Love, Lies and Murder

by Catherine Winchester

  She had knocked on the adjoining door to Alex’s room and he had come through seconds later. He was dressed in black trousers and frock coat, with a charcoal grey waistcoat, white shirt and cravat. The outfit flattered his figure, framing his wide shoulders, drawing the eye to his narrow waist, while the high collar and cravat, not to mention his dark hair, framed his freshly shaved face beautifully. All in all, he cut a very attractive figure and Helen felt her heart skip a beat and a fluttering sensation form in her stomach.

  She had been in his company for three days now but hadn’t noticed that he was handsome. Perhaps the thick coat he wore and the tiredness that travelling inevitably induced, helped to hide his appeal, or perhaps she had just been too preoccupied to notice.

  He also had an odd look in his eyes as he took in her appearance. His light blue eyes, often so cold looking, now seemed almost predatory, like a wolf that had spotted its prey. To her surprise, rather than frightening her, his possessive gaze made the fluttering in her stomach go lower, igniting a delicious ache in her loins.

  He offered her his elbow without speaking and together, they headed down to dinner. She had never been this close to him before and she had to say that his scent was very pleasing; a mixture of musk, rosewood and something warm and homey, perhaps cinnamon. She inhaled deeply.

  The feeling she had as they came down, that of being a princess, fled as soon as they entered the blue room, to find his family sharing a drink before dinner. Conversation ceased immediately and all eyes focused on Helen, as they wondered exactly who Alex’s new bride was.

  Helen looked them over as well, and a few of the women’s expressions said that they definitely found her wanting.

  The people could be divided into two groups, those with dark or black hair and olive skin, like Alex, and those with pale complexions and hair ranging from light chestnut to light brown. She guessed that they were his wife’s family.

  Alex introduced her to them and then began to introduce his family to her. After each introduction, she made sure to repeat their names in her head to help her remember.

  “This is my brother, Clarence Cavendish.”

  Helen curtseyed. “Very nice to meet you, Mr Cavendish.”

  “Oh no, we’re family now, Your Grace, please call me Clarence.” He had very similar colouring to Alex but is eyes were green and he had a dimple in his chin. He also wasn’t quite as handsome as his brother, but it was a close run thing.

  “Very well, Clarence, if you will call me Helen.”

  “This is my mother, Pearl, the Dowager Duchess of Crowham,” Alex explained. She had a little grey in her dark hair but overall, seemed very young to be a widow. Her gown was far more ornate than her daughter-in-law’s and Helen began to wish that she had chosen to wear something more intricate. Her expression was far from friendly either; in fact she looked rather displeased. Her eyes were blue like Alex’s, but in a shade so pale that it only served to make her demeanour seem even colder.

  “Very pleased to meet you, Your Grace,” Helen said. As she curtseyed, she missed the glare that Alex gave his mother but it had no impact on the older woman anyway, as she remained mute.

  “This is my sister, Lady Rose Cavendish,” Alex continued.

  Rose had got to her feet for the greeting and gave her a curtsey. “Very pleased to meet you, Your Grace.”

  “Please call me Helen,” she looked around the others. “Everyone.”

  Alex’s mother sniffed but made no further comment.

  “Helen, I’d like you to meet my late wife’s family. This is my mother-in-law, Anna Russell, my sister-in-law, Jane and her brother, Milton.”

  The ladies bobbed while Milton took her hand.

  “A pleasure to meet you,” Helen smiled.

  “The pleasure is all ours,” Milton said in a seductive voice, as he kissed the back of her hand. He had the same predatory look in his eyes as Alex had earlier but unlike then, it left Helen feeling a little disquieted.

  Alex placed a possessive hand on her shoulder and she stepped back towards him, pulling her hand from Milton’s in the process.

  “Would you like a drink, my dear?” Alex asked.

  “Yes, please,” she turned and smiled gratefully at him. Alex nodded to Graves, who was waiting to serve, then he directed Helen to one of the small sofas and taking her hand, they sat down.

