Cinders and Ashes (6 page)

Amelia
wasn’t convinced and, without answering him, reluctantly eased her
hand from the comforting warmth of his. Pulling the only chair she
owned around until she was facing him, she sat down. So many
questions rose in her mind that she wasn’t sure where to begin. Now
his fever had eased, she needed to find out as much as she could.
There were decisions she needed to make, and couldn’t make them
until she had all of the facts.

“
Do you have your memory back yet?” Her tone was almost
conversational, as she asked probably the most important
question.

“
I think so,” Sebastian replied with a frown, staring at his
toes beneath the sheets.

“
Tell me your full name, Sebastian.” She emphasized the
‘full’, making it clear she wanted his title, as well as his
surname.

“
Sebastian Andrew Cavendish. Lord Torrington, Earl of
Westhaven.” He watched as Amelia studied her hands, her face
carefully blank. His gut instinct warned him she had just taken a
huge mental step backwards. Did she know of him?

“
How did you get here?” Her voice was neutral. Carefully she
tried to hide the disappointment that was so strong it brought
tears to her eyes.

He was indeed one of the
Ton,
and that made him as far out of her reach as
humanly possible. Although she had surmised by the cut and quality
of his clothing that he was, it was still hugely disappointing to
hear it from his lips.

He most probably had a wife tucked away
somewhere
, Amelia thought morosely.
Handsome and titled men like Sebastian tended to have an equally
gorgeous wife. The thought made her ache for something she couldn’t
define.

“
I jumped from a moving carriage,” he stated with brutal
honesty.

“
Jumped?” Her voice was incredulous and her round eyes met
his.

“
Yes, jumped.” His blue eyes hardened when the stark memories
of that fateful night returned. He watched a myriad of emotions
flicker across her alabaster face. Her next question came as no
surprise to him.

“
Why?” She was indeed
Ton
. Intrigued, and none the wiser
to his thoughts, she leant forwards in her chair
intently.

He certainly didn’t look like a suicidal
man
, Amelia thought. Even if she did know
what one looked like, she was certain it wouldn’t be anyone looking
as roguishly handsome and relaxed as Sebastian did at that
moment.

“
I had to jump.” Sebastian studied her stunned features for
any signs of disgust or horror, but could see nothing but blatant
curiosity and surprise. “I had to jump before I was
pushed.”

“
Pushed? By whom?” The questions burst out before Amelia could
stop them. Her curiosity was piqued. She wondered who would be out
of their minds enough to want someone like Sebastian
dead.

Sebastian mentally made a note of her eloquence. “I don’t
know for certain. Someone who employed a man to do the job for
him.” A vivid picture of Rat’s gaunt and snarling face rose in his
mind. “I have a feeling that whoever he is, he has wealth and
status. He must have enough wealth to buy someone to do his dirty
jobs for him, and enough status that he doesn’t want to directly be
involved in my murder and besmirch his good name,” Sebastian
replied, almost to himself.

He hated
to involve her in his troubles, but given everything she had
sacrificed to look after him, felt he owed her total
honesty.

“
There is only one person I have recently come into contact
with who is vile enough to stoop to attempted murder to get what he
wants.” He paused to consider his next words carefully. “Harrington
Wilton, Lord Ballantyne. He is a dissolute gamester who has a
penchant for obtaining things. Anything. Especially things he
cannot have. He owns the estate that is near to my late uncle’s. He
had been trying to get my uncle to sell it for several years.
Lately, he had been pressuring my uncle, who had been in
increasingly poor health, into signing the property over for half
of its value.”

“
Your
late
uncle?” Amelia wondered if Sebastian’s uncle’s demise was
caused by Harrington Wilton.

“
Yes, my uncle Benedict battled constantly with ill health in
his later years. He was considerably weakened by a particularly bad
bout of influenza that he didn’t seem to be able to recover from.
Unfortunately, he died a few months ago.”

“
I’m sorry,” Amelia murmured softly. As was her nature, she
instinctively sought to comfort him, and without thought placed her
hand on his where it lay on the sheet. She was made aware of her
instinctive action when his warm palm immediately captured hers and
held it firmly.

Sebastian absently traced her fingers with his thumb as he
continued. “About a week ago, my uncle’s man of business notified
us that Ballantyne had been visiting the property. He caused
considerable consternation amongst the few remaining staff by going
so far as to speak to some of them about future
employment.”

“
But it isn’t his property,” Amelia exclaimed, outraged at the
man’s forthright behaviour.

“
It didn’t seem to matter to him. The man of business was
becoming concerned that Ballantyne was pushy, so sent for my
assistance. As the main benefactor of the estate, I visited
Edenvale Manor to deal with some pressing estate matters.
Furniture, family heirlooms and the like. Harrington Wilton doesn’t
have a particularly good reputation for looking after his servants.
None of Uncle’s staff wanted to work for Wilton, and became quite
anxious that he was about to become the new owner. While I was
there, I requested an interview with the man to warn him that he
was to stay off the property and away from the
servants.”

Sebastian shook his head. “He was a little argumentative, but
seemed to accept that the house wasn’t available to
him.”

“
So what happened?” Unbeknown to Amelia, she was so caught up
in the story, her hand tightened considerably upon Sebastian’s as
she waited tensely for him to finish his story.

“
He eventually left with a warning that he wouldn’t give up. I
didn’t think anything of it. The staff had packed and left to
relocate to Tingdale, my own estate. Having dealt with some
remaining paperwork, I had dinner and settled in front of the fire
with a bottle of brandy. It must have been drugged because within
moments I fell asleep, and woke up tied to a chair somewhere
else.”

