Henry McCoy was still in a daze, unable to believe the turn of events that have recently occurred within the Xavier Estate. Everything was thrown into chaos, all because of Erik Lehnsherr. Aside from his master's abduction, the most atrocious and shocking thing that had sullied the reputation of the estate was the discovery of the two dead bodies. There was the unfortunate fellow who had an arrowhead embedded in his eye, his skull dashed in with a rock. His body was sprawled unceremoniously within the grounds. The other body was discovered only later on when the authorities came to investigate for any clues to Erik Lehnsherr's identity. They found the other dead man in one of the side cabinets of Erik Lehnsherr's office; his neck was broken. Apparently, this was the fellow that Henry admitted into the mansion as the repairman for the window, but unbelievably, this was not the same man he had admitted before. The beard the man was sporting was a false one and the man had no means of identification, same as with the man with the arrowhead. Mr Randall Darby's employer actually came forward to report the death of his employee, the hapless worker strangled to death in an alleyway. More and more shocking deaths and all of this pointed out to Erik Lehnsherr's involvement. The household would have been thrown into further turmoil if not for Solicitor Darwin, who handled Sir Charles Xavier's affairs.

Darwin had advised the staff to remain within the mansion and to carry on whatever work they usually do, keeping everything in order until they hear of news about their master. Darwin had informed the staff that Erik Lehnsherr did not send forth any ransom letter yet for the return of his colleague. This worried the household immensely because as the days passed, with no news of their master, the possibility that he had met with misfortune preyed heavily upon their thoughts. Solicitor Darwin had done his best to keep everyone at ease, especially Angel, for she was inconsolable. She would begin weeping at the mere mention of Master Charles's name.

The solicitor spoke with the entire staff on the very same day of the atrocities and the kidnapping. Both Henry and Logan were taken to the hospital the night before and were pronounced of sound mind the morning after. Logan had stitches upon his scalp, his head bandaged, his nose was set with splints and plaster, making his speech nasal and muffled, but he was up and about. He had one black eye, the upper lid still puffy yet he seemed tolerant of whatever pain he was feeling because he never uttered any complaint. Henry's neck was slightly bruised on one side. It appears as if there was not much harm dealt upon him as well. This was actually brought into subject by Sir Darwin. The authorities came and questioned them first and that was when the second body was found after the first one was found yesterday. There was nothing in the mansion to point to any clues about Erik Lehnsherr. His articles of clothing, his papers and books confiscated for lawful purposes, but they found nothing there that would give them more information as to the true nature of the criminal. They even wondered if Erik Lehnsherr was his real name. Darwin had them explain in detail everything that has transpired the day Erik Lehnsherr became the butler of the household. Everyone shared their thoughts; they described the conversations they had with the man, his cold behaviour and odd manners with the staff. The violence he had shown when he had strangled Alex into submission. Sir Darwin found this of note; he scribbled notes in a small journal as he sat before the staff in the dining area. Henry finally had to admit that he discovered Charles and Erik in sexual congress in the library, shocking the staff even further, but Logan was not the least bit surprised.

Logan even shared what he had also discovered the day the window was broken. He said offhandedly that he saw both Master Charles and Mr Lehnsherr kissing in the study. Sir Darwin appeared uncomfortable that the staff knew these things about Charles. He suddenly stopped scribbling.

"I must admit to you, I know of Charles's predilection when it comes to his...sexual partners. It does not get in the way of whatever work we do, and as one gentleman to another, we do not raise such questions for the sake of discretion and as a mutual respect for one's character. However, I do know for a fact that Charles has never had any congress with another man after our collegiate days,"Darwin seemed to ponder quietly upon this.

"It may be possible that Erik Lehnsherr has acquired information of this and had used it as his leverage to try and seduce Charles into his confidence. I have known Charles for a very long time and know him to be a good judge of character. I have spoken with Lehnsherr myself and I could understand why everyone would have been deceived, even Charles,"

"He was never friendly with the staff, Sir! He has always made it so that everything goes through him before it would be brought to Sir Charles's attention!"Moira said stiffly.

She was very angry over the entire affair and she was in agony over why she had let this slip past her. Henry reached out and squeezed her hand quietly; tears are still streaming down her cheeks in her utter agony over Sir Charles's safety.