  “So,” Clarence said, leaning forward in his chair and giving her a friendly smile. “Tell us how you met my brother?”

  “I was arguing with a wagon driver actually, and Alex offered his assistance,” Helen answered as Graves handed her and Alex a glass of wine.

  They hadn’t discussed what to tell his family and while she wasn’t silly enough to tell them that this was a marriage of convenience, she knew that it was best to tell the truth, as far as possible. She wasn’t entirely sure why everyone had to believe that this marriage was genuine but for some reason, she also wanted them to believe it was real. To admit that she had married someone, essentially for money and protection, and that he had married her only so his sons had a mother, was humiliating.

  “So you live up to the red hair then?” Clarence teased.

  “She has spirit, if that’s what you mean.” Alex interjected.

  “Are you Irish?” Alex’s mother asked with a slight sneer.

  “I was born in England,” Helen answered with remarkable calm. “The red hair in our family comes from my father’s side, we are distant descendants of James V of Scotland.”

  Pearl sniffed. “And who are your parents?”

  “Both my parents are deceased but-”

  “Mother, I don’t think interrogation is really the best way to help Helen settle into our family, do you?” Alex’s voice held a hard edge.

  Pearl put her nose up and turned away.

  “Well,” Milton said into the silence that was growing. “I’m certainly looking forward to dinner.”

  Alex nodded to Graves, who left the room to check on dinner and when he returned a few minutes later, they all headed into the family dining room.

  Helen remained mostly silent throughout dinner, watching her new family and trying to understand the dynamics at play.

  Alex sat at the head of the table and presided over proceedings. Although he didn’t speak very much, he made a few attempts to introduce Helen into the conversation but when he could see that she was uncomfortable, he stopped. He was also very dour, and hadn’t smiled at anyone other than her since they came downstairs.

  The matriarch, Pearl, behaved much as she had before dinner. She was generally disapproving and prone to show that by sniffing. The devil in Helen wanted to offer her a handkerchief or enquire if she had seen a physician for her cold.

  Rose was a very pretty girl but she was also 24, an age when most ladies would be married. She seemed perfectly pleasant and demure, as a young lady should be, so Helen was at a loss for why she still lived at home. She did notice however, that a look from her mother could quell any action or reply that Rose might have liked to offer.

  Clarence was the opposite of Alex and easily the friendliest of everyone at the table. He rarely took offence, smoothed things over when they became tense, changed the subject when things got uncomfortable and enjoyed cracking jokes when appropriate. Helen felt that she could come to like him very much.

  As for Alex’s late wife’s family, the mother-in law, Anna, seemed very stiff and formal and Helen wondered if she ever relaxed and let her hair down.

  Milton made a few ribald comments and seemed to be an incorrigible flirt but basically harmless, and she brushed off her earlier disquiet when he had kissed her hand. She simply wasn’t used to male attention, so it was probably a fault in her rather than him, she reasoned.

  Helen couldn’t decide if Jane was shy or simply circumspect. As the meal progressed, she flashed Helen a few smiles at her brothers more risqué jokes, so perhaps she was just guarded.

  It was with some shock that Helen realised that she didn’t eve
n know Jane’s late sister’s name.

  After dinner they should have separated, the ladies withdrawing to the drawing room while the men remained to drink and smoke cigars, so Helen was surprised that when Pearl suggested the ladies leave, Alex stood and excused himself.

  “Helen and I have had a long journey, so I do hope that no one minds if we have an early night?”

  Milton and Clarence grinned at him, while Pearl sniffed but didn’t comment.

  “Of course not,” Anna said. “You must be very tired.”

  After a moment’s hesitation, Rose then got up from the table and met Alex by the door. “Good night,” she said, then kissed him on the cheek and turned to Helen. “Welcome to the family, Helen. I do hope we have a chance to get to know one another soon.”

  She looked so hesitant that Helen couldn’t help but like her. “And I. I’m sure we will find time because I will make time.”

