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A clamoring echoed in the halls beyond the storeroom. Joseph tried to fight out of Michael’s grasp, but Michael held him firmly. The butler burst into the room, carrying a lantern. Francis and Lionel were right behind him, carrying their own candles. In the dim light, Michael could finally see Joseph’s face. Footmen filled in the doorway behind them all.
“What in heaven’s name is going on here?” the butler demanded.
“My cousin has tried to kill me, I think,” Michael claimed. Joseph tried to wrestle his way out of Michael’s grasp, but Michael held tightly to him. “Does anyone have anything to restrain him?”
“Michael, are you quite all right?” Lionel cried in a shocked voice.
Michael glanced down to his white shirt, covered in blood-red wine. He felt along his arm where Joseph had bashed him with the bottle, but only felt a bruise.
“I’m mostly fine,” he assured them quickly. He stood, dragging Joseph to his feet as he rose. “Just a resounding headache at the moment.”
“This is all a complete misunderstanding,” Joseph argued. “I thought someone had broken into the wine cellar.”
A footman came forward with a rope. Michael took it and started to tie Joseph’s hands behind his back. Joseph struggled against him as he bound his wrists. He felt a slight pang of guilt for a moment, but the pounding sensation in his head quickly alleviated the feeling.
“Attacking me once may have been easily excused, but twice seems to be fairly intentional to me,” Michael explained. “I do not imagine that there is any misunderstanding at all.”
“Not to mention accosting Lady Lydia,” Francis argued.
Michael grabbed Joseph tightly, angered. “What did you do to her?”
“I did nothing!” he argued. “She approached me!”
“You are full of lies,” Francis countered, stepping forward with clenched fists. “I heard you chase her down the hallways as she cried for help.”
“I swear to God if you hurt my wife -” Michael started, grabbing Joseph’s neck.
Lionel stepped forward. “Michael, do not harm him. Come now, let’s get to the bottom of this. Surely there is a reasonable explanation.”
“Yes, as I understand it, Kitty is relaying the whole story to Lady Wenton and Lady Lydia at this very moment,” Francis told them.
Michael saw Joseph’s face go white, which made Michael feel sick to his stomach. The pain in his head made him feel more confused than angry, unsure why Joseph had attempted to kill him and take advantage of Lydia on the very same night.
“Let us all go back upstairs and hear the whole story,” the butler suggested. “Come, Edward, help me get Mr. Conner up to the sitting room all in one piece.”
The footman took Joseph by the arm, dragging him along behind all of the others. They made their way slowly upstairs to the front sitting room where they found the women all gathered together. Lydia cried out with delight when she saw Michael and jumped up to hug him.
“Oh, I was so afraid that something had happened to you,” she cried, clinging to him. Feeling the damp on his shirt, she pulled back, asking fearfully, “Are you terribly hurt?”
Michael held her reassuringly, patting her on the shoulder. “No, my dear, I’m quite all right.”
The footman dragged Joseph to one of the armchairs and forced him to sit. Michael gently pushed Lydia back towards her mother, so she obediently sat by her on the couch. Michael turned to Joseph.
“I demand an explanation for why you attacked me,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest.
Joseph met his gaze evenly for a moment, then looked around the room at the faces that were all awaiting his reply. Michael thought he saw the conflict he wrestled with, whether to tell the truth or to lie. Michael studied the others.
First, looking to Lydia, he noted that she was afraid but defiant. Her nostrils flared in anger, but she had a wide-eyed look of fear. Her mother was cool and collected, but he saw an icy glint in her eye that suggested that she would make someone pay for the events of the morning. Lydia’s sisters sat closely together, their hands clutching at each other for comfort. Even Francis had managed to look stern and confident, ready to do his duty for his charge.
Lionel seemed confused, holding on to Ranora in the back of the room. Ranora, on the other hand, merely appeared angry and indignant. Finally, Kitty still cried woefully and fearfully, sneaking hesitant glances at everyone in the room.
“It was all a misunderstanding,” Joseph claimed. “I did not mean to attack you.”
“I’ve already told you that I do not believe you,” he responded. “Tell me the real truth.”
He refused to answer for a long moment, glaring at Kitty when she opened her mouth. She quickly shut it again.
“We have heard Miss Benrow’s story,” Martha told Joseph. “You might as well tell us your side.”
