by Fanny Finch
He was leaning in towards her now and her voice was barely above a whisper.
“What is it, Liliana? Are you safe?”
The worry in his eyes touched her. The fact that he had understood how grave a matter this was so quickly… this man was indeed, something.
“Yes, I am. For now, and hopefully, for much longer. You see, as I read the letters, I came to see that there were some from my father, and from my mother. It would appear that Lord Rothwell was a close acquaintance of my father’s but their friendship turned sour when… when Rothwell began to woo my mother, whilst she was still married to my father.”
Sebastian’s eyes grew wide with astonishment. “Liliana, what do you mean to say?”
“Exactly what I have said! I do not know unto what end, it was for. However, the letters indicated that Rothwell seemed to have taken fancy in my mother, and wished her for his own. I do believe, my father came to learn of this. Hence, the letters warning Rothwell to stay off.”
“You grew up in Widmore?”
“No. Ilgindore. Two villages away from Widmore. Rothwell has always overseen Everton, but he often visited Ilgindore, on matters related to business, I believe. I reckon it is how he met my father and mother.”
Sebastian looked away, lost in thoughts. When he spoke, his voice was filled with marvel.
“What kind of a man covets his friend’s wife?”
“The kind that might as well have killed him.”
Sebastian turned sharply and their gazes coincided. They sat that way, staring deep into each other’s eyes.
Liliana could hear her heart pounding, and she feared, so could he.
This was the conclusion she had come to. After thinking of the letters to the point of going mad, she had begun to wonder, how much of a coincidence it was that her father had turned up dead, and her mother, married to Rothwell, soon after the mourning period was over.
She shared this with Sebastian.
“You really believe your stepfather has something to do with this?”
“He is your uncle, and I know how much you admire him. He also happens to be the man who has cared for my sister and I ever since we were orphaned. He has only ever been kind to us and I feel wrong, even daring to conceive such thoughts of him, yet, I cannot let them go.” She paused, swallowing once more.
“My father was found dead on his way back from church. Robbed of all his valuables, a shot to the heart. It was concluded that he had happened upon bandits who had been too far gone, to spare his life. Now, I wonder, what if the robbery had simply been a distraction from the fact that it had been a murder. My father had sent several appeals to Rothwell, but it appeared he would not take heed. In the last letter he wrote just before his death, he swore to challenge Rothwell to a duel and report the matter to the crown and church. You know how much society frowns against the sin of covetousness. Not to mention, not just any man’s woman, but your friend. It scares me to think of, but I do believe Rothwell took matters into his own hands.”
Chapter 31
As she finished, she held her hands together to keep from shaking. Saying those words out loud made them seem truer than echoing voices in her mind, had.
“Liliana, the conclusion you have come to is very reasonable, considering the suspicious circumstances. Nevertheless, are you certain? Do you think he is capable of such?”
“I no longer know what he is capable of or not. I do believe, I never did. Here, here are the letters.”
She brought them out of her pockets where she had kept them safely and handed over to him. She waited as he took them and read through. She saw it in his eyes as he finished, the suspicions she now had.
He heaved. It was a deep sigh.
“Liliana, I wish I would not be the one to say it, but I am afraid that there might be some truth to your speculation.”
She grabbed his hands then, frantic, desperate to find the truth before all of this confusion drove her mad. Deep down, she hoped that she was wrong, for if she wasn’t, then she would never be able to recover from the pain of this betrayal.
“Then we must find the truth. There must be some way, Sebastian. Some way to help us know if my stepfather was truly behind this.”
This was the first time she would address Lord Rothwell as a stepfather, to the ears of another. She only thought of him so in her mind, and sometimes, in conversations with Nora.
“Liliana… this was so many years ago. Whatever trail we could have followed, it would have since gone cold.”
“We cannot be too certain. At the very least, we must try. I cannot go on without knowing, Sebastian. I simply cannot. Please. I would hate to think that if Rothwell is truly guilty of this crime, that he would live the rest of his life, free, unpunished.”
She was looking away now, staring at nothingness, as the memories of her father, plagued her soul with grief. He was such a good man. A wonderful father. He did not deserve the injustice he had suffered.
A life cut so short. Whether by the hands of robbers or Rothwell. He deserved better.
Sebastian took her hands into his then, and squeezed, offering comfort.
“He would not go unpunished, either way. If he is not guilty of your father’s death, there are many other crimes that he is guilty of. I am sorry, Liliana, but your stepfather, my cousin, is not the man we thought he was. He has in neck-deep in so many crimes. Fraud. Theft. Murder. Proof, we have for the first two. The latter, I am afraid, we are still searching for. I do believe, he too had a hand in my brother’s death.”
