The Secrets of Water

by Wendy Nelson-Sinclair

  “Bullshit,” Randall spat back. “Mrs. Sargent knows exactly what you are, as do I! You are a conceited gold digger who is taking advantage of a naive young woman that was once your friend.” He met her squarely in the eye, seeing no response coming from the schemer before him. “The only thing that you care about is Edith’s money. Admit it!”

  Addie’s eyes flashed as her chest heaved with unspoken anger. “How dare you say such things, sir!” Addie cried, suddenly feigning exasperation. “You are no gentleman to be saying that to a lady!” she cried out as her hand flew weakly to her temple and she swayed as if about to faint.

  “What is going on out here?” Edith demanded as she quickly made her way over to where the two faced off against each other. “Randall? What did you say to Addie?” Edith demanded as she went to Addie’s aid.

  “Edith…” Randall stuttered, stunned that he’d fallen victim to an obvious set up. Stealing a glance at Addie, he didn’t fail to see the devious smile that tugged at the corner of her mouth or the way her evil eyes twinkled with delight. “You can’t believe that I would…”

  “I don’t know what to believe!” Edith snapped uncharacteristically. “All I know is that you’ve disrespected Addie and for that, I’d like you to leave,” she demanded. Randall tried to protest but Edith silenced anything further he had to say. “Since you cannot behave like a gentleman, I would prefer it if you would send your reports from now on instead of delivering them in person. I cannot handle any kind of rudeness under my roof or to see my friend so aggrieved.”

  Randall gawked openly as Edith ordered him to leave and slumped with defeat seeing it was useless to argue back. Edith believed Addie’s scheme and would not be swayed otherwise. With a quick complying word, Wagner reluctantly exited the gardens and soon after, left the estate.

  Once Wagner was no longer within sight, Edith turned to Addie. “Are you all right?” Edith touched Addie’s arm to assure herself that Addie wasn’t physically harmed.

  “I am fine,” Addie raised her chin, breathing quickly and nearly on the verge of tears. “Just promise me that I won’t have to see that man ever again!” Addie stamped her foot.

  “He won’t be visiting any time soon,” Edith said as she pulled Addie close and linked arms. “And when he does, he will have to give advance notice to make sure that you’re not here. Perhaps you could go see London when he’s here?” Edith offered, clearly not seeing the trap that she was unwittingly falling into.

  Little did Edith know that it would have been wiser to stay clear of both rather than placing a shred of trust in either Addie or her financial advisor. Over the next two years, Edith's blindness towards Addie's machinations lead to Edith's slowly ceding control of her own house while Addie's sights were set on the entire estate.

  SEVEN

  “I don’t see why I am being excluded!” Dr. Trelawney faced off with Martin Beemer, the museum’s director, as Lizzie, Hazel, and Sebastian gave their information to the guard and were granted entry. “Martin, we both know that I am the preeminent expert on all things Edith Blackwell. To purposefully keep me out of the loop is beyond disrespectful! It’s as if you’re accusing me of something by way of exclusion!” Dr. Trelawney’s voice carried in after the door closed but quickly faded as the trio made their way to the back room where Katherine Sargent waited to begin.

  “Katherine!” Hazel beamed as they entered the lab.

  “Hazel!” Katherine Sargent cheered back, excited to see her longtime friend and the new acquaintances. “How are you?”

  “I am fine. Most fine, even with this bum leg. Katherine,” Hazel stepped back to allow Lizzie and Sebastian to step forward. “I’d like to introduce my grandson, Sebastian, and the woman of the hour, Miss Lizzie Bennett.”

  “It is a pleasure to meet you, especially you, Lizzie. This is quite a find that you have here. All I can say is that I have been eager to get my hands on it since Martin’s call.”

  “Speaking of Martin…” Hazel rolled her eyes as she glanced towards the only point of entry.

  “She’s been here since before I arrived and I got here early,” Katherine admitted with a noted lack of enthusiasm. “First she tried to sweet talk Marc Jacobs and when she realized it would get her nowhere, she demanded to speak to Martin.” The two women shared a knowing look, one that neither Lizzie nor Sebastian failed to see.

