by Lucy Langton
“Tell me of Hugh, the servant,” Emilia said next, looking closely for any reactions that Rebecca might have to his name.
“Oh, Mr. Hugh,” Rebecca said, her nervousness mounting. “He was a peculiar man.”
“In what way?”
“Always sullen, I would say. Never a happy fellow. I think he didn’t like his post.”
“Is that so?”
“Indeed.”
When Rebecca expressed that she wished to speak no further, Samuel was able to fill in all the remaining gaps with far more confidence.
“Hugh hated the family, you see,” the older man explained. “If you ask me, and I won’t tell a lie, I would say that Hugh was jealous of their wealth more than anything else. Caught him stealing once.”
“Really?” Emilia asked.
“Indeed, it is true. Pocketed one of the earl’s best sets of cufflinks. Saw it with my own eyes.”
“And you know this for sure?”
“My hand to God,” Samuel said, lifting his hand in the air as a vow.
“And do you know any of Glastonbrook’s other staff?” Emilia asked, leaning in with quill pen and paper in her hands.
“Miss Emilia, I believe that I know them all,” he said with a smile. No doubt, the older servant had been harbouring all these secrets for some time, and he seemed delighted to finally set the truth free.
It was in the following days that Emilia was able to track down no fewer than a dozen former staff, all in various households around Castle Comb. Each member was gracious and willing to speak with Emilia, although some were more surly than others.
“I always had my doubts about Hugh,” a lady by the name of Esmerelda explained. “And I’m not so sure that you should be enquiring after him in the manner that you are.”
“What do you mean?” Emilia asked.
“It seems not a good thing to be butting into the affairs of others. But in my estimation, Hugh did not care for the family in the slightest. He did his job well enough, but at the end of the day, he was a bitter man who hated his station in life. It was plain as day.”
“I once saw him throw something in his office,” another servant by the name of Paul said. “He’d get so mad at the family, and so frustrated. Hugh was particularly annoyed with the former earl. He’d mutter all kinds of things under his breath.”
“Such as?” Emilia asked.
“Mostly just in regard to how lavish the earl was. How he’d spend his money on this and that, and never once increased Hugh’s salary. Made him mad as a hatter, from what I could see.”
“And how about Lord Forest?” Emilia asked.
“Always a sweet boy but kept to himself. Was gracious to the staff, from what I could tell, but he was sheltered, you see.”
“In what way?”
“I don’t think that Lord Joshua had a clue about any animosity amidst the staff. The earl did not want his son to see that.”
“But wouldn’t it have been better for Lord Forest to know the truth, since he was to inherit Glastonbrook after all?”
“The old earl didn’t see it that way,” Paul went on. “I think he might have been ashamed that there was any kind of dissension under his roof. He didn’t want his son to see it, nor his wife.”
“I see,” Emilia replied.
And so the picture was being painted rather clearly. Almost every servant that she spoke with said the same things: that Hugh was discontent in his job, that he was jealous of the Cunningham wealth, and he was frustrated with how the earl handled it.
What Emilia could not understand was why he had stayed in Glastonbrook for so long if he was discontent. Wouldn’t it make sense for the man to switch houses if he felt that way? Wouldn’t he want to leave Glastonbrook at once so that he did not have to feel such pent-up anger?
More importantly, why was it that, after the death of his parents, Lord Forest decided to keep Hugh at his post and get rid of the rest? Was it merely from ignorance? Or had Hugh begged for his job, perhaps convincing Lord Forest that he was the only one to remain?
Emilia’s head was spinning. Although so much was being revealed, there was still a great deal more to learn and the puzzle had not fully been solved. It seemed as though she questioned every former attendant of Glastonbrook, and she was still left with more questions.
*
What Emilia did not realise was that the earl himself had just as many questions as she did, but all were about Emilia’s whereabouts. He searched tirelessly for her, a fury filling him that he had never quite known. Yes, Miss Stewart was gone, and he was determined to have her back, no matter the cost. There was his duty to attend to, the need to take Lady Spencer as a wife, but he would not be able to do so if Emilia was no longer under his roof. The need was unconventional, to say the least, and yet Lord Forest needed Emilia in his life, if only so that he could look at her from afar.
He sent a dozen letters to the Hutchinson family, convinced that that was where Emilia must have fled. In response, he received letters from Lady Hutchinson expressing that Emilia was not with them, and she had not heard of the girl’s whereabouts. The letters were so convincing in nature that the earl assumed that it was not a lie, and yet still, he could not help but continue to write the Hutchinsons on most days, enquiring as to whether or not Emilia finally showed up.
Lord Forest was distraught in a way he had not known since his parents were discovered murdered. The disappearance of Emilia was a second kind of death in the family, and even one that touched the earl more intimately.
