Damon was having another chaotic breakfast with his family when suddenly, Clark, the butler, appeared, and in his most nonchalant, stiff mien, announced that Miss Gwen Halloway wished to have an audience with Damon immediately.

He was on his feet before the butler finished his sentence.

Gwen was pacing in the courtyard when he appeared. Her face looked distraught, her eyes red from crying. "What is it?" he asked as he strode toward the woman.

"They took her away!" Gwen said, suddenly hysterical. "Oh, Mr Priest! Please! What do we do?"

"Gwen, calm down," he said, taking hold of the woman's arms. "Who took her?"

"Doctor Mills and his men! They took her to Summerfield!"

"Summerfield?"

"An asylum. For the mentally ill. They believe she's insane. Oh, please, we have to do something!"

For a breath, Damon was stunned. Then he was in disbelief. Never had he thought her aunts would take it this far. "This is absurd."

"They're absurd. Of course, they'd do absurd things!" Gwen sounded angry now. Even looked furious. "Is there anything you can do? If no, then I'll go somewhere else to seek help."

"Yes, yes," he said. "I mean, yes, we'll do something. Let me think for a moment." He turned around, hands on his hips, to scowl at the ground.

"I don't think they've gone far. We can still make chase. Once she's inside Summerfield, it would be hard to take her out. They signed a contract with the institution. And contracts are not good. They're binding and—"

"Gwen, please, let me think," he said, raising a hand.

"But there's not much time!"

He sighed and stared at the woman. "Very well. Go to the other side of the hill. Call for the Vernons and come back here. While you do that, I'll get help."

"From whom?"

"From whoever I can. Now, go."

As Gwen rushed out of the courtyard, Damon let his head fall back. He cursed under his breath and returned to the breakfast room. Everyone around the table stopped whatever they were doing to stare at him, their faces already expecting horrible news.

His eyes landed on Harry. "I need help," he said.

***

The Vernons gathered inside the northern drawing room of the Abberton House. With them were Damon, Harry, Gwen, and the earl himself. The old man said nothing as everyone filled him in on what had been happening with the Withers.

"That's tragic," said the earl, gaze distant.

"We may still make chase before they reach Summerfield," said Matthew. His jaw was set firm like his older brothers. Even Stephen, who made fun of Matthew's unconventional ideas of how they could rescue their sister from their aunts, seemed ready to jump to his feet and do what Matthew suggested.

"It will be too late," said Gwen, eyes damp with tears.

Mr Vernon looked utterly helpless as he gripped his wife's hand. Mrs Vernon, on the other hand, surprised Damon. He expected her to panic, to be as desperate as her sons, but she showed none of that. She was tremendously calm.

"We'll talk to them," said Stephen, breaking his silence. He moved to stand, but his mother stopped him, saying, "No."

"What do you want to do, then?" Matthew angrily asked. "Let them take her away from us again, like how you let them years ago?"

"Matthew!" Mr Vernon snapped. "You don't know how hard it had been for us—"

"He's right," said Mrs Vernon. Her face hardened. "We let them take her away. We let them keep her. No one should be blamed but us." She blinked a few times. Her lips trembled. "We've waited too long to try to get her."

"Well, we're not waiting that long again," said Stephen, standing. He looked around the room. "We apologize for the inconvenience, but we should face this thing as a family. I'm sorry if we bothered you with our troubles."

"We'll talk to the Withers," said Matthew, joining his brother. "We'll make them take her back from Summerfield. If they refuse to do so, we'll do it ourselves." As he spoke, his eyes were on his mother. "Come, Jasper."

As the three brothers stormed to the door, Mrs Vernon stood. "No one is going to the Withers," she said, voice cold. Her sons were ready to erupt, but stopped when she walked toward them. "We'll go straight to Summerfield."

Mr Vernon jumped to his feet in alarm, but the determined look on his wife caused him to square his shoulders and nod. "We are her parents."

