"I know, my dear, I myself am not particularly fond of carrots," said Jervis Tetch sympathetically, as he held a spoon of mashed carrots in front of Catherine's mouth, which was resolutely closed. "Rabbit food, to my mind, and not suitable for human consumption. But then I suppose if a rabbit wears a waistcoat, he has human attributes, and therefore we should try to understand them and embrace aspects of their diet. And if you want the White Rabbit to visit you, you mustn't offend him by refusing his food. And you do want the White Rabbit to visit you, so you can go to Wonderland, Alice. So you see you must eat it. Perfectly sensible, wouldn't you agree?"
Catherine hadn't understood a word, but slowly opened her mouth to admit the spoon. She made a face as she chewed and swallowed. "Now wash the taste out of your mouth," he said, helping her drink from the cup of juice. "That wasn't so bad, was it, my dear? And now you will only dream of white rabbits and Wonderland."
The front door opened at that moment and Alice entered the room, putting down her bag and taking off her coat. Her eyes were red from crying, and her whole body slouched in an attitude of unhappiness and defeat. But she smiled when she saw her daughter and the empty bowl in front of her. "She ate all her carrots again? You're a miracle worker, Jervis."
"I merely explain the necessity of eating them, my dear," he replied. "Little Alice is smart enough to understand, aren't you, my love?" he asked, helping her out of the high chair. She giggled happily as he handed her over to her mother.
"You're so good with her," Alice sighed.
"Well, I'm a poor substitute for her father, but I do what I can," replied Tetch. "How…uh…is her father?"
Tears came to Alice's eyes. "Uh…I'll tell you after I put Catherine to bed. Come on, sweetie," she said, heading for the bedroom.
Tetch sighed. That didn't sound good. He was this close to doing something drastic like going over to confront Billy himself and mind controlling him into seeing sense. He couldn't bear to just sit back and watch Alice's misery for much longer.
She shut the door several minutes later and came over to the fire, sitting down in the chair. "Drink, my dear?" he asked, holding up a bottle of wine.
She nodded. "Might help," she murmured. "Thank you," she said, taking the glass from him.
"You don't need to tell me if it's…too painful…" he murmured.
"No. No, you need to hear this," she whispered, shutting her eyes. "It involves you, after all."
"Me?" said Tetch, surprised.
She nodded again. "Billy told me to…thank you," she murmured. "For taking such good care of his family when he was unable to do so. He is unable to take care of us…he…he told me the truth tonight, you see, and the situation is worse than I ever could have imagined…"
She took a long sip of wine. "Billy…has fallen in with a bad crowd, just like I thought," she murmured. "But he realized it pretty soon after he got into the mess, and wanted to get out of it. But they wouldn't let him leave. They made threats against me and Catherine if he didn't comply and do exactly what he was told."
She drained her glass. "It's nothing…too bad. I mean, he's not killing anyone. He's only sent to pick up packages from people and things like that. But it's illegal stuff that could get him into trouble if he was ever caught. So he's stuck between a rock and a hard place. But the guys he works for have told him they'll let him leave on one condition."
"And that is?" asked Tetch.
She gazed at him. "It…uh…involves you," she whispered.
"Me?"
"Yes. They know about your connection to our family. They know you'll do almost anything to keep us safe. But this…this…I can't ask you to do this, Jervis," she whispered.
"Just tell me, Alice, and I'll decide for myself if I will do it," murmured Tetch.
She nodded slowly, reaching for the bottle of wine and pouring herself another drink. She took a long, slow gulp of this and then looked into his eyes. "These people…had some dealings with the Scarecrow a while back. Dealings which didn't go well. They want revenge. They want the Scarecrow dead. They want…you to kill him."
"Kill…Jonathan?" gasped Tetch, horrified.
She nodded again. "They think it will be better to have you do it – his best friend, someone he trusts…he won't see it coming. No difficulty in getting close to him, which there might be with a hired assassin. I mean, he's not a careless man, and he's not a particularly trusting man. Except…he trusts you."
Tetch shook his head. "I cannot do that," he said, firmly. "It's impossible. Quite impossible."
"I know," she murmured, tears in her eyes. "I know. But I don't know what else to do. Billy says he's afraid they'll hurt him or us if we don't convince you to do it, but I can't convince you to do anything like that and still be able to live with myself! The only choices open to us are utterly horrible! I can't ask you to…I can't…"
"Who are these people, my dear?" asked Tetch. "Give me names, and I will get rid of them for you."
"You can't," she whispered. "They're an organization with hundreds of members. And anyway, there's no time. They've told Billy he has to have you do it by Friday. If the Scarecrow isn't dead by then...there's no telling what they'll do to him. Or us."
She buried her face in her hands. "I'm so sorry to put you in this position, Jervis!" she sobbed. "I can't think of any way to get us out of this! But I can't ask you to choose between your best friend or us! No one should ever have to make that choice!"
Tetch was silent. "Maybe the price of great love is great pain," he murmured. "And a willingness to sacrifice everything for that."
He sighed heavily. "I suppose the question really is, could I live with myself when I had the opportunity to save your life, and did nothing? Any action is better than inaction. And at least I am given the choice of which life is more important to me: the life of my love, or the life of my best friend."
"You can't do this, Jervis…"
"I am sure…Jonathan would understand," murmured Tetch. "I am sure in my position, he would do the same. I cannot claim to love you and then not be willing to anything for that love, no matter how horrible. That's…that's not nonsense, is it? No, I do not believe it is."
"Jervis, please…"
"By Friday, you say? Yes, I suppose I can…have it done by Friday. So worry no more, my dear. I will see it done," said Tetch, quietly but firmly.
Alice stared at him. "Jervis…"
"The decision has been made," he interrupted. "Three lives for the price of one. I am sure Jonathan would be honored that he is so valued. I hope he will always know how much I value him. But it is a simple equation with a simple solution. He must die. He will understand. I know him."
Alice gazed at him, breathing heavily, with tears in her eyes. Then she suddenly embraced him, kissing him passionately. Tetch returned it – he couldn't help it. "No…woman could ever ask for a better man," she whispered, drawing away and gazing at him.
She leaned forward to kiss him again, but he put a hand to her lips. "No, you're…you're married," he stammered. "And you've had…too much wine, I suspect."
"Jervis, if you are really going to do this for me, I have to do something for you," she whispered. "That's the only way I can live with myself – if this isn't a favor. If it's a deal. An exchange. Something I want desperately for something…you want desperately."
"My dear, I can't…accept that," he gasped. "You know I can't…not from a married woman, and not from my friend. We could never see each other again without knowing what had passed between us. It would ruin everything."
"Jervis, I can't…"
"No, my dear, I can't," he interrupted. "Now you must go to bed, and leave everything with me. I will put it all to rights."
He strode from the room without another word, entering the kitchen and shutting the door. He sank down on the ground, leaning against it, and began to cry silently. "I hope you can forgive me for what I have to do, Jonathan," he whispered. "I hope I can forgive myself."