"There, there now, Mrs. MacTaggert. We were all misled by Erik Lehnsherr. One could only guess what his real agenda really was-"Henry told her softly.

Moira dabbed at her eyes with her handkerchief, her hands restlessly wringing the fabric when she brought it down. Angel herself could not stop crying and had spoken in a hitching breathless voice when she had shared her encounter with Erik Lehnsherr in Charles Xavier's bedroom.

"I understand that Lehnsherr is a despicable and dangerous man, the wickedness of his actions attest to that, but there are odd ends that appear to confound me, as I'm sure it confounds the officers of the law,"Solicitor Darwin gazed at all of them steadily.

"If he meant to kidnap Charles, then kill the two men upon the premises, why is it that he did not take the lives of Henry McCoy and Logan, which he could have done so easily, if he had wanted to-"

Astounded silence from the staff. They had vilified and poured forth whatever contemptuous thoughts they had of Erik Lehnsherr, but Sir Darwin brought up another enigma. It had never crossed Henry's mind until now. Henry grew pale at the very thought of it. Seeing the dead man with his neck broken in Erik Lehnsherr's office— it was in fact a monstrous deed— made Henry reach up and touch his own throat. That could have been my neck, he thought morbidly. He looked over at Logan, who was quietly contemplating, probably thinking the same thing. Sir Darwin sighed as he settled his back against the chair. He was looking at them very intently.

"I apologize if this may seem harsh, but allow me to share what the authorities might think of this...convenience. They would probably think that you are accomplices of Erik Lehnsherr and that you had planned the entire thing from the very beginning since you are made to remain here, acting as the victims of the ever-so wicked Mr Lehnsherr while he plies for the ransom over Charles Xavier's life-"

Moira shot up from her chair, her eyes flashing angrily, cutting off Sir Darwin.

"That's preposterous! I would never associate myself with that scoundrel! And, neither would these people here! We have known each other, long before we met Erik Lehnsherr! I knew Angel when she was but a toddler when she moved from America with her parents to find work here. I knew Alex Summers' father from the brewery in Kent. Henry McCoy's family came from a long line of respectable parsons in Spitalfields. Even though I have never associated with Henry in the past, his family is well known in the country. I cannot speak for Mr Logan though as I had only met him here, but he and Lehnsherr were disagreeable from the very beginning!"

Her fiery eyes glared out at the solicitor, hands trembling in her indignation.

"As for myself Sir Darwin, I have letters that would prove I have worked in various households in country homes of the upper class, with barely any opportunity to leave their premises. There would have been no chance that I would associate with Erik Lehnsherr!"

Sir Darwin quietly listened to her, still looking at all of them. He heaved another sigh.

"Be still, Madam! I did not mean to upset you. I am merely stating a possible theory from the perspective of the officers of the law. But given that you brought such solid proof of each of your characters, one question still remains. He could have killed all of you, but why did he not?"

Henry was rendered speechless by this revelation. The question, preying upon his mind. Since there was incontestable proof of Erik Lehnsherr's capability as a killer, why did he not deal the finishing blow that would have ended his life forever? Erik Lehnsherr had merely stunned him and left him unconscious and although he had thoroughly beaten Mr Logan, he did not kill the other as well. Henry was the first one that came to, the day they had been brought down by Mr Lehnsherr and the day their nefarious butler abducted Sir Charles. Henry had seen that Logan was lying on his side in a pool of his own blood. He had crawled towards the other and felt for his pulse. He found that Mr Logan was alive and was even snoring with an odd sucking sound, perhaps because his nose had been broken and then Alex and the other staff came to aid them.

"It puzzles me quite, that a man capable of murdering two unknown men, can simply leave off and only incapacitate you both, nor did he harm the rest of the household, the very people who could have alerted the authorities of the abduction of Charles Xavier the moment he made his actions apparent," Darwin continued.

It was indeed an odd thing for Erik Lehnsherr to do. Everyone looked very much perturbed by this. Darwin narrowed his eyes as he held his fountain pen up.

"Adding more to this mystery are the two murdered men themselves. They have no identification papers, no records. No one has made any attempt to claim their bodies. The fact that they were unknown to any of you and that Erik murdered them instead, makes me wonder...were they associates of his? If so, why did he kill them?"

