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“And so? If he takes the blame for something he didn’t do, would that make him the first or the last person that will be punished for a crime he did not commit? Do you know how many times I have been punished for a crime I did not commit? You privileged lot must think the world does revolve around you.”
“People being punished for what they didn’t do is wrong, Leonard, and you know this,” Noah continued.
“Oh, now you are suddenly the voice of morality because the person involved is a friend of yours? One of your kind? Your voice was conspicuously absent when thousands of us went through similar situations.”
“What is this ‘yours and ours’ business? Aren’t we all humans first of all? Aren’t we all Englishmen?”
“Only when it suits your agenda. When we need you to consider our rights, we suddenly are servants in your eyes. When we need you to acknowledge our existence as humans, same as you, we suddenly are beneath you and not worth the time and trouble. When we need you to fight for us, we suddenly aren’t of the same social class.”
“But the person who fought for you and continues to fight for you is who you are refusing to save. Please make me understand how this is permissible under any circumstance.”
“The end does justify the means, Lord Rockgonie. You can’t make an omelet unless you break some eggs. If Lord Walsrock’s life is what I have to sacrifice in order to set my people free from bondage, it is a price I will gladly pay.”
Leonard’s evil grin and unbothered demeanor began to crack, giving Noah a glimpse of the tainted soul that lay just beneath the surface.
He is even more sinister that I could ever have imagined.
“A price you would gladly pay? The men who tried to stop me from reaching you earlier? So you are the one pulling the strings after all,” Noah remarked in wonder.
Worse, he actually wants these protests, even at the expense of Lord Walsrock’s freedom.
“How perceptive of you.” Leonard faked a laugh. “I have paid more when the need arose. No more! This time, it is you people who pay. Lord Walsrock might be a good man but he is incapable of bringing about the change we desire.”
“You have paid more? What in God’s name are you talking about? Lord Walsrock has been nothing but kind and fair to you,” Noah responded, as he began to get riled up.
“Kenneth might have been kind and fair, but what about his father? Frankly, the extra benefit I will be getting out of this is denying the Duke his precious heir. That seems like a fair bargain for all the nonsense he put me and my mother through,” Leonard screamed, and for the first time Noah could see the monster that had lay beneath the fake smiles and the calm demeanor.
“So the Duke was a harsh employer to you and your mother while you worked there. Does that justify your reason to start an uprising in order to seek redress?”
Leonard laughed in response.
“You think this is about employment conditions? Think again, Lord Rockgonie. Frankly, I am done with this conversation. My brother gets no help from me. He can rot in hell for all I care. Maybe that will be restitution enough for all the pain over the years. If it isn’t enough, I’ll be sure to send the Duke over to him sometime in the near future.”
“Your brother?” Noah asked in confusion.
“If you will excuse me, I have a protest to get back to. I have indulged you long enough,” he said abruptly as he turned and began moving through the crowd.
“Wait! Wait! What do you mean by your brother?” Noah screamed after him as he struggled to keep up. The valet moved with extraordinary speed, winding through the crowd with such skill that Noah finally lost him.
Noah came to an abrupt stop and began looking around.
Where did he go?
Suddenly, the men who had tried to corner him earlier emerged again in the periphery of his vision.
He took a deep breath and began moving, hoping that his mind was playing tricks on him and that they weren’t actually following him. He was wrong.
As he moved, so did they, all the while trying to corner him and restrict his movement through the crowd. Whatever directive Leonard had given them, he didn’t want to wait around to find out. He already suspected it wasn’t a good directive at all with their doggedness in trying to trap him.
What did he mean by referring to Lord Walsrock as his brother?
He looked around and saw that he had ventured quite a distance from his carriage. None of his servants waiting for him back there would be able to come to his aid if these men succeeded in getting to him. His only other option was to continue moving, probably make a beeline in the direction of his carriage so he could have some defense, as well.
His decision made, he picked up his pace as the shadowing game continued. In order not to make his destination obvious and to avoid a situation where he was cut off, he began to zig-zag through the crowd in a haphazard manner without a definite pattern.
Once, they came near to realizing their goal but for the timely intervention of a member of the crowd who had stepped forward, oblivious to the game around him, and blocked their line of sight. He had used the opportunity to slip back into space, where they noticed him and continued bearing down on him.
Finally, he arrived at his carriage and salvation, but stopped only few feet short.
