Prologue

  With a swing of the wooden stick in his hand, Stewart hit his father in the head.

  The night’s darkness had taken over the entire town. The only sound that could be heard in the Mainwood mansion’s gardens was the crickets and a woman’s wail. Stewart held the wooden stick tighter and swung it again, striking his father to ensure he would fall unconscious. Robert’s body collapsed to the side, revealing a tiny figure beneath him.

  It was Lily, the maid, shaking visibly while wailing to save herself. Stewart couldn’t believe his own eyes. Lily was quivering on the floor, unable to comprehend what Robert had done to her. Half of Robert’s body was still on hers. When there was no movement from him, Lily opened her eyes, wondering what had stopped him. With shaky hands, she rolled Robert’s body off herself.

  Stewart’s figure appeared in her blurry sight. She lifted herself to her elbows while she was still on the ground. Her eyes sought Robert. He was lying on his side with his trousers down on his knees. Was he dead? Did the man with the stick murder him?

  Stewart looked at his own hands, barely digesting what he had just done. He had beaten his father with a thick wooden stick, not once, but twice, only to save Lily, the maid. Stewart looked at Robert’s tranquil body on the ground. It was the first time Robert had been that calm. Stewart finally dropped the stick, realizing that he had just killed his father.

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  When Robert made his way to the garden, Stewart started following him. He knew Robert was up to something ill, but Stewart shouldn’t have interfered. Now he was left with his father’s dead body at the earl’s mansion.

  Suddenly Lily became self-aware that her body was exposed. Stewart turned around to give her some privacy. What else was he supposed to do? After wiping her face, she fixed her clothes and rubbed her eyes to see the man clearer. It was Stewart, the eldest son of the Capells.

  Stewart turned around after a few seconds and stepped toward her, moving his hand in front of her. That was the least he could do to that poor girl; to lift her from the mud and help her escape.

  “Get up,” he said softly, knowing a loud voice would traumatize her even more. Lily hesitated to take his hand. “You must get up this instant, or we will get caught,” he reminded her. She took his hand without thinking. He lifted her with a heavy pull and then released her hand.

  Lily tried to dust off the dirt from her clothes, but it was impossible to remove the mud. She had to clean herself and bathe. Her legs hurt, and it made her limp. Robert as the heir of the earldom was dead. Lily had to escape. She took slow steps but then she remembered that if they caught her, they could hang her. So the survival instinct rose within her, and she started speeding up with a body in agonizing pain and shock.

  Stewart looked at his father on the ground. He was lying lifeless on one side with his private part exposed. Had Stewart really killed his own father? What was he supposed to do now?