by Ashley John
“Let’s go for a walk,” Ezra suggested.
Thankfully, Joshua agreed and they were soon out of the stuffy ballroom and walking around the dark grounds side by side. They walked towards the gardens of Kenwood House and they found themselves in an arched tunnel made from perfectly groomed and shaped trees. The moonlight glowed through the gaps, lighting up Joshua’s face.
“Are you sure you’re alright? What did my Auntie say to you? She’s a handful when she’s had a drink.”
Ezra wasn’t sure what he should say. Should he tell Joshua everything Jackie had said, or would that just cause even more suspicion? He’s only just starting to trust me.
“She was talking about your dad,” Ezra offered.
Joshua groaned and they stopped walking. Leaning against either side of the archway with the distant sound of a pounding bass-line fluttering over the night garden, Ezra felt like he was tiptoeing a very dangerous line.
“They never got on,” Joshua rolled his eyes, “they were too similar. They argued about everything. My mum used to say they were like a cat and dog growing up. Always at each other’s throats. They proper fell out when Violet was born because Jackie wasn’t married and she started asking for money and my dad didn’t like that.”
“They never got on?”
“Not that I know of,” he shrugged, “there were pockets where they tolerated each other but I think that was only because me and Violet were so close. Why, what did she say?”
Ezra swallowed the dry lump in his throat. He hoped they were in enough shadow that Joshua wouldn’t notice the sweat forming on his brow.
“Just what you said,” he shrugged, “she was rambling. I wasn’t really listening over the music.”
Confusion spread across Joshua’s expression but he looked like he was trying to smile through it. He quickly ran his hand over his beard and headed through the arch.
“Are you sure there’s nothing else?” Joshua paused in the mouth of the arch, nothing more than a shadow.
It didn’t feel right to lie to him. He wanted to be honest going forward but it felt like honesty would ruin everything he’d tried so hard to keep hold of.
“I’m sure,” he said, “we should get back inside before they send out another search party.”
They headed back up to the house, with Joshua two steps ahead the entire way. Ezra just hoped he wouldn’t go straight to his Auntie but he had a feeling that’s exactly where he was going.
When they were back in the reception, he held back and watched as Joshua weaved in and out of the tables towards his Auntie. Wiping his sweaty hands on his thighs, Ezra wondered if he’d be able to talk his way out of this one. He knew he was a good businessman but even he couldn’t battle some things.
Before Joshua could reach his Auntie, a bald man in a tight suit jumped up and grabbed Joshua by the arm. Joshua looked down at the hand gripping him and shrugged it away. It looked like they were having cross words. The balding man pulled something out of his inside pocket and handed it to Joshua. After one quick look, Joshua tossed what looked like a piece of paper back at the man. He was about to walk away but the bald man’s hand gripped around his wrist. He said something that made Joshua calm down.
Ezra snapped out of his daze, ready to jump in between Joshua and the man. He took one step forwards but a howl of laughter caught him off guard. He looked into the dark corner of the ballroom. I can’t fucking believe it. He had no idea why Jade was here with Brian and his friends and he wasn’t sure he wanted to find out.
“Tobias, get off me!” Joshua ripped his wrist away from him when they were standing in the grand entrance of Kenwood House.
The double fronted entrance was wide open, letting the almost full moon spill into the dimly lit room.
“Why won’t you just listen to me?” Tobias cried, “Just read the damn letter. Do you know how difficult it was to get this?”
He shook the letter in front of Joshua’s face, his round face growing more red and shiny by the second.
“What is it?” Joshua snatched it from him, “I told you, I don’t want to do this anymore. I’ve decided I’m staying in London. I’m staying with Ezra. For the first time in my life I’m happy and -,”
Tobias’ hand rested gently on top of Joshua’s, silencing him with just one touch.
“Before you say anything else,” he sighed with a sadness that sent a shiver running across Joshua’s skin, “just read the letter.”
