Cinders and Ashes

by King, Rebecca

  “I apologise for crying all over you,” Amelia said, carefully moving away from Sebastian’s distracting embrace.

  “I’m getting used to it,” Sebastian teased somewhat ruefully, as he eyed the damp patch on his jacket. “Talk to me, Amelia.”

  “There is a lot to think about,” Amelia replied with a frown. “There is a lot I hadn’t considered, and need to understand.”

  “You are not angry with me?” Sebastian didn’t like the sudden distance he could feel between them. As he had feared, she was mentally and emotionally withdrawing from him.

  “No,” Amelia replied softly, with a gentle shake of her head. “I should be, but right now I am not sure what to think about my parents’ marriage, and everything. It was all a sham. I don’t know where to start.”

  “Why don’t you just take a day at a time and let things happen. Spend a bit more time with your father. I am sure there is much more he has to tell you. There are three years of lost time to make up.”

  Sensing her lingering disquiet, he changed the subject. “Peter has just returned with news from Derby Gaol. Not only about the death mask, but also about Jemima.”

  Sebastian settled back in the seat with a sigh. He was tired from days of riding, but relished just sitting and chatting amiably with her. He wanted to ask if Sir Hubert had left her a reference, but given her raw grief at the mere mention of his name, decided to wait for now.

  “Jemima?” Amelia’s curiosity was piqued.

  “I don’t believe you know about Jemima,” Sebastian replied ruefully. “That’s Peter’s scandal,” he added, with a full blown smile that made Amelia’s knees tremble.

  “More scandals?” she murmured weakly, with a shake of her head.

  “Come on, let’s join the others. We will see if we can combine what we have all learnt about Ballantyne and Hawksworth.” He held out his hand, pleased when she hesitantly took it and allowed him to guide her to the library.

  Amelia wondered just what the future held in store for all of them. More importantly, if they were all strong enough to deal with the changes that appeared to be upon them.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Following dinner, everyone once again eschewed etiquette and gathered in the library to discuss their individual findings.

  As she entered, Amelia eyed the strange object sitting on a small table in the centre of the room, loosely wrapped in a piece of cloth.

  “Is that it?” she asked Sebastian warily. The small hairs on the back of her neck rose just looking at the shrouded object, and she instinctively shifted closer to his reassuring bulk.

  Sebastian nodded. “That’s the death mask. You don’t have to stay while your father takes a look at it, if you don’t want to. We will call you back when it is covered up.” He eyed her pale cheeks with concern. There were dark smudges under her eyes that hadn’t been there before, and despite her healthy appetite at dinner, she looked exhausted.

  Amelia shook her head and squared her shoulders. “No. I want to see it too. I want to see if it resembles the Penny Dreadful.”

  “If you are absolutely sure. I have to admit, I would feel better if you don’t look at it.” Sebastian looked across at Isobel. “If neither of you looked at it.”

  “Oh rubbish, Sebastian. It is a mask of a dead man, that’s all. There is nothing threatening about it. We need to know if it is Hawksworth. The only way we will find out for certain is to take a look.” With a quick nod of her head, she motioned for Peter to remove the cloth.

  Despite her bravado, Amelia gasped. The face that stared back at them was unnerving to say the least. The detailing on the mask was eerie. Cast entirely in bronze, it looked almost peaceful, and so lifelike, Amelia wouldn’t have been surprised if its eyes had opened. She leant forward to study the eyelashes and thick ridge of hairs of the eyebrows with rapt horror.

  “It is Hawksworth,” Eastleigh muttered, moving to stand beside his daughter and study the face closely.

  “Are you sure?” Sebastian walked slowly around the object, studying it carefully.

  “I’m positive. He had a cut above his brow. See here?” Eastleigh’s finger traced the haphazard line of a cut above the right eye. It was so small; it was almost imperceptible unless it was pointed out.

