Lydia felt a little sick, but tried to hide it. She'd set this in motion, after all, with coming to Samuel with her tales, and she couldn't blame him for trying to defend himself, if it had come to that. But that it had come to that...

She shivered the sick feeling and imminent sob away. She had no right to them.

"I doubt anyone would question if we said that was what it was," she said quietly. They didn't have any forensic experts among them, able to tell the difference in wound patterns. "They'll want to believe the simplest explanation, the one that keeps the family together..." And they all knew about the government men who hounded their steps. And she knew the emotional pulse of the family, what they needed, wanted most.