A carriage quietly moved through the roads of the Darthmore town before it came to a halt. The coachman stepped down and pulled open the carriage door. The people inside it didn't step down, as in their Jeffry Sullivan appeared reluctant to watch his wife's execution.
Noah, who sat next to him, said, "You don't have to come if you don't want to."
Jeffry pursed his lips and replied, "It wouldn't be right." Half because Hilda was still his wife and he couldn't break the vow he had made to her when they married. Another part of the reason was that sending his son to deal with everything felt unfair. He took a deep breath and then said, "Let us get through this, shall we?"
Before Noah even stepped out of the carriage, some of the laymen and the councilmen were already staring at the fancy carriage. Carriages that were this big and beautiful only meant that it belonged to one of the high-standing families.
A collection of gasps were heard in the air when their eyes fell on Noah. One of the councilmen asked another one, who stood next to him,
"Weren't you present when he was being buried in the Woodlock's cemetery? Did he look alive?"
"I can bet on my life that the man looked pale as a ghost. He still appears pale, only that his eyes are open and he's walking," replied the other councilman. "Like many others, I thought he was dead, which is why it's mind boggling to see him walking. I mean, the Sullivans even made a speech about how he missed his son and the woman cried. Was it all for a show?"
"It could be," said the first councilman, before he added, "The more puzzling thought is that the culprits were right in their house and they didn't realise it?"
"Maybe they were hiding it?"
Noah and Jeffry could hear the murmurs of questions about James, Hilda and Noah's return from the death, and whether they had used a false body to bury him. Ignoring the remarks, they made their way towards the gallows as they entered.
The inner council members and the Head Council had already arrived. One of the inner council member stretched his hand forward towards Noah and said,
"It is so good to see you, Duke Noah. You are a brave and an outstanding man, to be able to catch the culprit… I mean even though it is some of your family members like your uncle and mother. It must have been terrible, no…"
Noah stared at the inner councilman, because he hadn't done anything as such. Though Vincent was the one who had cracked the mystery, the accolades were given to him.
"That should be enough talk, Mr. Hart," Clayton said to the man as he made his way to where Noah and his father stood. They offered each other a slight bow, and he said, "I wasn't sure you were going to come, Duke Noah."
Noah offered a slight smile and replied, "I promised her I would come see her one last time. Also, I believe it is better to do things, than not do and regret it later."
Clayton's chin lifted and he said, "Looks like you have learned some things."
After a few minutes where everyone was gathered at the front, one of the guards shouted loudly, "Make way for the culprit! Make way! Bringing the person ahead!"
Noah didn't turn his head, but his eyes followed his mother, escorted by the guard.
Lady Hilda's hands were bound behind her, and her ankles were bound with shackles, which made her movements slow and the guard pushed her when she didn't move fast enough. Her head was covered by a black cloth so that she didn't see where she was going.
The guard dragged her to the top of the gallows by the stairs, bringing her to the centre and having her stand before everyone. One of the councilmen stepped forward, a cunning smile on his face as he enjoyed reducing a person's status to nothing, and watching them grovel. He was the announcer, and he said loud enough for everyone to hear,
"We are gathered here for the crimes that this woman Hilda Sullivan has committed. She has not only convoluted with James Sullivan in supporting heinous crimes, but has also performed them. You must already be aware of her crimes as written in the newsletter, which is why it has been decided that this woman shall be put to an end so that no one will try to repeat the mistakes she has done."
The councilman turned to look at the guard and waved his hand. The guard stepped forward and removed the black cloth that was around Hilda's head. She squinted her eyes, trying to adjust to the brightness and when she could finally see, her eyes fell on the many councilmen, who now stood on the ground.
Hilda's eyes met her husband's eyes, who quickly turned to look in the direction as she was ashamed of what she had done. It was because one of the crimes, even though not published in the paper, it deeply hurt him. He couldn't fathom the thought that she had gone behind his back, when all these years, he loved her so dearly.
On noticing how her husband didn't look at her, Hilda felt a prick in her chest. She looked pale even though she wasn't dead. Her eyes had lost the glimmer and shine. Her eyes shifted to look at her son, and she found some solace in there.
Noah stared back at his mother, who stood on the gallows.
An onlooker would say that the lady hadn't lost her class and still appeared to be poised even though she was going to be executed. But looking into her eyes for so long, the observant Noah could tell that she was terrified of a lot of things right now.