"Perhaps they were his cohorts and they were in disagreement over their plans about Sir Charles-"Henry put forth.

Sir Darwin wrote quickly in his journal and snapped it shut, pointing it towards Henry, smiling at him wanly.

"I have come to such a deduction myself. That is the only possible explanation I can think of as to why these men are here. But there is another odd angle. The man with the quiver of arrows in his person. When the officers inspected the area, they found the disassembled parts of an arrow lying upon the grass. The arrowhead has been, pardon me for saying this, used to pierce the eye of the dead man we found in the clearing. No doubt Mr Lehnsherr did this, but why did the man have arrows with him? Why did he not use a pistol?"

No one answered. It seems heap upon heap of mysteries are being brought forth by Sir Darwin's discussion with them. Sir Darwin continued.

"The man with the arrows might be an expert shot from a distance, hence the use of arrows because he needed to do this quietly, and a gun would sound an alarm the moment a shot was fired. I think he meant to kill someone discretely. It could either be Mr Lehnsherr himself or it could be Charles. We will never know for sure. But it appears to me that since that man came into the estate, intending to kill someone, this seems to have spurred Mr Lehnsherr to take drastic action-"

"He then absconded with Sir Charles-"Henry added, seeming to form theories of his own at this point. Darwin smiled at him again. Henry McCoy was a bright young man. He could use such a fellow under his own services.

"Precisely!"

"Then there is a possibility that Mr Lehnsherr took off with Sir Charles because...he was protecting him?"Henry asked, seeming to think his own idea absurd, but it might be a better alternative than having Sir Charles discovered dead. The staff seemed to also accept this theory as a plausible one. If not, a means to comfort their troubled minds. Sir Darwin nodded quietly.

"I do not know the workings of Erik Lehnsherr's mind, but my theory is this: He may have had evil intentions for Charles at first, but may have had a change of heart. We will never know for sure if his...affection for Charles had become genuine at this point. This could be the only reason why none of the staff came to harm because he may not have wanted to hurt Charles's feelings. We all know Charles to be a warm and caring man; that even someone of Mr Lehnsherr's character would be easily taken by it. I am sure Charles has treated you all very well and considers you his family. Perhaps then, Mr Lehnsherr decided the safest course of action was to take Charles away from the estate to prevent any harm to come to him,"

"I wish ever so much that were true!"Angel cried out and began to weep into her hands again. Alex quietly listened to all of this, not saying a word. He held Angel close to calm her down. He was unsure of all these events, whether there was any truth to it or not.

"Yes, we can only hope that Erik Lehnsherr had no evil intentions for Charles. But still, I will wait for any ransom letter, any news. It may arrive here at the estate or in my office. I am working closely with the authorities on this and rest assured, I have made sure everyone's names are cleared of any wrongdoing. Just to keep you up to date on what we have been doing so far, every sea port, carriage and hansom cab company are being closely monitored, every personnel has been questioned to find the whereabouts of Mr Lehnsherr and Charles,"

This appeared to set everyone at ease; at least something was being done to attempt the rescue their benevolent employer. Sir Darwin stood up; he noticed that he had forgotten the tea that Moira MacTaggert had set up for him. It has grown cold. He picked up the cup, nodded his thanks towards her and drank it anyway.

"My apologies to you all, but I must take leave. I have to attend to some more pressing business regarding this matter. I will be at the Police Station for some time, mayhap until this evening,"

Everyone stood up and made their proper farewells. Henry walked with Sir Darwin to assist him with his coat and to show him to the door.

"I do not wish to trouble my fellows any further but all that we have discussed so far are mere speculations, are they not, Mr Darwin?"Henry said as he helped Sir Darwin put on his coat. The man then put on his top hat and was looking at him grimly.

"Indeed, my fellow. Indeed,"

"I feel that I have done Sir Charles a great disservice, for not being able to stop Mr Lehnsherr. I had a rifle in my hands-"

"From how those two murdered men fared, I would say Erik is an expert in armaments. He could have disabled you easily,"

"He did. He threw something at my spectacles. I do not know what it was that he threw at me, but it was a very swift projectile and he moved quite fast. I was down on the ground before I knew it. I did not even see it coming,"Henry felt naked without his glasses, but a new pair would be sent forth by his mother from Spitalfields. Sir Darwin pulled on his gloves and patted Henry upon the back.

