Family Secrets (Davenport Manor Book 1)

by Melissa Zaroski

  “Ohhh…I’ve been waiting for you to ask that!” She narrowed her eyes playfully at him. “Zach and I…well, it’s complicated. We go way back and…well, I can’t say that he’s my boyfriend, but…”

  “…but there’s a history,” Todd interjected.

  She chuckled, “You could say that.”

  They danced in silence after that, their bodies pressed against each other and moving to the music. He inhaled the sweet smell of Burberry perfume once again and ran his hands along the curve of her waist and the small of her back. Her whole body tingled from his slightest touch, feeling him lightly moving his hands along her sides. As the song ended she looked up at him and blew him a seductive kiss.

  “Thank you for the dance,” she said and turned away to rejoin Zachariah and Declan.

  By now a stray autumn storm had begun to rage outside; lightening flashed and lit up the entire lawn out front. The wind was angrily howling, causing the rain to whip at the windows. The lights flickered a few times, but thankfully they never lost power. It was somewhat creepy being in such an old house with lightning and thunder, like something out of a horror movie.

  Todd was able to get to know a lot of the cast and crew by mingling through the crowds and introducing himself. He felt like a new person here—the heartbroken and shy Todd was left back in London. He was hitting the dance floor with his new friends, drinking plenty of beer, and having the time of his life. He had a flash of unknown nostalgia when he realized that he was at a party at Davenport Manor and imagined the parties that had taken place in that very ballroom decades, even centuries, before.

  Once everyone began to wind down, one-by-one people moved into the parlor where Emma had lit a fire in the oversized fireplace. By now, most people were feeling no pain and Todd was beyond tipsy himself. He was seated on the couch, scooted down, legs sprawled out, and his head resting back. Emma came to sit next to him and patted him on the thigh.

  He lazily rolled his head toward her and said, “Hey there Wino, how ya feelin’? You’ve been tossing back red wine like it’s water all night! I don’t know how you’re still standing.”

  She laughed, “I guess I have a high tolerance. And you look like you might have had one-too-many beers…”

  “Nooooo,” he replied while clumsily shaking his head. “Tell me something Emma. Do you like me?” Here came the liquid courage.

  “Of course I like you!”

  “No, I mean like me. Because I like you…a lot…too much…you’re hot.” He exhaled deeply.

  She couldn’t help but giggle at his drunken babbling. “You’re hot, too.”

  He took her hand and was shocked by her icy fingers. “You’re so cold! Let’s move closer to the fire and warm you up…or we could go to my room and I could warm you up myself.” He covered his face and moaned in embarrassment, “I did not just say that out loud…”

  This was so not him. He had been out of the dating game for so long and he was entirely too drunk to attempt to effectively flirt. And it seemed that the liquid courage was doing all the talking for him.

  She ran her fingers through his hair and he turned to look at her. She was very close to his face and happily gazed into his glassy eyes for a moment.

  “Can I kiss you, Emma?”

  “No, you’re a tad too trashed and this conversation should be saved for more sober times.”

  Reluctantly he replied, “Okay. But, my bedroom door is always open for you,” and a big shit-grin spread across his face.

  She kissed the top of his head. “I’ll keep that in mind. Trust me, this is taking all the willpower I have. You should go to bed though. Do you need help getting upstairs?”

  “Nah, I’m good,” he replied as he climbed off the couch. He staggered up to his room feeling slightly defeated as he was hoping that the night would have ended with Emma with him.

  The next morning, Todd woke up to an overcast sky and a hangover from the night before. He replayed his conversation with Emma over and over in his head, trying to figure out just how much of a history she had with Zachariah. She didn’t seem too keen on elaborating. The way she flirted with Todd made him think she may be interested, but at the same time it seemed she was playing hard-to-get. A tease maybe? He couldn’t seem to stop thinking about her blowing him a kiss last night, the touch of her hand running through his hair. He kept thinking he should have gone in for the kill and kissed her, but he just wasn’t that bold. He wasn’t confident that it would have been welcome.

