Chapter 26
The next day, Elijah waited for Diana by the edge of the woods. As soon as she and her maid appeared, he mounted his own horse.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“Come,” he said. “We’ll ride out to the cottage, where my father was found, and look for any clues.”
“You could have gone without me.” It was clear that she was pleased he hadn’t.
“Hardly. I need someone of your intelligence to take a look at the scene,” he replied, smiling at her.
Together, they rode out into the woods. Elijah and Diana rode side by side, while her lady’s maid rode behind.
Elijah’s pulse thundered in his ears. His greatest fear was that her father would come upon them, riding together. They would have no excuse. Not really. When he glanced over at her, she was frowning thoughtfully.
“What are you thinking?” he asked her.
“My sister had a life that I knew nothing about,” she replied. “She had her secrets. And now, I have mine.” When she glanced over at him, she smiled. “I would do it all again, too.”
“I love you.” She held his heart. He could never love another. They were in this together because of the love they had for each other. At its heart, it was a love story. Elijah could only hope that it would have a happy ending.
When they arrived in the clearing, they both pulled their horses to a stop, then sat there, looking at the cottage. Elijah hadn’t been here since before his father’s death. He had dreaded even the thought of it.
The clearing was overgrown, the woods beginning to encroach upon the small cottage. The grass grew tall, and the underbrush had begun to grow thick. The house itself was built out of grey flagstone, which was covered in ivy. The roof was thatched, though it was in a state of disrepair. The paint on the front door had begun to chip off, the red paint giving way to the gray, weathered wood beneath.
Elijah glanced into the windows, which were covered in grime. He expected to see someone, peering out from them. There was no one, of course. The interior looked darkened.
Elijah glanced over at Diana, who nodded. “Let’s go,” she said.
They both dismounted. Mary remained on her horse, to keep watch. She was silent, her dark eyes taking in everything. As usual, Elijah hadn’t the faintest clue what the lady’s maid thought of all of this.
“It looks like something out of a fairy tale,” Diana commented as she slipped her hand into the bend of his elbow, leaning a little on him as they walked through the tall grass to the front door. Elijah noticed that there was a small path, now overgrown, made out of the same flagstones as the cottage.
“It does.” He was estimating the distance between here and both Lutterhall Manor and Cambolton House. It was approximately halfway through the woods that lay between them.
“Is this on your property?” she asked.
“Yes. It’s still on the Cambolton Estate.” He pulled the key out of his pocket. “Almost exactly halfway between Cambolton House and Lutterhall Manor,” he pointed out.
“The perfect place to meet. Where did you get that?” she asked.
“It was on my father,” he said. “When he was found.” He felt heavy. If anywhere in the world was haunted, then this would be it. His skin tingled with a slight frisson of fear. He didn’t know what he expected to find on the other side. He slid the key into the lock, turning it. They both entered.
Goosebumps rose across his skin. His father’s body had lain here for several days before being found. On the floor.
He glanced around, expecting blood stains, but he saw none. The floor was covered in a thin layer of dust.
“I wonder…” Diana looked around.
His gaze followed hers. There were cobwebs in the corners. Dust coated everything. They both began to poke around, looking for clues. Elijah paused. By the hearth, there were footprints.
“These look recent,” he said. “I thought I was the only one with a key. There are two different sets.” Diana had come to stand beside him.
One set was larger—clearly a man’s boots, while the others were smaller, thinner. A woman’s shoes. As he studied them, he noticed that they went back toward the door. Whoever had come here, had remained by the fireplace, then they had walked back out the door.
“They were here recently, but I can’t tell how recently,” he mused.
“They didn’t light a fire. They wanted to meet in secret,” Diana pointed out. One glance at the fireplace showed a very thick layer of dust, covering the logs that sat there.
“Who else would have known about this place?” he wondered. Elijah himself had only known about it because his father’s body had been discovered here. He didn’t know why it had been built, nor who it had originally been built for.
“Sarah, Eleonora’s maid,” Diana whispered.
“Can we ask her?” Elijah wondered, hopefully.
“That’s the problem,” she said, turning her eyes toward him. “Sarah’s been missing for over a week.”
* * *
Now, Sarah’s sudden disappearance seemed suspect, and more than a little sinister.
Perhaps she didn’t leave of her own accord. On one hand, this was good news for Eleonora. But on the other, Diana was now concerned for the lady’s maid’s welfare.
“So, perhaps, she had a key on her,” Elijah reasoned. “And she came here.”
“Do you think she would have met with the murderer?” she wondered aloud. “Why would she have come here?”
