"I cannot take the wait anymore," Benjamin said, clicking his pocket watch shut.

"Lily promised she would be back within the hour," Juliana tried to reassure him, but she also felt anxious, waiting was not a strong suit of hers either.

"If you rush off now, and Lily does return with the news you would be wasting valuable time fumbling about. Just stay put. If Lily does not return within the hour, we will go and search ourselves," Richard told him.

Benjamin took Juliana by the shoulders, "Are you certain we can trust her? How do we know that she is not, right this second, notifying the house of our whereabouts?"

Juliana did not have an answer for this and just looked at Richard, and back at Benjamin. "We have no other recourse. We must wait and see."

A rider came upon them suddenly. Richard and Benjamin both drew their pistols upon hearing the pounding of approaching hooves.

"Lily!" Juliana exclaimed seeing the young girl.

"I had taken a horse from the stables. You must come quickly! There is no time to lose!"

Benjamin jumped into his saddle. "You have found her?"

"Yes, sir. She is being held in the conservatory. There is a secret entrance in and out of the building. I will show you where."

Richard gave Juliana a boost into her saddle. "Has something happened Lily? Why the urgency?"

"I tried to untie her but her captors were coming back and arguing in the hall."

"You had seen her and you left her there?" Benjamin asked in disbelief.

"It was a must!" Lily said looking stricken, remembering Clara's plea. "If I did not, I would have been caught as well and there would be no possibility of informing you of her whereabouts."

"You have done the right thing, Lily," Richard told her. "Once you show us the entrance, I wish you to return to the Manor. You have done more than is expected and I want you out of danger."

Lily nodded she understood. They were at the conservatory in minutes. Such a little used part of the house, no one was around. Most of the household servants deliberately stayed away, knowing it served another purpose, even if they were unsure as to what that purpose may be.

They dismounted and circled around with Lily to the secret entrance hidden from view with brush and bushes. "There is a similar entrance on the other side of the building. Giving a way in and out."

"Which entrance would give us the best element of surprise?" Benjamin asked.

Lily was uncertain.

Richard has a suggestion, "I think it best we split up. Juliana and I will take the other entrance, you take this one, that will allow for us to seal off both exits if Clara is not alone and if she is, it will give us the advantage should anyone try to sneak up on us. "

"A sound plan," Benjamin agreed. "I will wait for your lead. You enter first and I will be right behind you."

Juliana hugged Lily. "If all goes well we will be home soon. Get yourself there as quickly as possible."

Lily got to her horse and rode off.

They looked and Benjamin already began to descend the stairs. Juliana and Richard raced to the other side.

Once inside Benjamin followed the corridor down to the only room in the building. It was a very direct route. He hoped this was all for real. That he was not walking into a trap that Lily and Mr. Chase had set up for them. He wanted to trust her but his dealings have taught him not to trust anyone. It is the best way to ensure you stay alive.

He reached the door and listened to the muffled voices beyond.

"This is a dilemma, I must say. I need time to think," Emmaline said.

Clara could hear her pacing on the floor. The steps seemed to keep time with the thumping rhythm of her heart. She could not believe this woman had killed her own husband. Or at least she assumed he was dead as there was no further argument coming forth from him.

"Lily is not smart enough to think to dupe him with fake letters. That must mean your brother or someone in that household knows the truth, and gave her the letters, to give him, to see what he would do. This, of course, means you must be moved," Emmaline puzzled out. She needed a place to move Clara until she got her hands on the letters and knew for certain Lady Catherine's will was destroyed.

It troubled Clara greatly the mental instability of this woman. She just killed her husband, and she moved on with zero remorse. Another thought crossed her mind, "Did you kill Cecelia, too?"

The pacing stopped somewhere in the room. "Do not be absurd, of course not! I had made arrangements with your mother to have Cecelia marry Richard after she was stupid enough to get pregnant by a stable hand. My plan was brilliant, nearly foolproof, but then she had to go and take her own life and screw it all up. With them married, I could have controlled everything from the inside. As it was, she put us in a terrible position. Thankfully, several of our servants had seen Marcus leaving the room that same night. So, I let everyone believe he was to blame, even Mr. Chase. I knew he would tell Barneby. Men are so predictable in their actions, so easily manipulated."