  Since they were going to start filming the following day, he decided he would lock himself away in his room, stay in his sweats, and dive into the script to have it perfected. He hadn’t spent much time in his room since he got there, so he wanted to take advantage of the lazy, cold, and gloomy day. He pushed the antique chaise lounge to face out the floor-to-ceiling window and get to work.

  The storm from the night before had done a bit of damage from what he could see outside and down below. Debris scattered about the grounds and old trees tipped over in the woods in the distance. Somehow they would have to get the grounds cleared since they were scheduled to begin filming in that area. He hoped nothing had happened to Cottage One; he couldn’t bear to think of such history being wiped out in one fell swoop.

  As he settled in to the chaise with script in hand, he took one final glance out the window before getting to work. Out in the distance in the woods he saw four people surveying the damage. He was certain one was Emma—he saw her long, black hair from this far away. It looked as though the others might have been Zachariah, Vivienne, and Declan, judging by their hair and statures, but they were too far away to be sure. There was a knock on his door that made him jump in his seat. He got up to answer it and there stood Daniel with his script in hand as well.

  “Morning, buddy! I came to see if you wanted to go over lines since we have scenes together tomorrow,” he said.

  “Sure! I was actually just kicking back and planned on studying anyway—it’ll be good to react off each other.”

  Daniel followed Todd into the room and pulled up a chair by the chaise. Todd plopped down and Daniel scooted up so he could kick his feet up. After some small talk and exchanging who had the worse hangover, they flipped to the page to start on.

  Todd glanced up for a moment and he saw the large trees that had fallen being moved. He did a double take because he could swear he saw Emma holding one of the trees up. Then, he saw the other three people each pick up a tree and follow suit. Impossible! He jumped up out of the chaise to get a better look out the window.

  “What the fuck?!” He shouted. Everyone moving the trees stopped and looked up in the direction of his window.

  Todd flew out of his room, leaving Daniel behind, and ran down the long corridor, practically tripping over himself running down the stairs. He had to get outside to see if his mind had been playing tricks on him—it just wasn’t right. He ran through the foyer and just as he was passing the parlor he heard voices. He stopped short, slowly turned around and walked towards the great, arched doorway. Lounging on the furniture, talking and laughing, were Emma, Zachariah, Declan, and Vivienne.

  Confused and feeling a bit insane, Todd entered the parlor. “Hello…” he hesitated.

  “Hey, good morning man,” Zachariah replied. “How are you doing after last night? Pretty wild party, eh?”

  Todd rubbed his forehead and nervously laughed at himself. “Actually, I think I may still be drunk! I could have sworn I saw you all outside just now. I thought I saw Emma picking up one of those huge fallen trees…” he rapidly shook his head and blinked hard.

  Emma burst out laughing, “I think you need to go back to bed, m’dear!” She pushed up the sleeves of her shirt and showed him her arms, “Do these little arms look like they could pick up one of those trees?”

  Still breathing heavy from running, he looked toward the window and then the front door, clearly disturbed.

  Emma got up off the couch and came over to him. Concerned, she asked,
“Hey, seriously, are you okay?”

  “What I saw…it was so real,” he replied, shaking his head in bewilderment.

  “There’s no one out there, love. I have landscapers coming this afternoon to clear them out, but right now I think everyone is inside.” She looked at his face, but he wasn’t looking back at her. He was still trying to see across the room and through the window, hoping he would at least see a person out there. “Have you eaten yet? Why don’t you go and get something to eat, you did put back a few beers last night.”

  Todd hesitantly nodded and slowly walked away towards the kitchen, running his fingers through his still-messy hair.

  Emma turned back to Zachariah, Vivienne, and Declan and became serious.

  “That was close…” she said as she sat back down on the couch.