“Knowing my father, there would have been more than one key,” he said. “And if he was meeting your sister here, then she would have had the other.”
“Which meant that Sarah would certainly have had access to it,” Diana confirmed. “Why, though? Why now, nearly seven months after the fact? I don’t know what to think.” She was suddenly frightened. She had goosebumps, rising over her arms, and a copper taste in her mouth. She had never been so scared before.
The killer might return at any moment.
“What’s happened that would have prompted her to meet with him?” he asked. “Where was Sarah, on the night of the accident?”
“She wasn’t with Eleonora that night,” she said. “She was at home, covering for her. She was the one who wouldn’t tell him where she was. She refused to say. He was so angry, he almost dismissed her on the spot.”
“So Sarah wouldn’t have known the murderer, would she?”
“No.” She shook her head.
They both looked at each other.
“Do you think the murderer had Sarah meet him here?” she asked. It was the conclusion that Diana could come to. “And then…took her?”
“It seems likely,” he agreed. “I think I should report this to the constable.”
“I think we should leave here,” she said. “It’s not safe for either of us to be here.”
He nodded. “I agree.”
They both left the cottage, locking the door after them.
“Did you find anything, My Lady?” Mary asked.
“We found footprints. It seems that someone was here recently.”
“I hope they’re all right,” Mary said grimly.
“Did Sarah say anything to you before she vanished, Mary?” Elijah asked.
Mary frowned as she thought back. “No, My Lord,” she said. “She seemed as she always did. Happy, busy. If you would have told me that she was going to meet up with a murderer later, I would have thought you were lying.”
He accompanied them both to the edge of the woods. Diana was grateful for his presence. The cottage had been eerie, and she felt worried and unsettled.
“I’ll see you tomorrow?” she asked.
“Always.”
As she and Mary rode back toward Lutterhall Manor, she could feel Elijah, watching them. She didn’t want to be separated from him. She didn’t see any way to get around it. Soon, she was going to have to make a choice.
I’m going to have to choose between the two gentlemen that
I love. It’s a choice that I don’t want to make.
Chapter 27
Elijah didn’t know how they were going to be together at the end of all of this. He didn’t see any way to convince her father otherwise, when he was already so set against Elijah.
At the same time, I cannot let her go, or tell her to stop meeting me.
He was already too involved, too much in love with her. He rode back through the woods, slowly, so he could think over everything that they’d found out. The maid, Sarah, was gone.
She might be anywhere.
He didn’t want to think the worst, but the fact remained—the murderer was still free. When he arrived home, Hanby opened the front door.
“You’ve a guest, My Lord.”
It was Lord Lutterhall. He was in his parlor.
“Don’t think that I don’t know that my daughter has been going out walking so frequently of late,” Lord Lutterhall said. “I want you to release her from whatever hold you have on her.”
Elijah stared at him.
“I will never leave her alone, and I think you know that,” Elijah said. “I love her.”
“Because of you, she still waits for me to change my mind. I never will. Release my daughter from whatever hold you have over her.”
“I cannot.”
“You believe in romance, where there is none.” Lord Lutterhall smiled at him; it was more of a grimace.
“How can I deny the existence of something that I myself have experienced, My Lord?” he asked. “I believe in love, because I am in love with your daughter.” He shrugged. “You say that you want her married, yet when I say that I would marry her this very moment, you deny me? I want the very best for her, would spend every moment of every day, cherishing her as she deserves.” He shook his head. “I don’t know how you could think that she would find someone better than me.”
“You are a Viscount,” he stated.
“Is that the only thing that you hold against me, My Lord? Is my status so repulsive to you? Or is there something more?”
“No. You’ve been warned,” the Earl said. “She is going to marry the Duke of Morrow. I expect him to tender his proposal any day now.”
Elijah smiled, slowly. “I have, indeed, been warned.”
Lord Lutterhall bowed, then turned to go. Elijah followed him to the door.
There was no way that Lord Lutterhall could stop him. Elijah and Diana would still meet, in secret.
For the first time, Elijah considered asking Diana to run away with him. They could elope, and then there would be nothing that Lord Lutterhall could do. They would be wed, before God and the law. Nothing could tear them asunder—not Lord Lutterhall himself.
* * *
When Diana arrived back home, she went straight up to see her sister. Mary followed after her. Eleonora was in her room, and Mrs. Donovan sat next to her, reading from one of Eleonora’s books.
“Mrs. Donovan, I need to speak to my sister, alone, please,” Diana said. The housekeeper had taken on the job of watching over Eleonora, until Lord Lutterhall could find a suitable replacement for Sarah.
