Thomas Edward cried constantly. He seemed to know that his father was away, and his cries sounded in the halls of Westbridge Mansion from dawn until the darkest hour of the night. Julia felt helpless. She tried every single thing that she could think of, from rocking the infant to walking back and forth with Thomas Edward in her arms, trying to lull him back to sleep even as her legs ached.
Nothing seemed to help. Thomas Edward remained a perpetually squalling infant, red-faced with unhappiness.
“I feel as though you are punishing me,” Julia said crossly one day as she stood over the bassinet, gazing down at the screaming infant, whose smashed features did not resemble herself or Edward.
Thomas Edward cried even louder.
Julia picked her son up and began walking up and down the halls, making small soothing noises as she cradled Thomas Edward.
“This must help,” she said to herself. “This must make him calm!”
Hours wore on and the cries of Thomas Edward grew louder still. He rejected Julia’s breast, he rejected milk from a bottle. His diaper remained dry. On the surface, there was nothing wrong with the child. But Julia found herself growing miserable and resentful by the day.
“I feel as though I have not slept in a week,” Julia complained one morning as Mary served her breakfast in bed. “That child! His cries never stop!”
Mary chuckled.
“Aye,” she said. “That is the way with babies,” she said. She patted Julia’s shoulder. “Do not worry, Miss,” she said. “You are not much more than a child yourself! With time, I am sure your son will calm down.”
“How can you know so much?” Julia said angrily, balling her hands into fists and beating them against the mattress. “You know nothing of me!” Julia cried loudly. “Now get out of my room before I fire you for acting above your station!”
Stunned, Mary nodded. She bowed, then turned on her heel and walked quickly away.
~~~~~
When Edward returned back from his business trip he wanted nothing more than to see his beautiful wife and son. The trip had been a necessary one and while everything had been attended to; he had made a promise to himself that he would spend a good amount of time with Julia. He needed her more than he had realized during this time apart.
As his horse approached Westbridge there was no one there to greet him. He had sent a courier to announce his arrival date weeks earlier.
A chill ran through his body as he approached his family home. It was eerily quiet and it didn’t sit right within his being.
He ran towards the door.
“Julia! Julia! Where are you my love?”
In the sitting room off the entrance was a group of some of the local men including his youngest brother and a priest.
“Brother you have returned.” The young man got up to give Edward a pat on the arm.
“What is going on? Where is my wife?
“There has been an incident and we thought considering the circumstances it must be dealt with in a sensitive manner.” Bryan glanced down from his older brother’s gaze.
“Follow me. It just happened two days ago.”
The rest of the day was a blur. Edward felt himself go numb completely when he was shown the broken body of his wife and the peaceful face of baby Thomas. He wouldn’t bring himself to cry until he was finally alone and could grieve in private.
When night came, Edward himself took the screaming Mary out to the side of the house to the big tree.
“Please sir, listen to me. The missus was sick. I tried to help.” Mary begged and pleaded. She had been telling the same story since the first people arrived on the scene.
The other servants had found Mary holding the blue tinged baby screaming about the broken window with Julia nowhere to be found. Her remains at the bottom of the gardens were hardly recognizable.
Edward felt nothing as he approached the lit bonfire and listened to the crimes called out against Mary. He couldn’t bring himself to think about any of it. He watched as the rope was hung around her neck and a group of men heaved her up around the branch.
As her body struggled for life, Edward turned and walked away. His life no longer meant anything and he would spend the rest of his days trying to fill that void.
Chapter One – The Splendor of Westbridge Mansion
Huntington, England – Present Day
“I promise, Millie – you’re going to love this house!”
Millie Pointer shielded her eyes from the sun and glanced up.
“It’s beautiful,” she said slowly. “But it’s big, don’t you think?”
Linda laughed.
“Yes,” she said. “Westbridge Mansion was built in 1730, for the first Baron FitzWalter.”
Millie’s brown eyes grew wide.
“Wow,” she said softly. “That’s old.”
Linda nodded.
“Yes,” she said. “Although, not as old as some of the other homes we’ve visited – this one really has personality. Wait until you see the inside.”
“Oh, Linda, I don’t know,” Millie said. Her voice was filled with doubt. “I really don’t know that I could afford something like this!”
“It’s priced at an attractively low offer,” Linda said. She checked her watch. “And the nearest neighbor – Cecil something, I can’t remember his last name – is actually a distant relative of the last Baron FitzWalter!”
Millie narrowed her eyes.
“Why doesn’t he want the house, then?”
Linda shrugged. She was a small, neat woman in her mid-thirties with a shining cap of blonde hair and a brisk, businesslike attitude. Linda and Millie had been friends since college, but their lives had taken very different paths. While Linda worked as a real estate agent who specialized in buying and restoring older properties, Millie had worked as a flight attendant, traveling the world. Each envied the supposed glamour of the other’s job…but Millie had recently quit, and decided to move from the United States to the United Kingdom.
“I don’t know,” Linda said. She glanced over her shoulder and narrowed her eyes before pointing. “If we had kept driving down the lane you would be able to see his house. If you look closely you might be able to see part of his estate through the trees there.”
