Three years ago...

Ralph could not take his eyes away from the lady in blue.

Why would she not look at him?

That made him even more desperate to see more of her face, to look into her eyes and discover something far more.

"May I ask to be introduced?" he asked no one in particular. He looked around the group and realized Levi and Victoria shared a look of concern while Emma loudly cleared her throat.

The two young men at either side of Lady in Blue became alert and they both grabbed her by the arm and started to take her away.

What the bloody hell was happening?

As the woman was ushered away from them as though they had always meant to leave before he arrived, Ralph started to follow but his brother, Levi, reached for his arm and said, "Ralph, pray tell us about the recent case you have been working on. We are hungry for an adventure story, are we not, Tori?" he asked his wife.

"Ah, I shall spare myself of this," said Emma, jumping to her feet.

Before Ralph could stop his sister, Emma had turned to follow Lady in Blue and her companions across the ballroom. Levi was talking too much and Tori had hooked her hand around the crook of Ralph's arm.

Something was telling him that his family was conniving against him.

*****

Alex went still as she realized what he had just realized.

Ah, then it did not take long for him to realize after all, she thought.

She simply chuckled. "I told ye, I'm friends with yer sister, didn't I, guv?" Proud that she managed to be nonchalant about it, Alex held out her hand. "Now, give me me bullets. Symbol of yer apology."

Ralph narrowed his eyes at her. "You deliberately missed to tell me who you are," he said, his voice etched with accusation. "You could have simply said you are the lady from the wedding."

Alex shrugged. "I forgot 'bout that," she lied.

His eyes turned to slits. "You are telling me you forgot about it? You do not remember our time in the garden?"

Alex remembered every moment of it. How could she not? But that seemed to be a long time ago. One could say it was merely a short dream and she had long awoken from it. "Aye," she answered, stepping back, her hand still outstretched. "Me bullets, guv."

Ralph simply stared at her for a long time. Finally he snapped and he shook his head. Reaching inside the pocket of his coat, he said, "You are still one odd woman."

Alex merely gave him a mocking smile as she waited.

When his hand reappeared, it was holding a small box. Alex smiled when he handed it to her. She opened it and her smile widened. "Yer forgiven, guv," she said, snapping the box close.

Ralph could not seem to take his eyes from her, reminding her of that night of Ysabella's wedding. He had stalked her across the ballroom and surprisingly turned it into a magical one for her. He wore the same look in his eyes as he did now.

And it bothered her.

Shaking her head, Alex turned around to hide the box of bullets into her satchel.

"I am planning to go back to Wickhurst this afternoon," Ralph said behind her. When their eyes met, his was serious. "Do not dare escape again, bandit."

Ah, so she was still a bandit after all.

Alex cocked her brow in a rebellious look. "I might, guv, if ye don't tell me the truth."

"Truth about what?"

"Why I'm bein' chased. Who Aurora is and why she was killed."

"I did not tell you who Aurora is."

"Don't think I'm stupid, guv," she warned.

Ralph sighed, impatient. "I shall tell you the truth if I see it fit." He motioned with his hand. "For now, you cannot go anywhere." One eye flinched as he added, "You do have the tendency to run away after all, do you not, Lady in Blue?"

She ignored the mocking with a shrug. "Why the bleedin' hell not?"

"Why not what?"

"Why the bleedin' hell can't I go anywhere?"

He blinked, his eyes flickering to the ceiling as if the reason was up there. Finally he looked at her again and shrugged. "Because your face is bloody swollen."

She glared at him incredulously. "Me feet are not swollen. I can bleedin' go 'way when'ver I wanna, guv."

"Very well, then, I hope you can find your horse."

Alex stiffened with alarm. "What have ye done to me horse?"

"It is well-fed and guarded by my strongest footmen, bandit." He winked and walked away.

"I can walk past anyone—"

Ralph stopped midway to the door and faced her. "In case you are not aware, bandit, the other half of Beechworth is where some of the Everard jewelries are being manufactured. Dare not think about stealing from it. You may have been able to escape from this side of the estate, but you cannot go anywhere near the jewelries. They are heavily guarded by men who would not hesitate to shoot and incapacitate. Your horse is currently their new companion, of course."

"Yer not like yer brothers, guv. Yer heartless."

Ralph smiled. "Well, I am not my brothers, that is true. Do not leave, bandit. You have many things to answer for."

"Like how I became friends with yer siblings?" she asked, taunting him with a mocking chuckle.

He nodded. "That, among other things."

"I'll stay only 'cos I wanna, guv," she said. "But I might change me mind, aye?"

He turned away without a word.

Just as when she thought he was leaving, he asked her another question. "Those men who accompanied you in Ysa's wedding. Were they bandits as well?"

"I told ye, guv, cousins. And aye, they're bandits as well." She made a waving gesture with her hand. "Dinna worry, guv, we dinna steal anythin' that night."

Alex let out a scoff of disbelief when the door closed behind him.

*****

Ralph could not help but contradict. She claimed she did not steal anything that night. Of course she did! She stole from him the entire night and countless sleepless nights thereafter!

And she did not even remember?

He was not one to gloat, be he had utterly believed she felt the same way he did that night.

Did she do it to taunt him for not having recognized her earlier on? Perhaps, but it could also mean she was being truthful and had indeed forgotten about that night three years ago.

He did as well, did he not? Or perhaps not. He did not forget for he simply chose to bury the memory when he realized he failed miserably. And now she returned and everything else from that night came crashing back.

Ralph took a lungful of air. He could deal with her later. Now, he had very important matters to deal with.

