A strangled cough only a few feet away from him alerted him he was not alone, until he overheard the whispered name of Estelle. Good God. George had captured Lord St. John. Did his madness know no boundaries? Sooner or later the Peelers, family, and friends, would descend upon Hawthorne Hall in search of him. How he wished that time were now, but as it were, Edwin was beginning to doubt they would live another day.
“Wake up, St. John. Wake up,” he called out but the man continued to mumble.
They were doomed. He should have set this manor ablaze when he had the opportunity to do so. All this trouble, murder, deceit would have been avoided had he listened to his instincts.
Chapter 14
Estelle entered the hidden passage in the cellar. The dark, dank smell of the foundation rocks reeked of mold and moss. Lord, how she hated dark places, even more her disdain for eight legged creatures—and the horrid smell lingering made her retch.
Fear licked up her spine. What would she find down here? The letters she had read were terrifying. How could anyone live knowing that not only had her cousin abused her but that Edwin killed their parents? And to think the cad had made an advance while Benedict had been busy with the earl. Lord Cuthbert had no idea the mischief his son and nephew were up to.
She wondered if either of the disgusting men knew Helen had been with child. Could it truly have been her cousin’s? Or, was it Gabriel’s and that is why they were secretly engaged? Bile rose from the depths of her belly, making her nausea harder to deal with.
Estelle heard a conversation taking place, but she could not place what direction it came from. The inspector had trailed behind to see if any new activities were going on in the manor. She had given him the direction on how to get to the cellar, and with any luck the man would be joining her soon.
She truly hoped that more officers would be following them here. Lord, if her parents knew she had snuck out, she knew not of what would happen. How she desired to see Benedict. Most emphatically, if something truly sinister was transpiring in there, they needed to get there without wasting further time.
When she had met with Ben’s father, there was something about his demeanor when she mentioned that he might have gone missing at the earl’s home; it had alarmed him. Estelle’s intention of meeting with her future father-in-law had only been to gain a little insight into the Cuthbert’s family history.
Estelle had not actually expected for the gentleman to already be in the company of the inspector. When Ben’s father had explained that he had spent the majority of the last ten years hiding the earl’s gambling trouble, and coordinating sales of properties in order to pay off debts, he began to uncover some unexpected truths. The man not only had a gambling problem, but whenever he had come into money, someone had mysteriously turned up dead, and money had once again slipped out of the coffers to silence another.
She had wondered how long it would be before someone caught on to the earl’s schemes. The inspector had promised him to return his son alive and that he would bring justice to any wrong-doing. Although, he added, he would return for the earl’s ledgers. If they played any role in any of his previous investigations, he would scrutinize each and every account.
Estelle heard that noise again as she moved closer and closer to it. The sound of a conversation sounded more like a plot to escape, but there was trouble. She tripped and fell to her knees, and that was when she found a barred-off room in the cellar. Not only did she take the humiliating tumble, she came face to face with Edwin, who looked more stunned than anything.
“Get out!” he cried out and stumbled back.
His action alerted his cellmate.
Her head throbbed from smacking it against the bars, and the stench nauseated her, but knowing she had found Ben imprisoned in the cellar made her swoon.
Estelle did not realize how much time had passed since she had fainted, but when she opened her eyes to find her beloved still bound, she cried. Estelle had found him and soon enough the inspector, and hopefully the constables, would find them and put this madness to rest.
“Sweetheart, you need to leave. George will be here anytime, and I promise you, he will be most displeased to find that you are here. He is a menacing fellow and will not hesitate to kill us all. Come on now, go.”
Estelle blinked furiously into the darkness, thankful that he could not see the tears streaming down her face. George is a menace, and so is his father. This whole family has a string of troubled minds. They should all be tried for their actions.
“I cannot leave you, my love. The inspector is already here. It is only a matter of time before he finds us. If we die before that, it will be a comfort to know you have not died alone, and we will be together forever, as it should be.”
“Quit speaking such nonsense, Estelle. You must leave.”
A gasp behind them alerted they were no longer alone.
“What in the world?”
Estelle turned around to find the countess standing there with her mouth gaping wide, and her hands trembling, making the lantern she held cast dancing shadows on the slime covered walls.
“You should not be here, Miss Humphrey. None of you should.”
It was not until she walked closer did Estelle notice that Edwin’s hand was bandaged. The countess had nearly dropped the lantern searching for a key at her waist to see if she could open the cell. A few minutes later, she fumbled with the lock and found the right one, opening it and permitting her entry.
“Help your fiancé up, Miss Humphrey, and be gone. The constables have arrived with the inspector from Scotland Yard. They’re in the main house and an argument has ensued. I came in search of Edwin, as my son said that he was close, but so far out of reach. It was not until he said that did I notice what he meant. Now leave at once.”
Estelle struggled to untie and lift her beloved from the floor, but the poor man moaned in pain. He had been beaten sorely and his breathing was heavy. Estelle turned back to see the countess cradling her nephew, who cried in her arms.
“My lady, have you known about this all along?”
“No.” She choked back a sob. “I only found out this morning.”
“You know what happened with Helen, too?”
The countess snorted and began to laugh manically. “That my son drugged her and had his way with her while she slept? I knew that she was planning on running off with that bastard Gabriel, too. She was planning on telling him what my son had done. I couldn’t let her ruin my only child’s life.”
Horror slapped Estelle senseless until she recovered from the damning confession from Lady Cuthbert.