Millie nodded. She could see it in the distance and even from this distance it was hard not to be awestruck – Cecil’s home was definitely bigger than Westbridge.
“I guess he’s got enough to take care of on his own,” Millie muttered. “Still, I don’t understand why he wouldn’t want this beautiful home.”
Linda laughed.
“Maybe because he feels the renovations were too much.” She excitedly tapped her foot. “Come on, let’s get going – I want you to see the inside, I know you’re just going to die.”
Millie cringed.
“Oh my gosh,” Linda said quickly, covering her hand with her mouth. “Millie, I wasn’t thinking. I didn’t mean that,” she said apologetically.
“It’s okay,” Millie assured her friend. A numb feeling was slowly spreading through her limbs.
Linda squeezed her friend’s shoulder.
“I’m so sorry,” she said gently. “Millie, I really am.”
Millie forced a smile.
“It’s okay.” She licked her lips. “I just wish they could be here with me now. Nathan would love this house. And Andrew…” She trailed off, glancing at the gardens. “I wish I could play with him in the garden all day long.”
Linda smiled uncomfortably.
“Let’s take a peek inside,” she said. “I want you to get a good sense of the renovations.”
Millie followed her friend inside, but her mind was distracted. She couldn’t stop thinking of her husband, Nathan, and the way he would have looked at this place; probably laughing at her getting all excited about decorating.
Or their small son, Andrew, and the way he laughed and cooed. He would have loved growing up with so much space. She could almost picture him crawling on the
wooden floor playing with his toys.
“This way,” Linda called pleasantly.
Millie walked quickly down the hall to catch up with her friend. The inside of Westbridge Mansion was the most beautiful home that she’d ever seen. The renovations had included heating, air conditioning, full electricity, and plumbing, but aside from the obvious changes like light switches on the walls, everything looked remarkably nineteenth-century.
“The last person to live in the house before the current era was the late Baron FitzWalter named Edward,” Linda said, waving her arm around the room like a tour guide.
“And when did he leave the house?”
“I think 1868,” Linda said. “Although I could be wrong – we’ll have to ask Cecil, he might know.”
Millie nodded.
“Why? What happened? Could he no longer afford to keep it?”
Linda shrugged.
“Actually, I don’t know.” she said. “There’s a record of his family and I know he had a wife and child but I’ve had a hard time finding the details. It seems kind of hush hush. Maybe you can find out about it when you move in!” Linda winked at her friend.
A cold chill ran down Millie’s back and she shuddered.
Millie nodded and ran her hands down her arms. She was half-listening. Even with the chill most of her attention was concentrated on the beautiful furnishings of the room. Beautiful Georgian-era furniture gleamed and sparkled in the sunlight.
“This room is so beautiful,” Millie said softly. She stroked her hand along the back of a carved wooden chair, inlaid with ivory and mother-of-pearl.
“Oh!” Linda gasped. “I happen to know that chair – Lord FitzWalter brought it back from the Indian empire, he traveled there often for business.”
Millie raised her eyebrows. “I was always so bad with history. You would think flying around the world I pick something up.”
She paused, clearing her throat and making a face as if suddenly feeling troubled by something.
“I felt drawn here, Linda. Like, after the accident…I couldn’t stay in America. We had always planned on traveling together when Andrew was older.”
Linda nodded. Her face puckered with sadness.
“It was a tragedy,” she said softly.
Millie nodded in agreement but couldn’t hide the look of pain on her face.
“Whenever I think of the accident…” She trailed off, shuddering. “I just can’t imagine how Nathan and Andrew suffered.”
Linda gently touched Millie’s shoulder.
“They didn’t suffer,” she said softly. “The doctor did make that very clear.”
Millie nodded. Her face was wrought with heartbreak.
“Yes,” she said. “At least there was that.”
Linda led Millie through the grand rooms and halls of Westbridge Mansion. Each room seemed more charming than the next, and Millie was quickly becoming in awe of the great house. Every step made her feel more at home.
“What do you think?” Linda asked, putting her hands on her hips. “You really seem to click with this house, Mil. I don’t know – maybe this is a sign.”
Millie nodded.
“I don’t normally believe in that stuff,” she said. She glanced around, taking in the ceiling painted with astronomical bodies and planets. “But I think you’re right.”
Linda grinned.
“Well, Cecil will be free tomorrow so why don’t we have dinner and stop by. He is the deed holder and prefers to meet all the potential buyers.”
Millie nodded. She wouldn’t have admitted it, but the feel of Westbridge Mansion was pulling on her, almost like the house itself was tugging her closer.
I need to be alone for a while, she thought. The memories of Nathan and Andrew are just too much, I need someplace new – someplace soothing, where I can truly make a new home.
And Westbridge Mansion seemed just the place to do that very thing.
Chapter Two – Cecil Hamilton
Millie and Linda had dinner at a small restaurant in the village of Huntington that night. Millie was tired, but when she went to bed, she found that she couldn’t sleep.