He tethered the horse outside the large building of the Men of Courts, gave it a good pat and strode to the entrance of the large building and straight into his brother-in-law's office.

Cole Devitt, the Lord of Ashmore, was the Head of the Men of Courts in Wickhurst, but he had also been secretly working on the slavery case even before the its alarming extent was made known to both the League and the Guards.

They had been very close to solving it, to tying Osegod to the cases, but things had turned to worse when the trade suddenly stopped and many other things surfaced, including Sophia's abduction.

That, however, never stopped Cole from working on freeing the slaves. As he had claimed before, his goal was to free them however way he could.

Cole looked up from the papers he was studying on his desk when Ralph strode into his office.

"I heard you brought in a prisoner last night," Cole said. "Are you here to file the papers?"

Ralph nodded. "How is Margaret?"

Cole sighed. "My wife is a strong woman, Ralph, you and I both know it. The problem, however, is that she is too strong. But we shall give her more time to deal with her own demons while we stay by her side."

"But do keep her safe, Devitt," Ralph said, sitting in the chair across his brother-in-law. "Maggie is distraught over what happened to Aurora and she might do something drastic because of it."

"I know my wife, Ralph. She is amongst the strongest and controlled individuals I have ever known. But yes, I am looking out for her."

"By the by, I need this prisoner to have his trial the soonest possible, Devitt," Ralph said, changing the subject. "Some of the Guards I am working with are suspicious. They could be working for Osegod."

Cole nodded.

"I am planning to interrogate the prisoner today and I wish for you to represent him at trial. The bastard ought to have someone wise to give him the guidance he needs and confess."

"I cannot represent such case as I am the Head of the Men of Courts, but I shall find someone capable."

Ralph sighed and nodded. "Just be certain he is represented well. This man could lead us to where Sophia and the child are."

Cole's jaw tightened. "This man shall make a confession, Ralph. If his crime is petty compared to the one he is about to confess, he might be a free man after a few years. I shall make certain that a fair negotiation shall come to pass."

Ralph looked at his brother-in-law. "We will find the men who did this, Cole. And we shall bring Sophia back to Nicholas. And we shall help your wife find peace. Osegod ought to be eliminated."

"One step at a time, Ralph," Cole said. "Send word should you need more help. I need concrete facts for a trial against an enormous opponent and the moment you hand them to me, I shall do the best I can to bring the bastard down."

*****

Alex was quite surprised that the door was left unlocked.

She ventured out into the corridor, warily looking about. No one was standing guard nearby.

The corridor was dim, so was the grand hall when she came down.

No butler was about, no footman lurking in nearby corners.

She tried to listen and heard sounds to the right, opposite the large dining hall. She walked toward it.

There was a long corridor and merely one door. When she reached it, she pushed it open and it did open, much to her surprise and curiosity.

Another large hall greeted her, but this time she knew she was at the other side of the estate that Ralph had talked about earlier.

Doors surrounded the hall and each door was guarded. No one turned when she appeared, which merely made Alex more cautious.

She stepped into the great hall, expecting the men to jump to their feet and attack her. Still, no one moved.

The sounds were more audible now. They came from all directions, coming through the guarded doors.

She could hear tinkling sounds, laughter and many others.

She approached a guard and inquired. "Is me horse through this door?" she asked him.

The man did not say a word. Bloody hell, Alex could almost say the man was barely breathing!

"Oi, I asked ye a question. Is me horse inside?" the man merely blinked. "I'm not gonna take her, see? I simply wanna know where yer keepin' her."

"This is the engraving room, Miss," the guard said without looking at her.

"Then where the bleedin' hell is the stable?" she asked.

The man blinked, his brows forming into a frown. "No stable here, Miss."

She scowled. "Then where is my bleedin' horse!"

"Miss," someone said behind her. She turned and found the familiar footman that had led her to her chamber yesterday. The man cleared his throat and stammered, "Y-you are not p-permitted in here."

"Ye dinna bloody lock the bleedin' door," she said. "Where's me horse?"

The footman gulped. "We do not have a stable in this part of the estate, Miss."

"I asked where me bleedin' horse is, footman," she said, walking forward, hands on her hips.

The footman gulped further. "I—well... your horse is currently not in residence, Miss."

Alex scowled. "Explain, footman."

The footman's eyes flickered toward the guard behind her as if trying to assure himself that there would be people who could defend him should Alex attempt to attack him. When his gaze returned to hers, he said, "His lordship took your horse to Wickhurst, Miss."

Alex's eyes widened in outrage. "That bleedin' bastard!"

*****

When Ralph entered the offices of the Wickhurst Town Guards, he was met with commotion.

He looked around and found Peters being surrounded by fellow Guards, a doctor kneeling before him, tending to his arm.

"What happened?" Ralph asked.

Peter's bloodied face turned to him, eyes furious. "Your bloody prisoner."

He frowned. "What?"

Peters sighed. "I went to deliver him a tray of food and he attacked me."

"He was bound, Peters," said Ralph.

"Well, he was not when I bloody came in!" Peters cried in outrage.

The other Guards turned to Ralph. He glared at them. "Where is he?"

No one could meet his gaze.

"I did what I could to defend myself, Everard," Peters said, followed by a groan as the doctor poured something on his open wound.

A feeling of dread came over Ralph as he moved forward. "I asked where he is, Peters."

Peters gritted his teeth as the doctor dabbed on his wound, blood pouring out. Panting in pain, he lifted his eyes to Ralph. "He's bloody dead. I had to shoot him."