"What do you think will happen next?" Valerie asked her twin.

Violet sighed and shrugged. "We now know how Gramp ended aboveground, but if you ask me what would happen next, I can only tell you that Gram ended up here as well. How or why, I do not know."

"Something must have happened. Something the Trilbys did."

"We'll know what's next soon."

Valerie rolled her eyes. "Next vacation, yes."

Violet smiled contentedly. "Emma did get her happy ending after all. I was so freaking afraid."

Valerie turned to her sister. "There is still the Trilbys. Don't get your hopes too high." Violet threw her sister a stingy look. Valerie sighed. "They could have all perished."

"Shut it, Val!"

"Okay."

Silence lingered for a few moments.

"And Gram could have been the only one who survived. She went aboveground to be with Gramp."

"Shut it!" Violet hissed. "Gramp promised to tell us the rest of the story the next time we go for a visit. So, for now, shut it."

"I'm just trying to think of the possibilities. The Trilbys were bound to do more."

"Oh, I'm sure they did more evil stuff, but I have so much hope for how things will turn out for the others."

"How come?"

Violet snorted and smiled. "Val, we are the living proof the Everards survived."

*****

"How have you been?" Ralph asked as he handed Samuel a glass of brandy.

Samuel shrugged, stretching his leg. "Quite okay, thank you."

His friend stared at his leg. "Has it fully recovered?"

Ralph chuckled with a shake of his head. And before silence could reign in the room, he took a more serious tone with his next statement. "By the by, I am quite certain you have read about the emergence of the rebels."

"Re-emergence," corrected Samuel. "They had been around for ages, I believe. Why?"

Ralph was fixing him a quizzical look. "You do not associate yourself with them, do you?"

"Why would I?"

His friend's eyes narrowed at him. "Because I know you, Sam. You would not hesitate to do so if you believe it is the right course of action. I am warning you as your friend not to be in touch or associate yourself with them. Their cause is not to make a difference in the Town. Their mission is to destroy it."

Samuel smiled. "Then you must feel relieved I did not turn out to be your brother-in-law."

"You bastard, this is no laughing matter."

"It is not, so let us leave the rebels be."

"How can I when I am a Guard?"

"Ah, yes, of course." He looked around Ralph's study. "Should we play chess?"

"We are leaving in two hours, but I can spare the time," his friend said, walking over to the chess table. Samuel followed and settled opposite Ralph.

The door to the study burst open and Ysabella rushed in but came to a halt when she saw Samuel.

"Sam!" she cried, walking over to offer her hand which he took to plant a welcoming kiss.

"Hello, Ysa," he greeted before facing the chess table once again.

"What is it?," Ralph asked his sister. "I thought you will on your way to Devonshire by now," he added as he arranged his pieces on the board.

"Where's Alex?"

"Why?"

"Well, I need something from her. She said yesterday that Gustav sent something for me from Meriwether. Where is she? I need to get it now. William is quite impatient today."

"My wife is currently getting ready for the journey. And let your husband wait," said Ralph.

"Like how you waited for him," Samuel chided. "He ought to be able to wait for years if he has to." His shoulders shook with laughter as Ysabella slapped his arm.

"You are both horrible," Ysabella said, turning around. "Very well, I will find Alex myself."

When they were finally alone, Samuel asked Ralph, "What could Gustav be sending your sister?"

"God knows what. It could be a bloody napkin if I care enough to know. My father-in-law can find interest in many minute things. Last month, he sent a dagger he hand-crafted himself for his soon-to-be grandchild. Imagine Mother's horror."

Samuel laughed as he made the first move on the chess table. He leaned back in his chair in an easy fashion, waiting for Ralph.

"Where do you plan to spend Christmas? Theobald?"

Samuel shook his head. "I was invited to a party near Dovier."

Ralph frowned. "Quiet far. It is a village near Wakefield, is it not?"

"Yes, it is. And also far from the ruckus of Devonshire."

Ralph laughed. "You can always join us," his friend said with a teasing smile.

"Burn me first," Samuel said with a scoff.

