“I love Sebastian,” she began, choosing her words carefully.
“That’s good, isn’t it?”
“Not when he doesn’t love me back.” She sensed her father was about to interject, and hurried on. “He cares about me, but I think he feels beholden to me for saving his life. It isn’t love. In all of the time I have known him, he hasn’t declared any feelings for me whatsoever. You, of all people, should understand that I simply cannot remain here knowing he doesn’t hold me in the same regard.”
Eastleigh felt a pang of sympathy for the hurt in his daughter’s voice. “I think you should know, my dear, that Sebastian has asked me for your hand in marriage.”
Amelia gasped and stared at her father. “Did you give it?”
“I said that he had my full agreement, as long as you agreed and it was something you wanted to do.” Eastleigh leant forward in his chair, and placed his tea cup on the table between them. “He does hold you in high regard.”
“But it isn’t love, and I won’t - can’t - settle for anything less.” Amelia’s voice trembled with hurt that refused to be ignored.
“Neither should you. You need to understand something, my dear.” Eastleigh looked directly into her gaze, his eyes serious. “You are independently wealthy in your own right. When your mother passed, the money she had inherited herself, but not spent, was passed on to you. While we were married, I provided for her so she had cause to use very little of it.”
He named a sum of money that made Amelia gasp. “So you see, if you do choose not to marry Sebastian, then you can decide where you want to live. You are always welcome to reside at Eastleigh Hall, which will always be your home, but having had your independence now, I will fully understand if you choose to purchase your own home.”
Amelia blinked back tears, as she contemplated the last. “I am not sure I can go back to Eastleigh. It doesn’t hold good memories.”
“I can understand,” Eastleigh replied. “But you could at least return for a visit. You need to lay the old ghosts to rest, before you can settle into whatever future is in store for you.” He picked up his tea cup again, and sat back in his chair to study his daughter closely. “I do feel I should warn you, though, that Sebastian doesn’t strike me as a man who will give up very easily. I don’t think you will find it as easy to leave here as you think.”
Moments later the door opened, and Sebastian sauntered in. His hair was windswept, and his cheeks ruddy from the biting wind. Striding across the room in his riding clothes, he was the epitome of the country gentleman.
“Good afternoon, both,” Sebastian murmured, placing a gentle hand on Amelia’s shoulder briefly as he passed, before nodding to Eastleigh.
“Good morning. Did you resolve your problem at the farm?” Amelia gestured towards the tea, and poured when Sebastian nodded.
“Eventually, yes, but it took longer than I had anticipated,” Sebastian replied, as he took a sip of hot tea before his attention turned towards the window. “It seems I am back in good time as well. Unless I am much mistake, Edward and Peter have returned.”
Amelia shared a brief look with her father, as they rose to peer out of the window at the four riders accompanying the cart full of boxes down the main driveway.
Their conversation was put to one side for now, but it gave Amelia a lot to think about.
Later that night, Amelia sat beside Edward, Peter, Sebastian and her father, rifling through copious amounts of papers in search for anything that might be of interest to Ballantyne.
“I am sorry, everyone, but I cannot see straight. I have to go to bed.” Eastleigh put his stack of papers to one side regretfully, and pushed wearily to his feet with a yawn.
They had been searching through the papers practically since the moment they had arrived through the door. Everyone’s initial enthusiasm had been dampened by hour after hour of fruitless searching. As the evening had worn on, tiredness had begun to take hold of all of them.
“I think we had all better call it a night. It is getting late, and Dominic and Isobel will be back tomorrow with their news. We can search these in the morning.” Sebastian brushed dust off his hands as he stood.
Peter and Edward quickly followed Eastleigh, leaving Amelia alone with Sebastian.
“Well, I’ll say goodnight too,” Amelia yawned, pushing to her feet wearily.
“Wait.” Sebastian blew several candles out around the room, leaving the golden glow of the fire in the hearth the only light. “I need to ask you something.”
