Shadowed by Sin (16 page)

“Leave him be. He went into shock after I cut off the second finger. He’ll survive. Maybe not. I have not quite decided what to do with the imp. He had a most unnatural obsession with his sister; hasn’t been quite right in the head since the bloody day she died. It is just as well he should join sweet Helen.” George had stepped away from the light, kicking the dirt with his boots. “You should know after this, I cannot let you live. It would be supremely stupid of me to leave any evidence behind.”

“So were you the one.”

“George, where are you, you bloody idiot!” his father called from outside.

The cellar! This must have been the confounded place the maid had previously mentioned to Estelle.

“Keep silent.” George ran over to his cousin and covered his mouth, muffling the moans of agony from his disfigured hand, and aimed his gun at Benedict.

Long moments passed before another word could be heard beyond their hiding place. He wondered if he had been dragged to that very place Estelle had wanted to explore—the cellar—beneath the original portion of the home. But how in the world had he dragged him in here without anyone noticing? Did someone aid him?

Not that any of it mattered at this point; at the end of the day, he knew precisely what his fate was, and going home to Estelle didn’t appear to be it. How he longed to see her one last time; her long, dark hair unraveled and spilling over his pillow, her soft curves wrapped in nothing but his arms in his bed. That first night that they had shared minimal intimacy made him crave her more, and now he could smell the soft lavender scent that she wore. Her dark eyes would never burrow into his soul, and he would have to wait until she met her time in the afterlife before they saw each other again.

Benedict knew his mental ramblings were a little on the dramatic side—Shakespeare might have been proud—but he desperately hoped for a small opportunity for him to get free.

Edwin’s moaning ceased after he heard what sounded like a crack
. Good grief. Had the earl’s heir slammed the boy’s head against the wall?
He wondered why the earl never entered where they were being held captive either. The possibility of the arse being involved with his abduction was highly probable, yet explained so much. George approached him, snickering all the while.

“He will come to soon enough. He cannot possibly come out of it more addled than what he was to begin with. Now then, let us have a little chat about the note you were meaning to send to London.” George paused and crouched down to his haunches and smirked. The lantern behind him cast an eerie shadow of his profile on the river-rock wall, and Ben could now see the decayed carcasses of rats and other field creatures strewn apart. Had this cellar been a hiding place where they practiced mutilating living things?

“I understand that the earl is relieving your father’s man from his duties, and he expects me to take over. The sorry fact of the matter is, I care not for his fortune and would rather this home be burnt to the ground with its inhabiting ghosts. Our family has had a rather long history of murder. Did you know? And as far as my father’s accounts go, the earl knows nothing of my own fortune I acquired on my travels.”

Murder?

“I have no idea what you are talking about,” Benedict replied with a speculative gaze.

“What is this? The all-knowing Lord St. John has not educated himself in our scandalous family history? Let me see if I can remember it all.” He paused and sat on his backside across from him. “My father has killed countless men in duels, and I do believe a scuffle at a gentlemen’s club last year. Apparently, the sod he fist-cuffed was found floating face down in the Thames. Then there is Edwin, who all but burnt the family’s Scottish country home, taking his mother and father to the devil. Sweet, sweet Helen had been fortunate enough to be finishing her last term at school. I believe that was when I recognized she’d lost her bloom.”

Benedict contemplated the boy’s expressions. The moment he began to discuss his cousin Helen, he had the lustful glaze men had when they were pensive of a lover they favored. He’d wondered if it were a mutual affection too, for Helen would have certainly seen his true colors by then and turned him away.

“I can tell you are exasperated with my news. I can say my mother is no saint either. So, now do you understand why I say this place is just better if it had burnt down to the ground? One is certain in all this madness that surrounds us; no one will live to tell about it. That is my final promise to everyone who still remains in this house.”

“Do you mean to tell me that you plan to harm everyone, including the house servants?”

George snorted and rose from the ground. He paced the floor with his hands folded back, muttering under his breath and looking toward the entrance of the abandoned cellar. “Well, I guess I am off. Father will be tearing through the house looking for Edwin and I. Rest easy tonight knowing it will be your last.”

The earl’s son departed, taking the lantern with him and not saying another word.

Benedict did have one thing to his advantage; the fool had no idea of the note he had sent earlier to the inspector.
With any luck, the inspector will realize I’m missing, and return to the house.

* * * *

Edwin writhed with pain, unsure if he would die from the blow to his head. His body ached like nothing before. His thoughts were jumbled with things of the past and future. It had not occurred to him just how deviant George was until the rogue had divulged what he had done to the French lady he left behind. The French authorities couldn’t come fast enough to whisk this idiot away.

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.

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 Master 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.