Cross Examination

By breakfast, the broadsheet had successfully infiltrated the family quarters.

Ernest stepped into the sunlit dining room and found his mother seated at the head of the table, the Helmarte Gazette spread wide before her. Victor sat opposite, reading a second paper, while Hollen was contentedly applying a thick layer of butter to a slice of toast.

The moment Ernest crossed the threshold, Hollen looked up and grinned.

Ernest immediately halted, turning on his heel. "Absolutely not."

"Sit down, darling," Anna called out cheerfully.

"I have lost my appetite."

"You haven't eaten a single egg."

"I shall consume breakfast at the locomotive works."

Victor let out a loud snort, lowering his broadsheet. It was not the Gazette; it was the Belfast Morning Herald.

Ernest's stomach sank. "The Herald published it as well?"