by Ella Edon
This was something big. Alexander felt that Jane deserved to know, but it wasn’t his place to say anything. He wasn’t family. Jane was, as of right now, only an acquaintance. Granted, an acquaintance he wanted to know more about, but Alexander wasn’t in a position where he could tell her something like this. He had to respect the family and keep quiet.
But, were they ever going to tell her? Was Jane going to find out after Lord and Lady Crawley were dead? Alexander had no idea, but Lord Tiverton was determined that Jane was not to know. While Alexander and Anthony didn’t see eye-to-eye, he wasn’t about to be so disrespectful and tell Jane something that wasn’t his to tell.
Hopefully, the family would let Jane know soon enough. Alexander knew that Jane would never forgive anyone if they kept something like this from her. Maybe not even him.
That was painful to think about.
It was shortly after sunrise when Alexander decided to go for a walk. Dressing on his own into his walking clothes and boots, he let himself out the side door and started walking across the fields. Going south from the house and out of the gate would bring him down the hill and into the town of Crawley. From what Alexander had heard from Lee about Megan White, she lived in a cottage between Crawley and the estate, right on the edge of the grounds.
Maybe going to have a look around would be allowed. Anything to keep him occupied. Alexander was going to go mad staying in his room or walking around the house.
Megan White’s cottage was a quaint little building with a nice-looking garden, an allotment, and a nearby well. It looked very self-sufficient, and very neat and tidy. Alexander did wonder how a busy midwife ended up looking after her home and gardens. If it were him, he wouldn’t want to see a weed after helping a woman give birth.
Then again, pulling weeds was probably a refreshing breather from witnessing childbirth.
The front door was open, and Alexander could see Lee through an open window. He was standing in the middle of the room and looking around with a bewildered expression.
Alexander reached the window and saw why. The place was a mess. Everything had been turned upside-down or ripped apart. He could see the padding from the couch scattered across the floor. There was soot from the chimney thrown across everything. Crockery was smashed, papers ripped and singed. Someone had been trying to destroy something. From the look of it, they were trying to destroy practically everything in the cottage.
“Someone had a ball in here,” Alexander said.
Lee started. Then his eyes narrowed at Alexander.
“I thought I told you to stay in the grounds. What are you doing here?”
“I went for a walk, and I remembered that you said Miss White’s home was nearby.” Alexander shrugged. “I thought I might as well come in and look around.”
“Well, someone got here before you.” He sighed. “Come on in, then. I’m guessing I wouldn’t be able to get you to leave.”
“Not really.”
Alexander headed towards the door and had to duck his head before it collided with the ceiling. He made his way into the living room, where Lee was still standing staring at the scene.
“The whole place has been turned over. I’ve checked upstairs as well.” Lee shook his head. “Everything has been destroyed.”
“Everything?”
“Right down to her clothes upstairs. Her undergarments have been shredded and left on the bed.”
Now that was unusual. If someone was trying to look for something or destroy it, they would just go for what they had been looking for. But to shred her underclothes as well? That didn’t make sense to Alexander.
“When do you think this happened?” Alexander asked, nudging some crockery with his foot.
“More than likely after the murder.”
“Not before?”
Lee snorted. “If it had been before the murder, I think even this would have Miss White looking for help.” Lee gestured at the cottage around him. “Nobody would have heard anything. It’s out of the way. And if Miss White had been present during the ransacking and killed when she fought back, the killer would have left the body here.”
Alexander raised his eyebrows. “You’re very confident about that, Lee.”
“It makes a bit more sense.” Lee headed towards the window and pointed out towards the house. “It’s a little over a mile to the pond from here. I said I suspected Megan had been killed elsewhere and buried by the pond, but I don’t see even the strongest of men carrying her body a mile away from the house.”
“He may have had help,” Alexander suggested. “Or a cart to put her in.”
“Possibly. It’s tough to say. I’m sure someone would have noticed a stray cart on Lord Crawley’s land.” Lee leaned against the wall and rubbed his hands over his face. He looked exhausted. “I spent most of yesterday evening going around Crawley speaking to anyone who knew about Miss White. Several people spoke about her being visited by Mr. Elliott several times before they both disappeared.”
“Several times?” Alexander leaned against the doorframe. “Are you thinking a tryst?”
“No. She was a patient.”
“How did you get that out of the residents?”
“I got it out of Mrs. Elliott. She helped out with her husband’s patients and she was with Miss White when Mr. Elliott diagnosed her condition.” Lee lowered his hands. “She had consumption. She was dying.”
Oh, God. Alexander knew that consumption was something that couldn’t be cured. It could possibly be stalled with a variety of medicinal remedies, but the end result was the same. It just depended on when it was caught, often too late. It made Alexander relieved that he had never suffered from it himself. The thought left him terrified.
