"You do not really think.... do you?" Annabelle asked her brother

"You can not deny she is devious enough to think of it," Richard said, "and for the record, I do not like the idea any more than you do but it has possibilities. I found out from Mr. Dooley that she had drained the family's finances. She took to entertaining some very expensive guests after father had died. All male. Most likely trying to ensnare another husband. She was obviously very unsuccessful."

"But what would be the tie in with Cecilia?" Cyril asked not being able to make the connection.

"Simple" Richard said, "if I married Cecilia her financial troubles were over. Cecilia would get the family title and we would gain possession of her money. Her Father had demanded we accept a hefty sum to secure the betrothal."

Juliana thought it must be every Father's dream to have their little girl marry such a man. Thinking of how her father had done the same for her.

"She had access to Cecilia and the wait staff," Richard continued. "If she wished to drug me the matter would be quite simple really." Richard seemed surprised at how true that statement really was and it sickened him to think about it.

"All of the wait staff hired for that evening were men," Juliana added in. "Servants tend not to question where their next stipend is coming from. If she wished to enlist their help to move Richard upstairs she need only to tell them that he had too much to drink and that they were to get him into the house unseen and she would pay them for their silence. I guarantee you they would not question her." Juliana thought of how she herself took money from Lady Bentley without question the day before she had left.

"Perhaps," Cyril said "Celilia's lover was not involved at all until the murder. Perhaps this murder was just the result of your stepmother's plan."

"Really, Cyril?" Annabelle looked shocked at everyone in the room "I know Mother can be cold-hearted but there was no guarantee that she would see a dime of that money. Richard is Lord of the Manor now and she must have known her spending days were coming to halt. So what benefit would there be to getting Cecilia and him together? Your motive seems rather flimsy if you ask me?"

Again Cyril was amazed at his wife's perception. He really has underestimated her all these years. "She has a point," Cyril had to concede.

"I had threatened to cut her off and send her packing just before the party," Richard piped in.

"You did what?" Annabelle asked shocked that her brother would act in such a way.

"It was only a threat, Annabelle. I had no intention of carrying through with it. It was just important she did not realize that."

"That's it!" Juliana said clapping her hands together and startling everyone in the room. "Do you not see?" Juliana asked shocked, it was so obvious.

"What?" Richard asked.

"Your mother," Juliana said barely able to contain her excitement. "She must have found out that Cecilia was with child. Cecilia was young and the embarrassment to her family would be great. If your mother knew this information it would not take much I imagine to convince the girl that if she played along all her problems would be over. If Cecilia just discovered she was pregnant she could easily dupe you into believing you are the father. Even if she were two or three months along that could easily be hidden from her parents, and with her now having a father for her child and your mother being the only one to know her secret...."

"She could save her family's name and my mother would use the secret against her to secure her position at Bentley Manor," Richard finished.

"Exactly!" Cyril chimed in.

"Well now that we have a sound theory what are we going to do about it?" Juliana asked.

"WE are going to do nothing," Richard said. "I, on the other hand, am due for a little mother to son talk with the accused."

"You are not going there alone," Juliana told him.

Richard stood and then knelt before her taking Juliana's hand in his. "I must. Cecilia was an unsuspecting pawn in a twisted game my mother played that may have resulted in her death. If we are wrong then she was the mother of my child. Either way, I owe it to Cecilia to get to the bottom of this."

Juliana lovingly touched Richard's face the same way she had when he found her at the ruin. "I do not want you to go," Juliana said the fear gripping her heart, shone in her eyes. "What is there to stop Cecilia's killer from coming after you?"

"I can take care of myself," Richard said with a slight smile. He kissed the inside of Juliana's palm.

Laying her hand where she knew his scar to be and taking his other hand to rest it where her body had been scarred, she tried to drive her point home. "Accidents happen no matter how careful we are. Please, Richard, I can not lose you again. If anything were to happen to you, they would be obliged to dig a grave for two."

Richard removed his hand from her side and wiped the tear from her cheek that had escaped her long lashes. "We have come this far. We are meant to be together. Nothing can change that. It is our destiny. Your curse has been lifted. I ask, no beg, have faith in your knight," Richard asked using Juliana's story to explain how deeply he felt about all of this. "We will never be truly free until we have an end to this. Please, Juliana, tell me you understand?"

Juliana could only nod to overcome with emotion at hearing her name once again cross his lips. She only hopes against hope he would return to her again. "I understand."

Not taking his eyes from hers he said, "Cyril, I need another favor."

"Name it and it is done," Cyril said.

"I need another license. One with my name and the name Juliana Wadsworth, that is if she will have me?" He knew this was not the most romantic moment but he knew not how long he would be away and he wanted her to know without a shadow of a doubt that he was hers, and she was his.

Juliana's heart felt like it would explode within her chest. "Yes, Richard. I am yours. I always have been, and I always will be."

Richard gathered her in his arms and showed her with a kiss how deep his love ran for her. He had not the words to express his love. He knew the poets most likely have written it in verse, the bards had sung the tale but he only knew how to express all that he felt in action.

From the moment her lips touched his Juliana felt him surrender his soul to her. He was now and forevermore under her care, his heart in her hands. She felt more than ready to accept such a responsibility.

So lost were the two lovers it was not until they heard a discreet cough that they remembered they were not alone. "My apology," he said to Cyril and Annabelle, Juliana only blushed that they had gotten so carried away in front of others.

"I must go, my Love, the sooner I leave the sooner we can be together again. I expect you to have everything in order upon my return as I do not wish to waste one second of the rest of our lives together. When I return we wed." Richard said standing up and pulling her into his arms for one last loving embrace. He felt so reluctant to let her go, and he could feel she felt the same.

"Take good care of her while I am away," he instructed Annabelle and Cyril. They were both quick to reassure that they would.

He gave his sister a kiss on the cheek and shook Cyril's hand. "Richard wait," Juliana said and grabbed a pair of scissors from Annabelle's sewing basket. She clipped a piece of her hair and placed it in her handkerchief, she folded it and placed it in his breast pocket.

"Now I can be with you wherever you go," she said placing her hand over his heart. Richard crushed her to him once more. This is undoubtedly the hardest thing he has ever had to do. He wove his hands into her hair and claimed her lips one last time. Holding her hand over his heart, he told her, "You have always been here with me and that is where you shall remain. Until we meet again, Love."

The carriage pulled up in front of the house and he left her. Annabelle wrapped her arms around her friend as she looked suddenly like she would crumble into a million pieces and she just wanted to hold her together. "Richard will return," she told her.

Juliana hated the feeling of foreboding she felt. She hated the fact that Richard was once again going somewhere she could not follow. She knew not what darkness he may face but she knew he just had to come back to her. She needed him like one needs air to breathe. Life, the fates could not be so cruel. They have both suffered much, they deserve their happy ending.