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“What do you know of my will, Mr. Carmichael?”
“I can tell you’re in love with my brother. You want to see me hang instead of him, and you’ll undoubtedly do anything to accomplish that.”
“I do not want to see you hang, though you certainly deserve to. I want to see you transported to Canada with Yvette.”
Richard Carmichael went still, mouth half open to issue more vitriol. He licked his lips.
“With Yvette?”
“Yes.” Ellie turned back to the judge. “The Dowager and I have formed an agreement with Mademoiselle Petit. She will return the journal in exchange for the transport of herself and Mr. Richard Carmichael to Canada. They will not be charged or prosecuted, and in exchange Mr. Carmichael will give up all right to his family’s holdings and neither he nor Mademoiselle Petit will ever return to England, or even France, unless expressly given permission to do so by the Crown.”
The judge stared over his steepled fingers.
“Well…” he drawled, and kept staring, frown deepening.
“For Heaven’s sake, Christopher, it’s a perfectly reasonable offer,” the Dowager snapped. “You know as well as I do that no real treason took place. This entire incident is simply the foolishness of youth run amok. I’ve already spoken to Abernethy about it, and he’s agreed.”
Ellie swivelled her head to look at the Dowager. When could she possibly have done that? After Ellie and Yvette went to her the previous afternoon, they’d travelled straight to London, arriving too late to do anything but fall into bed in the Dowager’s London home and go to sleep. Turning to look at Ellie, the Dowager winked, employing the eye the judge couldn’t see.
“You want me to simply throw the trial out?” the judge asked, sounding aggrieved.
“It sounds like a very good idea to me,” Samuel’s attorney said.
“I see no good reason for you to refuse, Christopher,” the Dowager said.
“I see a reason, Your Grace,” Richard Carmichael’s attorney said, stepping up beside his client. “Richard Carmichael is innocent. He in no way deserves banishment. He’s a noble, upright man who has done no—”
“Enough,” Mr. Carmichael snapped. He locked gazes with Ellie. “You’ve spoken to Yvette? She’s agreed to go away with me?”
Ellie nodded. “She has. All she ever wanted was to be with you.”
Though Ellie couldn’t fathom why.
Mr. Carmichael nodded. He turned to the judge.
“If Miss Ellsworth’s terms are met, I agree to admit my guilt in taking the journal and giving it to Yvette and… and in refusing to marry her, even though I want to, simply to be stubborn, which saw the pages mailed to France.”
A delighted squeal sounded behind Ellie. Her hood falling back and her cloak billowing open to reveal her rounded state, Yvette dashed past Ellie to fling her arms about Mr. Carmichael’s neck.
“Who is that?” the judge cried, voice pitched high like someone who’d seen a mouse run under their chair. “Who is she? Is she not your maid, Your Grace? Is that the traitor, here in my chambers? I won’t stand for this.”
The chamber door flew open. Mr. Carmichael pushed Yvette behind him, his stance defensive. Ellie jumped in front of Samuel, determined that no one would take him away from her. Matthew Mclintock, Duke of Aspen, strode in, Mrs. Carmichael behind him, looking quite worried. Out in the courtroom, others tried to peer in, but the liveried servant pulled the door back closed.
The Duke halted, gaze raking over the judge, two attorneys, Yvette, both Carmichael brothers, Ellie and finally…
“Mother.”
“Matthew.”
“When Miss Ellsworth went missing from my home, I prayed you weren’t behind it. I thought, ‘She wouldn’t involve herself with my relations again so soon. Not after the trouble she’s caused’. Yet, I find you here, in London, in a judge’s chambers, with the missing Miss Ellsworth. How do you explain that?”
The Dowager stood, rising to her full, imposing height. She drew in a deep breath.
“I brought her into this,” Ellie said firmly. “I tried to tell Lizzy May that Samuel was innocent, but she wouldn’t listen, so I went to someone who would.”
The Duke continued to glare at his mother.
“That doesn’t excuse her. She has interfered with my affairs for the last time.”