“
Could Ballantyne have laced the brandy himself?”

“
I think he must have laced it with laudanum or something,
while he was waiting for me to summon him to the library. I can’t
conceive it was one of the staff.”

“
So he may have laced the brandy with laudanum, knowing at
some time you would drink it.” It wasn’t a question. “Where was the
man of business?”

Sebastian shook his head slightly. “He had to take some
papers to London, so left the morning after I arrived. His services
were no longer required, so he was heading to his family home to
find alternative work. The house was essentially closed
down.”

“
But how could he have known when you drank it?” Amelia
frowned as she considered the possibilities. “I think one of the
house staff may have been working for Ballantyne. How else would he
have known you had taken any of the brandy?”

Sebastian nodded, considering her argument thoughtfully. “He
was frequently at the house. Often enough to know that the staff
had left. He could have been watching the house. I stupidly didn’t
close the shutters because I didn’t consider there was anyone who
would watch. Obviously, I was wrong.”

“
Who were they? The men who kidnapped you. Did you see them?”
Amelia’s gaze was rapt on his handsome face as he stared absently
at his feet.

“
I saw two of them clearly. A tall skinny man called Ratchett
and another, stocky man called Danvers. They held me in a cellar
somewhere and began to question me about the house. They wanted to
know if I intended to sell it and if so, they wanted the contents.
Then they insisted I sign the house ownership over. When I refused
to sign the papers they pushed at me, they tried brute force.”
Sebastian lapsed into silence, sparing Amelia the sordid details of
the beatings, the pain and the hunger. She had seen the bruising.
She wasn’t stupid.

“
Why are they so determined to get hold of the property? Who
were you supposed to sign the house over to? Who was listed on the
papers?” Amelia questioned with a frown, as she considered how
desperate someone would have to be to go to such lengths, and
why.

“
I don’t think it is the property Ballantyne is after at all,”
Sebastian murmured softly, thinking over the questions that were
thrown at him, along with the fists. “I think it is something
inside they are after. I got the distinct impression that they were
after something other than the house. Ballantyne needs access to
the property long enough to get it. He didn’t put up too much of a
fight when I said he couldn’t have the house. The men in the cellar
wanted the contents.”

“
For what?” Amelia frowned, wondering whether the incredible
story was anywhere near verging on truth.

“
I am not sure at all. There was nothing strange or untoward
about my uncle. He wasn’t interested in antiquities, or ancient
artefacts. Although wealthy, he wasn’t the type to spend money
frivolously. His wife died a year ago and he had a stubborn refusal
to refurbish and remove her mark upon the place. There is certainly
nothing within the house that is singularly valuable enough to
kidnap and attempt murder for it.”

“
Why did they decide to throw you from the carriage? Surely
they could have left you in the room. If you were in the middle of
nowhere, you would have eventually died without anybody hearing
you. If they wanted you to suffer, surely there was no better way?”
Amelia felt the small hairs on the back of her neck stand on end,
as she contemplated the sheer brutality of someone who could do
something so heinous.

“
He couldn’t afford to leave me there and run the risk that I
would be found. I have two brothers, and a very close friend who
would become concerned when they didn’t hear from me. I don’t know
where they held me, but Ratchett and Danvers were clearly under
orders to ensure that I couldn’t report their activities, and took
me on a carriage ride.” He immediately squeezed her hand as he
noticed the look of horror that suffused her face.

“
It’s alright, Amelia; you were there to catch me.” His voice
immediately softened and he sought to reassure her with a gentle
smile.

“
How could someone be so horrid?” Amelia’s voice was laced
with confusion as she contemplated the hideous turn of events that
could have ended so horribly for Sebastian. “So brutal as to force
someone to their death from a moving carriage?” Tears sprang to her
eyes as the memory of Sebastian, bloodied and bruised, lying in the
undergrowth with his hands tied behind him, rose unbidden in her
mind.

He hated
to see her so disturbed. Gently tugging on her hand, he tried to
draw her closer to the bed to sit beside him, only for Amelia to
pull away.

Not only was he Ton, but he would be leaving soon,
Amelia reminded herself. However incredible his
story, she couldn’t afford to get close to him, or too used to
comfort he could offer her. It had been many years since anyone had
bothered whether she was upset or not. It would be many more years
before anyone would be close enough to her again to offer her
comfort, should she be upset.

It took
every ounce of strength within her to offer him a watery smile of
reassurance, and ease her hand out of his. She needed a few minutes
alone to rebuild the barriers he had so easily broken
through.

“
I survived. For that I can only be eternally grateful.” He
hated to see her tears, and was touched she cared enough about him
to feel moved in such a way. Something clenched tight in his chest
as he listened to her ragged breathing. “I am sorry; I should never
have told you the details. You didn’t need to know.” His soft voice
was filled with regret.

“
I asked, and yes I did need to know,” Amelia contradicted
with a watery hiccup. Wiping the moisture from her eyes, she sucked
in a deep breath. She wasn’t sure if she was crying because of the
situation she had to deal with, or whether she was emotional
because she was so tired.

“
There is something in that house that has a terrifying impact
upon Lord Ballantyne. He is prepared to take whatever action he
needs to, including murder, to get hold of it.” Sebastian wondered
briefly if she realised the implications his statement had on
her.

Did she
understand just what she had done by dragging him home? Somehow he
doubted it, but was loathe to point out the brutal facts. He didn’t
want to scare her. Not while she was so clearly distressed. He
watched her lithe frame move gracefully toward the fire, tugging on
a rough woollen shawl as she went.

“
I need to stoke the fire again, and then gather some more
wood before it gets dark,” she mumbled without looking at
him.