She was filled with excitement at the possibility of owning a home as beautiful as Westbridge Mansion and feeling slightly guilty that she was feeling almost happy for the first time in quite a while since the accident. But deep down she knew they would want her to be happy.
In the morning, Linda drove Millie to Cecil Hamilton’s home, Camberwell Estate. Camberwell had been built later, in the Regency era, but the white marble façade gleamed in the early morning sun, making it look almost brand new.
“This is a beautiful home,” Millie told Cecil. “Thank you so much for taking the time to meet with us.”
Cecil nodded. He was an attractive man, with sandy-brown hair and blue eyes, in his late thirties. Despite the youthful look in his eyes, Millie guessed that he was about seven or eight years older than herself.
“I do apologize,” Cecil said with a grimace. “But I’m off to Scotland this afternoon, so unfortunately I can’t ask you to stay for tea but I will make sure Linda follows up on all the paperwork if you agree to buy the house.” He nodded over to Linda.
“Of course sir.” Linda smiled at him.
“That’s fine,” Millie said, shaking her head. “I just want to talk about Westbridge. We took a look at it yesterday – it’s beautiful!”
Cecil nodded.
“Yes,” he said. “Linda did an excellent job with the renovations,” he said. “She managed to keep the original feel of the house, with just the right amount of modernity.”
Millie nodded in agreement.
“Yeah,” she said. “That’s a great way of describing it.”
“Please – won’t you come into the library?” Cecil nodded his head to the side. “That’s where I have all the paperwork.”
Millie and Linda followed.
“So you don’t have any problems with selling the house?”
Cecil chuckled.
“Millie!” Linda gasped. “He did ask me to try and sell it of course.”
“Why would you think that?” He laughed while Linda was responding. Unlike Westbridge Mansion, Cecil’s home was perfectly modern inside. A laptop was perched on a large comfy looking chair, and Millie laughed at the juxtaposition of modern art hung over the antique bookshelves.
Millie blushed immediately when she realized how much attention she was giving the room and not her host.
“I am sorry. I love this room!” Millie continued. “Well, because Linda told me that you were distantly related to the last owner,” she said.
“I just wasn’t sure if you still had any type of, I don’t know, familial attachment,” she added. “I’d completely understand, you know, if that’s the case.”
Cecil shook his head.
“Good heavens, no,” he said. “I’ve already got a home – I don’t need two!”
Millie giggled.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing,” Millie said quickly. She blushed again.
He’s so charming, she thought. That’s just how the Brits are, I suppose.
“Well, the full documentation is right here,” Cecil said. He handed the document over to Millie. “I am sure Linda has gone over most of it with you but I did recently decide on another price drop.”
Millie flipped through the pages and found the new asking price. “I can’t believe this,” she said uneasily. “Are you sure? Doesn’t that seem…I don’t know, just a bit low to you?”
Cecil chuckled.
“Oh, trust me,” he said. “I am sure we could go higher but three families have moved in and out over the last two years. If you ask me, it is waiting for its perfect owner.” He chuckled.
“Well that is Millie for sure sir.” Linda didn’t miss a beat.
“Do you think so as well miss?” Cecil asked.
Millie nodded.
“Then I see no problems as long as you are comfortable with the
house and the extra work Linda has left for you over there,” he said. “But if you need time to think it over, I completely understand.”
“Oh, no,” Millie said. She smiled. “You’re going to think this is some kind of nonsense, but when I toured the house yesterday, I almost felt that it needed me.”
Cecil smiled uncertainly. Millie couldn’t tell if he was pleased or revolted by the idea.
How stupid of me, she thought. I shouldn’t have said that, especially not to a man who actually has a blood claim to Westbridge!
“Well that can’t be a bad sign can it?” Cecil asked quietly. “I do hope you enjoy.”
Millie, Linda, and Cecil spent the next hour going over the paperwork.
“Closing will have to be delayed a bit until I get back but I think you are in good hands with your friend here until then.” Cecil said.
He glanced to Linda.
“I am going to go ahead and give her my keys and Millie I should be back within a few weeks. I’ll check on you then. Sound good?”
Millie nodded. Cecil placed the keys in her hand. Just as the metal touched Millie’s palm, a shiver ran down her back.
Cecil frowned.
“Feeling drafty?”
“I’m sure it’s just excitement,” Millie said quickly. “Thanks again!”
“Oh, Millie, I’m so glad this is working for you,” Linda said as they walked out to the car. “I’m just so happy you found a new start.”
Millie nodded.
“Me, too,” she said softly. “Me, too.”
~~~~~
The next few days were a whirlwind of activity as Millie had her things shipped from America and delivered to Westbridge Mansion. Linda had suggested hiring someone as a domestic, but Millie had pushed off the idea.
“Nathan and I used to do all the housework,” Millie said sternly. “And I think I would rather not have someone else around just when I am trying to get acquainted with my new surroundings.”
Besides, Millie relished the opportunity to work hard and throw herself into unpacking and decorating. The furniture of Westbridge Mansion was a mixture of the old and new.
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