by Blythe Baker
Though, later, once the interrogation was over, Alice insisted she had never much cared for Nicholas.
“He wept so much when his grandmother died,” she said, wrinkling her nose in distaste. “It was a bit too much. I could never be with a man who was so emotional.”
“You didn’t seem to mind a few days ago,” Catherine said, smiling for the first time since we’d arrived at Ridgewick. Her wedding would go on as scheduled, and I didn’t think anything in the world could have brought her down.
Alice glared at her sister and then sank back into the cushions of the sofa. “I know I should go to bed, but I’m not tired in the least.”
“Neither am I,” I admitted.
The rest of the guests in the house—everyone aside for myself, Alice, Catherine, and Lord and Lady Ashton—had gone to bed as soon as the excitement of Nicholas’ arrest had begun to wane. Lady Ashton had to dissuade Aunt Ruth from leaving with her daughters to stay at the Inn at once.
“You only have one more night before the wedding,” she said, laying a comforting hand on her sister-in-law’s back and leading her towards the stairs. “The killer has been caught, so there is nothing to worry about. You can leave tomorrow. Please, stay with us.”
“I couldn’t care less where she stays either way,” Lord Ashton whispered to Catherine, who laughed.
It was nice to see the family relaxed for once. The weeks leading up to the wedding had been stressful for everyone, and Aunt Augusta’s death had done little to ease everyone’s nerves. Now, however, that the case had been solved, it seemed as though everyone could finally take a breath at last.
Except for me.
With the mystery solved and the family quickly settling back into their normal rhythms, I couldn’t help but wonder what my place in their lives would look like moving forward. Alice knew the truth about my identity and had still chosen to attack Nicholas and save my life, so I knew she was on my side. But what would happen when Catherine and Lady Ashton uncovered the truth? Or Lord Ashton, for that matter? I was a large reason why his son had gone to prison, which was where he was murdered. So, in his eyes, I could be the cause of his son’s death. Would he still tolerate my presence in his household once he knew we were not related? Or, would they all feel foolish for having believed my lies? Would they kick me to the streets or call the police to report me for theft? Rose’s inheritance did not belong to me, after all. In a way, I was no better than Nicholas Whitlock. I had not killed Rose and her family for my inheritance, but I had taken it all the same. Would they think me a criminal?
Lady Ashton came back into the room with a big sigh and sat down next to her husband, her hand affectionately on his knee. “This week has been even more exciting than I expected.”
“Charles feels the same way,” Catherine said. “By the time the police were carrying Nicholas out, he was already prepared to go upstairs and go straight to sleep. After nearly being killed in New York City and then living with a murderer here, he was feeling overwhelmed.”
“I nearly forgot about that,” Alice said with a laugh. “Funny how I could forget he was almost killed. Our lives are far too interesting, it seems, if something like that slips my mind.”
Catherine nodded and then turned to me. “And if it had not been for Rose, Charles may have died. We wouldn’t have been here this weekend at all. Though, according to Nicholas’ own admission, his not coming to my wedding would not have saved Aunt Augusta. He would have killed her regardless.”
“Still,” Catherine continued, tipping her head down and looking up at me from beneath long lashes. “You saved his life, Rose, and now you’ve solved another murder. Perhaps, the Sergeant should offer you a position.”
“I have had more than my fair share of excitement,” I admitted, doing my best to smile.
Catherine frowned. “Is something the matter, Rose?”
“Yes,” Alice said, squeezing my hand. “You’ve just saved the day. You should be ecstatic.”
I looked down at my youngest cousin, and I could see the encouragement in her eyes. She wanted me to tell her family the truth. She wanted me to confess my true identity, and as much as I didn’t want to do anything to ruin Catherine’s wedding day, I wanted to confess, too. The secret seemed to weigh on me like an anchor around my feet, and I was ready to get rid of it.
