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“Yes,” Thomas admitted. “She did.”

“And?”

“And… I think it will be possible. I think the two of us will be able to pick up where we left off, to enjoy the courtship weshouldhave had, if none of this had ever happened.”

Duncan smiled broadly. “I so hoped that would be her decision!” he said. “I would have tried to convince her, if she hadn’t reached that conclusion on her own. She is much happier with you than she is without you. That much is clear.”

“I’m very happy to have you on my side,” Thomas said. “Without your support, I don’t know if I would ever have made it back to her.”

“I’ll always be in support of you, Thomas,” Duncan said. “I’ve told you that. You’re my best friend in the world. And really, now that the truth about Henry has been revealed, you’re my only friend.”

Thomas nodded. He had been grappling with the same feelings. The three of them had been so close for so long, and now that was over.

“There,” Duncan said, pointing to the horizon. “We’re here. Harlston Manor.”

Sure enough, the Manor loomed large on the horizon. In the past, Harlston had been a place of enjoyment, a place where they had gathered to have fun. It had always been the best place for parties and celebrations since Thomas’ home was so much smaller and Duncan’s mother lived with him. How many times had they had fun together here?

Today would mark the end of that part of their lives, and the beginning of something else altogether.

“Do you think he’s really here?” Duncan asked.

“I think there’s a very good chance of it,” Thomas said. “He’s been dangerously overconfident about everything. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he simply came back here, thinking that there was no way you and I would dare to come after him, or that if we did, we wouldn’t make it inside.”

“But we won’t make it inside, will we?” Duncan asked. “Not if the servants have been instructed to keep us out.”

“We might,” Thomas said. “I do have one idea.”

He dismounted his horse and tied the reins to the trunk of a tree. They were still a fair distance from the Manor. “We should approach on foot,” he said. “We don’t want to be seen.”

Duncan nodded and dismounted his own horse. “You have a plan, then?”

“The ballroom doors,” Thomas said. “The ones that open out onto the garden. That lock has always been loose, and unless Henry has gone to the trouble to have it repaired, I think we might be able to get inside that way.”

Duncan’s jaw dropped. “That’s perfect. I never would have thought of that.”

“He should have realized, when he made enemies of his closest friends, that we knew all his secrets,” Thomas said. “He should have realized that we would be the most difficult people in the world for him to run away from.”

Duncan chuckled. “I suppose you’re right about that,” he said. “There was never any real possibility of him eluding us for long, was there?”

“I don’t think so,” Thomas said.

The two of them made their way across the grounds and into the garden. They crept up to the ballroom door, and Thomas peered inside.

“The room is empty,” he said. “Let’s go.”

He pushed the door open and slipped inside.

Chapter 39

They moved quietly through the house, not speaking, doing their best not to disturb the silence or to alert anyone to their presence.

Thomas held up his hand, forming his thumb and finger into the shape of a pistol. He raised his eyebrows inquiringly at Duncan.

Duncan nodded and patted the pocket of his coat to indicate that the pistol he had been carrying was still there, ready to be called into service. He looked hesitant, though, and Thomas didn’t blame him. Would they really use the weapon against their friend? Handing Henry over to the constables was one thing, butshootinghim?

We won’t. We’ll threaten him with the pistol, but we won’t actually use it on him.

But would Henry know that? He would know, surely, that it would be too difficult for Thomas or Duncan to pull that trigger, and that he was in no danger at all from them. What if he just ran away again?