“Is that you M’am?” the driver hissed through the darkness.
“Yes,” she whispered back, wishing that she could recall the name of the man who was sharing the most nerve wracking experience of her life with her.
“Two shots is safe,” she heard the driver mumble; “One lone shot - scarper.”
The sound of a hip-flask being unscrewed reached her ears, followed by a loud gulp and an “Ahh” of satisfaction as the driver imbibed his spirits.
“D’ya want some?” the driver called through the darkness, then seemed to remember himself. “I mean would M’am like a nip of brandy to keep out the cold?”
“No thank you,” she replied faintly; the thought of consuming alcohol making her stomach heave. She could not bear the waiting and began to pace the road. Back and forth. Back and forth.
At least ten minutes had passed, in which she was sure she must have worn a hole in the road from her pacing, when a the loud crack of gunfire shattered the still night.
“One shot,” the driver counted unhelpfully.
They both waited for a tense minute to see if another would follow.
“Just one shot M’am,” the driver called urgently; “We must hurry back to Epsom.”
Aurelia felt a wave of panic rising in her chest; she could not leave Sebastian alone to die.
“Hang on a second, I need to climb back in,” she called, her voice high and panicked.
Aurelia opened the door of the carriage, kicked the step so that the driver would think he had heard her climb back in, and then shut the carriage door with a loud bang.
“Tally-ho,” the driver called once he heard the door close; “Let’s head back to Epsom.”
The carriage took off along the dark road at full speed, its driver blissfully unaware that he had left his sole passenger behind. Aurelia waited a moment to make sure that he was gone, then lifted her skirts and ran madly towards the wood.
The hunting lodge was at the end of a dirt path, that was easily reached from the crossroads. Aurelia scrambled along, brushing low hanging branches from her face, and crunching twigs beneath her feet. It was not long until the hunting lodge came into view. A low timber building, built to blend in with its surroundings, it would have been impossible to see in the dark, were it not from the lights that glowed in its windows and spilled from the open front door.
Oh, I hope I’m not too late, Aurelia thought desperately to herself. She scrambled down the low, wooded incline, to the clearing on which the lodge was built. Raised voices reached her ears, causing her to hesitate. She needed to ascertain what exactly had happened, so that if Sebastian or Theo were injured she would be better able to help them.
Hunkering down - in a most unladylike manner - Aurelia crept to the window, and peered cautiously over the sill. What she saw elicited a moan of despair.
Inside the lodge, was her brother Theo tied to a chair, and the unconscious form of Sebastian Black slumped against the wall, his leg bleeding profusely from a gunshot wound.
“Oh no,” Aurelia whispered. The sight of so much blood was making her feel so faint that she had to sit back down on the grass to steady herself. It took a moment, but soon she was right again.
Pull yourself together woman, she chastised herself sternly. This was about the worst situation she had ever found herself in, and yet, while she had spent so much of her life afraid ,anxious and anticipating disaster, now that the worst was happening she felt remarkably calm. Brave even.
Aurelia peeked over the sill again, hoping that her Uncle would not notice her spying. The scene was much the same as it had been when she had first looked, except now she scanned the room for more details. Her Uncle was standing in the middle of the floor, his focus on Theo - he appeared to be telling him something. Beside Sebastian was the gun - the Flintlock is what he had called it. It was special because it fired two shots without having to be reloaded.
That means I have one shot left, Aurelia thought grimly to herself. There was no other choice, she could not leave Sebastian to bleed to death while her Uncle turned his attentions to her brother.
Quietly she crept towards the front of the lodge, where the door was swinging open in the light breeze. With her back against the wall Aurelia peered around the door frame to assess the situation. Her Uncle had her back to the door and was advancing on a bemused looking Theo, who wore the expression of a man who didn’t quiet understand what was happening. Seeing her brother so close was a shock to the system, but she didn’t have time to focus on how he looked - she needed to save both Theo and Sebastian before it was too late.
