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“You said you had met Mrs. Hunt, and that she had admitted to lying on the witness stand. The day you told me, I was too angry to see the value of what you had discovered—and also at the time, afraid to reveal Caroline’s survival, even if it might mean her acquittal.

But now that Caroline had been discovered and was in prison again, I realized that Mrs. Hunt was the key—if she reversed her testimony, Sinclair might reopen the case.

He waited in the carriage when I stopped at Duxley-on-Green.

Thankfully, I persuaded Mrs. Hunt to come with us. ”

“How? When I asked, she refused to help me.”

“I suggested that Mrs. Hunt amend her story slightly—to say the reason she gave in to the blackmailer is that he threatened to inform her betrothed about an ‘affair’ she’d had with him. A complete lie, but one which was believable and not a criminal offense.”

Athena took that in with a nod. “Quick thinking, Mr. Vernon.”

“It did the trick. She returned with us to Darkmoor Bridge and told Sinclair her story on the way. When we disembarked from the train, I noticed Mr. Chapman on the platform, apparently waiting to board—to place himself away from the scene of his crimes, I believe, and in view of witnesses. He was talking to a porter. Mrs. Hunt overheard him and shrieked, ‘ I know that voice! It’s him! The blackmailer! He was masked and had blond hair, but that’s definitely him! ’”

Athena gasped. “Did he try to run?”

“Yes. Sinclair and I managed to grab Chapman and with brute force we shoved him into a waiting cab. That was when we noticed a plume of smoke in the sky in the direction of Darkmoor Park. I feared the worst. A man came racing up the street, shouting for someone to ring the church bell and summon the fire brigade—and we made a mad dash over there.”

“What happened to the dower house?” Athena asked. “Did the fire brigade come?”

“Yes, but I’m afraid it was too late.” His lips thinned. “When I saw the building early this morning, it was a smoldering ruin.”

Athena pressed her hand to her throat. “Oh, no.”

“I am so sorry for Mrs. Hillman—to lose that house,” Selena said sadly.

“So am I.” Athena’s eyes watered. “And I know how hard you worked, Mr. Vernon, to renovate the place.”

“Don’t worry about me or Mrs. Hillman,” Mr. Vernon insisted. “We can always rebuild the dower house. We are both grateful that you ladies are safe.”

“Tell me about Mr. Chapman. Selena said he’s been arrested?”

“Yes.” Mr. Vernon leaned forward in his seat and clasped his hands.

“When we confronted him with everything Miss Selena told us and Mrs. Hunt’s new testimony, he finally broke down and confessed to his part in the murder of Harold Sinclair, and to killing Sally Osborn.

Neville Sinclair delivered Chapman to York Prison this morning, where he will stand trial.

As the new magistrate, Sinclair dropped all charges against my sister and insisted that she be released at once. ”

Athena’s heart felt lighter than it had for months. “Oh, Miss Vernon, this verdict is nine years overdue, but I’m so relieved and happy for you!”

“Thank you.” Miss Vernon’s mouth curved into a smile. “Relief and happiness barely scratch the surface of what I feel right now. To walk out of that prison, a free woman at last—there are no words to describe it.”

“Agreed,” Mr. Vernon put in. “However, ladies,” he added, directing an admonishing look at Athena and Selena, “I cannot help but point out that your scheme was totally mad. You do realize that you both could have been killed—and very nearly were?”

“I knew that it was risky,” Athena admitted. “But I told myself we’d be fine. We thought we had two men working on our side, after all.”

“I wasn’t even thinking of risk when I wrote to you,” Selena told Mr. Vernon. “I just wanted you to know how hard Athena was working to find the truth.”

“Mr. Vernon, if you hadn’t convinced Mrs. Hunt to retract her testimony, Mr. Chapman might still be free,” Athena noted. “How can we ever thank you?”

“That’s the wrong question,” Mr. Vernon replied.

Miss Vernon nodded. “It is we who owe deep thanks to both of you. Miss Taylor, if you hadn’t forced me out into the open, I might have spent the rest of my life hidden away—and I must admit I couldn’t stand the isolation anymore.”