Amelia’s stomach dropped to her knees, and she immediately thought of the conversation she had earlier that day with her father. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to say yes, but wasn’t ready for the confrontation if she said no.
“Does it have to be now, Sebastian? I’m tired.” She yawned, moving towards the door.
“I need to know if you have decided what you are going to do,” Sebastian replied, carefully putting the screen in front of the fire and following Amelia to the door.
Amelia took a deep breath and turned to face him, digging deep for the strength to get through the next few minutes.
“I think that I need to return to Eastleigh with my father. He is right in that I have ghosts I need to lay to rest before I can decide on what I want for the future.” Weariness clouded her voice at the dreadful thought of leaving swept through her.
“Is that what you want?” Sebastian felt the void open up between them. He was frustrated that he didn’t know how to stop it, or bridge the growing divide. Right now he would offer her anything to keep her with him.
“Right now, we have to deal with Ballantyne. But I have to return to Eastleigh, if only to meet my future step-mother,” Amelia replied softly.
“Your father has already told me of your wealth, Amelia. I know that financially you are beholden to nobody now, but I had hoped that you could consider becoming my wife.”
He sensed her hesitation, but couldn’t identify the cause of it. “You are Lady Eastleigh, and are Ton, whether you want to acknowledge it or not. As such, you have been thoroughly compromised by being alone with me both in Glendowie and here. You cannot bring such scandal upon your father and his new bride, by refusing to marry me.”
Amelia frowned. “I won’t marry because I have to, Sebastian, whatever gossip is being spread about me. If there is any scandal, I will make sure it isn’t visited upon you or your family.” She sounded stiff and formal. “My father has made it clear that he will support any decision I make.”
“Amelia-.” Sebastian briefly considered seducing her into accepting his proposal. He wanted her to marry him because she wanted to, damn it, not because he had pushed her into it, but it didn’t seem like there was any other choice.
Amelia moved away quickly, when Sebastian tried to place his hands on her shoulders.
“Good night, Sebastian.” Without looking back she quickly left the room.
He didn’t visit her that night. Instead he remained in his own room, waiting for sleep that just wouldn’t come. It astonished him just how quickly she had become a necessity in his bed. Not just for the sexual pleasure, but for the simple physical presence of her lying next to him.
If only he could fathom why she was so reluctant to agree to marry him. He wasn’t after her money. One only had to look at the size of Tingdale house to know he was a considerably wealthy man. She was attracted to him. Enough to tie him down to the bed, and use him for sensual experimentation. Her enthusiasm and willingness in bed humbled him, and he knew she enjoyed every second. She was a lady. He was a lord. What could be holding her back? Did she not love him?
Sebastian knew that even if she didn’t love him to begin with, after a few months of marriage, she could grow to hold deep affection for him. He wasn’t a cruel man. The decisions he had made for her, had been taken with her best interests at heart. So what could be wrong? He simply refused to countenance the possibility that she didn’t hold any affection for him at all.
With a
sigh, he tossed and turned as the quandary burned through him.
He was still staring at the canopy above his bed, when dawn began to break over the horizon.
The tension within the house was palpable throughout the day.
Sebastian climbed out of bed, tired and grumpy, having had no sleep at all. The dark scowl on his face was fierce, and so unlike him that everyone stepped back as he neared.
Desperately trying to ignore his dark scowls, Amelia sat with Peter and Edward later that morning, idly sifting through papers again.
Edward suddenly tipped a piece of paper upwards to read it closely. “I think we have something.” He coughed and read out a missive from Hawksworth to his cousin Edwina, Bertram’s wife.
“They were cousins?” Amelia’s brows rose in astonishment. “Did you know?”
Sebastian shook his head, peering over his brother’s shoulder to read the letter.
“I had no idea.” He read the note aloud to the assembled occupants. Despite his bitter pain at her refusal to marry him, he simply couldn’t remain mad at her and had lapsed into a quiet contemplation.
