Shadowed by Sin (12 page)

Benedict sighed and found himself drifting off. He knew not of how much time had passed since he’d closed his eyes the first time, but when he blinked them open briefly, the room had gone dark.

“Damn it!”

He heard an oath whispered, and a gust of wind behind him made him shiver.
Blast it! I will have to find that draft. I will not have Estelle catching her death.

The room went silent again and Estelle remained asleep—her head neatly tucked beneath his chin—when he sensed they weren’t alone. Darkness shrouded the movement around them, and for a glimmer of a moment, he felt the presence before him at the bedside. A few seconds later, footsteps moved and he heard a door sliding.

Benedict leapt at the opportunity to turn and see the paneled wall next to the bed close.
So that’s why it has been so drafty in here. A secret passageway. But where does it lead to, and who the hell is coming in here? It is time to get to the bottom of this
.

He’d start immediately, by having Estelle moved out of this room and in with her aunt.

He had enough of all this intrigue. Whoever had given her the laudanum that first night had crept into this room via the hidden passage.

Benedict climbed out of bed and crossed the room to the hearth and lit a new fire. Satisfied with sufficient light, he grabbed a candlestick and placed it on a table near the passage entry. He scanned the wall for some kind of mechanism to trigger the release of the door. Nothing out of the ordinary stood out, but when he slid his palm over a raised etching, a
swoosh
at his feet and a
pop
above him alerted him that the panel opened.

He took the candle after opening the door, and lit the way before him, a dark and dank corridor masked in cobwebs, river-rock, and the remains of dead rodents. Lord, ’twas a sight that would frighten any sensible woman. What if the same person that crept into Estelle’s room did the same to Helen? Did the earl know of this passageway, and where did it lead to?

“Ben, where are you? What in the—”

Benedict turned around to find his fiancée standing at the entrance to her room. Tears filled her eyes, and she clutched her chest. “Is…is this how someone got into my room?” she asked in a low, frightened whisper.

“If I had to guess, yes, although, now remains even more questions; who and why?”

“Where does this lead to?”

“I have no idea, but I am not wanting to find out just yet. Come along now, we’ll get you back to bed, and I will take this issue up with our host in the morning. As far as I am concerned, this room is not safe, and the culprit needs to be caught immediately.”

Ben led them out of the hall, and closed the door behind them.

I will find out who’s behind this, even if it is the last thing I do.

After ushering Estelle into her room, he made his way down the hall to find a maid to stay with her, and then he headed into the games room to ponder over his own findings. He couldn’t help but wonder why so many guests attended in honor of George. If they had any lick of sense, they would steer clear of this family, yet was it possible they too were in a similar situation? His own invitation appeared suspicious and if his hypothesis was correct, he was lured here to keep him from interfering with his father’s affairs. What the earl didn’t suspect was that he already knew of the demands made.

Entering into the solitude of the games room, Benedict closed the door and strode toward the massive windows facing south. He pulled back the heavy damask drapery and stared out into the bleakness of the night. A decision had to be made and, when he returned to his room, he’d write several letters and send them posthaste. Two of his friends would receive instructions if anything suspicious were to happen to him and Estelle. Another letter would be sent to his father with promise of his return, and he’d also send a query to the Met asking for an opportunity to meet in privacy, off the earl’s land and away from the deviants that lived in this abode.

If anything was certain, this family possessed the unique talent of putting on airs when there was very much awry. But one could suppose that summarization applied to all of aristocracy.

Estelle barely slept a wink. For as much as she wanted to jump into conversation with her fiancé, she could not put herself at ease. She sat up in bed, pondering the events of the last few days, attempting to assemble some sort of proper explanation for who instigated this entire intrigue and why, while Ben paced the room until her maid came knocking in the morning. Ben let her in, but promptly locked the door behind her.

“Oh, my!” Mary exclaimed. “This is definitely a scandal in the making. Lord St. John, you shouldn’t be in here.”

