by Ella Edon
“I can’t believe it.” Claire said as she brushed. “Miss Preston didn’t deserve what happened to her. I’m just shocked that she was beaten the way she was.”
Jane swallowed. “Do you know how she is?”
“She’s not woken up yet. The physician says it might be a few days before she does come around completely. Marcine is sitting with her right now.” Claire sighed. “But who could have done that? It’s just...brutal.”
“Someone had to have sneaked onto the estate and come upon her,” Jane murmured.
“You don’t believe someone here could have hurt her like that?”
Jane shook her head. She couldn’t see her brothers attacking Rachel, and she trusted all the servants. Someone who didn’t work there had to have been the culprit. Rachel could have crossed paths with him and confronted him. she had to be silenced.
Chances were that person would be long gone by now.
“What was she doing out there?” Claire put the brush down and started to twist Jane’s hair to the base of her neck, reaching for pins on the table.
“I have no idea.” Jane bit back a wince as a pin jabbed her skull. “The last time we spoke, it was in anger. I was hoping that if she didn’t end up leaving when I wanted, then she would stay in her room and keep out of my way.”
“She could have been meeting someone,” Claire suggested. “Or she saw something, and she had to be silenced.”
“That makes some sort of sense. She had to have witnessed something that could be important and threatened to tell Father or Lord Surrey.”
Jane bit back a grimace. Hopefully, Rachel hadn’t witnessed her and Alexander out by the river. What if she had witnessed the two of them together and had been attacked because of it? It was a stretch, but it could be possible. As of right now, practically anything was possible.
“But why would she meet Lord Crawley or Lord Surrey in the woods? The house would be the better place.”
Jane shrugged. “Maybe she wanted to tell the person in question what she had seen and wanted them to confess or she was going to do something.”
That would make more sense. If Rachel suspected something, she would want somewhere private to discuss it with the person in question, giving them a chance to come clean themselves or she would do it for them. Rachel always wanted to do the right thing.
Until she woke up and told them what happened, all they could do was speculate.
There was a knock at the door. Putting the rest of the pins down, Claire went to the door and opened it a crack. There was a brief exchange and then Claire turned to Jane.
“It’s Mr. Harrison and Lord Surrey. They say it can’t wait. Shall I let them in?”
“Yes, show them in.”
Jane found herself standing quickly, smoothing her hands down her skirts as she took a deep breath. She needed to maintain her composure. It wouldn’t do to act like a simpering fool. She turned and watched as Alexander walked into the room, followed behind by Lord Surrey. Jane’s mouth went dry as she cast her gaze over Alexander. He really was a magnificent gentleman, even if he didn’t want to admit it. Jane saw him as something more, something that would make both of them blush.
“I apologize for approaching you here, My Lady,” Lord Surrey said. “But it’s a matter of the utmost importance that we speak to you.”
Now was not the time to think about what Alexander Harrison looked like standing before her. If his grim expression was anything to go by, he wasn’t here to be admired.
“What’s happened?” Jane looked between the two gentlemen. “What’s wrong?”
“We found another body yesterday,” Alexander replied. His voice was tight.
“What? But...why didn’t you say anything?”
“We wanted to keep it quiet at first. Find out what happened to her before we let anyone know.”
Jane stared at Lord Surrey, who gave her a brief nod. He was standing a little further back, arms folded with a scowl. He looked like he would rather be anywhere else but here. What was going on? Jane licked her lips.
“Was...was she murdered?”
“No. It looks like she died during the storm of natural causes. She…” Surrey swallowed. “She was not well.”
At least she hadn’t been killed. Jane didn’t know if that was a relief or not. She turned to Alexander, who was looking at the floor, shuffling from foot to foot. He looked like he was about to run. Jane started towards him, almost reaching out to him before remembering that they weren’t alone.
“Are you all right, Alexander?”
“I’m fine. I think.” Alexander looked at Lord Surrey, who shook his head and turned away. Taking a deep breath, Alexander turned back to Jane. “Listen, Jane, there’s something we need to tell you, but I don’t know how you’re going to take it.”
“What do you mean?”
Claire looked equally confused. Her maid looked at Lord Surrey, but the Marquess wouldn’t look at her. Alexander sighed and gestured towards a nearby chair by the fire.
“Shall we sit down?”
He reached for her, but Jane shrugged him off and stood her ground.
“No, you tell me right now. What do you mean, Alexander?”
Alexander looked torn. He ran his fingers through his hair.
“We discovered something about you. Something we’ve confirmed as truth. It could be the reason people are dying.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Do…” Alexander gulped. “Do you remember your family ever mentioning your sister Judith?”
Judith? Jane hadn’t heard that name in a while.