Hawksworth had written to Edwina, pleading for her assistance in proving his innocence. He had been set up by Ballantyne, although didn’t say which of the two brothers were involved in the murder of the maid. He couldn’t approach his mother and sister, because he didn’t want to bring any more shame upon them, but he desperately needed help as he was about to be hung and nobody would believe his real name, or innocence. They thought he was called Jack Cunnington, and he was about to be hung for a murder he didn’t commit.”
“She didn’t help?” Amelia gasped, horrified at the thought of anyone ignoring such a plea.
“She may have tried, but she clearly didn’t succeed. The gaoler did say he could remember someone visiting the day before the hanging, but couldn’t remember the name. Bertram never mentioned it, so I am not sure what happened.”
“The letter is enough to prove Hawksworth’s innocence, and Ballantyne’s guilt. If only we knew which one of the Ballantyne brothers was the murderer.” Peter tossed the last sheaf of paper down in disgust.
“Or how they set Hawksworth up,” Amelia replied.
“What do you mean?” Sebastian stared at her.
“I mean, what happened to leave Hawksworth thinking he had murdered the woman at the beginning? Why had he been taken to gaol under the name of Jack Cunnington, if he knew he didn’t do it? He didn’t just turn up at the gaol and confess. How did he get to gaol under an assumed name?”
Sebastian frowned as he considered. Once again, her logic was faultless.
“One of them, or probably both of them, set him up and made it look so realistic that even Hawksworth thought he had done it. The shock of finding himself in a compromising position would explain why he allowed himself to be taken to gaol. The scandal would be enough to persuade him to accept an assumed name.”
“Only once he got to gaol, and sobered up, he realised he would be going to the condemned cell. The reality of his likely fate would become evident, even to him.”
Sebastian shuddered at the horror. “This evidence would be enough to take Ballantyne to the gallows.”
“Ballantyne must have learnt of the letter somehow. It proved the Ballantynes were culpable in the maid’s death. It would take one, if not both to the gallows. It’s enough to kill again for.” Amelia shuddered with revulsion at the sheer inhumanity of the Ballantynes.
“To gain access to Edenvale Manor would give Ballantyne time to search thoroughly for the letter, and anything else that could implicate him or his brother in the murder. When the possibility of obtaining the house was eradicated.....” Peter’s voice faded.
“They decided to kill Sebastian to get him out of the way. While the estate was changing hands again, they could access the property and search it, knowing nobody would be moving in for a while. There would be no staff to interrupt them.” Amelia shook her head in disgust and stared in horror at Sebastian.
“Unfortunately, it makes Ballantyne a very dangerous man,” Eastleigh added from his chair. He briefly wondered if he should suggest taking Amelia away from the threat of Ballantyne altogether, but knew that Sebastian was too protective to allow her to be removed without a fight.
“I thought the elder Ballantyne died in a carriage accident a few months back? Didn’t his wife die with him?” Edward frowned at Sebastian, who shook his head and wondered how he managed to miss all of the gossip so frequently.
Eastleigh nodded. “Yes, I can remember something about that. I think the younger brother took over the estates, and lost a lot of business because of his dubious connections and dissolute lifestyle.”
Mindful of Amelia’s presence, he chose his words carefully. “The reputation of the younger Ballantyne for regularly attending orgies and gambling dens was rife amongst the Ton. He was on the verge of being cast out by the family for his wastrel ways, when the older brother died suddenly on his way home from one of the said orgies.”
“So in order to prevent his ghosts from the past coming back to haunt him, Ballantyne needs to erase anything that could implicate him in the murder.” Amelia stared thoughtfully into the fire.
“I think we have a murderer who is more than happy to strike again to maintain his current lifestyle,” Sebastian added, wiping his hands wearily down his face.
They were interrupted by the arrival of a dishevelled Dominic and Isobel. At first they were almost unrecognisable, until Izzy took off her cap and shook her long hair free with a sigh of relief.
Dominic followed close behind her, looking somewhat frazzled and worse for wear.