  Chapter 4

  Filming for the fifth installment of the Ticking Through Time films began and the house was buzzing with energy. The films were about a group of young time travelers and each film was set in a different place and time period. This particular film took place at Davenport Manor in 1814 and used actors to play William, Victoria, Emma, Christopher, and Elizabeth. The producers had consulted with Emma and Daniel about their ancestors’ history and had the costume department study their painted portraits. They wanted it to be as true to life as possible.

  Emma sat by the parlor window watching them film outside. She had to admit, they did a great job of finding actors that resembled their founding family and the costumers matched every last button and thread. William’s waistcoat was the exact shade of blue as his painting and Victoria’s dress was a truly beautiful shade of purple.

  Emma was touched by a wave of nostalgia and got up to go upstairs. She climbed the grand staircase and headed left towards the bedrooms. She slowly turned the knob of the Davenports’ master bedroom, which remained unoccupied, and carefully went inside. Past generations had made sure to keep the room tidy, dust-free, and clean. It was never used since Victoria died in her bed in 1830. Emma went to the far-right side of the room where there was a built-in dresser and mirror. Old, dried bottles of perfume and such sat on either side. The center bottle was the largest—Emma carefully wrapped her hand around it and tugged it towards her, hearing the familiar click inside the connecting wall. She looked around to be sure no one was there, and pushed it open.

  She climbed the long, narrow, wooden staircase up to a secret room on the third level. It was along the corner of the Manor and cylindrically-shaped with windows facing three directions. The floor was made of wood and it was dusty; she made a mental note to come up there and clean one of these days. It was always easy to forget—out of sight, out of mind.

  The room could easily be a historian’s playground. If a museum curator ever knew this room existed they would be like a kid on Christmas. The room was occupied with old chairs, tables, jewelry boxes with some of Victoria’s finest gems, and many odds and ends that belonged to the founding family. Emma picked up a faded, stained, now-ugly porcelain doll and gently turned it around in her hands, studying it.

  She walked over to an old, large bureau and carefully opened it. Inside hung the garments that once belonged to the founding Davenport family. Everyday clothing and formal wear hung like forgotten fashion. She pulled out Victoria’s purple dress, now thin and threatening to fall apart. She held it up to her face and inhaled deeply, hoping to catch a scent of Victoria herself. Instead, it smelled of must, dust, and of wood from the bureau. She carefully hung it back up in the same place. She touched the arm of William’s fading waistcoat and ran her hand along the clothing next to it. She took out Elizabeth’s green dress, sat on the floor, and cradled it in her arms. She closed her eyes, silent in thought, and a bright red tear ran down her cheek.

  While Emma loved having people in her house and being a social butterfly, she also welcomed this moment of quiet solitude. She sat for quite some time by herself up in the secret storage room.

  She heard footsteps coming up the wooden stairs and twisted her body to face the door. It was Zachariah.

  “What are you doing up here, love?” He asked while he casually surveyed the room.

  “Nothing, just reminiscing,” she replied as she glanced around the room.

  He saw the crimson streak of blood down her cheek. “Why are you crying?” Then he noticed she was holding Elizabeth’s dress. He walked over and sat on the floor next to her.

  She paused for a moment, looking down at the flimsy fabric in her hands. A couple drops of blood had dripped onto it. “I just miss them…”

  “I know you do.”

  “Sometimes I get a slap in the face when I realize I will never, ever see them again.”

  Zachariah looked her square in the eyes and replied with an unsympathetic tone, “I know the feeling.”

  Guilt hit her like a wave crashing down on her. She put her head in her hands and began to cry outwardly now. “I’m sorry…I’m so, so sorry. I was so selfish back then, I knew better! I just couldn’t imagine you leaving me forever as well. When you got pneumonia I told myself I was going to let you go. I acted with haste that night and I’ll never be able to tell you how sorry I am. I wish I could go back…”

  He put his arm around her, “Don’t. Nothing can be done now, so don’t live in guilt. I forgave you a century ago.”

