“Dear sir,
At the request of a person that I am not at liberty to divulge, our law firm has been tasked with writing to you to inform you of certain facts that have recently been brought to our attention.
The matter we are about to divulge is one of the gravest proportions. Our recommendation follows that should any doubt arise as to the authenticity of the material about to be presented, you should contact the writer directly. You can rest assured that our firm values its reputation and has gone to great pains to verify everything that you are about to read. The subject material is within the bounds of criminal law.”
Thomas halted. The letter had been signed and dated five days ago. Thomas discovered that his interest had been totally suppressed. The premonition that no good would come from the examination of this document sat with him and would not be shaken from his thoughts. Whatever the topic, it was of a serious nature.
At length, when no other options presented themselves, Thomas reassured himself that whatever secret the quality parchment was about to give up, the events had probably already occurred. And history, for good or bad, could not be changed.
The writings continued:
“The current Lord of Marlbrook, Henry, is noted in the records of His Majesty, to be the son of Lord William Marlbrook.”
Thomas wrenched the paper from his sight, snatching at the possibility that the correspondence had been wrongly transferred. Expectations were high as he re-examined the handwriting, flawless in its presentation, but the address proved to be correct and the greeting confirmed his ownership. The puzzle depended. What would oblige a Lawyer to bore him with Marlbrook’s history?
Thomas’ curiosity had finally been awakened.
“Lord William befriended the son of a neighbouring estate, a Master Howard Ashley, soon to become Lord Howard Ashley. Both were of similar age. It is documented that their friendship was such that they passed most of their time together during their extreme youth, accompanied by the daughter of a respectable neighbouring family, Mistress Virginia Reed.
In due course, Master Howard and Mistress Virginia would marry. The close relationship that had formed between the men during their childhood did not carry on past the marriage vows taking place.
The houses of Ashley and Marlbrook, we must note for the purpose of providing background to this story, are not unaccustomed to estrangement. Historians have recorded throughout their ancient chronicles the ongoing battles between the two. The reasons recorded vary, but the relationship appears to have taken on a regular pattern, ensuring that few generations have enjoyed a close bond. Rivalry, for the period with which we are concerned, appears to have developed over the woman, Miss Reed. This is, in part, speculation.”
Thomas halted his investigation. To read of one’s mother and father in terms of lovers, was something to which he did not believe a son or daughter of any age should be subjected. Indeed, they should not be privy to the information. His reluctance to move on showed in his actions, as he slowly turned the page.
“A baby had been born to Ashley Manor within a year of the marriage taking place. The child, a girl named Kate, later died of smallpox. The second and only surviving child thereafter was Master Thomas.
The feud between the houses would continue for the next ten years, with no one coming forward at the commitment of this episode to paper to place any additional light on the subject.
Lord William, who would inherit his title upon the death of his father, had taken a bride in what rumours said to be a love match, despite the marriage being arranged, but after investigation, this theory is held up to doubt.
On the eleventh day of our Lord, seventeen hundred and fifty eight, it is documented that Lord William and a group of his peers had indulged in a period of excessive drinking before approaching Ashley Manor. Their intentions are deemed to have been premeditated and their aim deliberate in the want to cause mischief.
The day of their antics had been carefully chosen. The entire district celebrated a day of festivity that would see the majority of servants and their masters attending an annual stock sale some miles away. It has been recorded in testimony that the men, armed with this knowledge, had set out knowing that Lady Virginia would be alone.
On arrival at the Manor they had, by all accounts, insisted on hospitality in the most forcible of manners, and in a threatening fashion called for refreshments and food. It has been put forward to our firm that the excursion had started as a harmless joke. Whatever the design, the writer must now clarify that this assertion is of no relevance for the day did not end as it had started.”
Thomas thrust the paper abruptly to one side as though burnt. His hands shook and anticipation was rife. He knew now what would come next and it was a part of his history that he had no hankering to uncover.
He stood to pour himself a large whisky before he could again confront the wretched composition. Copious amounts of alcohol would have to be consumed before he would allow old wounds to be re-opened. He made sure he had swallowed his second drink and was half way through the third before he again raised the paper to his sight.
“In a sworn statement, by one who was present at the time, it is documented that Lord William had, on many occasions during the afternoon, directed accusations and lewd insinuations at Lady Virginia. The Lady had requested that he desist and leave her presence, but she had no one to champion her cause. The intruders had done their homework well. Aside from a maid in attendance, Lady Virginia had been very much alone. It is also stated that Lady Virginia appealed many times to their gentlemen’s code of conduct and in the end had begged them to depart.
Our witness documents that once he realised that the situation was becoming indecent, he had sided with Lady Virginia and attempted to persuade his three colleagues to leave. He had reminded them that they were in the home of a gentleman and not at a tavern. His efforts had been ignored.