"If you see anything untoward or anything of note, do tell me, Mr McCoy. I can see you are an observant fellow and quick on your toes,"

Henry smiled and shook his head in a self-deprecating manner.

"Not really, Sir Darwin. Or else I would have deduced what Erik Lehnsherr was up to,"

"Oh I am sure that will still be put to the test. You never know what may come up," Sir Darwin said good-naturedly, going down the front steps and then he stopped, turning to face Henry one final time.

"And do not think so little of yourself, you have done well enough for Charles, I'm sure,"

He tipped his hat and continued down the walkway towards an awaiting carriage.

And it seems that Sir Darwin was correct. It was almost a week now and they have had no news yet. It has been a gloomy sight to see the rest of the staff moving about dejectedly that Henry decided to visit the side entry where he could sit upon the steps and admire the small herb garden that Mrs MacTaggert and Angel had been tending for several months now and perhaps, he could gaze upon the pedestrian scenery. The side entry leads directly to London's busy streets. This is where the staff passed by if they had any errands that would require them to leave the estate since they never use the main gate; the main gate was usually for the entry of vehicles and besides, the path was too lengthy. He opened the large door and peered out at the people milling about the streets of London. It was full of busy activity, the numerous hats bobbing from the heads of the ladies and gents that passed by, the clatter of the carriages as the coachmen roared for people to get out of the way; peddlers and news-mongers about. He looked down the steps and to his surprise, he saw a blond-haired girl, perhaps she is twelve or thirteen, sitting upon the steps outside the doorway, plucking at the petals of a daisy.

"Well, Hello,"Henry called out to her.

The girl looked up and blinked at him twice. She is a rather fair child. Her eyes are dark blue, her skin pinkish and healthy. She wore a drab looking white dress and a bedraggled looking hat.

"Hello,"She said quietly as she continued to stare at him, still plucking petals from the flower she had in her hand. She actually had a bouquet of daisies upon her lap.

"Would you mind if I ask you what you are doing here?"

"I am waiting for my Mama,"The girl said with an affected air of one trying to sound French. Henry stooped down and sat with her.

"Where is she then?"Henry asked. Before the girl could say anything more, a woman wearing a fashionable white dress and a stately looking, white-fur trimmed coat tugged the girl by the wrist. The woman was a stunning beauty. Blond haired and blue-eyed like the young girl. She was a fair and elegant lady, but there was nothing elegant about the way she spoke to the child.

"What have I told you about speaking to strangers, girl? I've told you countless times!"She hissed and then she pulled the girl behind her, shielding her from Henry. She was now looking directly at him. She gave him a saccharine smile. Henry thought she was very beautiful, but he thought it was all artifice. He immediately took a dislike to her yet his gentility kept him from stating what he thought of her.

"Pardon my little one. I've advised her against speaking to strangers for her safety, I hope you understand, Sir,"The lady said sweetly and Henry gave her a polite smile, nodding.

"Are you the servant of Sir Charles Xavier?"The lady asked, smiling in a beguiling manner.

"Yes I am madam, how may I help you?"Henry asked politely. She kept that smile on her face, but it did not reach up to her icy blue eyes. She spoke in the sweet cultured tones of an upper class women of the day.

"My daughter missed seeing him back at Graymalkin and we were wondering if we could have an audience with him,"

"I'm afraid I cannot grant you entry Madam,"

Her brow wrinkled slightly in worry. "Pray tell me why?"

"I am not sure if you have heard of the news but mayhap you would hear of it anyway. My employer has been abducted and we are under the supervision of his Solicitor, Mr Darwin,"

The woman seemed surprised; the look of dismay on her beautiful face did not mar her beauty in the slightest.

"Oh Goodness! What terrible news indeed! I apologize if I have come a calling at such a time. I was abroad recently. Have you no news of his whereabouts then?"

"No madam, we do not. The one who abducted him has not sent forth any ransom note yet,"

She nodded quietly at this. She did a small curtsy and he returned it with a bow.