The letter rustled in his fingers as he held it. He didn’t want to read it. Clenching his eyes tight, he indulged in the fantasy that everything was perfect. Why can’t it be perfect for one fucking night?
Sucking the air in through his teeth, he walked over to the bottom step of the staircase and sat down. As he opened the letter, he told himself that what was inside it wouldn’t change his mind.
Firstly, he was relieved to see that it wasn’t addressed to him but it was in his father’s handwriting.
“Who’s Charles Worthington?” he read the unmistakable scrawl of his father’s hand even though it was lighter and messier than usual.
“He’s the man I had to bribe this letter from. He’s the primary lawyer who your father dealt with. Turns out, the reason he went up north was because Charles and your father went to Oxford together.”
He held the letter back to Tobias, “Whatever it says, I don’t care.”
Tobias sighed and took the letter back. He folded it up, holding it between his hands, staring down at it. Joshua thought he was going to leave it there, but he pulled it open and started to read aloud.
“It says -,” Tobias started but Joshua snatched the paper out of his hand.
He started to read:
‘Dear Charles Worthington,
My old friend, it has been too long since we last spoke. For that, I apologise. I wish the circumstances for my writing were better, but alas, they are not. I am not in the best health, and not to mince words, I am dying.
The reason for this letter is because I need your legal assistance. The subject matter is sensitive and I do not want to burden my usual lawyer with the task. I trust your reputation for being one of the best in the business.
I need you to find out as much information you can about an Ezra Steele. I would do it myself, however I am not sure how much I could do from my bed. He is a man I have come to trust but I have a feeling of unrest that he is not everything he claims. I need you to find out whatever you can about him, no matter how big or small.
I am about to file an updated version of my will because I fear the end is close and I want to know if I am wise in leaving this man a small percentage of my estate. He has worked for me for a number of years and I have always had my suspicions about him but I ignored them because he was loyal and one of the hardest workers I have known. He reminds me a lot of myself, so I want to be sure before I deprive my son of his full inheritance.
I trust that you understand time is of the upmost importance and I expect your full confidence on this matter. Whatever price it costs to get the job done, I will trust your judgement.
Speak soon, old friend.
Yours sincerely,
Bill Silverton.’
Hand shaking, he dropped the letter. He imagined his father writing the letter, weak and alone as he died. Why hadn’t he been able to imagine that until now? Clear as the moon in the sky, he could see his father’s face. He could see him in bed, with a pen in his hand and Ezra Steele lurking in the shadows.
“You understand what this means?” Tobias said calmly.
He nodded, not wanting to say the words.
“Your father dated this letter, March 24th 2015, which if you remember, is the day he drafted up the new version of the will. He died less than a week later on March 31st. Ezra Steele took possession of his estate March 29th. If we can find out what made your father give him everything, we can crack -,”
“Stop talking!” Joshua jumped up and picked up the letter.
In the glow of th
e moon, his fingers fumbled with the edges of the letter as he shredded it into a thousand tiny pieces. The pieces fell through his fingers and his hands lifted slowly and shakily to his face. He could feel tears of anger burning behind his lids but he wasn’t going to let them out.
“Joshua -,” Tobias’s hand tightened on Joshua’s shoulder but he pulled away.
“This doesn’t prove anything,” Joshua shook his head, not wanting to believe what he’d read, “anything could have happened.”
“Exactly,” Tobias walked around him so they were face to face, “anything could have made your father go from 10% to 100% in those days, but you read it for yourself. Your father didn’t trust him and he had every intention of giving everything to you. I have a copy of the letter back at the office.”
“I don’t need a copy,” he was already heading back to the reception, “I need to find Ezra. I need to hear this from his mouth.”