From the look of it, Lee was just as shaken by it. He had kept his composure, but it was momentarily slipping. Alexander knew that everyone was scared of dying by disease, but it seemed to have hit on a deeper level with Lee. Something else was going on with the Marquess.
Maybe now was not the best time to ask about it. Alexander could tell when to leave things alone.
“It would explain the sudden weight loss she was having,” Lee went on. “The last time I saw Megan, she was a plump, curvy woman. Far more than she was when we found her.”
That didn’t link with the body Alexander had found. He looked around the room.
“Do you think Mr. Elliott, Megan White and Rosemary Wray saw something or knew something and they were silenced when one threatened to tell?”
“Threatened to tell someone about what? I can’t see what they would want to divulge.”
“Maybe they were involved in a birth that went wrong, or it was something to do with an illicit affair that had to be covered up.”
Lee huffed. “I can see that with Mr. Elliott and Miss White, but Rosemary? She was Lady Crawley’s personal maid.”
“She used to be a nun, wasn’t she?”
“That still doesn’t completely tie in with the physician and the midwife.”
Alexander’s thoughts turned to Jane and what he had learned about her the night before. Anthony had said that the only people who knew about Jane and her parents were Lord and Lady Crawley, Anthony himself, Robert Malcolm and Elizabeth Harrison. What if there were more people who knew?
“Maybe it was something to do with Lady Jane,” he murmured.
“Lady Jane?” Lee raised his eyebrows. “What are you talking about? How is she involved in this?”
Alexander winced. He shouldn’t have said that out loud. Now Lee was looking at him strangely. Alexander grimaced.
“I promised not to say anything about this. I gave my word.”
“Well, that’s going to have to change now you’ve said that.” Lee folded his arms. “If you think it’s important, you need to tell me.”
Now Alexander was beginning to wish he hadn’t gone looking for something to do. He should have just stayed in his room. He took a deep breath.
“I spoke to Anthony Malcolm last night.
Jane isn’t his sister. She’s his niece.”
Lee’s eyes widened. “What? She’s...what...how…”
“Judith Malcolm was her mother. She had an affair, was sent away to have the baby and died during childbirth. Then they made it like Lady Crawley had given birth again.” Alexander hurried on. “It could explain the murders. Rosemary was Lady Crawley’s maid, so she would know that her mistress wasn’t pregnant. Miss White could have delivered the baby and Mr. Elliott may have made all the arrangements.”
It made sense, and at the same time it didn’t. Alexander didn’t know what to think anymore, but it was a possibility. Lee was still looking shocked at the news. Alexander had seen Lee as a very unflappable gentleman, but since coming into contact with him, the Marquess was proving to be someone who could be easily surprised.
“I had no idea about this,” Lee murmured.
“I suspected something last night, but I wasn’t entirely sure. Lord Tiverton just confirmed it all.”
Lee nodded slowly. “It would make sense. But I don’t see how that could have been a threat to anyone. Unless you’re accusing the Crawley family of wanting to keep their secret under wraps.”
“Not them. I don’t see that family turning to murder to keep this quiet.” Alexander pushed a shredded cushion away with his foot. “I’m thinking about someone from the birth father’s side being the culprit. Maybe he found out about Jane and wanted those involved to keep quiet permanently. He could have a reputation that could be ruined if it came out that he had an illegitimate child.”
“In this day and age, that could be anyone.” Lee huffed. “At this moment in time, a lot of people would consider it a status symbol.”
“With the people I know, I wouldn’t be surprised.”
“Did anyone know who the father was?”
“According to Lord Tiverton, Judith was the only one who knew, and she’s not going to be telling anyone.” Alexander had a thought. “Maybe she told Rosemary. She was a nun. Perhaps she wanted to confess before she died.”
“That is a bit of a stretch, Alexander.”
“What else have we got to go on?”
“Fair point.” Lee sighed and rubbed his hands on his coat. “I’m going to need to speak to Lord Crawley about it. I won’t mention that you found out through Lord Tiverton, though. I’ll pretend I came to that conclusion myself, and see what he says about this. Maybe he will have an idea who the father is.”
“If you think that’s going to work.” Alexander grunted.
Lee fixed him with a stare. “I like that you’re a clever gentleman, Alexander, but leave the orders to me. If you do that, we should get along fine.”
“Yes, Lord Surrey.”
Even as he spoke, Alexander had to fight back a smile.
“Lady Jane?”
Jane looked up. Claire was staring at her across the room.
“Hmm?”
“Are you all right? You’ve been staring at your work and not moved for the last ten minutes.”