What? She could not believe her ears. She turned to look at him, her whole body, suddenly given to shivers.
“No… surely not, you can… you can’t be right.”
“Oh, but I am, sweet Liliana. I am.”
“Lord Rothwell? Fraud? Theft?”
Sebastian nodded, slowly. She could see it in his eyes. This was no jest.
“I am afraid so, my dear. It is how he managed to acquire all this wealth. A lowly baron, risen to the top of English Society.”
“Dear Lord! Oh no! My goodness. It is worse than I thought. And… he might have killed Lord Leighton?”
“Yes. Everything points to him, so far. I am afraid I cannot give you any other information. We only need to find proof now.”
“Sebastian… if he is such an evil man, then it is true then. He must have killed my father…”
She was crying now, the tears flowing freely. She was hopeless to hold them. This revelation was utterly shocking.
“He most possibly did. However, until we confirm for sure, we must give him the benefit of doubt.”
“Now, you must look into it. You have the resources, do you not? I shall pay for the investigation. Father did not have much, but he converted all of his inheritance into dowry for us, also funds. So that we would not be entirely dependent on our husbands after marriage.”
“No, Liliana. I do not need your money. You are mine now and I must protect you. Leave this to me. I shall take care of it all. With the virgin’s intercession, we shall find the truth. Not to worry, my dear.”
His words reassured her, and she knew he would indeed, get to the bottom of it.
“Oh, Sebastian, how can I ever thank you enough?”
His woman… he had called her his.
He wiped her tears away with his thumb, so tenderly, it made her heartache in the sweetest of ways.
“Only to see you smile, my lady. And if you ever cry, only tears of joy. It is all I wish for, as gratitude.”
She smiled then, her tears ceasing. “Then, I shall show this gratitude in full. Oh, Sebastian… I worry about you. You know so much. Surely, you must be in danger.”
“He would not harm me. I too have taken measures to protect myself. I do believe, that he would not harm you too. Nevertheless, you must be careful, lest he suspects you know a thing.”
“Perhaps, he already does. He came to the attic again yesterday. While I was just living. I was quick to hide, but a part of me feels
that I was seen. I cannot shake it off.”
“Hmmm… if that is so, then we must hurry. Your stepfather is not the type of man to sit and do nothing. If his caveat today is anything to go by, he hopes to win this. Come now, dry your tears. Who can you trust? Nora?”
She shook her head. “My twin would believe me mad. She loves Rothwell too much. Believes we owe him our lifetime dedication for giving us such a fine life. The kind of life she loves to live. She would never believe me over him.”
“Then, you must keep this to yourself. You have seen a few places, Liliana. Now, you must convince them to believe you know and suspect nothing. Be carefree, be happy. Do what Liliana would always do. Understood?”
“Yes, Sebastian. You too, please take great care. I would not survive it if any harm should befall you.”
Those words left her lips before she could stop them and she would have panicked but he cradled her cheek with one hand, and kissed the hand he held, with his other.
“I shall return to you, Liliana. Safe. A man’s honor is his word, and I have given you mine.”
“Then, I shall hold them, dear, to my heart, and burn candles for your safety.”
She leaned into the soft palm that still cradled her cheek, her eyes fluttering closed as she rubbed against it.
She loved this man. Wholeheartedly. She would be his. By the virgin, she would.
A short while after, when Sebastian was certain that she had gotten some control over herself and a hint of her tears was gone, he rose to take his leave.
_
Lord Rothwell stood, tapping his feet as he waited for Hortcroft to come with news of Sebastian’s departure.
Longcross and Liliana had been left alone with no maid to chaperone for a reason. Rothwell had wanted to give them the feeling of privacy, so they would be free to speak and he would listen in on them.
Oh, they had tried to be so quiet. What they did not know was that there was a secret passageway that led to the drawing-room and he had been closer than they imagined.
Hidden behind the decorative shelf of books, and privy to every word they had spoken.
If he had been at the door, he would not have been able to hear a thing, but at his vantage point, he had heard enough. The moment they had ended that discussion and moved along to mundane subjects, he had left his hiding place.
He had heard enough. Sebastian now knew of his theft and fraud without a doubt. The boy had said he had proof of them too. How, he wondered.
The boy also suspected him of his brother’s death. On that account, Rothwell had made do to destroy any evidence that would point back to him. Now, he wondered, had he truly destroyed everything, or had there been a slip?