“If you hadn’t written to me, Miss Selena, we wouldn’t be sitting here right now,” Mr. Vernon pointed out. “And, Miss Taylor, if not for your discovery of Mrs. Hunt, Chapman might never have confessed. For that, my sister and I are grateful beyond expression. And I owe you an apology.”

“An apology?” Athena glanced at him, surprised. “What for?”

“Every time you came to me with your theories, I shot them down.”

“I understand why. I was wrong about so many things.”

“Yet you were right about many others, and about what mattered most: that the deaths of Sally Osborn and Harold Sinclair were connected. You have excellent instincts, Miss Taylor. I should have listened. Can you ever forgive me?”

“Of course I can, and I do.”

His eyes gleamed with a look that set Athena’s heart singing, a look that seemed to convey gratitude and something else—was it affection?

A shiver of happiness ran up her spine. She had done it—albeit with help—but due to her efforts, a great mystery had been solved, a good woman had been set free, and the villain behind it all had been incarcerated.

Any lingering doubts she may have had about being less capable than her older sister were put to bed at last.

All too soon, it was time for Mr. and Miss Vernon to go. The young lady extended an invitation from Mrs. Hillman to join them for dinner at Darkmoor Park later that week, which Athena and Selena accepted with enthusiasm.

At the door, Mr. Vernon asked if he might call on Athena the following day—to “reassure himself that she was indeed recovering,” he said. She happily agreed and counted the minutes until she would see him again.

*

“When I think what that villain tried to do to you, it makes my blood run cold,” Mr. Vernon said as he and Athena strolled together the following morning on the Thorndale Manor grounds.

Orange, red, and yellow leaves flung themselves from the ancient oaks onto the dancing breeze before fluttering to the autumnal carpet below.

Athena’s leg and other wounds still hurt, and she limped a little, but it was good to be outside.

The air was so cool and crisp that she could feel the roses blooming in her cheeks.

“Mine, too. But what he did to your sister is so much worse. All those years that she had to remain in hiding. It is too awful to contemplate.”

“Caroline made the best of it. She came up with a vocation that kept her mind and heart occupied.”

“She did, indeed.” In all the excitement, Athena had given little thought to Miss Vernon’s authorship.

“To know that she is the author of so many of my favorite novels! I am so impressed. I can hardly wait to quiz her at dinner tomorrow night, to learn what plot developments she has in store for Lydia and John Brandon.”

Mr. Vernon grinned. “Good luck getting that out of her. Caroline never discusses her work with me and has never let me read a manuscript until it’s finished.”

“Selena and I will try to wrangle it out of her.” They laughed, which made Athena cough. His brows drew together, but she waved away his concern, insisting, “I’m fine, I’m fine. Or I will be soon.”

“I hope so.” His eyes still looked troubled, but he gave her a slight nod as they strolled on. “I’ve been meaning to tell you. Remember that manuscript page you found here in the attic?”

“Of course.”

“Caroline noticed it missing, not long after I relocated her to the attic at Darkmoor Park. I came back looking for it the night after you moved in but couldn’t find it. I was on my way down the servants’ stairs when I heard you and your sister in the hall, and I froze, worried that you’d find me.”

Athena touched her cheek with her hand. “We did sense something strange that night. We thought it was a ghost!”

“I must have waited in that stairwell for an hour, hoping you had both gone to bed, before I fled the house.”

“Was that the only time you snuck in?”

“It was. I didn’t dare return.”

“Well, you’re welcome to return any time you wish,” Athena told him. “I hope by the front door.” They laughed again. She coughed again. “Where will your sister live now?” she asked.

“Mrs. Hillman insists that Caroline reside at Darkmoor Park, and she has happily accepted. At least for now.”

“‘For now’?”

Mr. Vernon turned to gaze at Athena as they walked along. “Edward Ackroyd came to see Caroline last night.”

Athena drew in an anxious breath. “Oh? That man hates me.”