They shared a light chuckle and played until Alex and Ysabella interrupted them with tea and biscuits half an hour later.

*****

The journey to Devonshire for both Wynne and Emma was a little difficult.

For one, Wynne did not want to leave the theatre for an entire fortnight. But Emma had to remind him that all the actors would be gone and the two of them would not be enough to defend the theatre should anything untoward happen.

Second, Wynne two weeks was too long to be around the Everard brothers.

"Do you not remember the dinner after our wedding?" he reminded, his face drained of blood. "They took me to a private room, Emma."

"But I rescued you just in time," she pointed out. "You were not on the floor that long. We did not even have to call for the doctor."

He scoffed, shaking his head. "Did you marry me to witness me suffer with every bloody Everard gathering?"

"You do not suffer every time, Wynne. Do not be too dramatic. You enjoy Alex's company. And Ned and Barto like you."

"They are not precisely Everards, most definitely Ned and Barto."

"There is Maxwell. Have you not spent an entire day with him designing the ring you gifted me?"

"And the entire time I thought I was talking to no one but myself."

"It is because the two of you are too much alike. Max and I are, too. The three of us can be around the same table and have a long conversation without opening our mouths."

"When it is with you, Emma, it can be quite sexy," retorted her husband. "But when it is your bloody brother, it can be very uncomfortable." He cursed under his breath. "Bloody tarnation, now that you have placed the picture in my head, it is quite disturbing."

Emma chuckled and tucked a few stray hairs behind his left ear. "You look adorable when you're uncomfortable. It is like I am seeing the stuttering Wynne Hastings again. Fret not, husband, I have fought quite hard to get you. I will not let my brothers bully you for the entire two weeks."

Wynne sighed again, gathering her into his arms to close his eyes. He never liked long carriage rides, but he was glad he was with the best company on this one.

*****

"It would have been better if you brought along Stella Marie," Ralph commented as the family retired into the parlor of the Devonshire estate.

Emma rolled her eyes. "Stella is on her way to Kipp to attend a party."

"Kipp? The one near Wakefield?" asked William.

"Yes," replied Wynne.

Ralph frowned, looking curious. "How far is it from Dovier?"

Wynne shrugged with disinterest. "A few hours? Why?"

"Samuel is spending Christmas near Dovier."

Levi scoffed. "You cannot be thinking—"

"Why not?" asked Emma. "Samuel has been to some of the plays. Wynne and I can attest he did not come for us for he never showed to any of our invitations to join us for the after-show dinners."

"Probably because he still wants to kill me," Wynne murmured.

"Once I caught him waiting outside Stella's dressing room," Emma continued, ignoring her husband's statement. "He looked like a boy caught stealing sweets from the kitchen."

Her husband frowned. "You never told me this."

"Because I did not think too much of it," she retorted with a wave of her hand.

"Should the two of them end up together, I will be the first to offer my condolences," said Ralph. "They will kill each other before they could even march up to a vicar."

"But why Kipp or Dovier of all places?" wondered Nicholas. "There are far better places for a secret tête-à-tête."

"Why not?" countered Alex.

"Why meet at all?" added Ralph. "It could a simple matter of coincidence. Let us pray they do not meet."

Alex gave her husband an incredulous look. "It was you who suggested the idea."

"Do we not have anything more interesting to talk about other than Samuel and Stella Marie?" complained Ysabella. "I like them separately, but not together. Do you not agree, Maxine? As what Ralph said, the two of them would kill each other in a heartbeat."

Maxine smiled. "I have long decided to cease any opinions on my brother's choices, but should he choose to be with someone like Miss Stella Marie, then I will offer no objections."

The door opened and everyone turned their heads to see who interrupted their gathering. "And what are we discussing at this very moment?" Lady Alice asked as she was escorted into the room by Benedict.

"The Trilby family tree," lied Nicholas.

"We were?" Wynne asked dryly.

"Oh, how boring," said Lady Alice as she settled in the settee between Margaret and Sophia. "Perhaps I should return to the playroom. The children have far more interesting things to say about dragons and vampires."