  Rose gave her large smile, the biggest that Helen had seen from her all evening, although it faded when Pearl sniffed loudly.

  “Good night,” she said with some regret as she turned to rejoin her mother at the table.

  “That was very kind of you,” Alex said as they headed up the stairs.

  “Kind?”

  “To make time for my sister.”

  “It’s hardly kindness; I’d like to get to know her, and the rest of your family.”

  “You didn’t seem to enjoy yourself this evening.”

  “It’s not that I didn’t enjoy it, I just prefer to observe a situation before jumping in.”

  They had reached her door so she went inside and left it open for him to follow. He did, closing it after them. She took a seat by the fire and he joined her.

  “So what were your impressions of my family?” he asked.

  “Oh no, I wouldn’t like to pass judgement after only one evening.”

  Alex smiled and nodded. “Tomorrow I’ll introduce you to the boys. Rose loves them too but Mother stops her from being too involved with them.”

  “Why?”

  “Their relationship is… complicated. Mother keeps her on quite a tight leash.”

  “Can’t you do anything about that? This is your household.”

  “But she’s not my daughter.”

  “Is that why she never married, because of your mother?”

  “That’s… complicated, and not my story to tell.”

  Helen accepted that.

  “Do you ride?” he asked.

  “I used to love it,” Helen answered with a fond smile. “Sir Geoffrey bought me my own pony when I was 12 but I had to leave her behind.”

  “I’m sure you’ll soon get the hang of it again. Perhaps tomorrow after lunch, we could take some horses out and I could show you around the estate.”

  “That sounds lovely.”

  “Until tomorrow then.” He got to his feet and Helen realised that she was a tiny bit sorry that he was leaving.

  “Good night, Alex.”

  Chapter Four

  The next morning when the maid brought her hot water to wash with, Helen asked if Forbes would come and see her when she was free. She then washed, plaited her hair since a bun might not survive a ride very well, and was about to dress when Forbes arrived. She put the morning dress over her arm and opened the door.

  “Good morning, Your Grace,” Forbes curtseyed. She was younger than Helen expected, perhaps 30.

  “Thank you for coming to see me, and please call me Ma’am.”

  “Would you like me to do your hair?”

  “Actually no. The Dowager Duchess doesn’t seem to like me very much; I worry that if you help me, she will hold it against both of us. I did however, want to see you and thank you for your kind offer. I do appreciate the gesture.”

  “You’re very welcome, Ma’am.” Forbes actually looked relieved and Helen knew she’d made the right decision. “Will you be employing your own lady’s maid soon?”

  “Yes, Mrs Watson has placed an advertisement for me.”

  Forbes looked hesitant.

  “Did you have someone to suggest?” Helen asked.

  “Well, there’s a young chambermaid, Bessie, who’s shown interest. I’ve been teaching her what I can on our days off.”

  “Have you told Mrs Watson this?”

  “Yes, Ma’am. She says that Bessie is too inexperienced and that you will need someone who is fully trained.”

  “I don’t see why; from what I have been led to believe, the family doesn’t seem to socialise very much.”

  “No, Ma’am.”

  “If I did take her on, could you oversee her training?”

  “Yes, Ma’am.”

  “Very well, ask her to come to my room after breakfast.”

  “Yes, Ma’am. Would you like help to dress?”

  “Thank you but I think I can manage.”

  ***

  Breakfast didn’t seem to have any structure to it and people came down when they were ready, helping themselves to the food, which was kept in warming plates on the sideboard. Helen was pleased to see that Alex was among the first people there but she was slightly less enthused to find his mother there as well. That woman just seemed to kill any happiness around her and Helen felt as if she was walking on eggshells.

  Alex greeted her with a warm smile but Pearl simply cast her eyes over Helen, then dismissed her with a sniff. With just the three of them, it was a tense meal and Helen was glad to escape when Alex suggested it.

  “Would you like to meet the boys now?” he asked.