“I will leave and return shortly to escort Miss Humphrey down to breakfast. Be sure to lock the door behind me, and do not leave her alone. Not even for a second,” Benedict ordered, rushing out of the room, but not before looking back at Estelle.

The maid nodded and locked the door behind him and turned to Estelle. “What has happened that he is most disturbed about?”

“I will explain later. Just help me into some clean clothing. I cannot believe I slept in this ensemble all night. I feel wretched, and I cannot breathe.”

Her maid made quick work of unlacing the gown, and easing her out of the bustle skirt. Left in her chemise and stockings, Estelle fell back onto her bed and closed her eyes.

“Mary, what do you know of the manor’s secrets and hidden passageways?”

She felt the bed dip with the maid sitting next to her.

“I am not sure I understand your meaning, Miss. What secrets and hidden passageways?”

“I remember being specifically told that the new addition of the house had been added to reclaimed remnants of the old manor.”

“Ah. Yes, now I know what you are talking about. The old wing that was salvaged is this one. The previous lord, Master Cuthbert’s grandfather, had the manor restored, but died before he could move the family in. When my master became of age, he inherited the hall and the family has lived here ever since. As for secret passageways, the only one I know of is the old cellar.”

“Where is that?”

“That’s the tricky part, Miss. When this wing was rebuilt, they knocked out the wall and resealed the entire south side of the building. However, I did discover one day there’s another entrance to the original lower level. I only happened upon the entrance as the cook asked me to go and fetch an herb from the garden last minute. I would even wager that to be the old kitchen in its day.”

Hmm. An old lower level. I have to investigate.
“Mary, how about you and I go for a stroll later? Pack a picnic basket with a little food, and be sure to pack a candle and matches. I feel compelled that we should go exploring.”

“You’re mad! Explore? After Evan scolding us over a tour? I highly disapprove.”

“Yes, explore.” Estelle wanted to tell her about the passage she found in her room, but considered against it. Whoever came into her room did not want to be found out, and if the deviant had been the same person who killed Gabriel, then it would be best to not give something they’d be able to use against Mary.

“On second thought, Mary, tell me how to get there, and I will go myself.”

“I will not. You must have an escort, or I will not tell you at all.”

Estelle began to lose her patience. “What if I have Ben come with me?”

“Would you really risk everything to learn this manor’s secrets? If you do not mind my saying, Miss, I really think that it is probably best we never speak on this subject again. Now up with you, so I can finish dressing you. We have less than a half hour to get you ready for breakfast.”

Estelle winced as her maid refastened her corset, and stepped away to pull down a fresh gown from the armoire.

It truly had to be a record time in getting dressed, yet she could not stop yawning. Breakfast would not only be a bore, but she could not fathom how she’d remain awake. Her mind travelled over to the discovery of the hidden passage behind the wall.

She caught herself glancing over to it for the tenth time in five minutes when the maid decided to comment.

“What is the matter, Miss? You have glared at the wall several times now.”

“Uh…nothing is the matter, Mary. I am thinking after breakfast I might need a nap, but the room is too drafty. Do you think there is another room I can sleep in?”

“I have no idea, Miss. I will mention it to the head butler and see if anything can be done about it. Now off you go. You are ready, and if you pick up the pace, I daresay you might get there before Lady Cuthbert.”

Estelle brushed off the idea of proper decorum and rushed out of her room, nearly knocking over a footman serving as valet for her fiancé. “My apologies. If I do not run, I will be late.”

“Do not worry about a thing, Miss. Lady Cuthbert is dealing with a situation right now, and will be along a few minutes later than usual.”

Down the hall and another flight of stairs, Estelle entered the already full breakfast room. Thankfully, her aunt had saved a seat between her and another guest, which unfortunately happened to be across from the earl’s son.

When she sat down, a guest sitting next to George remarked on the countess’s delay.

“I cannot imagine what could be keeping her ladyship.”

