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Sebastian broke loose, punching Theodore square in the face. Blood spurted on the ground in fat red droplets, staining the polished floor. Sebastian leaped back over the desk, making his way out of the room, but the Dowager Duchess was there. She brought her cane down on his head, knocking Sebastian unconscious.
Kate was in the corner, her body heaving with hysterical sobs. Aunt Gertrude was holding her, and Helen watched as Theodore restrained his unconscious brother. Then Theodore sent Perceval to get the constables . They had all watched from the shadows in the library after Helen told them about everything. How Sebastian confronted her in the gardens, and in the house as well. Aunt Gertrude's timely save, and while Kate and the Dowager did not believe, Theodore told them to come along. If it was not true, none of them had anything to lose.
“You did the right thing. For Kate,” Theodore consoled her.
This had been their plan all along — to use Helen as bait then lay in wait and catch Sebastian in the act before handing him over to the Bow Street runners. Theodore sent a letter to the runners after Helen told him about everything. He asked them to search Sebastian’s house in London to find evidence that he was truly involved in anything criminal.
A letter had arrived that night, telling Sebastian that the runners found sedatives of all kinds. Amongst the evidence was laudanum that Sebastian used to keep ladies asleep while he violated them. He also kept a well detailed journal of his fixation with the women who bought his books, and the careful steps he took into making sure that he had his way with them. The runners sent a list of the women, and Theodore recognized some of them. He knew that they would rather keep quiet than have their reputations ruined. It hurt Theodore that his brother was engaged in such nefarious activities, but Theodore had to do what was right.
Helen was feeling bad for Kate. Her best friend’s marriage plans had fallen through, and it felt like it was all her fault. But her nightmares now came to an end as the constables dragged Sebastian away.
“You did this to me!” Sebastian screamed in Theodore’s face as Sebastian was being led away. “This is all your fault!”
“My fault?” Theodore echoed. “Tell me how I have a hand in you assaulting Helen? You are despicable, Sebastian. Inflicting the same pain that Isadora suffered on other women! This is all your own fault!”
Sebastian was crying now, kicking and screaming. “You should have avenged Isadora! But you stood there and did nothing! You neglected us, Theo. But I could not stand and watch as our sister killed herself because of that man! I made sure he paid for what he did!”
Theodore opened his mouth in utter bewilderment. His brother murdered the man that ruined their sister's reputation. And he did not have even the faintest idea about it. He had contemplated killing the man several times over, but he never brought any of those plans to fruition. Theodore wanted to honor his sister's memory, and not tarnish it with even more blood.
“And then you became that man, Sebastian,” Theodore said calmly, fighting the urge to cry. “You became our worst nightmare. Violating women because our sister was? That is certainly not the way to do things!”
The Dowager stood there with her cane, leaning against the wall. Tears streamed down her face as Sebastian was taken away. Their family was torn apart once more, and Theodore could not hold back the tears anymore. In the end, he lost everything.
Helen held Theodore and let him cry into her shoulders once again. He shivered and melted, but she was there to hoist him up. They stayed there for a while, ensconced in the serenity of the night.
* * *
“Thank you,” he said, once they were sitting on the velvet chair in the gazebo. “For everything.”
They watched as the morning sun suffused the skies with periwinkle and orange, the reminder that a new day had come. Theodore felt himself awaken, all his restraints coming loose. Never did he feel so light, unburdened by all the troubles in his life. He blinked twice, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to resurface again.
His heart was racing, even much more than usual. A smile crept on his face as he looked at Helen’s face. The sun dazzled her with gold — subtle touches that made her eyes even brighter. Theodore thought back to the days after Isadora passed. The disjointed emotions roiled his mind. Guilt, fear, shame, anger, and unfathomable sorrow. Since then, he was unable to feel anything.
When Helen whirled into his life, all those emotions became bearable. Theodore knew that the feeling of loss would never leave him, and his heart still ached for his sister, but there was something else in his mind now, a warm feeling that bloomed when he set his eyes on Helen. One that made his pulse race and set his stomach aflutter. It was emotion that had been long buried, suddenly bursting to the surface like the golden rays of the sun after a cold, long night.
Theodore knew at that point what he wanted to do. All his life, he had been scared of losing people. He thought that if he did not foster friends, or make a family, no one would feel the loss that he felt when he finally passed. But with Helen, he found himself daring to take that step. To believe that he could conquer the world.
“You have that wicked smile on your face,” she said. “If there is something on your mind, you can tell me now. At least, we are still friends.”
Helen was his first friend, one that came from hard work and love. A friend that he would do anything for, almost regardless of the consequences. So, he turned to face her.
“I know this is sudden, but my grandmother told me to marry my friend. And seeing as you are my best of friends, Helen, will you marry me?”
Her throat constricted as she could hardly believe her ears. “So will you marry every friend that comes your way?”
He laughed, turning to face the sun again. “I know I told you that I cannot give my heart out, but that was just an excuse to run away from what I was truly fighting against. And I am tired of fighting, Helen. Instead, I want to embrace it. I cannot bear the thought of losing you to someone else. I know this goes against your every intention, but I do not want you to get married to some boring gentleman.”
“What were you fighting?” she asked sweetly, already knowing the answer.
“It is love, Helen. I have been fighting the love growing in my stomach because I was frightened that it might hurt you. But I love you, Helen. Do you still love me?”
“But you said you could not give your —”
He interrupted her by pressing his finger to her lips. “I thought I could not, Helen. With everything that has happened, I was scared that my heart might be toyed with and ruined. But, I cannot keep running, Helen. I am tired of running and fighting.”
Hearing him say those words made Helen’s heart implode with joy. Her heart stopped as she stared into his dark blue eyes, seeing herself in them.
“Oh, Theo!” she cried.