She tiptoed into the lodge, grateful for all the dancing lessons she had been forced to take as a child, for she was light on her feet as she crept across the floorboards. She could see that Sebastian’s face was shockingly pale as she neared, and his breathing laboured. She reached for the double barreled pistol, which was discarded on the ground. She had never fired a weapon before, but as she picked it up it appeared quiet self explanatory; the only problem she could see was with her aim. She had been taught how to paint, dance and embroider - but never how to take aim at a target. Thinking that now was not the best time to lament the shortcomings of her childhood education, Aurelia instead advanced on her Uncle who was standing over Theo.
“I should have killed you that first day in St. George’s,” Lord Epsom was saying with a slur - it took Aurelia a moment to realise that her Uncle was in his cups.
“I should never have let it get this far,” he continued, while Theo looked at him absently, as though he were watching a play and not the man who wanted to murder him. “This will all be over in a moment Theo…”
“Oh no it won’t,” Aurelia said, hoping that the fear she felt was not projected in her voice.
“Oh who’s this then?” Theo asked, craning his head around his Uncle’s body so that he could see who had spoken. His tone was as light and as friendly as it would have been if they were at a garden tea-party.
“It’s me Theo,” Aurelia said, flummoxed by his lack of recognition; “Aurelia. Your sister.”
“Oh I didn’t know I had a sister, what fun!”
“Be quiet you blithering idiot!”
Lord Epsom’s gave a snarl of rage before he leapt at Theo, knocking him backwards - still tied to his chair- onto the floor. A crack reverberated through the room that Aurelia could only assume was Theo’s skull making contact with the floor.
“Stop,” she screamed, as Lord Epsom scrambled to his feet; “Or I’ll shoot!”
“You don’t have the nerve to shoot me,” her Uncle growled, wiping the spittle on his chin away with the back of his hand as he advanced towards her.
Demonstrating that she did have the nerve - but not the experience - to shoot, Aurelia pulled the trigger of the pistol, squeaking as the force of the shot nearly lifted her off her feet. The reverberation caused her aim to falter, and the bullet which entered her Uncle was absorbed by his foot, and not his heart which had been her original target.
“My foot,” he roared thankfully immobilized by the pain.
The sound of clattering hooves nearing the lodge could be heard through the open door over her Uncle’s cries of outrage. Aurelia turned her back on her Uncle and sped to Sebastian’s side. He was still slumped against the wall in a rapidly growing puddle of his own blood. She scrambled to find something to stop the bleed from his thigh, finally resorting to ripping some of his shirt to make a temporary bandage.
“In here!” she cried, to the men outside.
Bodies filled the lodge, and Aurelia felt strong arms pulling her away from Sebastian’s unconscious form.
“There, there lass,” a rough but kindly voice said; “You need to leave ‘im to the doctor. Come away now.”
Stupidly she struggled against the man, but he was much stronger and she soon found herself outside the lodge, blinking in the dawn light. She recognised servants from Epsom Hall, who were quick to praise her bravery.
“Your brother
Miss. Aurelia,” a young footman said excitedly as he led her towards the carriage that was to take her to the main house; “Your brother is alive, and he’s here!”
Yes but he doesn’t recognize me, Aurelia wanted to shout, and the man I love is at deaths’ door: for Sebastian had been whisked away to the surgeon’s cottage by a grim faced physician and no one had heard any news since.
“Please God, please save him,” she said in a whispered, fervent prayer as the carriage rumbled away, taking her back to her childhood home.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
.
Sebastian knew nothing, except that he was in a world of agony and that, for what seemed like days, and angel had been speaking to him. Bright light pressed against his eyelids, urging him to wake, but as the angel once again took up her melodic tune he drifted back into a dreamless sleep.