  “He got this on a hunting trip when he rode straight into a branch. The stupid man was out hunting full to the gills with brandy. He could barely sit atop his horse, much less stay on.” Eastleigh’s voice was laden with disgust. “He was a raging alcoholic from his teenage years, and got worse as he got older. Thankfully, I only did business with him a few times, and was glad when our agreement came to a conclusion.”

  “What agreement did you have?” Amelia asked, thinking about the times she had seen the man in the hallway of Eastleigh House.

  “I purchased some paintings and furniture off him when he found himself strapped for cash. Each time he wanted to get rid of something, he visited his father’s old acquaintances and struck a deal. He delivered the items personally, and took away the cash. I have no doubt he drank the proceeds before he got home.” He shot a rueful look at his daughter. “I hoped he took it home to pay some of his debts, and tried to persuade him to break away from his acquaintances. Despite knowing that the furnishings would eventually run out, and he would have to account for his debts, he seemed unable to help himself. He always seemed contrite and convincing. Always agreeing with whatever was suggested, but never following it through. If it wasn’t for my old friendship with his late father, I would have no compunction against throwing his worthless hide out on his ear.”

  Amelia stared at the bust. “What connection did he have with Ballantyne? Do you know?”

  “I am almost certain he was hanging around with Ballantyne on the very edges of society. He could have made acquaintance with the wretched man at one of the dubious gatherings.”

  While talking, he casually placed his hand upon his daughter’s shoulder, inwardly delighted when she didn’t shake him off and move away. He would have loved to give her a hug, but knew there was still a wariness that warned him not to push. Still, he had gotten further in a day than he had ever considered possible, and he was overjoyed with progress.

  “Is it possible that he was associated with Ballantyne?” Sebastian shot, with a look at Eastleigh.

  “Oh, I think it is inevitable. They moved in the same circles. Dissolute gamers and whore-mongerers the lot of them. Apologies, ladies,” Eastleigh mumbled, with an abashed look at Isobel and Amelia.

  “That doesn’t explain how Hawksworth came to be hung for the murder of a servant. Surely he couldn’t have been so drunk that he couldn’t remember killing someone, or wouldn’t even try to explain who he was?” It sounded too incredible to consider.

  “I think he was set up,” Peter added. “I spoke to the gaoler at Derby, who said he could remember the man quite clearly. He was different from the scourge they usually accommodate. Apparently, the man spoke with a cultivated tone and kept asking for his friend, but the gaoler couldn’t remember the friend’s name. Someone did visit him in the family room the day before his hanging, but nobody knew what was discussed. They had to drag Hawksworth to his cell in the end, as he kept protesting that they needed to know the truth. Began shouting and fighting them as they dragged him back to the condemned cell. They put it down to the mad ramblings of a man facing death, and ignored him. Right up until he was taken to the gallows, he kept screaming and kicking, insisting he wasn’t Jack Cunnington.”

  “The poor man,” Amelia whispered, looking at the mask with renewed eyes. “He took his secrets, and the truth, to the grave with him.”

  “Hawksworth hasn’t been heard of since. He supposedly departed for the Americas, but took the family coffers with him and disappeared,” Edward added. “Hawksworth’s family did confirm the maid who died, Martha Bainbridge, was a maid at the Ballantyne residence.”

  Dominic swore. “The bastards set him up.”

  “But I don’t understand why they
are trying to kill Sebastian. He didn’t know Hawksworth. Did you?” Amelia turned to look at Sebastian.

  “Never met the man before in my life. I don’t think he was after me per se, I think he is after Edenvale Manor. Or something in it,” Sebastian replied, trying to recall the details of his time in the cellar, in case he missed something.

  “He wanted to kill you for the Penny Dreadful?”

  “There is something we are missing,” Dominic added with a frown. “What’s at Bertram’s that Ballantyne needs to get to, and is willing to get you out of the way to get access to it?”