Lord William continued his consumption of drink, and as the day wore on, his temper had surfaced. When asked to document his description of his Lordship’s countenance, our witness had used the term “black”.
Obscene comments where then directed at our witness before his friends proceeded to heave him bodily from their presence, hurling him face down on the cobbles outside.
From this point on, the document is in part conjecture. The witness will swear in court that, through the kitchen window, he viewed Lord William as he cast the maid in a rough manner across the room and into the arms of his two remaining associates. When Lady Virginia had tried to protest, by going to the assistance of her maid, Lord William had cruelly confined her. The action was reported to have been strong enough to have caused Lady Virginia some degree of pain, for she had cried out. Lord William had then uttered words that the witness cannot provide, but on completion of them he had dragged a greatly distressed Lady Virginia from the room.
The fate of the maid can be documented in detail, as our witness was privy to all that happened, but due to the very intimate details that are involved in this type of transgression we have deemed it unnecessary to commit them to this document. However, should the business be placed before a magistrate, the details shall be made available. That a young woman of barely seventeen years lost her innocence, her dignity, and then her life at the hands of two men respected as part of our English nobility is to be adjudged as vile. To have to document that it was done in the name of sport is a sad reflection on the very core of our nation.
The witness, again under oath, states to have heard Lady Virginia attempt to placate Lord William after he had forced her into an adjacent room. The essence of the following conversation is in part unsubstantiated. No witness could be located to lend any credence to the tale in detail, and therefore, the recording of the story is completed with this in mind.
The relating of unsubstantiated material is done so under duress, but also with the recognition that it may in part provide a motive as to why a crime of such magnitude had been committed.
T
he witness has recorded the outline of the final conversation heard to take place between Lord William and Lady Virginia.
Lord William began. “You act as though I have no right to call upon your person, but I take a very different view of affairs, madam. Do you think that I do not grieve for the child that was also mine? I am constantly plagued by the thought that it was your desire not to have the baby that really killed her; your hatred for its sire in someway affecting the child. The night I took you should have sealed you to me, the child one that should have been raised in my home - one that is barren of “my” children. God punishes me, as you do. You chose him over me and I have lived a life of one plagued by the memories of you, but tonight I shall have you and this time I shall ensure that you remain mine. He will never again touch you and my nights shall no longer be tormented by thoughts of you.”
The witness has said that Lady Virginia was distraught and given no opportunity to answer the accusations pointed at her. Lord William then pulled her, against her will, into one of the upstairs rooms. The slap of a hand contacting flesh was the next sound he heard and accusations of betrayal the last words to reach his ears.
It was some time later, as our witness had been about to take his leave, that he heard Lady Virginia’s scream. This was the last sound he can testify to hearing. The cry had been terrifying enough that our witness had left the scene.
The crime, as recorded by the constabulary, fits with the facts that this company has pieced together. Lady Virginia’s body was discovered in a state of undress, with bruising consistent to that of being hit with some strength. Finger marks were also present on the body, confirming that she had been held with some intensity. She too, like her maid, had been violated.
It is pure speculation on our part that the maid was not killed outright. It is our considered opinion that upon the death of Lady Virginia, it became vital that the crime be masked. The murder of the maid became a necessity to perfect a scene consistent with the brutal slayings occurring at the hands of highwaymen – “The criminals, intent on robbery, had discovered the women alone and taken what they wanted.”
The details in this case have come to life after so many years, due to this office gaining possession of one of the items identified as stolen from the person of Lady Virginia. The object was found to be in the possession of the current Lord of Marlbrook, Henry. A portrait of Lady Virginia, hanging in Ashley Manor, has verified the ownership of the unique item, a ring.
The uncovering of the information, in hindsight, appears to support the theory that the feud between the two families had come to pass, at least in part by the rivalry for Lady Virginia’s attentions, a woman, we are informed, who had acquired great beauty. If the unsubstantiated material is to be considered, then it would appear that Lady Virginia had been set upon by Lord William prior to her marriage, and the child, Kate, had been a result of that union. This, in part, would explain some of the situation.”
Suddenly, Thomas felt very tired. His footsteps were laborious as he made his way to the gallery to look upon the beautiful face of his mother. But all she could do was stare back through the tragic eyes that had long haunted him.
As a boy, he had been kept free of the burden of understanding, but as a man he had to accept that the story was true. The missing pieces of the puzzle would never be fully verified or his father’s part in the saga ever known. Grief had lain over the man and smothered him, just as desire had taken hold of Lord William. Conjecture as to guilt could go either way.
The letter lingered only a short time in Thomas’ grasp before he placed it in the desk drawer, a lock coming between the generations. The sordid account, destructive in nature, tempted him to re-read the condemning words. The re-examination of the item seemed minor, but if he completed the exercise, it would adhere the excerpts in his mind. He fought hard against the compulsion. No good could come from branding his thoughts with the image of his mother’s last, pitiable moments.