"Wynne's family is interesting enough," Ralph said with sarcasm.

"Former family," corrected Wynne. "But I do agree they are interesting."

"Simply look at it," said Ralph, waving his hand in the air, "the great grandfather is still very much alive."

Wynne nodded his head, mentally making calculations. "Almost a century-old,"

"This is the oddest topic ever," said Emma.

Alex caressed her bulging stomach as she said, "No, not at all,"

Nicholas turned to Wynne. "Vega is your aunt, yes?"

"She's his cousin," replied Maxwell who had been silent the entire time. "Her father is Amelia's cousin."

"Then you two are cousins," pointed Nicholas at Wynne and Maxine.

"It makes me uncomfortable the way you put it," Wynne said. "But yes, we are."

"It is okay, Wynne," said Maxine with a laugh. "I honestly find it quite cute."

"It is odd, darling," her husband said beside her. "But then, you are odd so it is understandable."

"Edmund is a cousin as well," Nicholas persisted, attention still on Wynne.

"And Tashia," Wynne added.

The Everards looked at him. "Tashia?"

"Vega's sister," he said with a shrug.

"Bloody hell, the Trilbys are as complicated as the Everards," Nicholas said with awe.

Ralph lifted a hand. "Hold on. Ezra is an uncle of yours."

Emma sighed. "Yes, Ralph. How many times do we have to narrate the entire family tree? You had already sat us down not long ago."

"I lost the diagram," said Ralph, turning to Wynne. "Then Ezra is Amelia's cousin," he said with disbelief. "How bloody old is Amelia again?"

"Robert. Francis. George II." Wynne counted the names with his fingers. "Robert is the eldest and it took quite a while before Francis and George II were born." He looked at Emma. "Do we really have to discuss this every time?"

"No," Emma said, giving her brothers a pointed look. "He is no longer a Trilby."

"But he has good information," Ralph countered. "I still cannot believe George Trilby outlived two of his sons."

"It is hard to kill evil," Wynne replied with a shrug.

"Ah, but evil can be tamed," Ysabella said with a smile.

Emma sent her sister a taunting look. "Like how you tamed a rake?"

Ysabella winked. "Precisely,"

"I was not a rake," William strongly objected.

"You were the most notorious rake in town," Levi said with a chuckle and he evaded William's kick by jumping behind his wife.

"Nothing can beat the taming of a bandit," Ralph grinned but immediately added, "well, it was a two-way process," when Alex threw him a sharp look.

"What is best than taming a beast?" Agatha, Benedict's wife, spoke beside Benedict. Her eyes shimmered with laughter as Benedict cleared his throat.

"Oooh..." the rest of the Everards said as they looked at Benedict, somehow cautious. It took one courageous being to even joke about Benedict's old moniker.

"Well, that is quite true," they heard Benedict murmur as he leaned over to plant a soft kiss on top of his wife's head. "And you have strayed us both from the topic," he added to Emma, "Thank you."

"Why... we have not noticed," said Ralph with sarcasm.

"Mother said that Ysa and I are the best at it, remember?" she said with a laugh. "Is it not right, Mother?"

"Well, yes," Lady Alice replied, smiling as she watched her children with fondness.

Her sons would never treat Wynne like they would Samuel, she noted to herself as she watched Ralph return his attention on Wynne, intent on making the man suffer a little more.

"Stop making my husband uncomfortable, you dimwit!" Emma was saying.

"What did you call me?" Ralph demanded as Cole was heard saying to Wynne, "It gets better. They take their time before they offer the good brandy. You might have to wait for two more Christmases."

"It took a while for me," added William. "But then, you are a Trilby. Yours is a different case, bad blood and all—oof!" he cried out as Ysabella elbowed his side. "Jesting, Love! Jesting!"

Margaret stood up with a laugh and approached Lady Alice. "Mother, are you feeling all right?"

"Yes, darling."

"Tori and I are going to escape before the ruckus starts to prepare snacks for the children. Would you like to join us?"

