Sonia had shown them the way to the manor without being seen. Pearl led the way into Carrington house with her head hanging. She was trying not to cry again.

Eventually, she led the way to the library where she knew she would find her father. Slowly, she approached her papa and moved to his side. He gave a surprised look when she wrapped his arms around him.

Sonia was the one who ended up explaining the situation to the older man, for Pearl was too distraught to tell her father that Magnus was dead.

Old Magnus was not as distraught as he could have been, as his son had done terrible things and he had suspected as much for some time. He wasn't surprised. He would grieve in private. His wife would wail like a banshee when he told her, and tell her he must.

Pearl then approached him about Joe, explaining what happened to him too as a result of Robert's shenanigans...

She looked to Joe then for help to explain his side of the story.

He was having a hard time keeping himself from crying for his eldest boy. How stupid had he been to believe that Magnus was a good man at one point or another and he wasn't? Old Magnus looked between the three people with a grimace, "You may stay in Magnus' room, miss, I would talk to my daughter and her friend alone. What a mess."

He sighed heavily and steepled his fingers. "Tell me everything..." he was numb.

Joe felt very much like a small boy in front of the schoolmaster again. Perhaps it was his grand surroundings that overwhelmed him? Joe certainly wasn't dressed for a place like this... Or maybe it was the shock of the evening's adventure starting to wear off? Whatever the reason, Joe conceded to the elder Carrington's request and began his story.

"Well it started, um.." Joe began haltingly before looking at Pearl for support. He supposed she needed him to be strong for her in the moment, he swallowed and took an extra deep breath.

"It started about a week ago when I met your daughter at Whitby Town station in the course of my duties as a porter there, sir..."

So Joe recounted in detail his first meeting with Pearl and that first unfortunate encounter with Robert.

He was having a hard time wrapping his mind around the death of his eldest boy, so much so that he found the recounting of the lad's woes kind of preposterous given the timing of it. But then, perhaps the lad was nervous. After all, he had come in with his youngest daughter and one of Magnus' whores, right? Augh, the anger of it all boiled to the surface and he turned on the two kids with full force, "You just came to tell me of my oldest boy and his senseless behavior leading to his death, and you are now complaining about another son of mine." He sighed and turned his back to the two, lighting up his pipe for much needed fortification, "Stop talking, boy, and pour a brandy for all of us. I'll et you your job back in good time. I did just learn... some heartwrenching news." He was sad for the boy his Magnus had once been. "I suppose I could hope his... wife... has a son and names him Magnus too, but my hopes for that are low. After all, he was such a cad, was he not?" He gave a laugh, but it was utterly humorless. Assuming the brandy was doled out, the older man shook once with a bit of a sob, but he did not shed a tear after that... and that, frankly, is messed up.

Joe had done as he had been bidden and poured three roughly equal glasses of the strong amber drink. He seen it in the pub enough to sort of do it right. On the whole, he felt rather foolish and stupid. Handing out the glasses, the seconds ticked slowly by in awkward silence. Joe stared into his glass before taking a mouthful and immediately regretting it. Being strictly a beer and ale man, his throat rebelled at the touch of the fiery spirit. He had the presence of mind to clamp his mouth shut and forcefully swallow it, before coughing vigorously.

She was still shaking, obviously traumatized by witnessing her brother's doom. When Joe handed her the brandy, she was shaking so hard that the brew sloshed in the tumbler. Her father noticed, set his down, and immediately took the glass from her to do the same. Then he pulled her to him. Her father smelled of mint and tobacco, which calmed her a little. She gave a choking sob, nevertheless, and then wailed, "I killed my brother!" She hadn't, but that didn't stop her from thinking she had.

He hugged her harder, "Shh, darling girl, you did no such thing. He did it to himself."

"No, you don't understand, I went to the reporter who wrote about my kidnapping and..."

"You did what?" He pulled away and looked down at her.

She explained her part in all of it, and at first, her father had a scowl on his face, and then his brows went up in understanding. While he was not happy she went to Gareth, he knew her intentions were good. "Daughter, you could never make me hate you... I didn't hate Magnus either, but if he was as you say, then he had to be brought to justice, plain and simple. You did not kill your brother, he paved his own road."

She looked to Joe, her eyes filled with tears, "Joseph was trying to keep me safe... I ought not to have gone to the brothel, papa, and he came to make sure nobody hurt me."

Magnus III looked over to Joe too, and he said, "Forgive me if I was short with you, Joseph. I may not have loved what my son has become, but I loved him even still. Now I will have to deal with burying one son and disciplining the other. It's not a spot I wish to be in... Added to that, I must tell my wife and remaining children what has become of Magnus."

Joe shook his head as he swallowed another mouthful of spirit.

"No apology needed sir. This is a bad time for you an' yers." he said. What else could he possibly say?

"There is also another matter we need to discuss... and that is the fact that you were in a brothel unchaperoned with my daughter. I understand that you were trying to protect her, but you should have gotten her out of there before anything else and she should have known better. Do you have intentions for my daughter? What are they?" He released Pearl and set her away from him for this.

Mister Carrington's question just hung pregnant in the air as Joe thought how to answer it.  Joe couldn't very well blurt out his young feelings for Pearl in front of her father with so much going on, but if he didn't say something true what would she say?

"Mister Carrington, sir." Joe began "I have only recently met Pearl, but I swear I have no ill intentions, sir. I would like to think of her as a friend, sir, as she needs a friend in town.  Everyone needs friends."

Joe drained the remainder his brandy

"Pearl is a remarkable young lady. She does you credit, sir and I would like to continue to know her in the future. Whatever it may hold."

Friends... She supposed he answered correctly in the face of what was going on, so she didn't get offended. She was too upset as it is with her brother, and now the death of her other brother, and... augh. "He's my friend, papa," she agreed lamely even still. Her father looked between the two of them and knew better. There was a spark between the two and he wasn't blind to it. He heaved a sigh. "How about this..? How about I make you my apprentice? I don't think my children are interested in doing what I do..." or maybe he could spark some fire in one of his kids into jealousy or something to let him know they were, indeed, interested in more than just spending the money.

Pearl blinked and looked at her father.