“Are you alright?” Sebastian lurched to his feet with a frown, as he caught sight of his brother’s distressed state.
“Don’t ever ask us to do that again,” Dominic growled at Sebastian, with a fierce glare at his wife.
“Why? It was fun!” Izzy protested, pushing her husband’s arm happily before heading for the tea tray.
Dominic shook his head and rolled his eyes, pouring himself a liberal dose of brandy and downing it in one gulp.
“My wife should tread the boards,” he muttered, with a glare across the room at the woman in question, who promptly stuck out her tongue at him.
“You are just jealous because you can’t blend in like I do,” she mused, sipping her tea carelessly.
“Blend in! Damn it, woman, I should have put you on a leash.”
Sebastian winked at Amelia, who was looking at their outburst with a mixture of mirth and concern.
“Ha! You could try. You are just put out because I got more information out of the sister than you, and nobody looked at me twice. You,” she pointed across the room with an elegant, but dirty finger, “You stuck out like a sore thumb.”
Amelia fought the urge to smile as Dominic’s ears turned pink with temper. She shared a rare smile with Sebastian, who was listening with equal interest.
“I take it you learnt something worthwhile?” Sebastian asked his brother, who had begun to pace around the room like a caged tiger. “Besides the fact your wife can adopt a disguise better than you?” He grinned when Dominic growled at him.
“We learnt that my wife should not be allowed out in public without having an armed guard with her at all times. Damned near started a bar brawl we barely got out of alive! Then,” Dominic raised a shaking finger at Sebastian, who was looking at his sister-in-law with renewed admiration, “Then, having reduced the entire inn, including the stable lads outside by the way, to a cacophony of fist fighting and arguments, she calmly walks out, and everyone parts for her like the parting of the red sea! Waiting until she had left the room to start fighting again.” Dominic refilled his glass and downed the contents quickly. “Unfortunately, I was left on the other side of the room, and had to literally fight my way out of the bloody building to get to her.”
Sebastian chuckled, and patted his brother on the shoulder consolingly. “But you are back now safe and sound, and
there isn’t a scratch on her.” He eyed his sister-in-law’s smug expression ruefully.
“We got what we wanted,” Izzy announced, suddenly becoming serious. “Ballantyne murdered the maid.”
“Are you certain?” Sebastian asked, with a quick look at Dominic who was still downing brandy as though it was his lifeline to sanity.
“Definitely.” Isobel glanced at Amelia. “It seemed that the depths of depravity to which Ballantyne and his associates sank was worse than anyone anticipated. Both brothers were hated by the servants. Especially the maids. The prettier ones were singled out, and used for sexual services with the threat of being cast out hanging over them, if they didn’t comply.”
“Oh, dear God,” Amelia gasped in horror.
“Unfortunately, they singled out Martha. She revealed the truth to her sister a few weeks before her death, when she made her monthly visit home. She told her that the brothers were becoming more and more menacing. One girl they had been using had simply vanished.” Isobel accepted the brandy her husband offered her with a small smile before continuing. “Martha was really scared. Her sister wasn’t sure if she was expecting and tried to persuade her to leave, but she refused. Her family never saw her alive again after that.”
“Do you think the sister will speak in court, if Ballantyne is arrested for murder?” Sebastian asked looking at his brother.
Dominic removed a sheaf of papers from beneath his jacket and handed them to Sebastian.
“She recounted her story for Isobel to write down. Knowing we were after Ballantyne, she signed it before we left. It will be enough to implicate Ballantyne. Rumours are that he is still at it with his current servants. God knows how many he has involved. The servants aren’t the only ones who hate him. Most of the village hate him.”
“Quite understandable.” Sebastian took a deep breath. “I think we have enough to arrange for his immediate arrest.”
“I already called in on Lord Montague, who was sending men out to arrest him. Apparently he was already aware of Ballantyne’s activities, but could get few of the villagers to talk to him. With little evidence, there was little he could do until he found someone prepared to reveal the truth.”
Cinders and Ashes Page 19