  For the next few minutes, they discussed Dr. Trelawney’s futile attempts to be included until Martin entered the lab, visibly irritated and exhausted.

  “That woman!” Martin growled, his body popping with annoyance. “I’m sorry that she kept me so long everyone. Security is ushering her out as we speak. I’ve got a good mind to cancel her lecture next week for all the trouble she’s caused,” he added as he joined the group and sucked in a harsh breath, only to let it out slowly in attempt to relax. “Why don’t we get started? I’m sure everyone’s as excited as I am to see what we’ve got. Lizzie, did you bring the manuscript and the letters?”

  Meeting Martin’s eye, Lizzie placed the articles in question down upon the table and stepped back, eager for Katherine and Martin to begin.

  ************

  “Visually, this appears to be authentic,” Katherine Sargent pronounced after a lengthy examination of Lizzie’s findings. “Of course, there’s testing that needs to be done but based on the writing and that this is most definitely Edith Blackwell’s stationery—the same that the rest of Edith’s correspondence is written on—I would say we have the real deal,” she proudly announced to those gathered around her. The museum’s conservator agreed enthusiastically.

  “I will make sure that no one else touches these,” the museum’s conservator said as he happily gathered everything up and whisked them off.

  “How can you be certain that they’ll be safe?” Lizzie asked as the thought came to her.

  “They’re stored in a safe that can only be unlocked with biometrics,” Martin Beemer explained. “The only two that can access the safe are me and Brian,” he answered, pointing to himself and the conservator that had disappeared down the hall.

  ““I have to say, I am this side of stunned that you were able to locate the missing half of the manuscript.” Katherine directed her words towards Lizzie as she carefully removed both her protective eyewear and her white gloves. “Where did you find it all?” Katherine asked as Lizzie stared at her idol with a mixture of enchantment and awe.

  “It’s more like it found me,” Lizzie said honestly, flabbergasted to be in Katherine Sargent’s esteemed presence.

  “Well, I am glad that you had the foresight to get it into the right hands as quickly as possible. You’re thinking like a fine historian, Lizzie.”

  “Thank you, Katherine,” Lizzie gushed. “That means a lot.” It was all that she could think to say.

  Katherine Sargent was one of Lizzie’s heroes. She was the type of historian that she’d always wanted to be. Competent, thorough, knowledgeable, and steadily working in her preferred area of interest. Standing between Hazel and Katherine, across from Sebastian, she finally felt like she could be.

  “Hazel, how about we go down to the museum café to catch up and leave these young people to celebrate?”

  “That sounds like a wonderful plan.” Hazel shifted to grab the crutches that she’d begrudgingly been forced to bring along today. “I have an idea,” Hazel added as a figurative lightbulb turned on over her head. “Blackwood Farm is still open for a few more hours. Lizzie’s been dying to go there since she arrived. Sebastian, why don’t you take her there?”

  “Hello, Katherine. My, how you’ve changed since I last saw you.” A cool, serpentine voice slithered down the main hallway just before everyone readied to go their separate ways.

  “Dr. Trelawney,” Katherine replied evenly, too smart to take Trelawney’s bait. “Preparing for another lecture, are you?” Katherine added, knowing full well why the other woman was here at the museum.

  “You murdering bitch!” Hazel s
napped as she charged towards her nemesis. Lizzie watched in awe as Hazel barreled toward the other woman, her cast not hindering her in the slightest.

  “That is slander,” Trelawney bit back but offered up no other defense. “Really, Hazel,” Trelawney rolled her cat-shaped eyes as the corner of her mouth raised in a smirk. “Don’t you think you’re a little too old to be calling people names?”

  “And you’re not too old to go to jail for murdering Allen Chang!” Hazel squared up to the taller woman dressed reminiscent of Katherine Hepburn in the movie, Woman of the Year. “You’ll pay for what you’ve done! You mark my words. You’ll pay…” Hazel threatened as Trelawney slithered past her, headed towards Lizzie.

  “Miss Bennett, is it?” Dr. Trelawney extended her hand which Lizzie refused to accept.