"You go on ahead, dear," Lady Alice said. "I'll be right behind you."

Margaret gave her a peck. "Merry Christmas, Mother. I hope you are feeling the spirit?"

Lady Alice's eyes started to water as she was overwhelmed by an intense emotion. She nodded, looking around the loud room. "Yes," she choked.

Margaret left the room with Tori and soon, one by one, her children started to depart the parlor as well to do whatever they had to do around the manor, leaving Lady Alice with Benedict and Maxwell.

It was not long before the three of them realized what some of them were really up to.

Soon, she could hear her grandchildren squealing as footsteps—nearly a dozen of them—ran around the second landing.

"Ralph! If you do not throw that bloody frog away, I will hang you!" they heard Ysabella scream from somewhere, followed by the children's excited laughter. "Oh God, there is another one! Get it out of here!"

Benedict sighed beside Lady Alice, silently shaking his head.

"There is more, Aunt Ysa!" one of the children shrilled. "Uncle Ralph! No! No!"

"Ralph, you idiot!" Emma's voice shouted. "Wynne, get Harold! No! Fiona, get your brother! Oh, for God's sake, Ralph, put that thing away this instant!"

Lady Alice shared a look with Benedict and they both chuckled.

"Should I stop the ruckus now?" Maxwell asked the two of them dryly, already on his feet.

Benedict shrugged.

"Gillian!" Emma was shouting again. "No, you cannot touch that! Wynne, take him away from here. Where's his father?"

"I have my arms full, Emma," Wynne was saying. "No, Harold, we don't eat frogs—"

"No, no, take Emerald with you!"

"And that's my cue," Maxwell said as he heard his daughter's name. He rushed to the door and his voice boomed around the manor as he shouted, "Ralph! What the bloody hell are you doing!"

"Ralph, Max is on 'is way!" Alex was saying. "Yer dead fer sure!"

Ralph was laughing so hard that he could hardly speak. "No, no no, Max. It was Nick! I swear it was—"

"It was you!" Fiona and Faye chorused with laughter.

"Ralph! The others have escaped into the kitchen!" Margaret shouted from somewhere. "Get them out of here now or you will have frog soup for supper! When are you going to stop playing with these things!"

"No, when is he ever going to grow up!" Emma shouted.

"Max! No, please! I swear it was not solely my idea! Nick, you bastard! He's hiding somewhere! He took more into the house than—"

"I say you tie him up, Max," Levi's faint voice suggested.

Alone in the parlor, Benedict and Lady Alice shared another look.

"You must be tired of this ruckus," said her eldest, "but I am also quite sure you enjoy it."

"Oh, yes, of course." A loud thump followed her statement. "Well, so long as nobody gets hurt, which I think is currently happening now."

Benedict shook his head and they listened to more shouting about frogs and supper with more squealing from the children.

"I wish Father is here with us," Benedict softly said. It was rare for her eldest son to expose such sentiments.

"He would have loved to enjoy this very moment," Lady Alice said, nodding her head, her eyes stinging with tears. "Unlike the two of us, he would be out there joining the fray after calling for the doctor."

Benedict chuckled.

"Harold would not have asked for more if he were here. I can merely hope that I had done a good job on my own."

Benedict reached out to gently cover her hand with his. "You have done far beyond, Mother. But sometimes, I also wonder if he would be pleased at how we all turned out to be."

Lady Alice turned her face to her son who gently wiped the tear off her cheek with his free hand.

"I know what he would say," she told Benedict. "He would tell me with his laughing emerald eyes that our children would never be the perfect bunch society would want but we would have them no other way. You must know that he was the different one between us. He had always been the one to dare to defy society from the moment he took the courage to do so. And he would have loved to witness all of you do the same."

Benedict silently chuckled, shaking his head.

Lady Alice sighed, once more dreaming of the man who had changed her life.

Their children were different, Harold would assure her.

They were their children and they gave them life. They had showed them life as the two of them would have lived it eight times.

They were different and passionate, feisty and brave, odd and kind.

They were Everards.