A mistake that Longcross could use against him.
Ah… and here he had thought Hanson was stubborn. Oh well, Longcross was both stubborn and clever. Worst of all, he was confident! Those three were such a terrible mix.
The boy was starting to irritate Rothwell, but he knew it would be foolish to strike. Perhaps, he would simply scare him but no… that would not work either.
Longcross had not said much to Liliana. Who else knew of his investigations and his progress so far. If any harm should come to Longcross, or that invasive runner, Rothwell might simply end up digging the grave needed to bury him.
Ah no. He could not do anything rash. He had to think fast.
As for Liliana, that girl… he had known. He had known she was up to something from the very day he had found her in the attic. Yet, he had tried to assure himself that it was nothing.
That he was simply overthinking. He should have taken the chest out. To his chambers. Or destroyed those letters. He should have destroyed them a long time ago!
Only, when one involved in so many evil deeds, like Rothwell did, sometimes, he forgot to cover his tracks, and cover them well.
This was no ordinary hand at play. He had been making too many mistakes. Too many!
How? He was better than this!
Was this the Lord’s way of punishing him for his evil? Was it? Had that man, pushed his hands to leave these incriminating proof without a thought?
For he could not understand it! Now, it was too late.
The girl was indeed, very sensible. He would give that to her. She had been able to make the connection between those letters and her father’s death, but Rothwell worried not.
Lord Swan was dead, over seven summers. The trail, as Longcross had said, long cold.
They would never be able to trace it back to him. Never!
He smiled at the thought. Oh, but he had been clever with that one, had he not?
Theresa… dear Theresa… she had been so beautiful and he had been hopeless to resist her from the moment he first laid his eyes upon her. It did not matter that she was his friend’s wife.
After all, he had only formed an acquaintance with Lord Swan, to gain access to territories the man had not realized would bring him a fortune. The friendship had only been a means to an end.
Simply that.
Then he had gazed upon Theresa. Sweet dear Theresa. He had told himself, to hell with it all.
What he wanted, he took. So accustomed to getting everything he had ever wished for, he had gone after her, without a thought to Lord Swan.
Rothwell had wooed her with plenty. Gifts, riches, but the woman would not succumb. She had loved her husband. Painfully so. So, she had told Swan of Rothwell’s advances and Swan had found an enemy in him- understandably.
They had written letters, but he had ignored everyone, intent on taking Theresa for himself.
Then, Swan had threatened to report to the church and crown. Rothwell could not afford that. He would have easily killed the man in a duel. But then, the whole of England would know of his wickedness.
He would be scorned and he would lose Theresa forever.
So, he had crafted a plan. One that would give him everything he wanted, on a platter of gold.
Lord Swan had ended up dead, seemingly at the hands of robbers, and while his death was mourned, he came to Theresa as a knight in shining armor.
He offered comfort, he offered relief and taken by grief, women… with damn emotions, believed everything he whispered in her ears. She was a woman. Married twelve summers, with two sweet girls.
A late husband who had left little. She would suffer without a man to provide for her, vulnerable, without a husband to protect herself and her daughters.
The world was cruel to widows, and not many men would want to marry a woman like herself. After all, she was well past her prime.
He fed her fears, and her grief, using them to his advantage. Oh yes, it was evil of him, but he had never claimed to be better than the devil. He only held that charade for the society, for a good reputation was necessary to have the standing he held in the ton.
Theresa had fallen so easily and soon after the mourning period was over, she had agreed to be his wife. The wedding had been swift and by marriage, he had gained ownership over those territories.
Yes, that was the entire story. One, only two living persons knew of its entire tale. Himself, and the priest he had confessed to.
But the priest was dead- of old age, not by his hand. So, that end was taken care of. Held by oath, Rothwell was certain the priest could not have told anyone. More so, he had not even know Rothwell’s identity.
Nature had taken care of that loose end. And the assassin? Who knows where in the world he was now.
They would never be able to tie Lord Swan’s death to him. Never.
However, there was still the problem of Sebastian.
The only way out of that problem was marriage. Marriage to Liliana and it had to happen quickly.
The doors to his study came open then, halting his thoughts. He looked up to see Hortcroft, his trusted butler.
No words were said. The man simply nodded, and Rothwell understood his meaning.
“Where is the girl now?”
“Returned to her chambers, my lord.�
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“Ah. It is just as well.”
He rose to his feet, for it was time. Silence rang still, as he found his way to Liliana’s chamber.