I let go of Alice’s hand, stood up, and walked to the front of the room, standing in front of the fireplace. Everyone’s eyes followed me. Lady Ashton looked worried, her face pinched in concern. I took a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh. “Something is the matter.”
“Tell us at once,” Lady Ashton said, sounding urgent. “Please, Rose. We are family.”
I smiled at her, wondering if she would feel the same way in another minute. “That is the problem,” I said quietly, losing the nerve to maintain eye contact and looking down at my feet. “We are not family.”
I heard the rustle of everyone shifting in their seats, leaning forward or away from me, trying to figure out what I meant.
“You all mean so much to me,” I said, talking through a thick throat as tears brimmed in my eyes. “You have taken me in and treated me with more kindness than I ever could have hoped for, and I love each of you so dearly, but we are not family. I…am not Rose Beckingham.”
There was a long silence, and I finally found the courage to look up. Alice was giving me a sad smile, her big brown eyes warm and comforting. Catherine’s mouth was hanging open, her forehead wrinkled in thought. Lord and Lady Ashton had mirrored faces of confusion. They needed to know more, and I was willing to tell them everything. The entire story.
So, I did.
I started with the murder of my parents and the disappearance of my brother. I told them about the orphanage I lived in while I was in New York City and about being assigned to work for the Beckinghams in India. I told them of my friendship with Rose and the wonderful years I spent with the family and how deeply I cared for them. Then, I talked about the bombing and how I was mistaken for Rose in the hospital. I explained that I had no one and nothing. That I would have been destitute on the streets of India with no way to return home.
“I know that is not an excuse,” I said, tears beginning to flow now. “And I know that the hope I gave you in thinking Rose had survived only to take it away now is beyond cruel, but I felt hopeless and helpless, and becoming Rose was my only chance at getting back to America and finding my brother. But then, you all were so lovely. You cared about Rose so much, and it became more difficult to leave. Eventually, I realized I didn’t have any family left—not even my brother—and if I let you all go, too, I would have no one. So, I did not tell you the truth. I continued to lie, and I am forever sorry.”
Shame washed over me in a wave, and I stood in front of them, shaking and waiting for a reply. I expected them to throw me from the house. To call the police back and have them arrest me at once. I expected every possibility except for the one that actually occurred.
“Sorry for what?” Lady Ashton asked, standing up and crossing the room to grab my hands. She lifted my chin with her finger and looked into my eyes. “Are you sorry for taking care of my girls as though they were your own sisters? Sorry for becoming a vital member of this family?”
I opened and closed my mouth, unsure what to say or how to respond.
Catherine stood up and moved to stand behind her mother, her hand on my shoulder. “Are you sorry for saving Charles’ life? For making sure my wedding day wasn’t ruined?”
“You have nothing to be sorry for,” Alice said. She turned to her family. “I figured out the truth, and I don’t love Rose any less for it. She is still family to me.”
Lady Ashton and Catherine nodded, and I stared at them with my mouth hanging open, unable to believe it. Unable to accept their kindness.
Then, Lady Ashton turned to her husband, and I realized there was one key voice that was missing. The vote that would determine whether I could remain or would be forced to leave. I f
ollowed her gaze to where Lord Ashton still sat on the couch, one leg crossed over the other, his forehead wrinkled in thought. As I looked at him, he turned and met my gaze. It felt like one of the first times he had looked at me—really looked at me—since I’d come to live with them almost a year before.
Then, his forehead smoothed and he shrugged. “We have lost too many people already to get rid of another member of the family. And that’s what you are, Rose. You are a member of the family.”
The tears began to flow freely, and Lady Ashton wrapped me in a hug. She smelled like lilies and cinnamon, and I breathed her in, grateful for their acceptance and love. “You are like a daughter to me, dear. Whether Rose Beckingham is your name or not, that will not change.”
I sniffled. “I was Nellie Dennet. Before.”
“And you can be Nellie Dennet again,” Lady Ashton said. “If you want.”