“Oh.” Jane then realized she had been looking at her embroidery but not really paying any attention. She sighed and put her sewing aside. “I’m just not in the right mindset at the moment, Claire.”
“What’s wrong?” Claire lowered her own sewing. “You’ve been out of sorts since you came back from breakfast.”
“I’m fine.”
That was said a little too fast, and Jane winced when she saw Claire’s expression. Her maid didn’t believe her at all. Jane needed to talk to someone, and Claire was pretty much the only person she could talk to. Her parents were certainly not the best people to approach regarding her thoughts, and after having Robert catch her in a clinch with Alexander, Jane didn’t really want to talk to her brother either.
She sighed and rose to her feet, wandering over to the window.
“I had an argument with Rachel this morning. Hopefully, she will be leaving by the end of the day.”
“Really?” Claire sounded surprised. “I thought we weren’t supposed to leave until Lord Surrey had finished his investigation.”
“Hopefully, we can make an exception for Rachel.” Jane said bitterly. “Perhaps let her stay in the local inn. I don’t want her here after what she said to me.”
“What did she say?”
Jane slumped onto the window seat. It was a beautiful day outside, and the flooding from the day before was receding quickly. Jane wanted to go out into the gardens and go for a walk, but everyone had to stay inside. She felt like she was closed into a prison cell.
“She believed that Mr. Harrison cornered her in the hallway last night and attempted to molest her.”
Claire’s eyes widened. Her mouth fell open, and then she winced loudly as she dropped her sewing into her lap.
“Are you all right?” Jane asked.
“I just managed to stab my finger with a pin.” Claire sucked her finger. “This simple past-time is incredibly painful.”
Jane couldn’t agree more. Claire put her things on the table beside her and stood, dusting down her skirts.
“She was certain that it was Mr. Harrison who tried to molest her?” she asked as she crossed the room. “I know that Mr. Harrison is a gentleman who likes the ladies, but I didn’t think he would be a fool as to go after a woman who clearly dislikes him under another gentleman’s roof.”
“Neither did I.”
Alexander had done a lot of things in the past, and he admitted to regretting it all, but he wouldn’t be so disrespectful to Lord Crawley by grabbing at a woman he knows dislikes him in the dark. Jane had scoffed at it before, and she still disbelieved Rachel’s word. She had been molested, yes, but Rachel’s hatred for Alexander was evident, so it wasn’t a stretch for Jane to know who Rachel would blame for what happened to her.
Jane wondered if she had done what Marissa did; had a grope and a kiss in a darkened hallway and then became overcome with guilt so she tried to blame someone else. That was just despicable, in Jane’s eyes.
“Maybe she was mistaken,” Claire suggested. “It is possible.”
“It is possible, but she’s adamant that it was Mr. Harrison, even though Robert was with him at the time.” Jane made a face. “Just like she’s adamant that her sister Marissa was an innocent victim of Mr. Harrison’s...seduction.”
That didn’t feel good saying. Knowing that Alexander had taken to bed a human being, vile in Jane’s eyes, left a nasty taste in her mouth.
“I see.” Claire settled on the window seat beside her mistress. “She’s still blinded by sisterly love.”
“You think Marissa was just as guilty, don’t you?”
“I never said anything of the sort, My Lady.”
Jane smiled. “You didn’t need to. I can read you, Claire. You believed Marissa Preston was guilty, and you didn’t believe her protests.”
Claire sighed. “I’ve watched her over the years since I joined your household whenever she came here. She was not very nice to you, and I was surprised that you never said a thing about it. I wanted to, believe me, but I knew my concerns would be dismissed. Hearing that she and Mr. Harrison had been...involved...well, that didn’t come as a surprise to me.”
It had to be embarrassing when even the servants knew you had done wrong. Jane didn’t even want to think about what the household staff had been thinking about her obsession with Ian Harrison.
Ian. That had Jane pausing. She had barely thought about him since she returned home. It was as if her passion for him had gone or had never existed at all. Jane didn’t think that was possible.
“I just wish Rachel wasn’t so sure about it all. She’s my closest friend, but I don’t recognize her when she doubles down on this.” Jane sat back, resting her head on the window shutters. “I don’t want her anywhere near me right now.”
“Well, it’s going to be difficult to get her to leave with Lord Surrey in charge.” Claire smiled. “Don’t worry, My Lady. I’m sure we can keep you two separated.”
Jane hoped so.
She didn’t feel like interacting with her friend anytime soon. She reached out and took Claire’s hand.
“I’m glad you’re here, Claire.”
“I’m glad I’m here, too.” Claire giggled before schooling herself into a calmer demeanor. “Forgive me, I shouldn’t be laughing at something so serious, but I haven’t had this much excitement in years.”
“You’re calling this excitement?”