“Yes, she died of influenza around the time I was born. She was sickly, according to Mother, so it was inevitable that something would claim her eventually.”
“That’s not strictly true.”
“What do you mean?”
Alexander looked again at Lord Surrey, but the Marquess still wouldn’t look at him. What was going on?
“Lady Judith did die, but not of influenza. She died in childbirth.”
“My sister was pregnant?”
“She wasn’t your sister.” Alexander took a deep breath. “She was your mother.”
For a moment, the words just hung in the air. They didn’t sink in at all. Jane thought she had misheard him for a moment. Surely this was a sick jest. And it was in poor taste.
But Jane could tell that Alexander wasn’t jesting. He looked like he didn’t want to be here.
“What are you talking about?”
“Lord and Lady Crawley aren’t your parents. They’re your grandparents. Lady Judith had an affair and became pregnant. Mr. Elliott, Miss White and Miss Wray all helped during the birth, but they couldn’t save Lady Judith. You were given to Lord and Lady Crawley so they could declare you were their child and cover up the fact that Lady Judith had had a child outside of marriage.”
Jane felt like someone had slammed something heavy over her head. This couldn’t be happening. Her parents were her parents. That wasn’t something they would lie to her about. Alexander had to be lying about this. But to what end? He had no motive to tell her any of these lies.
It couldn’t be true. Someone had to be telling stories to break the family apart. And Alexander had believed it all.
“Jane?”
Alexander stepped towards her, but Jane stepped back abruptly. She didn’t want him touching her right now. Not after that.
“I don’t believe it.” She shook her head. “That can’t be right. You...you must be mistaken.”
“We had it confirmed. Your mother was Judith Malcolm.” Alexander looked at the floor before looking up at her again. “Who your father is, we don’t know, but we’re trying to find out.”
“I know who my father is. Walter Malcolm, Earl of Crawley.”
“I’m afraid not.” Alexander reached towards her. “Look, Jane…”
“No!” Jane slapped his hands away, backing up until she bumped into the bedpost. “I don’t believe you. This...this
isn’t right. I don’t know what you’re planning, but it isn’t true.” Her head was pounding as she glared at Alexander and then at Lord Surrey. “Someone’s been telling you lies, and you actually thought it made sense. It doesn’t.”
“What I’m telling you is the truth, Jane,” Alexander protested. “I wasn’t about to hide this from you.”
This couldn’t be happening. Someone had to have been feeding Alexander something to make him believe this drivel. It couldn’t be true. Jane knew who her parents were. It wasn’t Judith. She was her sister. Alexander and Lord Surrey had to be wrong.
And Jane didn’t want to see him now. She wanted him out. Jane turned away.
“Claire, show Mr. Harrison and Lord Surrey out.”
“Jane…” Alexander started, but Jane cut him off.
“Get out. You’re lying. I don’t believe you.” Jane gripped onto the bedpost, shutting her eyes tight. “I want you to get out. Or do you want me to call Father and tell him about your allegations?”
There was silence. Then Jane heard Claire whispering something to the gentlemen. Footsteps followed moments later, and then the door opened and closed. Jane rested her forehead against the bedpost and tried to take deep breaths. This wasn’t right. Someone had been feeding Alexander lies, and the man had swallowed it. How could he be so foolish?
She sagged to her knees, collapsing on the floor. It felt like a punch to the gut. Alexander knew how much she loved her family, even if they drove her to distraction. How could he do this to her? What did he hope to gain from it?
Whatever his endgame was, Jane wasn’t about to follow it.
Chapter Twenty-Six
“Alexander?”
Alexander looked up. Lee was standing over him with a worried expression. Alexander swallowed and rubbed at his face. He had managed to get out of the house before slumping on the front steps. His heart was racing, and he felt lightheaded.
That hadn’t gone well. Alexander didn’t think it could have gone any other way, but seeing Jane in such distress as she struggled with the news had been painful. Alexander had wanted to touch her, comfort her somehow as she let the news sink in, but she had pushed back. He would have been surprised if she hadn’t, but not being able to help her made him feel useless. Lost. Hollow.
He had never felt like that before. And it was painful.
“I’m all right.”
Lee shook his head. “No, you’re not.”
Alexander snorted. “Fine. I’m not. I knew it was the right thing to do, but...I wish she didn’t have to find out that way.”
“It was the family’s decision not to tell her. We needed to respect that.”
It didn’t feel right keeping something this big from Jane. Alexander didn’t want to lie to her, and that startled him. He was used to lying and stretching the truth, hiding behind all these tales to protect himself and come out of things on top. But now he wanted to lay it all bare, reveal what he knew even if it caused Jane to push him away. No other lady had made him do that before.