“You need to leave here at once.” the countess hissed. “We’re a damned lot. Every last one of us.”
She kept walking and it was not until they reached near the exit that they heard the countess call out, “Forgive me, Lord, for all my transgressions. May Helen’s soul rest in peace, and I hope that in her afterlife she can forgive me.”
Two shots rang out behind them, and a sick feeling from the bottom of her stomach rose.
Estelle retched and released her fiancé, leaving him to drop as the bile rose up in her throat. After a few more breaths, she returned to Ben, leading him out into the mid-afternoon sunlight. Servants came rushing at them, two of them taking Ben away from her.
“You must leave. The manor is ablaze and the constables have already taken the earl, and the inspector has run after Master George to the attic. There is an officer waiting to take you away, Miss. You should have never returned here.”
Estelle sensed the urgency of the service staff and followed behind them. When they reached near the front of the manor where a carriage waited for them, the sound of glass shattering raised their attention.
Estelle looked up to find a body tumbling out of the window from the attic, and watched in horror as it landed with a thud several yards away.
The officer looked at her and whispered, “Wait here.”
A servant shrieked. “It’s the young Ma
ster George! Thank goodness that demonic fool is gone. The county can rest knowing he won’t do harm to another living soul.”
They were later joined by the lead inspector, who had just made it out in time. The manor had begun to collapse. Billows of smoke rose to the heavens. The house would take several hours before it completely reduced to rubble and ash.
A fitting end to an estate that became shadowed by sin.
Epilogue
Two months later…
Estelle packed hers and her husband’s belongings with the aid of her maid and mother-in-law. She’d have never guessed in advance truly how much clutter could have been collected while they were abroad. Anxiously, she waited to hear back from Benedict, who’d left hours ago on a suspicious errand.
She ignored the way his mother ordered about the maid and the footmen from her own home, to aid them in their move to her first home as countess.
“Estelle, dear, while I am not accustomed to organize such a feat in small rooms as this, your assistance in taking charge would be appreciated. Not that I expect you’ve had any appropriate lessons. Now this is what I’d like you to do…”
Her sharp-tongued mother-in-law’s words trailed off into silence as the door swung open and her husband appeared at the door.
Estelle rose to her feet, rushing over to him to embrace him. “What is it, dear? You were gone a very long time.”
He turned to his mother and nodded. “Mama, I’d like a word in private with my wife.”
“It’s just as well; most of everything is ready to carry down to the carriage. I will return shortly.”
“Come, sit down with me on the bed, dearest. I have much to say,” Benedict instructed and she could do nothing but comply.
Her nerves began to get the best of her; from the dreaded fluttering of her belly, to her muscles tightening in her neck. Heavens! Get over it, you silly girl.
“I have just come back from the inspector’s office. As it were, the Earl of Hawthorne has been charged with several counts of murder and illegal gambling, and interference with a criminal investigation. Considering the unfortunate suicide of his son, they had to turn the French investigators away, but not before learning of the terrible crimes George committed in his time abroad.”
Estelle couldn’t bear the thought of what sort of atrocities that man did in a foreign country, but could very well imagine how deviant and horrible they must have been.
“As it turns out, George had robbed people blind of their belongings, raped innocents, and if that weren’t cruel enough, he was caught with a noble’s wife. After being called out, he shot the man, returned to the wife only to brutally rape her before killing her too. The viscount’s children hid while they watched their mama being attacked.”
Benedict paused, pulling her into an embrace, shaking uncontrollably. Her husband—the love of her life—was upset which was quite natural given the circumstances of the horrors they experienced.
“I am truly sorry that we ever set foot in that house. I should have never asked you to attend with me, my love. I put you in danger and I’m a horrible person for doing so.”
Estelle pushed away from his embrace to cup his cheeks. The sadness and hurt swimming in his eyes brought her to tears. “My love, there is nothing I would not have done for you. When we made the decision to attend the devil’s party, it was under the premise to free your papa from whatever menacing hold that wretched family had on him.”
She stopped to raise her hands and looked around, only to return her attention to him. “Look at us. We are alive; your family free from scandal and some very evil people have been stopped. If anything, we’ve rid society of some of England’s worst scoundrels. I am glad we both came out of it alive. I do not think I would have been able to carry on if I lost you, my love.”
Her tears fell uncontrollably now. This had been the first time since the events that they talked this freely and now they could carry on with their lives as they were meant to.
Benedict wiped the tears away and whispered, “Come, come. No more tears. We are free, have each other, and a lovely new home to enjoy in every aspect. I would love nothing more than to hear the pitter-patter of tiny feet. So let us leave the hotel in a pleasant mood, and let my mama enjoy ordering people about for just a second longer. I desire nothing more than to bless my countess with the loving she so deserves.”
Estelle smiled and let the warmth of love wash over her like a warm sun shower. He was hers for eternity.
The End
Publisher’s Note
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About Layna Pimentel
Born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Layna discovered her love of reading at an early age. She’s a bestselling author at All Romance eBooks, and multi-published author of historical, paranormal and contemporary erotic romances. When she isn’t devouring salacious romance novels or writing, she enjoys losing herself in researching ancient history and mythology, weaponry, and hiking. She lives in Northern Ontario, with her husband and two daughters.
For updates on her upcoming releases, or to leave her a comment, you can find at:
Website: http://www.laynapimentel.com
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