Memories of their final night together constantly flashed through his mind. He had never known such intimacy, both physically and emotionally. The earl had given in to his desires and did not for one moment question himself. It had been one of the most passionate nights of his life. And even if he could never feel Emilia again – taste her and smell her and have her near – he would still track her down and find her.
It was Lord Forest’s first taste of love. Emilia’s goodness was the cause, and there was no backing down.
Chapter 23
Emilia was pleased that only a light drizzle was falling overhead. She had walked through the forest, returning from a nearby home where she had spoken with her very last interviewee, and the sun was beginning to set.
Although content that all her hard work had yielded certainty that Hugh was indeed up to no good, and had been for many years, it did not temper the fact that Emilia still did not know the specifics of his actions against the Cunningham name.
Still, she had done her best, and the gentle, moist breeze that swayed the trees brought a momentary peace to her heart. She needed that peace, for Emilia had been missing the earl desperately. Was he still searching for her, she wondered, or had he perhaps given up hope? It was not like the Earl of Cunningham to give up on anything, and so she assumed that any day she would be caught. Emilia would not put up a fight if he discovered her, for she felt that it was almost fate that they should be together, in some capacity or another.
Suddenly, she heard the sound of twigs breaking beneath boots behind her. For a moment she thought the earl had found her. But when she turned she saw a cloaked figure, not more than twenty paces away, and quickly pursuing her. Although she could never be compelled to run from the earl, she noted that the figure looked sinister and appeared to be holding something in his hand. Was it a weapon? Was Emilia about to be robbed by a bandit? If it was her money that he wished for then he would surely be disappointed, for Emilia did not have a single coin to her name.
Rather than wait and discover what the stranger’s intentions might be, Emilia broke out into a fast run, and heard the figure behind run to catch up with her. She did not think, nor did she feel any fatigue, for fear and instinct took over and Emilia found herself running at a clip she had never known before.
Despite her best efforts, her steady pace was in vain, for the man was quickly catching up to her. Emilia’s heart pounded in her chest and she wished to cry out, but knew full well
that in the thickness of the surrounding forest it would be impossible for anyone to hear. Closer and closer he came upon her, yet Emilia still would not stop. Nor would she surrender without a fight.
Finally, the figure grabbed Emilia by the arm and swung her around. She nearly plummeted into his chest but decided instead to let her legs go limp so that she might fall to the ground, curling herself into a ball.
“Get up,” the man growled, muffled by his cloak, still tugging at her arm, but Emilia would not budge. She instead kicked at his boots and wailed. “Stop that!” he cried.
“Leave me alone,” she said through her cries, attempting to crawl away on her hands and knees.
He grabbed her by the waist, hoisting her to her feet and placing a hand over her mouth. She tried to scream through his hand, but he was grasping her mouth too tightly, and no sound would be emitted.
“Hush now,” he said, his face still concealed by the enormous hood of the cloak.
Although her heart continued to pound in her chest, Emilia realised she recognised the voice and she acquiesced, willing herself to slow her breathing and discontinue her screams. When she did so, the shadowy figure calmed himself as well. Finally, once all was settled, the hood was pulled back and the man was revealed.
Hugh stood before her, confusion and anguish in his eyes. She would never have guessed he was the man who was pursuing her, but upon reflection it made perfect sense. Hugh must have known that she was doing a bit of investigation throughout Castle Comb. He was no doubt informed of what was going on, and it was his business to stop Emilia in her tracks.
And then it became clear. Emilia would be Hugh’s next victim, and in that very forest where no one would be able to find her. The setting was perfect. He could murder Emilia, just as he no doubt murdered the former Earl of Cunningham and the countess, and no one would have any knowledge of it. Hugh was about to carry out the perfect murder, she was certain.
“Emilia, don’t be frightened,” Hugh said, releasing his grip on her arm.
“Don’t be frightened?” Emilia said with a dark laugh. She thought, through her terror, that Hugh’s statement was almost amusing. If she was about to die, she may as well laugh in his face and have that be his last image of her. Far better than to show Hugh her fear.
“I am not going to harm you, Miss Stewart. There is no need for weeping,” Hugh went on.
“I’m not crying,” Emilia replied indignantly. Yet still she could feel the warm tears upon her cheek. “I think it is pathetic what you have done. The lives that you have ruined. Now you seek to ruin my own, and for that I wish to spit in your face.”
Hugh seemed impressed by Emilia’s feisty nature. He had seen it before of course, yet still her courage was clearly not lost on him.
“Miss Stewart, I beg of you to calm yourself.”
“I am calm.”
“Come, sit upon this log,” Hugh said, taking Emilia by the arm again and beginning to lead her to a fallen stump. She pulled her arm away from him, refusing to be touched, and Hugh relented, releasing her. She could have run away again, but something inside of her said that Hugh had something important to say, and at the very least, Emilia still hungered for the truth.