Mrs Vernon nodded. "And we'll take her home."

As both husband and wife walked out of the room, their sons stood frozen in shock by the door.

Damon jumped to his feet. "I think they need some company," he said.

"And a fast carriage," Harry added from where he sat beside the earl.

"Make that two," the old man said as the three Vernon brothers followed Damon.

"And we'll need Mr Murray in Summerfield, Harry!" Damon shouted over his shoulder.

Harry reluctantly stood. "You think this is a good idea? Us meddling in their affairs?" he asked the earl.

The old man grunted as he stood with the use of his cane. "No, but God help us if we don't. I'm going to take a walk. You might wish to come along, boy. Learn a lesson or two."

"And where are we going?"

"I'm thinking of calling on our two good neighbors."

Harry's eyes widened. "You cannot be serious."

The earl winked and slowly made his way to the door. "Well, we don't have all day, boy. Send a message to Murray at once so we can be on our way. What time do old spinsters take a nap nowadays? Do you happen to know?"

***

The journey took only two days. And in those sleepless hours, she had imagined how she would escape. Jump off the carriage? Run away during their only stop? She also dreamed of someone coming after them. Maybe Damon or her brothers on horsebacks rushing in to take her away from Doctor Mills and his men.

None of that happened.

They arrived in Summerfield with no incident. She did not break into loud tears. She did not even try to talk her way out because she knew that the doctor would only do more talking. She learned he was the type to show off his knowledge, which he did frequently during their trip.

He talked about how he started Summerfield with a vision to understand the unconscious. To cure an invisible disease.

"The mind is the most curious thing," he said. "It dictates everything we do. I want to know what makes it break down. What makes one change so suddenly they forget who they were. Just like you, my dear. I've had many successes and their families are quite grateful." She didn't ask who his patients were, nor what their cases were. He gave them all to her. "They have erratic behaviors that prevent them from being part of society. They disrupt the natural order by their foolish displays." Her worse fears returned when he relayed to her what he did to those patients. "I operate on them. They go to sleep crazy and they wake up cured. It's almost a miracle if you witness it."

Summerfield was in Stadeley. It was surrounded by acres of farmland in the east and north, the woods in the west, and the ocean in the south. It was a nice place, save for the fact that all patients could not venture out of the big building that stood right in the center of the property.

"If you pass your weekly tests, we hold excursions to the beach," said the nurse who walked her to her room. They passed a series of quiet corridors before reaching the small chamber. But now and then, that quiet would break with a sudden shout or a wail that echoed down the halls.

Her room was small. A small bed stood on one side; a washstand and a closet at the opposite end. Everything was white. The only color came through the one window that overlooked the fields.

"Doctor Mills will see you on the morrow. We'll also do more tests. You better rest."

The door was locked almost immediately after she stepped in.

She panicked inside. A strong energy was building inside her, ready to explode if she didn't control it. With a swallow, Geneva stood still in the middle of her room and closed her eyes.

This was the perfect time to remain calm, she thought. Fear was overwhelming, betraying her attempts to think of a good outcome. Prudence and Barbara flashed in her mind. They did not even show themselves when the men dragged her away. She cried for them and yet they never came out to explain to her what was happening.

Suddenly, she felt tired. As she sat on her bed, the smell of the unfamiliar room made her shudder. Was she bound to this place for the rest of her life? Just like her great-grandfather?

"Oh, God, please," she choked out, hot tears falling straight down her lap as she bent her head. She muffled her cries with her hand, afraid that they would hear her and confirm she was insane. The feeling of being watched was not new. Her entire life, she had three pairs of eyes on her, always making sure she acted right. It felt the same now. The only difference was that she was alone. It was just their invisible presence. The way it always made her feel.

But she wasn't alone. She wiped her tears and sniffled. No, she wasn't alone.

She had her family.

She had Damon.

And they would do something. Anything.