I know.”
The voice of Lord Stevenson rang around the room, emboldening Daisy still further. Lord Fitzherbert stoo
d tall, looking all about him, his eyes narrowed but his face paling.
“Stevenson?” he exclaimed, as Lord Stevenson stepped forward, the other gentlemen allowing him a clear path through. “Surely you can have nothing to say in these circumstances.”
Daisy heard the warning in Lord Fitzherbert’s voice but shook her head. “It is too late, Lord Fitzherbert,” she said, before Lord Stevenson could answer. “We know everything. We know that you killed my father. We know that you blackmailed your three acquaintances so that they could never reveal that you were a spy, that you worked against the Crown.” Another small step forward took her all the closer to Lord Fitzherbert who was, by now, looking a little panicked. “We know it all.”
Lord Fitzherbert said nothing for some moments, his eyes wider than before and his gaze darting between Lord Stevenson and Daisy. It was as though he was trying to find something to say, some excuse he might make to buy himself a reprieve, but nothing was there for him to cling to.
“You shall not keep me silenced any longer,” Lord Stevenson murmured, his words seeming to hammer down on Lord Fitzherbert as he shrank back. “It is as Miss Williams says. Everything is known.”
Lord Fitzherbert shook his head repeatedly, as though he could not quite bring himself to believe it. Daisy’s spirits began to lift free of the darkness and the sorrow that had held them back for so long, seeing now that justice was about to be done. The man before her had killed her father and betrayed his country. And now he was to face the consequences of what he had done. There was no anger in her heart any more, only a sense of justice. Justice that, in time, would give way to peace.
“He was always looking,” Lord Fitzherbert snarled, suddenly bearing down on Daisy. “He was always trying to work out which one of us was the traitor. I tried to put him from me as much as I could without bringing him harm, but he was determined.” His voice grew louder as his eyes flared wide. “What else was I to do?” He threw up his hands and staggered forward, his anger more than evident. “Harrogate should have stayed away. He should have left me alone. Then none of this would have happened! None of it!”
Daisy felt an arm go about her waist and glanced up to see her sister standing, white faced, beside her.
“Our father was a brave and courageous gentleman who worked for the King and did not step back from difficult circumstances,” Daisy said, her voice ringing out loud and clear. “I will never think ill of him for that.”
“And now you will be taken from here to face the consequences of your actions,” Susanna added, her voice weak but still filled with a courage Daisy knew came from deep within. “And I shall not pray for you.”
Lord Fitzherbert let out a scream of rage and made to leap for them both, only for Lord Stevenson to step forward and slam his fist into Lord Fitzherbert’s face. The man staggered back, his eyes rolling back in his head, before he fell to the ground and lay there, his consciousness gone.
Silence crept over everyone for a time, but this time there was no tension. Instead, there was a calmness that filled Daisy’s heart. A calmness that told her she had come to the end of the matter and that she need not even think of it any longer. A contentedness that said there was more waiting for her now, a happiness that could be hers if only she would seek it.
“It is over,” she breathed, turning towards her sister and embracing her tightly. “It is at an end.”
“It is,” Susanna whispered, a sob in her voice. “And I, for one, am glad of it.”
“As am I,” Daisy answered, looking up to see Lord Watt directing gentlemen to tie Lord Fitzherbert’s hands before lifting him from the room. Their eyes met for a long moment, and in that came a sense of peace. “For now, I am free.”
Epilogue
“He is gone to the gaol and will not be removed from it until his trial. There is no doubt of the outcome.”
Daisy looked up at him. “Thank you for telling me, Lord Watt,” she said. “But let us speak no more of it. Justice will be done, I am sure of that, but I have no urge to know each detail.”
He smiled at her, thinking again just how wonderfully strong Daisy could be. “What will you do now?” he asked, a knot of fear beginning to tie itself in his stomach. “Will you return home? Or will you linger on here for the rest of the Season?”
She stopped walking along beside him, turning to face him instead. The gardens of Lord Northgate’s townhouse were quiet and private, and he felt as though everything within it were holding its breath, waiting for her to give him her answer.
“I would be where you are, Lord Watt,” she said quietly, sending a jolt of astonishment through him. “That is, if you would like me to stay?”
Such was his flood of emotion that Matthew could not find the words to speak. Instead, he chose to act on what he felt, to do what he had been desiring for such a long time.
In a moment, she was in his arms. His hands were tight about her, enfolding her into his embrace. She went willingly, a long breath escaping her, as though this was what she had been longing for. Her head rested against his chest, her hands around him also.