Page 105 of A Devious Secret

“What do you think they wanted our route for?” Stephen demanded.

Benjamin lowered his gaze to the ground. “I never asked.”

Stephen’s finger twitched on the trigger. It would be so easy to kill Benjamin. It was because of him that so many of his crew were dead.

Haddington’s calm voice broke through his musings. “I know what you are thinking. But killing him will solve nothing.”

“He must pay for what he has done,” Stephen said.

“And he will,” Haddington responded. “But it must not be by your hand.”

Stephen pursed his lips together as he stared at Benjamin. His shoulders were hunched and he looked defeated. There would be no victory in shooting this man. Haddington was right, as much as it pained him to admit it.

Stephen lowered the pistol to his side. “I want him to suffer for what he has done.”

“You can be assured of that,” Haddington said.

Before anyone could react, Benjamin shoved the dagger into his own stomach and twisted it. He staggered back until he fell to the ground.

Stephen rushed over to Benjamin and crouched down next to him. “What in the blazes have you done?”

Benjamin’s face grew pale as he laid his head onto the ground. “I couldn’t go to Newgate. I know what they do to people like me.”

“You don’t know that for sure,” Stephen attempted.

Benjamin’s hand pulled out the bloody dagger and said, “My family will be better off without me.”

“I will see to them,” Stephen said.

Benjamin looked at him in disbelief. “You would do that, even after everything I’ve done?”

“Your family members are innocents in all of this,” Stephen replied.

“Thank you,” Benjamin said softly. “I can now die in peace.”

Stephen watched as Benjamin’s eyes closed and he took his last breath. How had it come to this?

Hawthorne placed a hand on Stephen’s shoulder. “It would be best if we departed now to seek out the magistrate.”

Stephen rose slowly, his eyes remaining fixed on Benjamin’s body.

“It is better for him that he died this way then being hanged in the square,” Hawthorne said.

“You are right, of course,” Stephen murmured.

Hawthorne gestured towards the end of the alleyway. “Come on,” he encouraged. “Nothing good will come from loitering around his body.”

As Stephen followed Hawthorne and Haddington out of the alleyway, he didn’t know quite what to feel. He felt relief at knowing the truth, but he also felt some blame for Benjamin’s death.

Gemma closed the door to her bedchamber and headed towards the drawing room on the main level. The dinner bell hadn’t chimed yet, but she intended to take advantage of the time and work on her embroidery. She had just turned the corner when she saw Nathanial approaching from the opposite direction with a frown marring his features.

Nathanial came to a stop in front of her and the frown disappeared. “Good evening, Cousin,” he greeted.

“Good evening,” she said. “Is everything all right?”

A lazy smile came to Nathaniel’s lips. “Everything is just as it should be.”

Knowing that her cousin was just trying to appease her, Gemma decided to prod a little and hoped he would confide in her. “How did your meeting in the rookeries go?”