“My cousin, of course,” George remarked snidely while sipping his coffee. “He is quite troubled, you know; tantrums, hissing. He is always angry and brooding over something bizarre. I have advised my father that our house simply isn’t the proper place for a boy with those types of problems. A simpleton should be institutionalized.”

“He will not!” the earl growled from the door. “He is upset, and over something you said, might I add. Once breakfast is over, you will join me in my library, George.”

Estelle could not quite believe that no one in the room had risen from their seat, but they all soon followed suit once she did. When the earl and the countess finally sat at their respective seats, she overheard their hostess instruct a footman to have breakfast brought to Edwin’s chambers.

She peered over to where Benedict sat and found him staring at the earl’s son with a speculative glare. Lord, each passing day in this house was becoming stranger by the minute.

* * * *

Benedict tried to catch his fiancée sneaking out the back door, but did not get to her in time, before a maid stopped him.

“Excuse me, sir, Miss Humphrey thought you might need these things for your outing.”

She handed him a basket and stood there as if waiting for a reply.

“What is all this?”

The maid leaned in and began to whisper, “The young miss hoped it would be a nice day for a picnic and a little exploration of the original portion of the building. She’ll be waiting for you by the elm tree, a good ten yards from the service door here at the back.”

“And please tell me, what exactly is the girl looking to discover?”

“I have no idea, but then again, I did tell her about the old kitchen area and cellar.”

Old kitchen area and cellar? Why on earth would Estelle want to explore those areas?

“What did you tell her about that part of the house?”

“Not much, other than there’s a secret passageway, or there had been one ages ago. You have to understand, I do not know what condition that part of the house is in. There was an easier way in, but when the master began renovations, the old wall had been removed and the only way in is through the cook’s garden.”

Benedict had to wonder what could possibly have fascinated his beloved to even consider traipsing into an old cellar. Yes, the passageway in her room was mysterious enough, but it was not at all sensible for a young woman to go snooping around an abandoned cellar either.

“Thank you very much, Mary. Is there anything else I should know about this cellar she is wanting to go looking in?”

She paused and tapped her chin thinking, and focused on him again. “I do not believe so. I suppose I should say to expect critters. It is not uncommon to find rats lying about, as well as those eight-legged demons. Lord, they are ever such disgusting creatures.”

Benedict snorted. “I imagine Estelle will have much to say about those spiders. I suppose I should expect her to swoon at the first sight of one.”

Mary snickered. “Well, if that doesn’t teach her, I have no idea what would.”

Benedict exited the main part of the house and strolled toward the elm tree where he found Estelle sitting patiently beneath, with her legs tucked neatly under her skirt. “Estelle, I have to say, your sense of adventure is bound to get us into trouble one of these days, if not thrown out of here.”

She stared at him crossly. He could only imagine what she pondered in this precise moment. Benedict did not wish her ill, but her impulsiveness would certainly get them escorted off the property if they walked into something they weren’t supposed to. He sat down next to her and took her hand into his, squeezing it gently.

“No matter what we find, Ben, I want to leave as soon as possible. I think I am quite done with all this intrigue. In fact, I have had enough of this family altogether. They’re not right,” she mumbled and then continued, “I do hope they’ll move me. I do not think I can spend another night in a room knowing someone has access to it so freely.”

“As I mentioned previously, I will ensure your room is changed. In fact, I will make sure your things are moved immediately in with your aunt. I do not want you alone, and this will ensure that you are always in the company of your chaperone. Now, what say we have a look in this basket and see what Mary has packed for us?” Benedict pulled away the cloth covering the items, revealing some bread, cheeses, and fruit. In addition, he found a candlestick and matches, assuming they were for their walk beneath the house.

The sound of someone carrying a conversation not far from them caught his attention. By now, Estelle had craned her neck and gazed into the field ahead of them. That was when he noticed her expression change to wide-eyed.

Estelle gasped and murmured lowly, “Is that the family’s private cemetery? The ruins over there look like it might have been a chapel.” She got up, brushing off the grass from her skirt and took the basket away from him.