  “You know who I am,” Lizzie replied. “What can I do for you, Dr.?”

  “I’ve been thinking about your little discovery. I was wondering if you’d be open to accepting a partner. One who has been in these shoes before and knows how to navigate the tricky world of evolving history.” Lizzie scoffed at the idea. She stood staring incredulously, irritated that Dr. Trelawney had the gall to ridicule her one minute and then offer to mentor her the next.

  “I don’t need or want a partner,” Lizzie said flatly. “Katherine has been so kind to mentor me through this, as has Martin Beemer, the current museum director. I thank you for the offer, but my answer is an emphatic no.” Lizzie raised her chin defiantly.

  “You should consider my offer, Miss Bennett. Like I’ve said, I’ve been in your shoes before…”

  “Only because you killed the person wearing them!” Hazel growled and charged towards Dr. Trelawney a second time only to have Sebastian hold her back. “Allen Chang. That’s who you stole those shoes from! Don’t listen to her, Lizzie! This woman would see you dead as soon as you said yes to her proposal.”

  “There’s nothing to fear, Hazel,” Lizzie chimed in. “I want nothing to do with the good doctor or her proposal.”

  Trelawney eyed Lizzie with a tangible malice that sent chills echoing down her spine. After realizing she wasn’t going to get her way, Linda Trelawney skulked off down the corridor, no doubt headed towards Martin Beemer’s temporary office to force his hand.

  “I see that nothing has changed,” Katherine chuckled as they all let out a collective sigh.

  “Still a murdering snake with no remorse,” Hazel growled as her chest rose and fell quickly from all the unexpected exertion.

  “Nana, you should probably go rest your leg,” Sebastian interjected, suddenly worried about Hazel’s physical state, as well as her mental one.

  “Come on, Hazel,” Katherine held out her hand towards her old friend. “Let me buy you a cup of tea.” With a glance towards the end of the expansive hall, Hazel nodded and took Katherine’s proffered hand.

  “I’ll see you two later for dinner,” Hazel said as she waved them goodbye. Lizzie and Sebastian walked them disappear down the same route only turn in the opposite direction.

  “Come on,” Sebastian nudged her and motioned his head towards the exit.

  Although Lizzie wanted to follow the two women and pepper Katherine with a series of questions, it was obvious that they wanted to discuss something more important than just ‘catching up’.

  “That was one way of saying scram,” Sebastian chuckled. “But Nana has a good point. You’ve been dying to get into Blackwood Farm since it reopened. Why don’t we go? You can take as long as you want to tour the house and stroll through the garden.”

  “I’d love that,” Lizzie replied. Her smile felt as if it would tear her mouth in half. She was riding a high that couldn’t be described. “I can’t believe what just happened back there, though!” She half-squealed, nearly too excited to contain it all as Sebastian held the door for her to exit before following behind.

  “Lizzie, you’re on the verge of changing history,” Sebastian exclaimed as they made their way towards the back exit. As they walked, Sebastian gazed at her with a level of appreciation that Lizzie hadn’t seen since her grandmother died. “I’m very proud of you. Virginia would be pleased as punch if she were here. She always said that one day you’d do great things, and she was right.”

  “Thank you, Sebastian,” Lizzie said, accepting his praise. One significant detail stuck out at her though, slightly dampening her enthusiasm. Who was it that entrusted the letters and manuscript into her care? Furthermore, why her? Lizzie contemplated the answers as she and Sebastian climbed into the car and pulled out of the Museum’s parking lot.

  ************

  Within the half-hour, Lizzie and Sebastian arrived at Blackwell Farm. After parking the car, they traveled up the walk to the front of the house and the small, stand-sized ticket booth/store that had been erected just outside of the gate. Refusing to let Lizzie pay, Sebastian purchased two tickets to explore the house and travel the grounds.

  “There are guided tours, if you prefer,” the older, heavy-set woman boldly wearing bright-blue eyeshadow explained as Sebastian collected the ticket stubs. “But, since you’re Hazel’s grandson, I have no doubt that you could teach the guides a thing or two.” The woman winked and wished them both a pleasant time. Lizzie giggled as they walked towards the house.