"I pray for his swift return then and I beg your pardon for my intrusion,"

"Not at all Madam and thank you for visiting. May I -"

Henry had wanted to ask the lady her name as well as her daughter's name so that he may inform the Solicitor, but she rudely turned from him and began to leave. She grabbed the girl's hand again and she hurried off down the streets with her. She pulled the child roughly along. It made Henry wonder if the child really is her daughter. When Henry entered the gate he saw Logan sitting upon the inner steps, smoking.

"Logan, you startled me! Were you going out? I can open the gate for you again if you like-"

Logan shook his head and brought the cigar down from his lips.

"That woman you were talking to, do you know her?"

"No, I met her just now. She claims she knew Sir Charles and that her daughter was a student of our master-"

"Then she lies,"

Henry's brow furrowed. "Why, do you know her?"

Logan stood up and stretched. He was looking intently at Henry. His bandages and the splints from his nose are gone, but there were still purplish bruises about his face.

"I've seen that woman here once, before Xavier came along. That was a year ago. She had the girl with her too. She asked me if she could speak to Mr Darkholme, my former employer. But Mr Darkholme did not want to see her so she left. If she claims her daughter was Xavier's student, why was she not at his school at that time? Isn't Graymalkin a boarding school where the children have to stay?"

Henry's eyes widened. That woman may have something to do with this entire affair. How she figured into this situation, he knew not, but he thought this was something important that he had to mention to Sir Darwin.

"Thank you, Mr Logan. This is something of note. It might help us find Sir Charles,"

"Yeah, that little fairy boy kinda grows on you, if you know what I mean,"Logan said wryly.

Henry chuckled at that, shaking his head.

"That was not a good idea, speaking to his servant and you know that Lady Frost,"Shaw said quietly as he drank from a flask he had in his coat pocket. They are sitting inside a carriage, the girl crouched quietly in a corner. The flowers she carried were now wilted, trailing more petals at the floor of their transportation.

"I wanted to find out if he knew anything about the location of your target or if he looked like he knew, but was hiding it; he appears to not know anything at all. Now, if your pathetic men had not bungled in the first place, we wouldn't be in this predicament,"She said evenly.

"The circumstances were beyond my control-"

"It should bloody well be rectified then! What am I paying you for if you can't deliver on that?"She snarled, her features were distorted by her anger.

Shaw just stared at her, unmoved. He was not concerned about her own vendetta against Xavier. It wasn't about that anymore. His reputation amongst the brotherhood became sullied, all because Erik Lehnsherr went rogue, taking the target with him and going into hiding. Erik was his right hand man; he was the best that he had ever trained so far and bastard threw that all away just because of one man. And what for? Shaw was curious as to the nature of Xavier, and what he had done to turn his own 'attack dog' against him.

"Erik Lehnsherr killed two of my men, Mrs Frost. I assure you I will find them. I have my own score to settle as well,"

Emma Frost gave an injured sniff at that and looked away. Then, she glared at the girl, her eyes narrowing. She bent forward upon her seat and grabbed at the petals on the floor. She brought it up to the girl's face, shouting angrily.

"Look at this mess you are making?"She shoved the petals against the girl's mouth. "Throw these out of the carriage or I will throw you under the carriage myself!"

The girl began to cry, but she did as she was told. She opened the window partway and began to throw the flowers out, clearing them from the floor. She sat quietly at Mrs. Frost's feet again, trying to get her own silent sobbing under control. Shaw wondered why Emma Frost kept the brat close by her side, what the purpose was. She had told him before that she wanted to be rid of 'this creature'.

"Do you have any leads as to where this Erik Lehnsherr might be?"Lady Frost asked as she smoothed her clothes and fixed her appearance while looking into a diamond-studded mirror. She smiled at herself in the mirror, seeming to practice how best to smile, projecting an elegant yet cool countenance.

"I know of a few places. I will have my men look into them-"

"If you do find him, take me with you then. I want to see Charles Xavier killed right before my eyes," She said coldly, her eyes now on the girl at her feet.

"If Lady Frost wishes it so,"Shaw nodded. She is a very cruel woman indeed, seemingly driven by hatred, Shaw thought quietly as he opened the window and tapped the side of the carriage, indicating for their driver to move forward.