Trying and failing to bury the mounting emotions, he headed back into the busy ballroom. He avoided everybody’s gaze, not wanting to see anybody who wasn’t Ezra. The anger, the confusion, the bitterness, the resentment, the grief all grew and exploded, retracting and restricting with every step. And then he saw Ezra and it all stopped. Like a cloud clearing to reveal a sky, he saw clearly, just for a split second. He didn’t know what he saw. Was it a sunny, bright sky or a dark, yet calm abyss, waiting for a storm to claim its serenity?
He was standing by a table of people who instantly stuck out in the middle of the overly priced suits and gowns. His eyes shot straight to the woman Ezra appeared to be talking to as the rest of the table watched on in amusement.
She’d washed her hair and pushed herself into an ill-fitting cheap dress. It was Jade all right and Joshua had no idea why she was there.
“Ezra,” the word jammed in his throat, “we need to talk.”
“Yeah, Ezra,” Jade mimicked his voice, “your boyfriend wants to talk.”
“I’m not his boyfriend,” Joshua cried, his fists by his temples, “Ezra, now.”
“Betta go, Ez,” the guy Joshua recognised as the leader of the gang who’d attacked Ezra laughed, “your little bitch wants ya.”
Joshua almost launched across the table, no longer caring about decency. All of the rage and confusion sat in his fists and he was ready to send them flying into the nearest idiot’s face.
Ezra started walking, so calmly and slowly it infuriated Joshua. Doesn’t he sense how serious I’m being? They slipped through a door and into a dark corridor. Ezra didn’t stop until they walked through another door and into a brightly lit industrial kitchen. It contrasted harshly with the opulence and grandeur of the rest of the manor.
“I can explain,” Ezra walked across the empty kitchen, taking his time to turn around, “whatever it is, I can explain.”
“Why don’t you start?” he strained his face, trying not to show everything he was feeling right away.
“It depends what you’ve heard,” Ezra scratched the side of his face casually, “or who you’ve talked to.”
He looked so sure of himself. So sure that whatever Joshua was going to say would be talked away. Is he always this fucking infuriating? It reminded him of how Ezra acted when they first met. Arrogant. Had he always been arrogant and Joshua’s perception had been skewed because he was constantly bathing in the orgasms of the best sex of his life?
Maybe that’s all this is to him.
He couldn’t see clearly. Their moment in the bedroom that afternoon felt like a distant memory. All of those feelings were so far away. Had they been real, or were they all just part of Joshua’s delusion that he could live the normal life in London?
“My lawyer, Tobias, he gave me a letter,” Joshua started, “written from my father to Charles Worthington.”
“I know Charles,” Ezra nodded, “he handled everything with your dad. Nice guy.”
The calm tone made Joshua want to scream.
“The letter,” he swallowed that urge, “was from my father to Charles Worthington asking him to find out about somebody he didn’t trust.”
“Who?” Ezra shrugged.
So casual and cocky - You had no idea he was on to you.
“You.”
Ezra half laughed and half recoiled as if he was too good to stand around and talk about such trivial things.
“Can I see this letter?” Ezra held his hand out, “There’s probably a reasonable explanation behind it.”
“I don’t have it,” he didn’t want to admit he’d torn it to smithereens, “but I can give you a pretty good idea about what it said. My dad never trusted you and he was worried giving you 10% of his estate was a bad idea. He was worried about taking that 10% from me. He wanted me to have everything and yet you somehow got everything. I found the second will he had drafted up in your safe in the boardroom.”
“I know you know,” he shrugged, “I saw it at your cousin’s house.”
“And you didn’t say anything?”
The rage grew.
It boiled and burned.
So close to frothing over the brim.
“I didn’t want to make it awkward,” he laughed quietly, “we were finally getting somewhere and I didn’t want to keep dragging up the past.”
“Getting somewhere? You mean you were manipulating me?”
Ezra arched both eyebrows as he stepped back, his hands waving in front of his face.
“There’s nothing I can say, is there?” he rolled back on his heels, “You and your little lawyer have your mind made up about me.”