  “If what we suspect is true, he has killed before and gotten away with it. There is no telling what is going on in his mind, or what he thinks he can get away with.” Amelia shuddered. “He has already tried to kill you once, and very nearly succeeded. He also knows you are alive and well. You have to be careful, Sebastian. Given what happened at Edenvale Manor, we all need to be careful.”

  Eastleigh frowned at the assembled group. Sensing his curiosity, Sebastian quickly recounted events, ending with their return to the safe confines of Tingdale.

  “Then we need to act, and act quickly,” Eastleigh stated decisively.

  “We need to visit the maid’s family and see if she can tell us any more,” Amelia added.

  “You can’t go.” Dominic frowned at Sebastian. “You are too much of a risk.”

  “I can’t just sit here and do nothing.” It went against everything within him to just sit back, and let everyone else take action on his behalf.

  “You need to remain here and take care of Amelia, and the mask.” Dominic studied his wife for several moments. “Isobel and I will go.”

  Isobel looked askance at her husband as he turned back to Amelia and Sebastian. “She kept the long trousers she used to use. We can pose as man and son, and go to the village undetected.”

  Amelia almost clapped at the cleverness of the idea.

  Isobel looked delighted. “Don’t you think they will think it slightly odd that we are sharing a room?”

  “There is no way on this earth you are going to share a room with other men,” Dominic stated bluntly in a tone that brooked no argument. “If they hear the bed going in the middle of the night, then we will have to leave them with raised eyebrows.”

  That earned him a slap on the arm from his flushed wife, who carefully ignored the smothered sniggers from the room’s other occupants. “What?” Dominic asked his wife with a smothered smile. It didn’t hurt to throw the unexpected at her occasionally, he mused with a sly grin.

  “We need to go through Bertram’s house again to check for anything else that may be hidden,” Peter mused, carefully covering the death mask back up.

  “But we already checked all of the books,” Amelia protested, thinking of the hours and hours of endless and futile searching.

  “Yes, but we didn’t check the papers for letters or anything.”

  “I think that instead of anyone spending any more time there for the moment, it is best if the papers are packed up and brought here. The house needs to be emptied of all personal effects, anyway,” Sebastian added.

  “Peter and I can head over there tomorrow with some of the staff. They can take a cart and bring back everything that looks interesting. You can then decide what to do with it. Are there any hiding places uncle used to use?” Edward frowned, trying to remember.

  “I emptied them when Bertram died. Everything hidden is already here. There was nothing interesting anyway, except for jewellery and I don’t consider for a moment Ballantyne would be interest in stealing jewellery. The items are nice, but old and unfashionable.” Sebastian considered the numerous boxes of jewellery now tucked away in his own safe. At some point, he needed to show Amelia, and let her choose the items she wanted to keep or have reset.

  “What do we do?” Amelia asked, feeling somewhat useless.

  “You, your father and Sebastian all remain here. You are under threat because of your association with Sebastian and, unfortunately Lord Eastleigh is under threat because of his knowledge of Hawksworth. It is safest if you remain indoors and out of sight for now,” Dominic replied briskly.

  “Then here we shall stay,” Eastleigh added with a nod. “I am sure we will find something to keep us busy.” He clearly hoped to spend the time getting to know his daughter a little more, and relished the possibility of forming a closer bond with her.

  As the clock chimed midnight, Amelia smothered a yawn. “Oh, please do excuse me. I am so very tired.”

  “It has been a difficult day,” Sebastian reminded her gently. “Why don’t you head off to bed? We will reconvene here when everyone has returned with their news.” With heartfelt agreement from the rest of the group, they all headed off to bed.

  As she entered her room and began to undress, Amelia thought over the events of the day. Her delight in seeing Sebastian again, countered with the shock and initial horror at seeing her father, topped with the staggering revelations he had shared with them, left her feeling bruised and uncertain of anything.

  She was still reeling from the revelation that her parents’ marriage had been a complete sham. The thought of them being tied into a loveless marriage broke her heart. The knowledge of the lifestyle they were both forced to live, confirmed she was indeed right to want Sebastian to love her in return before entering into marriage. She couldn’t bear it if he ended up taking a mistress, because he was married to a woman he couldn’t love.