When his battle was won, Thomas relegated the events back into memory, where they belonged. With his hands secured behind his back, he paced the length of the study, his body gradually relaxing under the rhythmic repetition of the strides. History would quite rightly condemn Lord William Marlbrook for his transgressions. The record books would denounce the father for his deeds, but the son would remain unscathed. Henry, like his father before him, had taken what could never rightfully be his and harmed his family - a second generation suffering at Marlbrook’s hands. The difficulty Thomas faced was how to extract fair and just retribution. Payment for Marlbrook’s sins, he concluded, had become compulsory.
#
Laura made use of her journal. She felt a great need to clarify her thoughts.
“When the headline appeared in the paper, we were totally unprepared. Our world at Marlbrook has been insulated until now, but it seems that we are no longer safe from harm. I find it extraordinary how just a few words scrawled on an innocent piece of parchment can create such devastation.
Lord Ashley gave me no warning of what he had planned, but when I consider the extent of the crime, I cannot blame him.
The maid, upon answering the door, has shown the constable into the morning room and that is where I have left him with Henry. However, while others may seek the truth my focus lies elsewhere. The facts of this case, if made public, would be enough to destroy my husband’s reputation and possibly our home. My children will be denied access to decent houses, and therefore their chances of marrying may even be remote.
Life has been altogether too peaceful of late.”
The narrative in the newspaper had so far only hinted at the identity of Lady Virginia’s murderer, but Laura knew that she was running out of time. Thomas’ actions forced her to take a realistic approach. If any further articles went into print, they might lose control of the situation. Henry and his title were a powerful combination and many would be afraid to oppose him, but scandal was a strange beast. The odds were stacked against them.
Legally, all parties concerned were aware that any attempt to place the matter before a court would fail. No magistrate would condemn a Lord based on incomplete evidence, especially when a long dead peer of the realm was involved. The House of Marlbrook also exerted enough authority to influence any structured court.
Whoever had instigated this plot had deliberately picked the social arena to destroy them, the one area where neither riches nor success could save them.
Laura understood would she must do. The future of her family lay in Thomas’ hands. The fight for her children and their rights would not exclude the man she loved.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO – Revenge
The lingering odour of leather, when first broken in, still dominated the interior of the new carriage. Laura appreciated how vastly different the circumstances of this trip were, when compared to those of the original. Recollection plummeted her thoughts into despair. Nothing dark and mysterious would waylay her this time and it dawned on her that all that remained the same was that she travelled, once more, uninvited to Thomas’ door.
As the distance to the Manor narrowed, Laura examined her feelings and revealed a strange calm. She could not afford to be swayed from her business and she marvelled how her body had been controlled by her mind.
Life had chosen to deny her access to Thomas’ home since that fateful day more than sixteen years ago. The lonely, derelict structure embedded in her memory would no longer exist. The Manor had been transformed under his authority.
Laura contemplated the many roads that one could choose to travel through life. Ashley Manor was an avenue that had been presented to her. Had things been different, she would have been Mistress of that house. Her children would have been the ones tasked with returning laughter to the home, breathing vitality back into the lonely halls. On reflection, she had become part of the Manor’s tragic drama, one that had reached out to involve another generation. And now, it had fallen upon her to see that it touched no more.
Gently, Laura ea
sed the carriage window open. She was desperate for some fresh air to help clear her mind. The preparation was necessary if she wanted to succeed. To ponder one’s losses or to linger over what might have been was redundant. Laura vanquished sentiment. Feelings were an unaffordable luxury, for there were more pressing concerns that demanded her adjustment.
Thomas knew that Laura would come. Their story decreed that this next phase be brought about. His wife, somewhere above stairs, would again be obliged to be generous and indulge his mistress while she roamed the lower quarters. Personal concerns at this juncture were irrelevant. This was something intimate between two people that life had seen fit to bring together, only to then tear them apart. Their alliance was one that transcended the ordinary. Maureen would once more be expected to accept second place.
The large ornate door loomed before Laura and time spiralled backwards. She drew deep on her personal strength to stop from being overcome. The entranceway was as familiar to her as though a common everyday sight, but in reality the changes were many.
Inside the manor, the staircase linked Laura to the past, and, as her sight gazed upon its splendour, her eyes retraced where she had once walked. She had paced the steps from the kitchen as an innocent, with little instruction from the book of life.
Thomas stood alone on the opposite side of the room, viewing the past as Laura did. It was a sad moment for both.
Neither Thomas nor Laura bothered to complicate affairs with customary pleasantries. Laura followed Thomas’ lead, as he entered the private territory of his study, his masculine stronghold.
The den, Laura noted, was relatively small in comparison to other studies that she had observed, but well cared for and decorated to indulge one man.
Journey's End (Marlbrook) Page 21