He could not tell if hours or days had passed, but when he woke next the angel was still speaking to him from the corner of the room he was in. His head was fuzzy and his tongue felt dry and parched, though despite this he allowed himself a moment to focus on what the angel was saying…
“Moving to news of Newmarket and the turf is looking good for the championship hurdle,” the angel said, most precisely. “The going is soft in some parts, but a gentleman can expect a good return on -”
“Are you reading me the racing pages?” Sebastian hoisted himself up to a sitting position in the bed and threw a half amused, half scandalised look at Aurelia; his angel.
“Well, it’s just that I ran out of proper things to read,” she said apologetically, flushing most becomingly and refusing to meet his eyes. “My Aunt and Uncle only kept copies of Newspapers or Ladies Pages here in the West Wing, and I didn’t want to leave you for too long to go to the library in case - in case -”
Sebastian watched as Aurelia valiantly struggled against dissolving into tears.
“In case I woke up without the latest news on Newmarket?” he quipped, dodging the crumpled up Racing Post which was thrown at his head.
“Sorry, I surrender, I surrender,” he laughed covering his face with his hands to protect himself from any more flying missiles.
“Oh, you’re exasperating Sebastian Black,” Aurelia exclaimed, folding her arms across her chest and glaring at him. “First you nearly die, then you wake up making-fun of me. I wish I hadn’t wasted the past two days crying over you.”
“You’ve spent the last two days crying over me?” Sebastian responded, touched.
“Yes,” Aurelia said, still eyeing him darkly. “I wanted to stay and watch over you during the night as well, but Theo said he would not hear of it, so the nurse stayed with you during those hours.”
“Theo is giving orders?” Sebastian asked, his head beginning to thump with pain. He had missed out on so much while he was unconscious, especially:
“Water,” he croaked; “Could I please have a glass of water?”
“Oh,” Aurelia gasped, horrified. “I didn’t even offer you a glass of water, I just threw something at you. And you’ve been unconscious for three days, and -”
“Love,” Sebastian groaned; “I don’t care about any of that, just please get me some water.”
Aurelia disappeared into an ante-room that Sebastian suspected was a dressing room and reappeared in seconds with a pewter jug and a tumbler. She filled the glass to the rim, then refilled it once he had drained the first; he drank like a man who had been wandering the desert for forty days.
Once his thirst was quenched, his focus turned to Aurelia, who was perched at the end of his bed, watching him with worry.
“What happened that night?” he asked, for he remembered very little of the night in the hunting lodge. “The last thing I remember is wrestling with your Uncle. I couldn’t get a clear shot at him that wouldn’t have put Theo in danger, and then he lunged for me…”
“…And knocked the gun from your hand,” Aurelia finished for him. “It fired a shot as it hit the floor, which went into your thigh. The surgeon said it hit quite a large vein, but not the largest, which would have killed you in seconds.”
“Well thank goodness for that,” Sebastian said with relief. He was rather glad he was not dead, for if he had been killed that night he would not be able to appreciate the sight before him: Aurelia St. Claire in his bed. Well sitting on his bed, he conceded, but that could be remedied.
“When you failed to fire the second shot, I came to see what had happened, whilst the driver went to fetch help,” Aurelia continued, ignoring the look of annoyance on his face. “I know that you told me not to, but I’m glad I disobeyed you Sebastian, for both you and Theo would have died had I not. I have never seen a man so intent on murder…”
Sebastian listened quietly as she explained what had happened between Lord Epsom and Theo, and how she had rescued not just her brother, but Sebastian as well.
“Thank you,” he said sheepishly as she finished her tale, trying to quell the feeling of disappointment he felt at not having rescued her. What kind of man was he to leave a young woman alone and defenseless?
“Oh no,” Aurelia breathed, taking his hand in her; “Thank you Sebastian. You risked your life to save my brother, a man you had never even met.”
“Theo!” Sebastian exclaimed, for this was what he really wanted to understand, the mystery that had plagued them for weeks. “What happened to Theo? When I arrived he seemed rather bemused by the whole situation - which was sending your Uncle into paroxysms of rage.”
