Page 7 of Tainted Reasoning

“It’s a lot to take in,” Victoria offers with sincerity and concern for her friend.

“What did you do to Amelia’s father?” Tamara asks.

“No details,” I tell her.

“Please. I need to know.”

I look up to Nicholas, and he nods, affirming I can give her more details.

“I’m going to take Victoria to freshen up. I’ll ask for dinner to be brought into the lounge. We can eat it in front of the TV.” Nicholas places his hand on my shoulder before leaving with an arm wrapped around his wife to support her.

“William,” Tamara pleads with me. “If I’m going to be here and get involved, I need full details of what you are doing. I want to help Victoria in any way I can. She’s my life…my best friend, but everything is so scary, and I know nothing of this life. It’s dark, horrifying, and alien to me.”

“I know.” I pull myself up and take a seat on Victoria's vacated chair. Scraping it along the wooden floor, I bring it nearer to Tamara, so I can still keep a hold of her hand while I talk to her.

“Nicholas and I captured Amelia’s father and tortured him. We made him suffer by cutting off any distinguishing marks he had: moles that sort of thing. We removed his fingers, toes, and masculine parts before killing him. He needed to die that way to allow Amelia to rest in peace.”

Tamara gasps and pulling away from me, she looks down at my hands in horror.

“You did it yourself? How can you do that to another human? Why not order someone else to do it?”

“I guess I have some of my father’s darkness in me. I can’t explain it. I wish I could. I understand if you want to leave here now and never come back. We won’t stop you.”

“Will he be the last one to die?” she asks with a quivering of her bottom lip

“I can’t promise you that. I don’t know what Nicholas wants to do with Viscount Hamilton.”

“Victoria’s father?” She gasps, bringing her hand to her mouth.

“Yes. He gave Victoria to Nicholas. Although he behaved better than the other fathers. At least he kept Victoria protected while she was growing up rather than abuse her. We will ensure he is ruined for his part in the society, but he’s not as bad as some.”

“These are people’s lives you are playing with. Taking things into your own hands like God.” I can see she’s struggling to understand the motivation behind our actions. This evil world has only been revealed to her through tales of darkness. It’s never been something she’s experienced, felt, or thought about. She hasn’t lived a life like the one Nicholas, Victoria, and I have endured.

“I wish I could explain it better to you. Victoria’s father bought a girl during the trials. We’ve not seen or heard from her since that day. We don’t know if she’s alive or dead. He told us she was for Victoria’s brother to marry, but as far as we are aware, he’s still single. There is so much more going on, Tamara. These people are bad men. If they learn you are involved with us, they’ll take, rape, and abuse you until the pain is so great that death is the only way out of the suffering. This is why we take the law into our own hands. Why we do what is necessary to put an end to the society we grew up in. It’s the only way in our eyes. The people we are talking about are beyond the law in so many ways, but using what we know, we can restrict them and ruin them, so they can never rise again. The police chief is corrupt, so we’ll find some incriminating evidence and use the law against him. Please, we don’t want to kill anyone else unless they truly deserve it. That’s why we need your help.”

“I don’t know. I’m still learning. I don’t have the clout you think I do. I’ve not even completed the bar yet.”

I shake my head.

“It doesn’t matter,” I reassure her. “Faith in your abilities is all you need. Just as Nicholas and I have in ours, even if our skills are a little different. This society’s influence reaches everywhere… we need to destroy it!”

“I need to think about all this. Try to get my head around the truth that if I help you, then I’ll have to look past the fact you and your brother kill people. It’s not something I’ve been trained for or ever could be.” When Tamara stands, I let go of her hand, and she walks toward the door.

“I understand.” I remain seated. “Would you like food sent to your room?”

“No,” she says as she turns to face me. “I want to talk to Victoria some more. I need to understand exactly what she went through. I’ve heard the pain in her voice as we’ve spoken about her experiences, but I need to also see it expressed in her face, visually, the way you and Nicholas have.”

Pushing to my feet, I come to stand before her.

“I promise you, if there were any other way, I wouldn’t do this either. The only reason it doesn’t bother me more is because, I fear, I’ve been damaged due to the years of being in total seclusion.”

“It hasn’t damaged you, William. You showed the kindness within you by protecting and helping those girls as much as you could.” She leans up and presses a chaste kiss to my cheek. “You helped save my best friend. I owe you silence and respect just for that, let alone for everything else you’ve told me today.”

Bowing my head to her, I watch her turn to leave. Those familiar urges of sexual need rise within me again. I need to get this under control if we are to work together. Bad thoughts are what I need to focus on. My father… that should be enough to dampen any ardor.

Tamara gasps, drawing me out of my thoughts.

“What is it?” I step forward.

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