  She was busy contemplating how to secure knowledge of his affections without asking him outright when she climbed between the sheets. She still hadn’t found a solution to her problem by the time sleep claimed her.

  Amelia awoke the next morning to brilliant sunshine riding high in a cloudless blue sky. Quickly dressing, she ignored the insistent rumbling in her stomach and headed to the breakfast room, surprised when she got there to find her father sitting at the table munching toast.

  “Good morning, my dear,” he murmured with a delighted smile, putting his newspaper down onto the table and rising to his feet. He was about to hold the chair out next to him, when the footman immediately tugged out the chair opposite, assisting Amelia with her napkin and pouring her tea without prompting. He also gathered a piece of toast, and Eastleigh was certain would have spread jam on it for her had she not smiled up at him and murmured a gentle, “Thank you, Jeremy,” making the man blush to the very roots of his hair in pleasure.

  “How is your mother today?” she asked Jeremy the footman, casually. She was too busy spreading her toast to notice the look of delight that swept over the footman’s face briefly before he remembered his position, and resumed his staunchly vacant footman’s visage.

  “Much better today, ma’am,” he intoned politely.

  “Excellent,” Amelia replied with satisfaction. “How did you sleep, Father?”

  Eastleigh fought the urge to flush with pleasure himself. Joy swept through him at her calling him ‘Father’. Suddenly the world seemed a much more pleasurable place to be.

  “I slept very well, my dear, thank you,” he replied, watching his daughter spread jam liberally on her toast before taking a bite.

  “No Sebastian today?” she queried, after a sip of tea.

  “He was here earlier, but had to go to settle some sort of problem with one of the farmers. He said he will see you later.” He watched as Amelia seemingly accepted the news without question.

  “Do you have any plans for today?” Eastleigh queried.

  “Now Isobel has gone, not really,” Amelia replied with a frown, taking the newspaper he offered her with a smile.

  “Excellent, then if you are not otherwise occupied, would you care to show me around this wonderful house?”

  Amelia raised her eyebrows. “I haven’t really been around it completely myself. But I am sure the staff will help us if we get lost. Sebastian won’t mind if we wander around and take a look,” she replied thoughtfully. “Yes, I think that is a most excellent suggestio
n.”

  “Then when you are finished,” Eastleigh replied with satisfaction, leaning back to sip his tea and waiting while she finished her meal.

  “Could we have some more tea please, Jeremy?” He watched as the footman jerked to attention at the use of his name again, and smiled when the man immediately scurried away.

  “The staff here are most excellent,” he replied with a smile at the door. He had witnessed enough of the behaviour within the house to realise that etiquette was rarely adhered to.

  Years ago it would have offended him, but now? He was just so pleased to be a part of it, etiquette didn’t seem all that important any more. Happiness and contentment practically hovered in the air, and immediately made one feel welcome and at peace.

  Sebastian and his family appeared to have accepted Amelia, and indeed him, into their fold unconditionally. It was refreshing to just be oneself, without the pompous niceties required by so called ‘polite’ society.

  “Tell me, Amelia,” he began sometime later, when they had returned from their lengthy tour of the house. Taking a seat in the study, they had availed themselves of the tea and cakes on the tray between them and settled back to rest in companionable silence.

  “When Ballantyne has been dealt with, what are your plans?”

  Amelia paused and considered her response carefully. “I don’t know. When I first arrived, I was going to request a reference from Sir Hubert and take up a position of nanny or companion somewhere. Since his demise, I am not sure what I am going to do.”

  “Would you like to stay here?” Eastleigh tried not to show how important her response was, but was on edge as he waited for her reply.

  “I think it would be folly to do so as things stand,” Amelia replied carefully.

  “Oh?”

  Amelia thought of the raw honesty her father had shown her yesterday, and felt he deserved nothing less than the truth himself.