The decision felt too big and overwhelming, as I wavered back and forth, trying to decide who I was now. Who I had become.
“Do not feel you have to decide now,” Catherine said. “Take your time.”
With a squeal, Alice jumped up from the couch and ran to join our group hug. “Yes. No matter what, you will always be the same person to me.”
I hugged them all back and cried like I hadn’t let myself cry in over a year. I cried with joy for the family I’d gained and grief for the families I’d lost. But mostly, I cried with gratitude for the wonderful people fate had allowed into my life.
19
Leaving the grounds of Ridgewick Hall the next day as we travelled to the village for Catherine’s wedding felt like walking free of a prison cell. Everyone took a collective sigh of relief as we crossed the property line without officers watching our every move.
The day was warm with a gentle breeze that kept it from feeling too hot. The clear blue sky overhead was the same shade as Catherine’s eyes. The perfect weather for her wedding day.
Alice looked lovely in a pale pink lace gown over silk, her brown hair held down with a matching lace band, and she sat next to me in the car ride over to the abbey. Lord and Lady Ashton were in their best—Lord Ashton in a brown suit with a matching bowler hat and Lady Ashton in a dress the same shade of pink as Alice’s, though longer and with matching gloves. I wore a neutral green silk gown that hung past my knees in a loose swirl of a hem with black t-strap heels and a black cloche hat, and I felt quite fabulous. Though, no one could compare to Catherine.
Charles Cresswell left for the village abbey early in the morning, before even the sun rose, so he would be surprised by Catherine’s gown. And surprised he would be. She was a picture in her dress. It was cut in a V across her neck, delicate beading lining the hem and creating a diamond pattern across the rest of the dress. White gloves covered half of each of her arms, the band ending in a point at her elbow, and she wore a beaded headband with a long lace veil that wrapped around her head and shoulders like a halo. When she came down the stairs in her gown, even Lord Ashton looked a little misty-eyed.
“Can you believe the day is finally here, Catherine?” I asked, leaning into the front seat to pat her shoulder.
She clutched the small bundle of flowers in her hand and grinned at me. “I truly can’t. I’m so nervous I think I might shake the beads of my dress loose. Part of me thinks it is all too good to be true, and he’ll change his mind at the last moment.”
“You have nothing to be nervous about,” Alice called. “Charles is insanely in love with you. This day will go off without a hitch. No surprises.”
Catherine’s lip twitched up at the corner, and she shrugged, turning away from me so I couldn’t see her face. “I don’t know. There might be a few surprises.”
George drove slowly through the town to reach the abbey, and we passed the small cottage where Miss Brown and her sister were living. I wanted to stop and see how she was doing, but there was no time. The ceremony would start in only a few minutes. Besides, I wasn’t sure I wanted to see how ill she was. The bumps on my hands had subsided, but I’d woken up that morning with a slightly blue tinge to my fingers and the feeling that my feet weren’t settled properly beneath me. Dr. Shaw did his best to counteract the poisons effects, but he told me I would likely still suffer some symptoms. It was a small price to pay for justice.
The Abbey was a large stone building with a pointed arcade out front and two large wooden doors behind it. We crawled out of the car one by one, George offering a hand to help us to our feet, and Lord and Lady Ashton led the way inside.
“Through those doors is your future husband,” Alice said, pinching her sister’s arm.
Catherine winced and pulled her arm away. “You’re going to give me a bruise.”
I smiled, amazed that they could find something to argue about even on what was supposed to be the happiest day of Catherine’s life. Then, I turned to look down the colonnade, and my smile fell flat.
My heart stuttered to a stop, and my feet must have followed suit because Alice ran into my back and yelped in surprise. Then, she followed my gaze and gasped.
“Is that him?”
I didn’t answer her. I turned and walked towards him, wondering at what point the hallucination would break, and he would disappear. When I was standing directly in front of him, close enough to reach out and run a hand through his dark hair, I realized he was actually there.