“You have learnt of my investigation,” Emilia said matter of factly.
“I know that you have your suspicions, but I know of no investigation,” Hugh replied.
Emilia was in shock. It seemed strange that he should just happen to find her there in the forest when he did not know from whence she came.
“So, it’s true then? Everything that I suspect?” Emilia asked, feeling as though she didn’t need to explain to Hugh any further what her assumptions were.
“Some of what you suspect is true, yes. But there is much more that I need to explain,” he said, his voice anxious and pleading.
“Speak,” Emilia said, grasping herself with her arms.
“Once I have said my piece, I will tell you why it is that I share this information with you,” Hugh began, pulling his hand through his hair nervously.
“There is no need.”
“Well then,” Hugh went on, looking off into the distance as though collecting himself before telling the tale. “It began with a love affair, some years back. The former earl and countess were still alive.”
“Who was having an affair?” Emilia asked, assuming that she already knew the answer.
“Between Lady Spencer and I.”
“I thought as much.”
“Hear me out,” Hugh went on, refusing to seat himself beside Emilia. He instead stood in front of her, as though before a judge. “We were in love, and I wished to run away with Lady Spencer. This was at the very same time that Lord Joshua was courting her. She did not love him, though she did admire him. The great difficulty was that I had no money to my name, and should she and I run off together, we’d be quite destitute.”
“So a plan was hatched,” Emilia said. It was just as she suspected.
“Indeed. Lady Spencer devised a plan whereby I would . . . murder the earl and countess, thus leaving Lord Joshua in need of finding a wife. She would marry him, and a male child would be got.”
“The earl’s child?” Emilia asked.
“Either the earl’s or my own, it did not matter.”
“I see,” Emilia replied, filling with disgust.
“Once the heir was secured, Lord Joshua would be the next to be murdered,” Hugh explained.
A cold chill overtook Emilia as she realised the ramifications of what Hugh was saying. He was being honest with her, blatantly honest. And although he originally said that he’d be able to share with her the reason for his candour, Emilia found herself wishing to know immediately why he was saying so much.
“Are you trying to absolve yourself?”
“You cannot absolve me, Miss Stewart. Nor do I want you to. As you can see, the plan did not go along its natural course, for the earl is still with us today.”
“For that I am grateful,” Emilia said, tears once again welling up behind her eyes. Indeed, it was a great miracle that Lord Forest was still alive. If the plan went so miserably wrong, then she was happy for it.
“Lady Spencer would ensure her fortune that way, with the heir and the dead husband, and she would keep me on as her lover. For her, it was a happy ending.”
“And for you?” Emilia asked.
“For me, as you can imagine, it was not. I held no animosity towards Lord Joshua, nor did I want anyone to die.”
“Yet you went along with the plan,” Emilia said accusingly.
“Miss Stewart, I beg you to hear me out to the end. You may find that I’m not the villain you take me for.”
“Continue,” Emilia replied.
“I did not kill the Earl of Cunningham, nor the countess.”
“Then who did?”
“It was a team that was hired by Lady Spencer. I wish I could say my hands were entirely clean of the murder, but they are not. In truth, I was the one that opened the door for the killers, and I oversaw the event. For all these years, even though I did not cause one drop of blood, I have been wracked with guilt over what I have done. I did not hold a knife in my hands, and yet still I’m a killer. This is something that haunts me to this day.”
“That is understandable,” Emilia replied. So, Hugh was not a murderer after all, but merely a facilitator.
“I thought the earl and his wife gaudy and pretentious at times, and I did not care for the way in which they flaunted their wealth. But it was merely due to the fact that I was in love with a woman who craved and demanded wealth. Had I been a man of means, then perhaps Lady Spencer would not feel as though she needed to go to such great lengths to be mine.”
“Why did you not go to the authorities?” Emilia asked, thinking that by doing so he might be relieved of his guilt.
“Impossible,” Hugh explained. “There is no telling what might happen were I to do so. But Lady Spencer and I would be found guilty, of course. It would be our demise.
I chose instead to remain in silence.”
“Why are you telling me this now?” Emilia asked, unable to restrain her curiosity much longer.
“Because now, I fear, Lady Deirdre is the one in danger.”
“Lady Deirdre?” Emilia asked.
“Indeed. Lady Spencer now views Lady Deirdre as a threat. She is the future heir, after all. Should she and the earl not be able to get a child, everything would fall to the sister. Before, when she was a young girl, Lady Deirdre was not a threat. But now Lady Spencer has her eyes set on her.”
Emilia’s heart began to pound in her chest. She’d rather give up her own life than see Deirdre harmed in any way.