One arm around her shoulders, he covered his eyes, squeezing them shut. What a bloody fool he was. “I was trying to remind myself of all the reasons it’s good that she’s been caught, and yet I still find myself lingering on the good things.” He shook his head. He couldn’t trust his judgment, especially when it was so effortlessly swayed by Vee’s easy smile and warm flesh. He had to regain control.

Taking a deep breath, he disentangled himself from his sister. “Thank you,” he murmured then drew himself to his full height. Shoulders back, chin high, stance at attention.

Still with that soft smile, which had now turned sad, Is looked up at him. “You say all the reasons it’s good that she’s been caught—I don’t think you’ve told me a single thing she’s done wrong. Could it be that the stories are exaggerated or even untrue? Perhaps she’s the victim of a terrible—”

“She killed Lady Avice Ferrers.” There. He’d almost forgotten.

Is flinched, eyes wide. “As in …”

He heaved a long breath and nodded. “As in my former betrothed. Is, she murdered a defenceless eighteen-year-old girl.”

“How? When did you …” She shook her head, fingers pressed into her lips until they went white.

“After … after things had gone further than they should have. But as soon as I found out, I ended it.” Another deep breath dragged through him like an anchor trailing through sand. “I don’t owe her anything. I didn’t betray her.” He shook his head.

“No, you don’t.” Is pursed her lips and smoothed his hair. “But I don’t think every part of you understands that. You—it sounds like things ended abruptly and now she’s in Portsmouth awaiting execution following a trial you didn’t attend. Maybe you need to speak to her, tell her why Lady Avice’s death affected you directly.”

Heat unfurled in his muscles and his cheeks. “But I don’t owe her—”

“Again,” she said, raising a hand, “no, you don’t owe her an explanation. But I think you need to do it for yourself. Perhaps when you know you’ve told her everything, when you tell her she’ll be paying for all her crimes, including the murder of Lady Avice Ferrers... Perhaps then your mind will be quiet, and you’ll stop clutching at that shell when you think no one’s looking.” The corner of her mouth lifted.

He huffed out a long breath, shoulders sagging. She had a point. “When did you get so wise?” He ruffled her hair, and she ducked away, swatting him off before patting her coiffure back into place.

“I am nineteen, you know. Old enough to be married with a child of my own—I’m not a little girl anymore.”

He sighed. “No, you’re not, are you? You’ve grown up a lot since Father died.”