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“Yes, Younge,” Lord Richard said with a smirk, “you have been under watch from the first day that the Coastal Trader docked in Bundoran. You see my father-in-law, the Duke of Hertfordshire,” he pointed to Lord Thomas, “happens to own the Dennington Lines, so every vessel in the fleet was on the lookout for you.” The two hapless criminals who were now restrained by burly men went white as they started to comprehend the depth and breadth of the crimes that they now have levied against them.

“Even had you not attempted to kidnap a duchess who is cousin to the royals,” Lord William said disdainfully, “your fate was sealed when you ordered the murder of Sergeant Hamms.” Younge felt his knees weaken as his captors seemed to know everything.

“You will soon be in the same place that Lamb and his accomplices ended their miserable lives,” the Duke spat out.

It suddenly became clear to Younge that Lamb and the other two had not deserted, they had been captured and spirited away under his nose to open up the spots in his crew for the three spies.

Younge was not a brave man, but even he could see that his life was forfeit, so he surreptitiously slid his hand into his waistband for the dagger he always kept on his person and waited for an opportunity to strike.

“Did you take and execute my son as well?” Johanna demanded.

“Why would we have an honourable lad like Tony executed?” Viscount Hilldale asked.

“How would he have written you two letters if his head had been removed?” Lord Andrew and the other men had the pleasure of seeing the two criminals blanch at the mention of the punishment that they now were sure that would be their lot.

“Ya’ got letters from your son!” Younge forgot his situation for a second as he rounded on his partner in fury. As he tried to make a move toward her, he was reminded rather forcefully that he was not free to do anything, and he was yanked back none too gently.

“I…how…why?” Johanna stammered.

“You will have a chance to ask him that yourself soon enough,” the Earl of Matlock said matter of fact.

“He…he is here?” Johanna asked softly, unable to account for how that was even possible.

“That he is,” confirmed Lord Matlock.

“It was he who decided your punishment,” Lord William added, glad to watch her fear increase as she did not deserve comfort while stealing Elizabeth’s for months.

Johanna felt herself almost floating then everything went black.

Thanks to the two men holding her up, she did not fully fall to the ground.

With a nod from Lord Richard, the two secured her in the small cottage sitting room.

One man remained with her while four others stood guard around the walls of the structure.

“You, Younge, will be transported to the Tower where, for the crime of treason against the Royal Family, you will meet your end at the end of the executioner’s blade,” Lord Richard explained to the now petrified man whose confidence and bravado was now gone.

“By the way, the sloop that used to be yours has been renamed and added to His Majesty’s fleet of naval ships.

I may be slightly presumptuous in saying so, but I shall extend the Regent’s thanks for it nonetheless. ”

“Bu-but,” Younge attempted to get out, “we nev’r kidnapped a royal.”

“Only because we knew what you were about,” Lord William said as he moved threateningly toward the shaking man. “The attempt was all that is needed for the Regent to pronounce sentence on you, which he will as soon as you arrive in London.”

Lord Richard Fitzwilliam then stepped in front of the condemned man, “I want you to know that had the Regent not charged you with treason, I would have had the pleasure of running you through for the murder of Sergeant Hamms. He was working at my behest, and I took his murder very personally.” Younge did not miss the look of unadulterated hatred in the Earl’s eyes, and did not doubt for a second that the peer would have ended him and never thought about him again as the Earl’s hand rested on the hilt of the sabre that hung on his side.

He cursed the day that his delusional sister ever came to him in Fowey, and regretted jumping into the planning with much glee due to greed.

All the money in the world wouldn’t help him now, even should he have it.

“At least the executioner was spared the trouble of separating your sister from her head,” Lord William added derisively. “After she and Wickham attempted to take our sister from us, she is where she deserves to be, in the deepest pits of hell where you, sir , will soon join her!”

Lord Richard turned to the officer in charge.

“Escort this human waste directly to the Tower,” he commanded.

The Major nodded and issued order to his men to make it so.

As he did, Younge let out a mighty scream and stabbed the man holding his left arm.

The ferocity and suddenness of the attack caught his opponents with their guard dropped, but only for an instant.

Younge whirled around, ready to stab the peer that had just threatened him.

As he did, he felt the cold steel of Lord Richard’s sabre penetrate his body.

Time seemed to stand still as the Earl plunged the sabre into his chest all the way up to the hilt.

The last thing Younge saw before his life force left him was the look of satisfaction in Richard Fitzwilliam eyes.

He had been denied personal retribution on the murderers of Hamms, but thankfully the man that issued the order for his murder had not escaped his sword.

There was silence but for the sucking sound as Richard withdrew his sabre from Younge’s inert body, then he wiped the blade on the body to clean off as much blood as possible then re-sheathed his weapon.

“That saves us the trouble of having him escorted to London,” Richard said with a grim look of satisfaction.

“So ends the last of the Younge family.”

“Very well-done son,” Lord Reggie was the first to speak. “He deserved nothing less.”

“Please have the body taken to the potter’s field near the graveyard in Kympton,” the Duke of Derbyshire instructed some of his men among the guards.

He turned to the men that had risked life and limb for the protection of his family, “We ask that you nine please join us at the manor house after you lead Mrs. álvarez to the root cellar where she will be held until Tony wants to talk to her,” Lord William requested.

“Aye, your Grace,” Jones responded as he and Barlow issued an order to make it so.

Forester felt an immense sense of justice when he looked at Younge’s body still lying where it fell after the Earl had run him through.

The man who was responsible for his friend’s death had finally received his due.

He was only sorry that he was not the one that had the honour of ending the miscreant’s miserable life so that he could visit his friend’s grave and assure him it was he who had handled it.

Even though in the end the takedown had been almost anti-climactic, except for Richard Fitzwilliam that is, the men were well pleased with the results and mounted their horses to head back to the great house.

A groom was dispatched to the parsonage to summon Elliot and young Tony, and William looked forward with pleasure to his wife and the rest of the Falconwood party returning as he nodded to the courier who was standing by with the pre-written note.