“It happened so fast. One minute I was sitting on a cushioned bench, and the next, I was tumbling head over heels down an embankment. I ended up in a creek, and once I gathered my wits, I tried to climb back up, but it was too steep. So, I ran alongside the stream in the direction the carriages were going, and it wasn’t long before I heard voices. The slope of the hill had lessened, and enough exposed roots were coming through the dirt that I could climb up far enough to see over the ridge.

“Five, of what I assumed to be highwaymen, had overtaken our carriages and set them ablaze. Charles and Father were standing in the middle of the road. Their hands were bound, and two men were standing behind them with the tips of their swords pressed against their backs. Father and Charles were pleading…begging for them not to hurt the women, and for a split-second, I thought…I thought everyone would be okay. Highwaymen rarely murdered people. They were robbers, and our carriages were pretty ornate, so it stood to reason they believed us wealthy, and then the next thing I knew, the man standing behind Margory drove his sword through her back, and before she could even take her last breath, he slit her throat. Father screamed. Charles screamed, and then…and then my sisters started to scream.

“Two of the men had pushed them to the ground and were ripping off their dresses,” Ruby said, blinking back tears. “Father was…he was howling for mercy, howling for them to stop, howling to try to get through to one ounce of human decency, and the men just laughed. They just laughed…” Ruby’s voice trailed off, and she pulled in a long, shaky breath. “Charles was crying and pleading just like my father, and then the one who’d killed Margory went over, spit in my brother’s face, and then took off his head. Before it even hit the ground, he did the same to my father.”

Bennett winced. “Jesus.”