“I just don’t see how you can explain -,”
“And that’s the problem!” Ezra’s voice boomed around the kitchen, “You’ve already jumped to your conclusions.”
It made Joshua shrink and take a step back, “So explain! It better be fucking convincing.”
Pursing his lips, Ezra shook his head. He looked almost on the brink of telling Joshua to ‘fuck off’. The anger Joshua was feeling was being shared and it only made him angrier. How dare he even think this is about him?
“Like I said, you’ve got it all wrong and it’s not a simple story,” Ezra jumped up and sat on the edge of the metal counter.
“You better start talking,” Joshua pointed his finger out, “because I am this close to pulling the rug out from under your feet.”
Ezra definitely looked like he was about to tell Joshua to ‘fuck off’ for real, but he didn’t get the chance. The door to the kitchen opened and Ezra’s eyes travelled to the intruder first. Joshua turned around, expecting to see the kitchen staff but it was Jade.
A wonky smile covered her tart red lipstick, most of which was on her teeth. Why is that rat here?
“Look who I found,” she snickered, “here I am, looking for some free booze and I bump into my favourite person and his little bitch.”
As she said ‘bitch’ she ran her finger along Joshua’s shoulders, sending a cold shiver deep into his core.
“Jade,” Ezra was almost growling through gritted teeth, “now isn’t the time, or the place.”
“Oh, piss off, Mr. Steele,” she stuck her middle finger up, “I’m not here for you. You think so bloody highly of yourself.”
Letting them know how little she cared about him, she started to rummage through the fridges but she was disappointed to find they were filled with food and not alcohol.
He couldn’t imagine Ezra had ever been close enough to her to get her pregnant.
“What you queers talkin’ ‘bout anyhow?” she stumbled between them with a bottle of cooking wine in her hands, “tell me some gossip.”
“Why are you here?” Ezra jumped down from the counter, snatching the wine out of her grasp, “you weren’t invited.”
“How do you know?” she tossed her arms out so violently, a pin in the messy, ratty bun on her head toppled to the side, “I’m family.”
“What?” Ezra laughed, “Get out of here. You’re embarrassing.”
Ezra grabbed her arms and tri
ed to push her back out into the corridor but he didn’t get far. She let out a violent shriek and tore free of him. Stumbling backwards, she fell into the counter.
“Don’t fucking touch me!” she screamed, “Don’t ever touch me.”
With a heavy sigh, Ezra rubbed in-between his eyes.
“Just go,” Ezra cried even louder.
“He hit me,” she nodded at Joshua, “gave me a black eye.”
Joshua looked to Ezra for an explanation but he was practically laughing as he choked on his words.
“She missed out the part where she was drunk, trying to hit our two year old baby so I pushed her away. The back of my hand hit her around the face.”
“Don’t talk about my little girl,” with a screech, she ran over to him and Joshua thought she was going to punch him but she stopped at his face, squaring up to him like a boxer in a ring, “don’t ever talk about her. You don’t even know what day it is, do you?”
“Of course I do,” his voice trembled, “and it’s tomorrow, not today.”
“I know that,” her finger poked into the side of Ezra’s head, “don’t fucking talk about her.”
She jabbed him a couple of times before he gripped her wrist, dragging it down to her side. Joshua had never seen somebody get to Ezra this much but Jade was pushing every button Joshua had been trying to push. She wasn’t just pushing them, she was stamping on them and it was pathetic to watch.
“He killed his daughter,” she turned around to Joshua, “he told you that, right?”
“Yeah, he told me,” Joshua suddenly felt defensive, “I know you were married too.”
She tossed her head back and let out a hoarse cry of laughter. When she wobbled back into place, she turned back to Ezra but he was too busy staring at Joshua. He mouthed something that looked like ‘how did you know that?’ but no sound came out.
“You’re filling your bitch’s heads with shit, Ezra,” she traced her finger across his lapel, “you always were a good liar. Can you believe I didn’t know he was sleeping with guys behind my back the whole time?”