“Of course, My Lady,” she replied, setting the book aside. “We can finish our book later, Lady Eleonora.” She curtsied and then left the room.
“Diana.” Eleonora smiled at her. She was seated in her chair, by the window. She was unable to do much of anything. She mostly contented herself with watching the goings on.
“Eleonora.” Diana sat down in the chair beside her. “I think you know more about the night of your accident than you think you do.”
“Do you think so?” Eleonora frowned.
“Yes, and I’m going to help you remember. Is that all right?” Diana asked. “We spoke of this before. I think I know how to do it.”
“Of course.”
Diana reached out, taking her sister’s hand in her own. Eleonora shook, though Diana didn’t know whether it was from fear or not.
“Now, I want you to close your eyes,” she instructed. Her sister hesitated a moment before closing her eyes and settling back into her chair. Eleonora took a deep breath, letting it out shakily. Diana waited, letting her calm herself. She hoped that this would work.
“Think of the house where you met with your gentleman,” Diana suggested, then waited. Her sister’s brows furrowed.
She sat there, for a long moment. Diana waited, her heart pounding. She knew that she needed to be patient. The two sisters sat there together. Finally, Eleonora shook her head and opened her eyes.
“It’s no use. My mind is blank.”
“That’s all right,” Diana assured her.
“I’m sorry, Diana.”
“Not to worry! It’s only our first try.” She patted her sister’s hand. “We’ll try a little bit every day, until something comes to you.”
Eleonora’s eyes were filled with frustrated tears. “I feel like it’s there, dangling just out of reach.”
* * *
The next morning, Diana was seated at her vanity. Mary was fixing her hair for the day. She finished wrapping her curl around the long iron, which had been warmed in the fire.
“Do you need any more curls, My Lady?” Mary asked. Diana considered her reflection. Her hair was done in a high bun, with several ringlets modishly framing her face.
“No, thank you, Mary. It looks perfect.”
That was when the door opened, and Eleonora burst in. Diana looked up in surprise—her sister so rarely came out of her room these days. Eleonora was wearing only her nightgown. Her face was pale.
“Eleonora? What’s the matter?” Diana sprang up, meeting her sister in the middle of the room. Eleonora took both of Diana’s hands.
“I just woke up from a dream,” she said, staggering a little. Diana helped her over to the bed, where Eleonora sank down onto it.
“I can see it, so clearly now. It’s covered in ivy, and it has a red door.”
“Try closing your eyes,” Diana said. Her sister did as she asked. “Now, open the door, and walk inside,” she said, her heart pounding.
“I’m inside,” Eleonora told her. She was clutching Diana’s hand so tightly that it hurt.
“Describe what you see. Is it a big house?” Diana asked.
“No.” Eleonora shook her head. “It’s very small. Only one room,” Eleonora spoke with utter certainty.
“What does the floor look like?” Diana’s voice was steady, but her heart was racing.
“Flagstones,” she said. “He has someone come to sweep them, so that when we meet, it’s tidy.”
“Excellent!” Diana said. She was proud of her sister.
Eleonora was beaming, though she kept her eyes closed.
“How about the walls?” Diana suggested. “What color are they?”
“They’re white. Just bare plaster.”
“Is there any furniture?”
“Yes, there is! There’s a bed, and a little table. Some shelves, too. And a fireplace.”
“Is there—is there anything else?”
This is key—if something has been taken from the cottage, which Eleonora might mention, maybe it’ll be a further clue.
“No, that’s it.” Eleonora opened her eyes. “Did I do well?”
Diana didn’t show her disappointment. She beamed at her sister, squeezing her hand.
“Very well. That’s where we’ll stop, for now. I think if we do it like this, then maybe we can get you to remember more. Do you agree?”
“I do.” Eleonora nodded her head emphatically. “Thank you, Diana.”
“For what?” she wondered, though Eleonora’s answer took her by surprise.
“I think you’re the only person who hasn’t given up on me. Even Sarah’s gone. All I’ve wanted for so long, has just been to remember.” She sighed, shakily, fighting tears. “It was as though I was just there. Like you conjured it from my mind.” One tear spilled, falling down Eleonora’s cheek. “I was happy, then. I know that now. Brilliantly happy. Next time we do it, I think
I’ll be able to remember who he is, and then we can go and find him.”
Diana smiled at her sister. She couldn’t bring herself to tell Eleonora about Lord Cambolton’s death. Not yet. Eleonora would remember when it was time.
Sinfully Bound To The Enigmatic Viscount (Steamy Historical Regency Romance) Page 18
