Three years ago...

Ralph did manage to escape Levi and Victoria, but he realized he had lost the lady in blue.

He went on to spend a chat with Samuel who complained about the many changes the Town Herald was planning to do in the next years to come.

Not quite listening attentively, Ralph kept searching for the woman until he found her, once more surrounded by his family. He kept his curiosity to himself as Samuel kept talking.

And after a while, his patience was rewarded. Emma tried to invite Lady in Blue to dance the quadrille but Ralph saw her shake her head. His sister walked away with her partner, their brother-in-law, Cole as Margaret was not around.

He waited until the others surrounding Lady in Blue disappeared, scattered around the ballroom as the quadrille began.

"Please do excuse me, my friend," he said to Samuel, stopping his friend's speech.

"What? Why?" Samuel asked, confused.

Eyes still on Lady in Blue, Ralph smiled. "I have a dance to collect."

*****

He ought not to have brought the man in.

It was the right thing to do, his mind contradicted. If he did not take the prisoner in, any statement he would have said would not have been permissible in the Men of Courts.

If only there were no threats to the man's life, he would have had his day in court.

But apparently, someone wanted the prisoner dead. And someone did it for him.

Ralph knew that if he had to do something, he would have to learn not to trust any of his colleagues in Wickhurst at the moment. He wanted to bash Peters in the head, accuse him of being one of Osegod's paid men, but it would merely make things more difficult for him.

This was a game of chess as Maxwell had once said to him. Osegod was not the kind of man who would fight his battle head-on. He was the kind of man who did things stealthily without leaving a trace that would lead directly to him.

If they wanted Osegod caught, if they wanted to find Sophia and Aurora's child, they must play Osegod's game. They must learn to ignore some things. They must pretend to be total fools even though they were certain Osegod did not believe it as well. It was a bluffing game that they must play without being face to face with their enemy.

Ralph left their headquarters without saying a word that would have made Peters suspect. If the man did what he did under Osegod's orders, the worst thing Ralph could do was to accuse the man.

He did not even return to the Men of Courts. Cole would learn of what happened sooner or later.

Instead, Ralph rode the horse back to Beechworth. He needed to think what his next course of action must be.

*****

Alex was already waiting for Ralph in the middle of the hallway. The footman stood cowering in one corner, afraid to look directly at her but also hesitant to leave her alone. The butler, on the other hand, stood as if his master had done naught but the most honorable thing.

She stopped pacing, stood in the center of the hallway, glaring at the front doors. Her arms folded over her chest, Alex veered her murderous gaze at the footman who happened to have made the mistake of stealing a glance at her. "What ye lookin' at?" she snapped.

She had been away from Meriwether for too long and she had a lot of worries in her mind. Her father would surely murder her when she returned. Her cousins could be out there looking for her now to return her to her father to be murdered. And now her horse was stolen by the very person whom she ought not to have ever met!

The sound of Siege's hooves outside made Alex stiffen. She prepared herself and waited until the butler stiffly went to the doors to pull it open.

Slowly, the lights from outside burst into the dim hallway and Ralph entered, striding straight to her direction. But he must not have realized she was standing there until he was standing too close. He was obviously startled when he almost crashed into her but Alex held her ground and watched as he stumbled back, brows furrowed.

"What the bloody hell—"

"Oi, ye," Alex coldly uttered, stepping in front of Ralph, blocking his path when he began to walk away.

"What?" he snapped, eyes flickering with impatience. "I do not have the time at the moment, bandit. I have too much on my—"

Alex held out her hand, causing Ralph to stop. "What is it now?"

Arching her brow, she held her hand higher, palm out. "Ye have to pay, guv."

His frown deepened. "Pay?"

"Ye took me horse, guv. That's thievery, but—" she said, holding up her hand to stop him when he opened his mouth, "for one thief te another, we'll just consider it a rent, guv."

"You are calling me a thief? And what rent?" he asked incredulously.

Alex nodded. "Aye, a thief. And a liar. Ye said yer keeping Siege in the other side of yer estate. And aye, a rent, guv. Ye took me horse, ye pay for it."

"I took your horse to make certain you do not go away—"

"Oi!" Alex said, stomping her foot on the floor. "Don't change the topic, guv. Pay yer rent!"

When he opened his mouth to object, Alex merely held her hand higher. "You cannot possibly—" Alex held her hand higher, tilting her head to the right with a sigh, mocking impatience. "You could not force me—" Alex held her hand higher, rolling her eyes.

He glared at her and she glared back.

"I do have 'til the next fortnight to stand 'ere, guv. Do ye?" she taunted, holding up her hand.

Ralph's jaw tightened as his eyes bore into hers. For a moment she felt her resolve waver as she got lost in the emerald green depths of his angry globes, but she kept herself together. What happened three years ago was but a dream, she reminded herself.

Finally, Ralph sighed and his hand moved to search the inside pocket of his coat. He revealed a few notes and Alex's eyes lit up at the sight of them. She looked up to find Ralph carefully studying her as he flipped through his notes. He handed out two-hundred townsends.

She grabbed it with a satisfied smile.

"My change?" he asked.

"Sorry, guv, Siege is too valuable a horse to be paid somethin' lower than two-hundred." She carefully folded her notes and pushed them deep inside the pocket of her breeches.

Ralph studied her as she did so and shook his head. He started to walk away.

"How was the prisoner?" she asked, following his steps.

