Chapter 211 - Tell Us Who Did It

William stood before his tall, scarred, and terrifying master. Vincent's anger had made his marks turn dark red and his green eyes were nearly black as he looked down at the boy who could've caused his death. The servant boy was shaking like he was freezing but it wasn't from the cold. It was from fear.

"Tell us, William," Delaney looked at him with a desperate gaze, "Why didn't you tell me about the poison that day? Who gave it to you?"

Will looked between the Duke and Duchess with an expression of agony. At last, he dropped to the floor in front of them.

"I-I-I didn't want y-you t-t-to th-th-throw me away," he spoke with a broken voice, "N-No one has ever c-c-cared about m-me before. N-Not even m-my m-mother. Sh-She th-threw me away... I-I just didn't w-want to be th-thrown away again..."

Listening to the child's reasoning, Delaney felt her heart break for him. He dropped his face into his little hands and sobs wracked his body. She looked up at her husband and saw him staring at the boy with cold eyes as he breathed deeply in and out. Delaney was worried. She knew her husband had promised mercy but that was before he knew the extent of the boy's transgressions.

When Vincent suddenly made a swift move towards the child Delaney closed her eyes and turned away. She couldn't bear to see whatever was going to happen. Whatever the punishment was that Vincent chose would hurt her to watch. She could only hope he would be quick.

Delaney sat with her whole body tense, waiting to hear a sound like a slap or something equally terrible. Moments ticked by and no sound came. She turned her head back in confusion and what she saw before her caused her heart to melt.

Vincent sat on the floor with William in his arms held against his strong chest. This tall, mighty, man dwarfed the child making him look even smaller than he really was. As William wept and tried to stammer out words, Vincent held him tight and whispered assurances that he was alright.

"I'm here," he whispered to the boy, "You're alright now. Whoever it is that gave you that poison... I won't let them hurt you. I promise. We'll both be safe now, you and I."

William looked up at the Duke with eyes full of surprise before throwing his arms around the man's neck, hugging him tightly. Vincent was startled at first and stiffened at the affection but after a moment, relaxed into it and hugged the boy as well.

Delaney covered her mouth as tears stung her eyes and her heart filled with love for this man until it felt as if it might burst. When she glanced up at Ms. Bird she saw the maid too had happy tears streaming down her face.

Standing, Delaney pulled her robe around her again before going to Vincent and dropping down onto the floor next to her husband. Seeing her there, William let go of the Duke so he could throw his arms around the Duchess, hugging her too.

"I-I-I'm s-so s-s-sorry," he sobbed against her neck and Delaney hugged him back, brushing her hands through his hair to brush it back from his face.

"I'm sorry you've been so scared," she whispered back, "You could have told me about the poison Will. I know you were scared but I promise darling that from now on, you can always tell Lord Adair and I anything. Anything at all. We adore you and care about you. I promise you we're never going to throw you away."

-

Delaney and Vincent held William until he had calmed down and finished his crying. When he was finally under control again, he was nearly falling asleep. He was exhausted from all the stress and fear. He closed his eyes and rested his head on Delaney's shoulder and within a few moments, he was fast asleep.

Vincent smiled fondly at the boy and scooped him up into his arms. Will was so young and thin that he hardly weighed anything. Delaney could see he was starting to gain some weight but he had lived his whole life in a state of near-starvation so it was a slow process to recover from that.

Ms. Bird had gone to get them some tea so Vincent stood and carried the boy from their bedroom. Delaney followed her strong, wonderful husband as he walked down the hall, his limp evident again, and to the servants' stairs that were in a corner hidden behind a tapestry. She held it back for him and he walked through and headed up the twisting stairs.

Following him closely, Delaney was reminded of when they were very young, playing hide-and-seek around the castle-like manor. Running up and down these twisting stairs to keep out of sight from one another had been one of her favorite things. It was strange now that she should be climbing them as an adult, married to the Duke of Edgewood, as he carried a poor servant boy up to his bed.

Delaney was relieved that Vincent hadn't punished William and very soon now they would know who was behind the murdering of the heirs. Whoever had given William the poison to kill Vincent had to be behind the deaths of the others. The majority of them had been poisoned. All they would have to do was compare the poison in the vial William had given them to the poison that had been used to kill the others. If it was the same then they would know the truth.

Vincent walked through the hallway lined with plain wooden doors. Delaney looked at them and couldn't tell one from the next but her husband seemed to be able to. He walked to the end and turned to face a door. Nodding in its direction, he quietly asked his wife if she would open it.

"But are you sure this is the right room?" she whispered, afraid to walk in and startle one of their sleeping servants.

"I'm sure."

"But how?"

Her husband looked at her steadily, "When he came here I was worried about him. I had Harris show me which room was his. Sometimes at night if I can't sleep I like to walk up here and check on him. I make sure he has enough blankets and such things."

Delaney felt her heart fill again and she smiled lovingly at her husband before leaning up to give him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"You are the most wonderful man I've ever known," she whispered to him as happy tears stung her eyes again. He smiled fondly at her and she moved to open the door quietly, dashing the tears away as she did so.

There were two small beds in the room, one on each side. A boy a bit older than William was sound asleep on one, wrapped in blankets. Vincent walked to the other and Delaney quickly pulled back the covers before he eased the young boy down into the bed. She covered him then, tucking the blankets in around him to keep him warm. She smiled when the child yawned and blinked his eyes open to look up at them.

He looked around the room in confusion for a moment before he realized where he was. He snuggled deeper down into the covers.

"I'm t-truly s-sorry," he whispered with sad eyes, "I n-never should've t-taken that hhhorrid poison."

"Shh," Delaney brushed his hair from his forehead, "It's alright now. What's important is that you didn't use it."

"I n-never could have," he shook his head, "I c-can't k-kill anyone... Especially n-n-not either of y-you."

"I know," Vincent nodded, "But William this is very important... Who gave you the poison? Who told you to use it to kill me?"

"I c-can't t-tell you," he whispered, "If they fffind out th-they'll k-kill me."

Vincent looked at him seriously, "Remember what I told you, boy. I will keep you safe. No one will hurt you while you're under my protection. I give you my word."

William looked away towards the wall and Delaney saw the fear had returned to his eyes. He fidgeted with the blankets and wouldn't look at them.

"Will," she said quietly, "If you don't tell us who wants to kill Lord Adair then we won't have any way to stop them. You know many of the heirs have already been murdered. If we don't stop this person, next time they might give the poison to someone who isn't as good as you. Next time it might get into Lord Adair's food or drink and actually kill him."

The boy's brown eyes, filled with worry, shot back to them at those words.

"You're going to have to be brave Will," Vincent added, "And trust me that I can keep you safe."

"Please tell us," Delaney said quietly, "Tell us who did this so Lord Adair can keep everyone safe. No one else will have to die because of this person."

William looked at them both seriously as he gathered his nerve. At last, he took a deep breath.

"The Queen."