Mysterious Seduction

XXXI. A Homecoming

If Ellie were to think as the woman before she met Byron, she would demand to her present self to stop.

But she was no longer that woman, she thought as she drove her car, following close behind the man who was responsible for all this.

Byron may never forgive her for what she did, but she should at least try that he would be saved.

-Above and Below

*****

The only consolation Wynne had was the fact that the patriarch of the Trilbys was not there.

But that did not mean he would not get the same treatment bestowed upon Edmund.

The very moment Durley and the Guards dropped him off Noah's estate, Wynne prepared himself for a long, arduous afternoon.

He was immediately bound and taken to the part of the estate that was rarely graced by the masters or the servants. It was reserved for occasions such as the one he was currently enjoying.

Iron clasps held his hands high as he stood on this toes, shirtless and bleeding.

Blood dripped on his back where he received Noah's infamous lashings. He could taste it as well in his mouth.

This might last days, he thought, intent on conserving his energy.

Edmund took three days to confess.

Wynne wondered how long it would take him.

From the corner of his good eye, he saw Ezra standing beside Amelia, his young uncle looking quite uncomfortable and helpless all the same.

The position he was in now was not where Ezra would want to be in so it was only understandable that the man did nothing for what could Ezra do, really?

"What did you tell the Everards, Peter?" Noah asked, walking around Wynne, voice deadpan and whip at the ready.

Wynne remained silent. He had answered the question countless of times. He never said anything to the Everards and it was true.

"I hardly believe you, Peter," Amelia said from where she was standing.

"Your dear Durley was not tardy, Aunt Amelia," Wynne managed, spitting out blood. "I barely had time to shake hands with the Everards—AH!" He shouted in pain as Noah's whip slashed his back with the whip once again.

Every nerve in his body came alive; the wounds that had gone numb seemed to suddenly be in flames. Wynne shivered. He could no longer feel his hands. His legs were barely keeping him up. Soon, he would merely be hanging limp.

Noah grabbed Wynne by the hair, swinging him forward. "Then do tell us why you saved Samuel Theobald," Noah icily asked, breathing into Wynne's bloodied face.

Wynne weakly chuckled, enraging his uncle. Noah pushed him away and just as he swung his hand back to strike Wynne with his whip, Wynne murmured, "You're all fools..."

"What?" Noah asked, dark eyes alight with renewed fury.

"Fools..." he repeated, lifting his head to look his uncle in the eye, "Killing Samuel will be as much as confessing to everything he accused you of."

"Samuel Theobald had offended many individuals in the past. Any of them can be his murderer," Amelia said.

"And do you think Samuel Theobald would not leave anything should he be killed?" Wynne asked, turning his head to his aunt. "He is prepared, dead or alive. Trust me, I have been his friend. I know how his mind works."