"What do you mean?" Clara asked. She wanted Emmaline to keep talking. Clara knew Benjamin was coming for her. She needed to stall for time.

"What alternative does a Father have if he believes his son a murder? Watch him hang for his crime or take his life? It was easy enough to know what he would choose. Serves Marcus right for taking advantage of my sweet little girl."

Clara's blood ran cold realizing how Emmaline had been playing everyone. The puppeteer with her puppets, she pulled the strings, and they all unknowingly did her bidding, but she still could not figure out why.

Clara wished she could remove the blindfold. Her one foot was free, but she did not want to make any sudden movements that would attract attention to her and not knowing where Emmaline was in the room put her at a distinct disadvantage.

"Could you remove my blindfold now?" Clara asked.

"What?" Emmaline stopped pacing.

"Well Emmaline, it is not like I do not know who you are or what you have done so, what is the point really?" Clara said rather brazenly.

Emmaline laughed, "You know Clara. I believe I am going to have the slightest pang of regret when you are no more. I must say it has been a long time since I have met another woman with a backbone in her body."

"The blindfold?" Clara said feeling emboldened by Emmaline's words.

"Oh hell, why not?" Emmaline said, pulling it from her in a not so gentle fashion. "Any other last requests?"

"I will let you know," Clara said.

Emmaline chuckled the sound most menacing.

Clara blinked a few times to adjust her sight. She looked over at Mr. Chase, now lying face down on the stone floor. His body surrounded by discarded letters with her mother's writing on them. She could see the stain of blood that splattered across them. On the inside, she wanted to scream at the sight, but on the outside, she appeared unaffected.

Benjamin always stressed the importance of keeping your head in a situation. "You cannot let fear rule the day," he would instruct her. "Your wit and words are sometimes your only weapons, use them wisely."

She needed to keep Emmaline calm. Clara needed to stall for time until the others reached her. She knew help was on the way, and her only objective...stay alive until they came.

"Slow and steady, man," Benjamin schooled his mind. Everything in him was screaming at him to burst through the door and take Clara back by force, if necessary, but he did not want such brash actions to put her in jeopardy and so waited although it killed him to do so.

He strained to hear Richard's entrance. He shuddered listening to the conversation within. Although, he felt proud that Clara had kept herself alive and calm, in the face of such a horrible monster. She had been listening to him. She had taken what he said to heart.

"Richard must be forced to give me those letters. I do believe you will allow me the ability to do that," Emmaline told Clara.

Richard chose that moment to burst through the door and upon hearing it Benjamin came in through the other side.

"Benjamin!" Clara exclaimed upon seeing him.

He glanced at her only briefly, his gun trained on the woman in the middle of the room. Richard was doing the same from his side of the room.

"Nowhere to run, Emmaline," Richard told her.

Juliana ran over to Mr. Chase. She turned the body over. "He is dead!" she said closing his eyes, still widened with shock.

Emmaline held up her hands in surrender but laughed a bone-chilling laugh.

"So you are alive!" she said staring at Juliana. "My, how you have grown."

Juliana tore her gaze from Mr. Chase's body. "You!" Juliana spat, rising slowly from the floor.

"You remember me? I am touched. Really I am."

Benjamin and Richard exchanged glances though it was evident neither of them understood what was happening.

"I had thought Catherine had sent the invite to your wedding as a last-ditch attempt to steal what is left of my sanity, but the cruel joke is on me, it would seem. As she is dead and you are here and very much alive."

"So sorry to disappoint you," Juliana said.

"Well, no matter. The damage is done. Those that needed to perish had done so."

"What do you mean?" Juliana asked a fearful knowing blooming in her heart.

"You want to tell them, Sargent McAllister, or should I?"