"Dead."

Alex skidded to a stop, horrified and surprised. "What the bleedin' hell d'ye mean dead?"

"He was killed from inside the prison."

She chased him up the grand staircase. "Now, see 'ere, guv. Ye must realize now I'm not the bad guy, aye? Yer bleedin' fellows are!"

He made no comment. Alex continued to follow him.

"Can ye allow me to escape now, please?" she mockingly asked.

"You cannot go anywhere, bandit," he said wryly.

"Until when will I stay, guv? Me 'Pa must be lookin' for me everywhere."

"Send him a note. It is not safe for you to travel back home. They are watching us."

The fear came back. That gnawing feeling at the pit of her stomach returned to remind her of why she had decided to stay here.

"Who?"

Ralph stopped and turned around to look down at her when he reached the top landing. "The enemies." Without further elaboration, he turned and added, "Now, do behave and enjoy your income."

*****

Ralph watched Samuel watching him with nonchalance.

He held on for as long as he could, his eyes unwavering.

Finally Samuel sighed. "What?"

He raised his brows. "You truly do not know?"

Samuel wryly asked, "What?"

Ralph reached out for the copy of the Herald sitting on his friend's desk and began to read.

Perhaps I am wrong, but I could not help but think that the recent death of the prisoner in the hands of one of the Guards may be a part of a bigger story brewing underneath us. It was gathered that the said prisoner was taken in as not merely a suspect for attempted murder, but also as a witness to a crime that could potentially ruin someone amongst the Leaders.

Could we surmise then that the prisoner was taken down to silence him?

Is this how we live our lives now? We take in prisoners who had not yet stood a day in court and extract justice that had not yet even been justified? Are we all too righteous to be living with the comforting thought that the bad men are where they rightfully are without hearing their story? Are we too impervious, sparing not a thought of the possibility that we trust something—someone—as vile as the ones we wish to put to justice?

Do we not deserve to question the good presented to us simply because we are not a part of what they consider evil?

When have we started staring and stopped seeing?

When Ralph stopped, he looked up from the paper to give his friend a look of warning. Samuel was wearing a proud, satisfied smirk on his face.

Shaking his head, Ralph uttered, "You ought to stop this, Samuel, before you get hurt."

"The townspeople ought to face reality, Ralph. They all are aware of it, but they are afraid to confront it. Anyone of them—of us—could be that prisoner."

"You very well know what Osegod is capable of. What he did to Maxine—"

Anger sparked in his friend's eyes. "Do you not know I am aware of it? I feel the threat every time I witness my sister limping because of the accident that bastard caused. And the worst of all, I could not see him suffer for it because we have no way of proving he was behind it!"

Ralph gave his friend a leveled look. "All I am saying, Samuel, is that you place your trust on the men who tirelessly work to bring Osegod down."

"Believe me, Ralph, I do trust you. I do trust your sister. But I cannot trust anyone else." Samuel shook his head. "We fight in whatever way we know how. Mine is through that," his friend added, pointing at the paper in his hand.

The door to Samuel's office opened and Wynne came striding in wearing spectacles, his arms loaded with books. He stopped midway when he noticed Ralph's presence.

With one last shake of his head, Ralph stood up. "Do keep an eye on this man, Wynne," he said to the man, "before you find yourself writing a eulogy for him."

*****

Alex frowned at the copy of The Town Herald in her hands.

The prisoner was deliberately killed for something he knew, something bigger.

Could it be that the enemy Ralph was talking about was amongst the Town Leaders?

Yet before Alex could answer her own questions, she heard footsteps behind her. She had just had her luncheon alone in the dining room as it was ordered by his lordship that his guest enjoy her meal in much more comfortable setting.

She looked behind her and found Ralph walking to the head of the dining table where he took a chair and sat down.

"Yer eatin' here?" she asked. "I thought ye went to Wickhurst, guv?"

He did not reply, simply stared at her. "I am going away for quite some time and while I am, I hope that you cooperate."

"Cooperate?"

"Do not venture away from Beechworth."

"I don't even know why I'm here, guv, when I can be elsewhere. I can't go home 'coz of the men who could be after me, aye?" When he nodded, she continued, "And I'm no prisoner here as well, aye?" He nodded again. "I can go away anytime I wanna, aye?"

Ralph sighed. "Aye," he said, copying her speech with slight mocking. "But I do hope you will be sensible enough to stay here. And I do not recommend you go searching for my sisters."

"'Cors not, guv," she said with a shrug. "We dinna want yer sisters gettin' into the same trouble." When he simply nodded, Alex shifted in her chair. For a moment she considered asking about the enemy he mentioned yesterday, but she had an inkling it was not the time to ask. "When are ye comin' back, guv?"

"I cannot say."

"And where are ye comin' back from?"

He frowned. "Why do you ask?"

"I'mma tell me masters where ye comin' to so we can kill ye," she snapped. When he seemed to not appreciate her humor, she rolled her eyes. "What if somethin' happens? I dinna know where te find ye then, guv."

He sighed. "The Dark Forest."

She scowled. "Why the bleedin' hell would ye go there?"

"To investigate. Your Forest Lady must have escaped from somewhere close."

Alex shook her head. "Ye will not survive the Dark Forest, guv, 'tleast not alone."

He scoffed. "Then who can, eh?" he asked.

Alex matched his scoff. "A bandit, who else!"