Lee was watching him closely, almost like he was starting to see Alexander in a new light.
“You really do love her, don’t you?”
Alexander knew it was pointless denying it. He nodded. “It’s stupid, I know…”
“At least you’re admitting it.”
Admitting it to himself. Confessing it to Jane was going to be something else. Especially after dropping such devastating news on her. Alexander shook his head.
“I doubt Lord Crawley would allow me permission to court her once this is over, never mind marry her.”
“You don’t like to follow the rules of Society.” Lee’s mouth twitched. “There’s always elopement.”
There was that. Gretna Green was always an option, but that would depend on Jane. It had been barely a week since they first met, and already Alexander was thinking of marriage. That was too fast, even for him. He needed to take a step back and slow down.
Alexander rose to his feet.
“I want to know what’s going on with this family first before I approach Jane with anything.”
“Then we had better get a move on.” Lee beckoned the younger man as he headed towards the stables. “Come on. You need to get a horse.”
“Where are we going?”
“Miss White’s cottage. I spoke to Mrs. Elliott again yesterday and she told me that Miss White kept a diary. She had done so her whole life. It might be why her cottage was ransacked when we found it.”
“You think the killer was trying to find the diaries?”
“I think so. If we can find them ourselves, maybe we can find something that can help us.”
“If the killer hasn’t found them already.”
Lee grinned. “I don’t think they did. The cottage wouldn’t have been ransacked the way it was if the diaries had been found. We’ve got more time for a closer look.”
If the killer couldn’t find the diaries, what were the chances of them finding them? Alexander didn’t hold out much hope, but it was something to do. He needed a distraction, time away from the house. He wanted to keep close to Jane, make sure she was all right, but Alexander had a feeling Jane wouldn’t want him anywhere near her.
* * *
They found the diaries. They were wrapped in a sheepskin, packed behind the pile of wood in the privy. There were a lot of books, at least fifty. Alexander was surprised that Miss White had kept a diary in the first place, never mind keeping one for so long. She had been given minimal education until she was a grown woman, but at a quick glance it was clear that she loved to write, and her handwriting improved over the years. Alexander found her past practically jumping out of the pages as he sat in Miss White’s kitchen, reading from cover to cover.
It was riveting. There were days when she just wrote a couple of words or several days when she wrote nothing. Then when she did, it went on for pages. Alexander marveled at her dedication.
“You got anything?” Lee asked. He was sitting across the table, half of the diaries stacked beside him as he read, one of the books open in front of him.
“Quite a bit, actually. More than I bargained for.” Alexander flicked through a few pages. “She’s very...very descriptive in her writing. Mostly about her lovemaking with someone called Tony.”
“I’ve got segments of that as well. Very spritely.” Lee checked the date. “This was a couple of years ago. When was yours?”
“Eighteen years ago. This affair with Tony goes back several years.” Alexander stared at a sentence that leapt out at him. It made Miss White sound incredibly flexible. “She’s certainly not afraid to use the cruder words. And she was...explorative in the bedroom.”
Lee chuckled. “You’ve been explorative in the bedroom for a while and this is making you nervous?”
“I’m just shocked a woman would be so open about it in a book that anyone could come across.” Alexander sat back. “I’m feeling hot and bothered just reading this.”
“Women can be passionate creatures as well.”
“I know that, but this is something else.”
Lee laughed. “I never thought I’d see you uncomfortable.”
“Consider it a revelation,” Alexander grunted. “It’s a wonder that people still have any spirit for lovemaking in middle age.”
“Love and sex doesn’t stop when you turn thirty, Alexander.”
“Good. Because I’d get incredibly bored.”
“Hmm.” Lee sighed and sat back, rubbing at his eyes with a loud yawn. “I think I need to get some spectacles. I’m getting a headache looking at all of this.”
The light had been fading a little. It was close to midday, but it was getting cloudy again, and Alexander realized the room had been getting a little darker. He stretched his legs, stretching his arms above his head.
Then he sat up. “What was that?”
Lee fell silent. For a moment, Alexander thought he had been hearing things. Then he heard it again. A twig snapping. Someone was outs
ide. Gesturing for the Marquess to follow him, Alexander stood and headed towards the kitchen door. Opening it quickly, he stepped out into the afternoon sun. Somebody was there, trying to look into the kitchen window without being seen. He jumped away as Alexander and Lee stepped out into the back yard. Alexander frowned.
“Lord Tiverton? What are you doing here?”
“I…” Lord Tiverton cleared his throat and brushed himself down. “I heard you were coming out here and I thought I would see how you were getting on. If you needed any help.”
