A Woman of Honour

Chapter 27

'Helen,' Ralph said when he reached her, 'my darling, Helen.' He took her in his arms and held her tightly against him.

'Ralph,' she said, as her arms twisted around his neck.

Their lips met in a brief kiss. He had been watching the scene in the courtyard unfold and had been powerless to do anything about it. He had been full of admiration for her spirit when he had seen her level the pistol at Hepworth. However, when Haverstock had arrived, and she had been threatened by Hepworth, he had felt like his world was about to end.

'I thought he was going to kill you,' Ralph said, still holding her tightly. He did not want to let her go just in case he lost her again.

She looked up at him and smiled. 'I'm very much alive,' she said, looking into his eyes. 'Thanks to Rachel.'

Ralph let go of Helen and turned around. He saw Rachel a few yards away, still holding the pistol by her side. She was staring at Hepworth with a look of contempt burning brightly in her dark brown eyes.

'Damn it,' Haverstock said. He was still standing over Hepworth's lifeless body. 'I wanted him alive.'

Ralph took Helen's hand and walked over to Haverstock, who was crouching over Hepworth. He had closed his open eyes with his hand so that they no longer stared blankly at them. 'I suppose, at the very least, we've taken another one down,' he said as he stood up and looked around.

Helen was still standing next to Ralph, and he could sense her shivering with cold. She was wearing Rachel's jacket, but the dress underneath was tattered and dirty. It now only came to her knees, and he could see where it had been ripped. He also noticed that her legs had been splattered from the mud on the stable courtyard floor.

Ralph began to shrug off the jacket he had been wearing, but before he could take it off, Haverstock had pre-empted him. In an uncharacteristic act of chivalry on Haverstock's part, he had taken off his greatcoat and had given it to Helen.

'Thank you, Helena,' he said, showing his usual lack of emotion. 'Without your help, I would never have been able to identify Hepworth as Le Renard.'

Ralph looked over at Haverstock. He was bristling with anger. As far as he was concerned, Helen's life should never have been put into danger. 

'You are going to release her from that promise,' Ralph said to Haverstock stiffly. 'She has kept her end of the bargain and has helped you identify Le Renard.'

Haverstock nodded. 'I am a man of my word,' he said, staring at Ralph coldly. 'She will become the sole guardian of her son when Brentford dies.

'You better stick to your word,' Ralph said through gritted teeth. 

As they were talking, Alex, Deveraux and Rachel had now joined them, and they were now standing in a group looking down at the body. 'It's a shame he's dead,' Alex said his face bloodied and bruised from the fighting. 'I would have liked to interrogate him.'

'You wouldn't have got much out of him,' Haverstock replied. 'Men like him maybe evil bastards, but they're always loyal to their cause. Even if that loyalty is misplaced.'

'We did get these,' Rachel said as she handed over her notebook to Haverstock. 'It's a list of names I copied from a document we found in the safe. I don't know how useful they are to you.'

Haverstock took the notebook from Rachel and scanned down the list of names. A smile slowly played on his lips. 'Tonight hasn't been a complete waste of time after all,' he said as he continued to look down the list. 'I've been waiting for this list for some time,' he said, putting the notebook in his jacket pocket.