.
William removed his hand from… Leah… and placed it on the table. The men stood beside him while the woman sat at their end of the room. No one moved or spoke for a moment.
Emmett turned to Lorena. “I wanted to tell you so many times, but—”
Lorena shook her head, her eyes worried. “Just… say it.”
Emmett blinked, and William felt for his friend, except the woman he’d planned on marrying had already known the truth and had kept it from him. She’d kept everything from him, and he didn’t understand why.
He allowed his anger to cool as Julius started. He moved closer to the middle of the room and placed his hands behind his back. “As you all may have known, my mother hated me.”
The women watched him and then looked at one another, neither confirming nor denying anything. The Spinsters were a secret society in and of themselves. William had no clue what they did or didn’t know, nor did the rest of the men.
Julius went on. “What I’ve never mentioned was the fact that she wanted me dead.”
There were gasps.
Some of the women looked away and a few others covered their mouths.
Genie whispered, “No.” Her green eyes were full of sadness. “I’m sorry, Julius.”
“And glad you’re alive.” Lorena placed her hands on the table. “I don’t understand. Why? How?” She couldn’t understand why a mother would hate their child.
Julius went on, because as the men agreed, it had always been his story to tell. “To this day, I have no clue, but she was mad, and it’s believed that she might have been the one to kill my father as well. The doctor said his heart failed, but none of the men in my village could be trusted.”
There were more looks of pity and Genie started to cry. Francis was there to gather her in his arms. Lorena wiped at her tears but forbid Emmett from moving forward with a lifted hand. “Please, go on.”
William looked over at Leah to find her staring at him. She was likely wondering what he planned to do with her. He was wondering the same.
“My Uncle August had always wanted the title but being a second son kept it out of his reach. So, he went to war and returned a hero. Some of the men he’d met during the fight had returned with him and moved into our village. There was peace for a while. The soldiers soon gained positions of power. My uncle became magistrate. It was later I found out that my mother and Uncle August were planning to kill me with the help of the men from the village. They were going to cover up my death and make it look like an accident, as though a pack of Roma had broken into the house, destroyed everything, and left me for dead.”
Alice shook her head. “You mean your mother and a grown man planned to set a group of soldiers on a little boy?”
“My mother was mad,” Julius said. “I was twelve and a good shot, thanks to my Uncle Perry. He was my father’s youngest brother and had taught me how to defend myself just in case.”
Sophia sighed with relief. “At least you weren’t alone.”
Julius shook his head. “No, I was not.” Then he looked at the Brothers. “My uncle planned to kill me the day after my house party ended. When I found out the night it would take place, the men in this room decided they would help defend me.”
“How?” Lorena asked.
“We hid in the wood and arrived before the men did,” Emmett said. “We hid, waited, and then killed them all.” His gray eyes said nothing as he held her gaze.
There was another lapse of silence and then Lorena narrowed her eyes. “I don’t believe you.”
Calvin sighed. “Ten men died that night.”
“And a woman,” Frank reminded him.
Calvin looked at his brother and nodded. “Eleven. One for each. One shot. One chance.” He looked his wife Alice to find her watching him with new eyes.
Lorena said again, “I don’t believe it. I don’t believe a group of boys could take on that many men.”
“The men thought the same,” William said. “But we did it.”
Leah rested a hand on his arm, her eyes full of tears, but she said nothing.
Lorena stood and crossed her arms. “No, this is not the secret. I want the truth.”
Emmett walked over to her and grabbed her arms. “We’re not lying, Lorena. This is the truth. We murdered to save Julius.”
“It’s the reason we don’t add members to the Brotherhood,” Morris said. “We are bound by blood.”
Sophia stared at Morris. “I… but you were so young. Why didn’t you simply tell someone?”
“Who would believe us?” Julius asked. “We were boys. My uncle was magistrate. The watchmen of the village worked for him.”
“You were a marquess,” Lorena said.
“Whose mother was known to have madness.” Julius crossed his arms. “They suspected me to have it as well.” He glanced at someone at the table, but William couldn’t tell which lady the look had gone to. “We had to deal with it on our own.”
“So, you killed them?” Florence asked, staring at Rollo. “I’m with Lorena. I find it hard to believe.”
“I don’t doubt it,” Christin said. She went over to Aaron and wrapped her arms around him. “I always knew you were a protector. I simply didn’t know…”
He touched her cheek. “I’d have killed Jack Peck if you’d have allowed it.” Jack Peck had been Christin’s brother-in-law. He’d killed Christin’s sister and had been ready to exploit Christin’s young niece for more money.
Lorena’s eyes were closed when Emmett pulled her into an embrace. “So, it’s over? That’s it?” She lifted her head to look at her husband. “Is that the only secret? Because if it is, I can live with it. I don’t know what I’d do for the Spinsters.”
Emmett’s expression was grim. “There may have been a few casualties over the last few years.”
Lorena opened her mouth, but Emmett placed a finger over it. “The point is, we will do anything to defend ourselves and those we count our own. There is no other way.”
Leah’s hand slid away, but William caught it.
Lorena broke from Emmett and went to Julius. She pulled him into a tight hug. “I’m so glad you’re alive, Julius… and glad Emmett was there to protect you.”
Julius placed a hand on her hair. “Don’t be mad at him. This was my secret. I didn’t want anyone to know. You can understand that, can’t you?”
Lorena nodded her head. “You’re not murderers.”
Alice agreed. “You defended yourselves. That is all.” Calvin was holding her hand.
The couples shared a moment. William held Leah’s eyes and saw what he should have recognized before. He had so many questions.
Taygete spoke to her before he could. “You'd better get used to the madness around here, dear. We’re quite unusual.”
William spoke then. “Oh, but Leah already knew his story, because she was there.”
The eyes in the room all fell on Leah.
She tried to take her hand back, but William wouldn’t let her.
“No more lies,” he told her and then, letting her go, he reached out and placed his hand on her wig. Her fingers grabbed his wrist and her eyes widened, but she didn’t fight him.
He gently removed the blonde disguise from her head. Even though he had known what he would find underneath, he was still caught off guard. Thick red tresses fell down and about her shoulders. The front was bathed in a gold that made her hair so distinctly her. It made her appear like a fox.
Which meant she could only be one person.
“Natalia.”
The room turned to Julius, since he’d been the one to speak. He stood opposite her. His violet eyes went over her hair and then her face. “Is that you?”
What happened next caught William off guard just as much as the rest of the room. Leah picked up her knife and jumped from her chair. William reached for her, but she brought up the blade and backed against the wall.
There was a wildness in her gold eyes that made William wonder if she was mad.
Was she?