Page 23 of Nineteen Eighty

Augustus nodded. She hated to lie to him. She preferred him at her side, and even feared dealing with her brother alone. But if what Cordelia said was true, and Charles dared say it in front of Augustus… no, that was a disaster they could avoid. And they would.

“If I’m not out in twenty minutes, then come in,” she said, thinking, but not saying, that if she couldn’t convince her oldest brother to leave the room then her other brother was the only one equipped with the power to do exactly that. And, Charles confessing a dark sin or not, she might need additional assistance. “Oh, and don’t call Colin just yet. Last thing we need is for Catherine to make a scene, thinking Huck needs her. You know?”

“Right,” Augustus replied, giving her arm a quick squeezed before disappearing down the hall to the nursery.

Colleen turned toward the stairs leading to the third floor. She had no idea what she might find, but she had to be prepared for anything.

She tried knocking first, but hadn’t expected that to work. “Huck, it’s me. It’s Leena,” she called out, to no response. His sobs carried into the hall. She went to work on the door. As she’d told Cordelia, it wasn’t hard to pick these old locks. Back when they were kids, they’d cut up some old wire coat hangers and placed them around different places so they couldn’t lock each other out of rooms. Charles must have forgotten there was one on the frame above this door, too. Colleen felt for it and, relieved, pulled it down and went to work.

It only took a couple minutes before she heard the expected clicking sound. The door eased open.

Charles didn’t look up, and Colleen wished she could divert her own eyes from the scene unfolding. Charles, tangled in bloody sheets, Lisette sitting lifeless upon his lap, her pale hair wound in tangles. As he shook, she swayed back and forth, no living muscles to guide her movements in a smoother pattern.

“Huck, we have to go now, darling.”

“Fuck off.”

“I called the Bourbon Orleans. Your room is done up and waiting for you.”

“Go away.”

“Brother.” Colleen stepped inside. She wanted desperately to look away, but if she didn’t immerse herself further into her brother’s state of mind, she couldn’t help him. “We need to get Lisette cleaned up. You know that. She deserves to be given respect in death. I can do this for you. I can take care of everything. I’m more than happy to.”

“There’s no respect in death,” Charles hissed. He wrapped his hands in her snarled hair, rocking her on his lap. “This is what happens, Leena, when you try to save your family. You make the hard decisions… you do what others won’t.”

“You’ve always protected us,” she conceded, afraid to tread the path he was leading them down. “I know that. We all do. But we’re a family, and now it’s time for us to protect you.”

“You think you know, but you don’t,” Charles muttered through his incoherent sobs. “You don’t know!”

“I don’t need to know to help you.”

“You don’t know about Ekatherina! What I did, to protect Aggie from that miserable—”

Colleen silenced him with a hard slap to the face. He gaped at her, stunned from his reverie by complete shock.

“Don’t you ever say that. Ever! And never in front of our brother. Especially if it’s true.” Colleen softened, reaching for his hands. She took one in hers. “She’ll be with our people, Huck. I’ll take care of everything. We’ll put her with Dad. And Maddy.”

“Dad and Maddy,” Charles repeated in automated response.

“And all the others. All our beloveds,” Colleen said, taking a careful seat on the edge of the bed.

Charles looked up, seeing her finally. “You don’t know the things I’ve done.”

“I know more than you think,” Colleen said. “And it doesn’t matter right now. What matters is taking care of sweet Lisette and those beautiful babies of yours.”

“My babies.”

“Nicolas and the girls will have everything they need while you grieve, Huck. Augustus, me, we’ll care of them until you’re ready again.”

“I killed her, didn’t I?”

Colleen shook her head. These words, small and innocent from her big brother, broke something within her. “No. You didn’t do this. Childbirth is still dangerous for women, even with all our medical advancements. It’s just a horrible accident, Charles, that’s all. You didn’t do this.”

Charles’ lips quivered. “You promise?”

“I promise.” Colleen gently unwound him from Lisette. “Let me care for her now, Huck. You go into town for a few days, get some rest. We’ll take care of everything. Me, and Maureen, and Augustus. You have a whole family who can take on the hard stuff. You won’t have to worry about a single thing.”

“Why?”

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