If it was a different time, Noah would have fought and saved his mother. But she had done so many bad things, and he could tell it was nothing compared to what James had done. As if she was the puppeteer, leading James to believe he was in control when she was the one pulling the strings.
On the other hand, Hilda stared at her son, the only one who didn't look at her in disgust and contempt. Noticing the sadness in his eyes, it somewhere brought peace in the woman's mind, knowing her son still loved her. But the longer she stared at him, the more she realised that he had always carried that look… how long? How long had he been unhappy? As his mother, she had been building a future for him, while ignoring the pain that was causing him.
"Do you have any last words to say, Hilda Sullivan?" The councilman questioned.
Hilda was busy looking at Noah, lost in thought to reply to the councilman. Seconds passed by, and the people around looked at each other, while also noticing the line of her sight that was directed at her family, who had come to witness her death.
"It appears that the woman knows the mistakes that she has committed and there is nothing she would like to say," the councilman said to the gathered crowd, as he didn't care enough to give her the time to think. He then turned to the executioner guard, and said, "Place her head on the slab."
When the executioner with a mask on his head pushed Hilda to step forward and sit on her knees, the woman finally realised what was happening, and her face turned nothing less than a stone.
Another guard pushed her head on the slab, keeping it firm so the neck could be severed in one cut and didn't need more than one swing.
"Take your position," the announcer said to the executioner, who stood next to Hilda, and raised his sharp axe up in the air. "EXECUTE!"
The axe was swift and in one movement, Noah watched Hilda's head roll away from the wooden slab and fall on one corner front of the gallows. Blood dripped down, smearing across the surface of the gallows.
Jeffry said to his son, "I will be in the carriage," he turned around and left.
Noah couldn't take away his eyes from his mother's now severed body. It was when Clayton came to talk to him, that he finally looked away.
The Head Council said, "Duke Noah, you have shown more than courage today by showing up here. Integrity that many fall short in. You are a commendable man." He raised his hand forward as if to have them start walking as their business here was done.
"I don't think life ever rewards the man who is commendable but the person who isn't," Noah murmured, while he looked ahead of him.
"I would like to think otherwise," Clayton responded, turning to look at the tall man who walked next to him. He said, "Not everyone are granted another life. If you didn't live well before and has regrets, perhaps it is time to live without regrets?"
Noah didn't respond to Clayton's words. He thanked him though, "Thank you for what you wrote in the newsletter. For keeping my family matter out." He could tell that the Head Council knew that he was James's son, but Clayton hadn't mentioned it to him or in the newsletter.
"Hm, I have tried to clear things so that you will have an easier time before resuming your work as a Duke," Clayton replied. He stopped walking when they got near the road and he said, "Take some time for yourself, Duke Noah. I am sure you need it. I will be looking forward to having you join the position."
Noah and Clayton offered each other a slight bow before they parted ways.
When Noah returned to the carriage where his father was, he climbed inside it and the carriage began to move under the curious gazes of some of the councilman. For several minutes neither of them spoke to each other as they let the thought about their family members dead sink in their minds.
"Noah," Jeffry began, and Noah turned away from the window, "I want to apologise to you."
"You have nothing to apologise."
"No," Jeffry insisted, a look of guilt marking his face and he said, "I must apologise, before it is too late. All these years, I have wronged you by keeping you in the shadows of Hilda and James. Even I, I believed and followed them, which is why I know it was very hard on you. I know that is why you are so, sealed."
"It is all in the past now," Noah replied.
Jeffry held pain in his eyes, as unlike his son who was younger than him, he had been unable to shake the pain of seeing his wife executed. He hadn't realised until now, what he and his family had put Noah through, he said,
"Even though we know the truth, I would still like to have you as my son. In some ways we still share the same blood and we have lost people."
Noah offered a kind smile to Jeffry and said, "It isn't blood that makes the bond thicker, father. It is the intention and the love. You are the only father I have known, and you will always be the only one I choose to accept."
Jeffry managed a smile, and he then asked, "Now that you are free… what are your plans for the future?"
"So far nothing much than to continue to be the Duke of Woodlock," Noah hadn't really thought about it. To be free… was this how one felt without being bound or anyone or anything? He then said, "I need to be somewhere. I will return for supper." He knocked on the front window and ordered the coachman, "Stop here."