  She reached over and hugged him. She knew that while he might have forgiven her for what she did to him, he would never forget. He began to chuckle and she pulled away to look at him.

  “What are you laughing at?”

  “Me…” he responded while shaking his head. “I can’t believe for nine years I believed you when you said you had poor circulation that caused you to be cold. Nine years! I was such a lovesick puppy; I would have believed anything you said.”

  She ran her fingers through his hair. “I knew it was wrong when we first got together; when you were trying to court me. You were a poor, orphaned stable boy at just sixteen years old. But, there was something about you that pulled me to you.”

  “You knew I’d be a great lover.” He confidently replied.

  “Uh…no. That’s not it,” she laughed.

  He narrowed his eyes to a sexy glare with a devilish grin on his face. “You knew I’d look good with these…” and he slowly tilted his head back and ascended his fangs.

  Her voice, now deep and seductive, replied, “Ding, ding, ding…we have a winner.” She licked the tip of one of his fangs with a flick of her tongue. A low growl was simmering in his chest and Emma knew what was coming next. Before he could pounce, she put her hand on his chest to top him. “Not in here…”

  He exhaled in frustration and looked at his watch, “Shit, I have to be back soon anyway.”

  “That’s too bad, but you know it’s available for you whenever you are.”

  He paused for a moment, thinking of how to put what he was going to say. “You’re headed down the same path again, you know.”

  She looked at him blankly, not understanding what he meant.

  “With Todd. You used to behave that way around me when I was still breathing—I see a lot of similarities between him and me. Just be careful, my love.”

  “I won’t make the same mistake twice. However, I may have acted rash back in 1839, but you m’dear, are not a mistake. You’re the best partner I could have asked for.” She touched his face, careful not to smear the handy work of the makeup department.

  Zachariah turned to go back downstairs and she looked around the room, making a final mental note to do some cleaning up there soon. She’d have to do it when she was in the right mood; too many pleasant memories that stabbed her heart were stored up in that old room. She gracefully went down the stairs and made sure the wall was securely shut behind her. She stood in the master bedroom, looking at the bed, the dresser, and belongings around the room. She sighed deeply and said under her breath, “I miss you, Mama and Papa.”

  She went into the bathroom to clean the blood tears off of her face and
brush her hair a little. She looked in the mirror and the reflection staring back at her was the same one she had seen for the past two hundred years; never changing and forever twenty-five years old. She would never get to experience growing old or watching her face gradually change over the years. She marveled at people who complained about wrinkles and age spots that come with growing older, all the while she would welcome the changes on her own face.

  That evening, when filming was complete for the day, everyone gathered in the parlor after supper. The television was on for background noise and there were various conversations going on.

  Emma, Daniel, Zachariah, and Todd were lounging on the couches facing each other and talking about the day’s events and how filming went. Emma’s phone began to ring and she looked down at the caller ID which said, “AIDAN O’SHEA”. She looked at it with wide eyes and held it up for a moment so Zachariah could see.

  “Excuse me for a moment, this is an important call I must take,” she said as she swiftly got up from the couch to leave the room. She answered the phone while she was briskly walking through the foyer to climb the stairs to her bedroom.

  She listened intently while he spoke and when she entered her bedroom, she opened her laptop to look up the flights going to Glasgow. “There’s a flight leaving at 9:00 tonight…three hours from now…I can make it, so then I’ll get there in the morning….okay, see you then.” She set her phone down on her bed and said, “Zachariah, you and Daniel come upstairs.” Knowing he could hear her from all the way in the parlor, she heard him respond with a simple, “Okay.”

  She booked her flight and scurried over to her closet to grab her suitcase and some clothes. She flew around the room grabbing the things she would need to be gone for a few days, which weren’t much. When they got to her room, she had already finished packing at an inhuman speed.

  “I have to leave for Glasgow tonight,” she told them.

  Daniel asked, “Why? Why do you have to go tonight?”