“Oh,” Aurelia bit her lip, her expression sad. “It really is most awful, I cannot believe that my Uncle would have acted in such a way to his own flesh and blood. And to Mrs. Baker…”
“He conned her in some way?” Sebastian guessed, to which Aurelia nodded her head.
“He really is a most dastardly man,” she growled, looking fierce - much to Sebastian’s delight: it appeared his angel had fangs.
In a soft voice she began the tale of what had befallen Theo St. Claire, beginning the story at the point when he disappeared: the battle of Waterloo.
“He remembers very little of the battle,” Aurelia said, her voice faltering as she visualized the horror of the situation that Theo found himself in. “He remembers a huge blast, before he fell from his horse and hit his head, after that he blacked out. When he woke up he had no recollection of who he was or what had happened to him.”
“He was suffering from amnesia,” Sebastian volunteered, and Aurelia nodded her head.
“His confusion was compounded by the fact that he didn’t understand what anyone was saying when they brought him to a convent in Lille. He was always skiving off his French lessons at Eton,” Aurelia added, rolling her eyes as she recalled this fact. “The nuns soon realised that he was English and not a mute as they originally suspected, and they made contact with the War Office, who brought him home. He recalls being taken to St. George’s and finding the view of Hyde Park very familiar, but feeling frustrated at not being able to recall why he knew it.”
“So he had no recollection what so ever of who he was?” Sebastian asked, amazed by the workings of the human mind.
“No, no recollection whatsoever,” Aurelia confirmed. “He was there nearly a month when the War Office sent my Uncle in to see if he was Theo, as they suspected.”
“And what happened?” Sebastian prompted, not wanting to rush her but desperate to hear how the story panned out.
“Uncle Richard said that he did not know him, but then asked for some time alone with Theo,” Aurelia said with disgust. “He spent about an hour making sure that Theo had no memory of his life and then he left.”
“Pah,” Sebastian breathed in disgust: to deny your own flesh and blood was a dastardly act.
“He soon grew nervous that Theo would regain some of his memory,” Aurelia continued; “For he volunteered to take on the case of “The Unknown Soldier”, as Theo was named.”
Sebastian looked at her curiously.
“Oh, Lady Caroline told us yester
day. She traveled down from London with all the information on what the War Office knew,” Aurelia explained, having forgotten that Sebastian wouldn’t know this part of the tale. “Her husband’s secretary said that the whole department was so moved by Uncle Richard’s determination to reunite the young man with his family…they didn’t realise that he was searching for the perfect victim.”
“Mrs. Baker?” Sebastian guessed, and Aurelia nodded sadly.
“He knew how lonely she was and he exploited that lonliness,” she said, shuddering at the evil acts of her Uncle. “Mrs. Baker mourned her son so badly that she was willing to believe that Theo was her missing boy returned to her. Uncle Richard explained any problems that arose as being down to Theo’s brain injury.”
“What a despicable man,” Sebastian breathed “To exploit two grieving families for your own personal gain.”
“Yes, it was horrible,” Aurelia agreed. “Theo said that Mrs. Baker looked after him so well while he was there. He said she was the doting grandmother he always wanted, and he intends to look after her now that he’s back to his full health.”
“So he has recovered?” Sebastian ventured: this was another part of the tale he had missed.
“Oh yes,” Aurelia beamed. “It’s quite remarkable really. When he struck his head again during my tussle with Uncle Richard, all his memories came back. It’s astounding. The village physician intends to write a paper on the matter.”
“I don’t doubt he does,” Sebastian said wryly. It was like something from the pages of a novel, and it would take him a little longer to fully understand it all.
“And is he happy to have his sister back?” Sebastian asked, already knowing the answer. He was envisioning his life without seeing Aurelia St. Claire every day, and it was not a pleasant thought.
“He is,” a voice from the doorway called; “Though he is not happy to find her here alone and sitting on your bed Mr. Black.”
“Oh Theo,” Aurelia started, moving from her where she sat on the bed, still clutching Sebastian’s hand, to a stand looking nervously between her brother and Sebastian.
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