“He does not. In fact, it is quite the reverse. He shares my sense of gratitude for all that you and your sister did to secure Caroline’s release. He plans to call on you and Miss Selena and say as much.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Ackroyd still loves my sister, even after all these years. It was apparent that Caroline has never gotten over her attachment to him, either. He asked for permission to court her. Of course I said yes .”

Athena smiled. “I can think of no better outcome.” Something occurred to her, but she hesitated.

It was a subject she had never discussed with Mr. Vernon.

“Mrs. Lloyd told me about your sister’s relationship with Mr. Ackroyd,” she said quietly.

“I was wondering… but perhaps it is inappropriate to speak of it?”

“Miss Taylor, I have lived with the secret about my sister’s life for so long, it is a relief to finally be able to discuss it. Caroline gave me leave to tell you and your sister anything you wish to know—with the request that you remain discreet.”

“Of course.”

“I think I can guess the question that’s on your mind. You know Caroline had a child by Mr. Ackroyd. But are you aware of the identity of that child?”

“Mrs. Lloyd just said it was a girl who had been adopted by a good family.”

“The girl doesn’t know who her real mother is, and neither do her parents.” Mr. Vernon gave her a lopsided grin. “But you and Miss Selena are both closely acquainted with the child.”

“Are we?” Athena hadn’t expected that. “Who is it?”

“Miss Lucy Russell.”

Athena was so startled, she gasped. “Miss Russell! Oh—that explains so much. Miss Russell looks nothing like her parents. She is so clever. She has a talent for storytelling. And she spoke of nocturnal visits, when she was very little, from a woman in white—a ghost, she had presumed.”

“That was my sister. Despite my warnings, Caroline crept out at times to see her little girl. She was thrilled when the Russells enrolled Lucy in your school. It felt to her as if Thorndale Manor was calling her daughter back home, where she belonged.”

“What a lovely thought.”

He stopped and turned to her. “Speaking of which. I hope you know how delighted I am that you are the owner of Thorndale Manor.”

“Have you forgiven me, then, for stealing it away from you?”

“You have stolen nothing, my dearest Athena. Except my heart.”

It was the first time he had uttered her given name. Athena’s own heart jumped with hope and wonder at the tender look on his face. “Have I?”

“How could you doubt it?” He closed the gap between them.

“All these years, I have remained alone, the keeper of secrets, looking for a woman whom I could love and trust completely. I had despaired of ever finding her. And then I met you. For weeks, I have been wanting to tell you how I feel—that from almost the first moment we met, even if I was too proud to show it, I have felt a connection to you, as though our minds and hearts are a perfect match. I have been dreaming of a life with you at my side. You made your feelings clear on the idea of marriage, but—” He swallowed hard, and in a hushed tone, continued.

“Would you reconsider your position if I promise you that you’ll retain all the freedoms that are so important to you? ”

“That depends on what you mean by ‘freedoms,’” Athena answered breathlessly.

He cupped her cheek in his hand. “I mean the freedom—if we were to become husband and wife—to voice your every wish and opinion and to know that I will honor and respect your choices, even if I disagree. The freedom to make decisions where our children are concerned, which I believe is every mother’s right.

The freedom to work if you wish to, in the profession that gives you joy.

It is my hope that we will be a unified force, in agreement on the most important things, but when that varies, you needn’t feel beholden to what I think.

I respect you and your brilliant mind. I love you, Athena. ”

Athena’s chest swelled with happiness. “And I love and respect you, Ian. With all my heart.” How wonderful it was to finally express the feelings she had been harboring for this man. “You are so very dear to me.”

He knelt down on the leaf-strewn path and took her hands in his. “Will you marry me, my darling?”

“I will!”

He rose again, bringing Athena with him.

Wrapping their arms around each other, their lips met in a wondrous kiss, a kiss filled with emotion.

Athena knew that she had met her perfect other half.

And with this man, she realized all at once, Thorndale Manor, the house that she had come to love so much, would feel even more like home.