  “Is there anyone around here that doesn’t know you or know who your Nana is?” She giggled a second time. Sebastian scoffed and kicked at the pebbles along the footpath.

  “I could say the same thing to you back home.” He nudged her. Lizzie conceded without a fight as they continued toward the house. “Everyone knows Virginia Bennett. You can’t take one step in the university or the museum without hearing her name, especially now that she’s gone.”

  “You’re right. Grandma was quite popular. Did you know that there’s even talk of naming the new wing after her, too?”

  “Well, if anyone deserves it, she does. That woman devoted her life to preserving history. While we’re on the topic of your grandmother, did you know that she donated money to the District Museum to renovate this place?”

  Lizzie jolted to a halt.

  “She did?” Her blue eyes went wide with a mixture of surprise and amazement. “I had no idea. She never said anything to me about it.”

  “Well, she certainly said it to me. The idea came to her when we were on the plane heading back home. She said that she was looking for an investment and that Blackwell Farm seemed the most logical choice because of your love for anything Edith Blackwell.”

  “I wonder why she didn’t tell me?” Lizzie said absently as they approached the front of the quintessential Lake District manor.

  “I think she wanted to surprise you, but then came her cancer diagnosis just a few weeks later…” Sebastian’s voice trailed off and both he and Lizzie fell silent, both thinking about the roughest time in their lives. Losing Virginia Bennett had been intensely hard for them and each watched her leave the mortal coil with a pang of regret and profound sense of loss.

  Lizzie and Sebastian resumed the short journey to the front door. When they arrived, they handed their tickets to attendant, who adeptly scanned them before pointing out the entry queue. As they stepped up towards the front door, Lizzie gasped with anticipation. The last time she’d been there, she’d been a young student and completely lost in the Edith Blackwell mythos. Lizzie found it unusual that all of Edith’s belongings, photographs, collections, and correspondence had been left to rot for over a century inside a decaying house with only ghosts for caretakers.

  The year before she arrived in England, Carol Sargent, the granddaughter of Hannah Sargent, and mother of the esteemed Katherine, died and willed the estate to the Museum. The Museum didn’t hesitate to pounce on the opportunity to revitalize the crumbling, quintessential Lake District mansion into something spectacular that fans worldwide would flock to. When Lizzie came over for her internship, she quickly learned that the house had been stripped from top to bottom of anything relating to Edith Blackwell’
s mysterious life. To their surprise, nothing salacious came to light. Everything they knew about Edith appeared to be true. She was a lonely, isolated, recluse void of friends save for those who worked for her. A woman who spent her days locked in her writing room scribbling away stories that rivaled Emily Bronte’s proclivity towards stormy relationships and tension-filled human interaction. As a long-time fan, Lizzie could barely contain herself when she was handed a box of Edith’s correspondence. Everyone else who’d come before her groaned and seethed at the idea of pouring through grocery lists, notes to her solicitor, doctor’s bills, and droll letters to imaginary people that were never sent. For Lizzie, it was an opportunity to get to know the woman who wrote her favorite works. A figure that had long been a source of mystery and interest.

  “It’s changed so much,” Lizzie sighed as they stepped up to the front door and waited for their turn to enter.

  “You haven’t seen it since you were last here, have you?” Sebastian motioned for Lizzie to go first once the tour guide admitted them entrance.

  “No. The last time I saw it was when Jacobs and I came out here to retrieve a box of letters that we never found,” Lizzie replied and gasped as they entered the main foyer.

  The interior was almost a mirror image of how it looked in 1907 when it was last redone. Dark, reddish-brown mahogany wood paneling covered the walls. The floors were a rich diagonal pattern extending to the wide staircase that led to the upstairs portion of the house. The walls were hung with restored Persian banners while Abyssinian rugs prevented scuff marks on the otherwise pristine floor. Dotting the room were lily flower-shaped candelabra that had all been upgraded to run on the electrical grid. Lizzie’s eyes swept across every square inch as she breathed in a hint of Edwardian perfume, wood polish, and the slightest trace of decay. From the moment she stepped foot inside, Lizzie felt as if she were home.