“Achilles,” I said softly, almost embarrassed by the obvious sway he held over me.
He wore a dark blue suit with thin stripes that accentuated his lean frame. His dark hair was slicked to one side, and he was holding tightly to the cane he always carried. The one that had a thin blade hidden in the bottom. He looked even more tan than I remembered him, and his dark eyes were shining, crinkled around the corners from his smile.
“Hello, Nellie,” he said quietly, his voice warm.
I didn’t yet know who I would choose to be moving forward in life, but I liked that I would always be ‘Nellie’ to Achilles. He was the first person I’d told my secret to, and I liked the idea that he had known the real me all along. He had always known who lurked beneath the surface.
“What are you doing here?” I asked. I looked back over my shoulder, realizing I’d left my family at the doors of the abbey. They were all still standing there, staring at us and clearly eavesdropping on our conversation. When they saw me looking, Lady Ashton quickly pulled open the doors of the church and Alice and Catherine ran inside. I smiled and shook my head.
Achilles took a step towards me and grabbed one of my hands, running his thumb along the knuckles on the back of my hand. “I came here for you, Rose.”
My heart leapt at the idea, but I quickly tied it down. “You did not meet me at St. James’s Park. I waited for an hour, and—”
“I did not get your message,” he said, pulling my hand towards him and pressing it to his chest. “I would have met you. I would have arrived an hour early just to be certain I didn’t miss you. Believe me, if I had known you wanted to see me, I would have forgotten all about the case I was working and come back to London immediately. I wanted to be there, but I didn’t know.”
Part of me—the part that had felt rejected and embarrassed waiting in the park for him—did not want to forgive him so easily, but his excuse made sense. I hadn’t knocked on the door or spoken to him. All I’d done was leave a note on his door.
“Do you believe me?” he asked, tilting his head to the side and leaning down to catch my eye.
I nodded. “I suppose I should have ensured you received the message before I assumed you were done with me.”
He smiled, his thin mustache twitching up. “Can I talk to you?”
“We are talking,” I said, unable to wipe the smile from my lips.
He looked around, glancing behind me. Guests were still streaming through the front doors of the church. I turned to see Aunt Ruth and her girls—all in matching dresses the same shade of brown as the stone walls—walking through the doors. The girls had their h
eads tipped back, mouths opened as they admired the architecture. Vivian and Charles Barry were behind them. Vivian looked lovely in a violet chiffon gown with long flowing sleeves, a silver hair comb, and black heels. Charles looked nice as he always did in a thick-striped suit, but the frown on his face spoke of a clear distaste for the entire affair. I was slightly worried he would stand up in the middle of the ceremony and declare his love for Catherine, ruining the entire event. Though, in Alice’s eyes, his declaration would only add to the excitement of the day.
Every person who passed glanced to where Achilles and I stood off to the side of the main entrance, and I realized our location was not what one could exactly call private.
“Would you like to follow me into the churchyard for a moment?” he asked. “There is something I’d like to discuss with you.”
I squeezed his fingers, ready to follow him anywhere, but then I thought of Catherine. “Can I meet you there?”
Achilles narrowed his eyes playfully. “You promise you aren’t running away?”
I thought of the morning I’d slipped away from him in Morocco without a goodbye. I would not be so foolish again.
“I promise.”
He smiled and nodded, releasing my hand so I could join the guests walking through the front doors and finding seats in the pews. Alice and Lady Ashton were talking off to the side of the church, and I cut across the back of the chapel to reach them.
“Where is Catherine?” I asked.
“She is in the changing room,” Alice said. Then, unable to help herself, she whispered, “Is that Achilles Prideaux?”
“Later,” I promised with a wink before darting away in the direction of the changing room. I knocked on the solid wooden door and Catherine called for me to come in.
She was standing in front of a long mirror, adjusting her veil. She turned around as I walked in, and the sight of her almost stole my breath away. “Charles might drop dead when he sees you.”