  “I would love to but I’m interviewing Bessie about becoming my lady’s maid. It shouldn’t take long.”

  “Who is Bessie?”

  “She’s a chambermaid. According to Forbes, she’s shown a genuine interest in learning to become a lady’s maid.”

  “You’ve been here less than 24 hours and already you know more about my staff than I do.”

  Helen smiled as they reached the landing. “You can stay while I speak with her, if you’d like. I doubt it will take very long.”

  It didn’t take long for Helen to decide that Bessie, with her sweet and accommodating nature, would be perfect and with that decided, they headed up to the children’s rooms, which were on the floor above.

  Both boys were in the schoolroom, one lady watching the older boy as he copied some text and another lady teaching the alphabet to the younger boy. Everyone stood as they entered and Alex introduced Helen to Miss Bayer, the governess and Edith, the boys’ nanny. The younger boy, Julian, gave her a big smile as he was introduced but the older one, Joseph, seemed quite introverted. He bowed and said that he was pleased to meet her, but he didn’t smile.

  “So, what are you boys learning?” Helen asked, taking a seat at the small table.

  “I’m learning letters!” Julian told her, with the enthusiasm that only the young possess. “A is for Apple.”

  “That’s right,” she smiled and turned to Joseph. “And what are you copying?”

  “A poem; The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Coleridge,” he answered, very politely but his tone was flat and lifeless.

  Helen thought that poem was a little advanced for a boy of just seven.

  “Do you like poetry?” she asked.

  Joseph shrugged.

  “Answer her, Joe,” Alex said, sounding stern. He was hovering behind the table, watching over events.

  “I like poetry,” Joe answered mechanically.

  Helen’s heart went out to the boy, who was clearly suffering.

  “Have you ever heard of a poem called Ode to Autumn by John Keats?”

  Joe shook his head.

  “It’s one of my favourites. I wonder if I found a copy, if you might like to take a walk in the gardens with me while we read it?”

  “Can I come!” Julian wanted to know.

  “Of course. So what do you think, Joe? May I call you Joe?”

  “I don’t mind,” Joe answered, though she couldn’t be sure which question he was answer
ing.

  “Are you going to be our Mummy now?” Julian asked, and Joe’s eyes shot to her as well, although he wore a scowl.

  “I don’t know,” Helen said.

  “Why not?” Jules demanded. “You married Daddy, that makes you our Mummy!”

  “Unfortunately, we adults don’t get to decide things like that. Your father made me his wife but only you boys can decide to make me your Mother. If you’ll have me, it’s a position I would very much enjoy.”

  “I want you,” Jules told her. “I’ve never had a Mummy before.”

  “Yes you have,” Joe corrected him.

  “But I don’t amember her,” Jules told him.

  “It’s re-member, and that doesn’t matter. She was our mother and she loved us.”

  “Well, no decisions have to be made now,” Helen said, trying to smooth their argument over. “I just want you both to know that whether you want me to be your mother or not, I will be here for you both if you ever need me and since we’re going to be living together, I think we should get to know each other, don’t you?”

  Jules grinned at her and nodded but Joe kept his eyes on the poem he had been copying.

  Alex was about to admonish Joe to be polite, but a quick shake of her head from Helen caused him to hold his tongue.

  “Why don’t we do it on Sunday, then it won’t interfere with your studies?”

  “Can we take a picnic?” Jules asked her.

  “Well it’s a little cool to eat outside but I'm sure we can arrange something.”

  “Yes!” Jules really was a sweetheart, Helen decided, and it wouldn’t be very long before he had worked his way into her affections.

  Joe was going to be more difficult, both to love and to win his love, but she would do her level best. The boy was clearly suffering and right now, saw her as a replacement for his mother. The truth, was that she had no intention of replacing anyone but she couldn’t blame him for feeling that way.

  They left the boys to their studies after that.

  “I’m sorry about Joe,” Alex said as they headed downstairs. “He became very aggressive after his mother died and while he is improving, he does have a tendency to be rude on occasion.”