Chapter 17

CHAPTER17

This did not make any sense. It could not.

No matter how much Leah racked her brain, she could not come up with a plausible explanation as to why her mother would send a note to his parents, or why they would keep it hidden within the confines of a book in the library.

"Read it," Leah gave the note back to Edward. He took it in his hands, then neared the table where the lit candles were placed. He bent down, in an effort to see the words more clearly.

"I have found out the truth and I shall reveal it soon," Edward read aloud. "Make sure to keep up appearances while I figure out how to bring him down. Do inform Harry. Signed, B"

Upon his reading of the note, neither of them was willing to say anything. Their minds were both lost in their own versions of what could have happened. Then, Edward was the first one to speak.

"B is your mother?" he asked.

"Betty," Leah confirmed. "Can we be certain that the note is for your parents?"

Edward thought about it for a moment. "Harry was their footman, the one who died with them that night," he nodded. "It has to be for them."

Leah’s brows furrowed in displeasure. She could not make heads or tails of this. "Why would my mother write to your parents?" she asked these questions aloud, because she could not keep them confined to herself alone. She needed Edward’s help. "What is this truth she is talking about? And why on Earth is their footman involved? Why did he need to be informed of anything?"

"He was their person of trust," Edward pointed out. "I remember that he hadn’t been working for them very long, as opposed to our butler for instance, who has been with us for over twenty years. Harry worked for my parents for only a couple of years, not more than that. Still, in that short amount of time, he managed to prove himself invaluable. My parents thought him a very capable man, and they relied on him for many things."

"All right, that makes sense that they would share certain things with him," Leah could agree with that. "But... why would my mother mention him in her note? Why was it imperative that he be informed of this... whatever this was?"

"I don’t know," Edward sighed, raking his fingers through his hair nervously. "But more importantly, who is this man they want to bring down? And what is the truth about him?"

"I don’t know." Now, it was Leah’s turn to repeat the same words Edward had just spoken. "My mother knew a lot of people. It could be anyone. Really anyone."

"My parents also knew many people," Edward agreed. "This would just be a silly guessing game. We need to find out more about this man." He looked around. "Maybe the answer is in one of these books."

"You mean, maybe there is another note hidden somewhere in there?" she wondered.

"It’s worth looking into," he said, nodding.

She looked at the bookshelves, and the seemingly endless rows of books. She tilted her head, grimacing. "It might take us all night."

"I’ll start from this row," he said, going to one side. "You start from that one. Make sure to go through every book. Do not miss a single one."

Leah immediately did as she was told. She took one book at a time, with her hopes flaring up that this one might hide the secrets of the identity of that man. Something told her that this man was responsible for everything. This man held the key to the mystery of both Leah’s and Edward’s life. They had to find out who he was. The alternative was unacceptable.

However, every time she picked up a book, she would go through it, flipping through the pages, her eyes painful with staring, but by the last page, Leah would realize that this was just an ordinary book. Nothing else. It had no answers for them. Then, she would move onto the next one.

Occasionally, she would look up at Edward. He was equally busy with book after book, piling them to his side. It appeared that he didn’t have more luck than she did. Still, they kept on looking, pushing through the disappointment that washed over them like a tidal wave, every time a book was empty.

It took them approximately four hours. When they both stood up, they realized that all the books had been searched, and they had nothing to show for it, except for the first note, which now rested on a small table in the corner of the library, taunting them with its contents, offering more questions than answers.

Leah sighed. "Nothing."

"I should have known," Edward said, sounding equally disappointed.

"When you went through your parents’ papers and documents, did you find anything... out of the ordinary?" she wondered.

"No, nothing," he shook his head. "And believe me, that was the first place I looked, in Father’s study. I even managed to find the key to his locked drawer, which had always been a source of fascination for me as a child." He paused only to smile, overwhelmed by memories. "I always used to think that he kept gold there, or diamonds, or something priceless, like that."

"Was there any gold or diamonds?" she wondered, curious.

"No," he replied, the way only a disillusioned adult could. "Just a bunch of work-related papers, documents, a few photographs and Mother’s love letters."

"Those truly are precious," Leah pointed out. "Not in the way diamonds and gold are, but even more priceless than that."

"I think so, too," he smiled. "I looked through the entire study, hoping to find some clue that would lead me in the direction of their possible murders. I found nothing. You can imagine my disappointment."

"I can," Leah agreed.

"I don’t know if Mother kept a diary or something like that," Edward wondered. "Women usually do. I would be embarrassed to read it, but I would ignore this feeling, just to be able to find out what happened."

"I also don’t know if my mother kept a diary," Leah agreed. "That would be helpful."

At that moment, Leah realized that perhaps they had been looking for clues in the wrong place. "What if your parents replied with a letter or a note to my mother, and that reply is still in Father’s Manor?" she suddenly asked.

Edward’s eyes widened at the possibility. "Have you gone through your mother’s things?" He instantly realized how disrespectful that sounded. "I’m sorry. That sounded... different than I imagined it would. I meant, if perhaps you endeavored to find a clue regarding her death in your home."

"Father has made that quite difficult," she admitted, with a heavy sigh.

"Why?" Edward was astonished. "Doesn’t he want to find out what happened to her?"

"He does," Leah validated. "It’s just that he doesn’t want me to be like her. And digging up the past is something that she would have done."

"One needs to dig up the past when there is still something left to be resolved," Edward pointed out.

Leah nodded with a sad smile. "I wish my father was of the same opinion. But he is not. He is afraid that I have too much of my mother in me, and that by behaving like her, something terrible might happen to me, just like it happened to her. That is why he has always kept me away from her things, hoping that I would forget how to be curious about the world, like she was."

"That is not fair," Edward told her. "He should be glad that your mother’s spirit lives on in you, her daughter."

Leah kept shaking her head. "He doesn’t see it like that at all. After Mother died, he blamed himself. He thought that he allowed her all these things and that she got herself into trouble. He thinks if he kept her at home, by his side, she would still be with us."

The thought of her mother still alive and well, waiting for her at home, made Leah incredibly sad. She had accepted the fact that her mother was gone, but sometimes, this realization was more painful than before, almost as if she was learning it for the first time.

"Do you think that is true?" Edward asked.

"No," Leah was certain of her answer. "If he tried to control her, Mother would have found a way around it. It was who she was. Untamable. She always wanted to do things her way, and once she set her mind on something, there was no force on Earth that could stop her."

Edward grinned. "That remind me of someone."

Leah smiled, blushing slightly. "If there is any place here that you think your parents could have hidden a clue, you can look for it," she instructed.

"What about you?"

"I am going to visit Father tomorrow," Leah announced. "Well, that will be my excuse anyway. He is usually gone on Thursday afternoons, spending them with his two best friends at White’s. They always stay there at least three, four hours, drinking and reminiscing. That will give me enough time to go through our library and maybe even snoop a little through Father’s study."

"Are you sure that is a good idea?" Edward sounded concerned. "After all, you said your father did not like the idea of you looking into your mother’s death. Perhaps I should accompany you, just in case."

She almost accepted his offer. She wanted to, but she knew it was a better idea to go on her own. In case her father returned home earlier, she would be able to come up with an excuse on the spot.

"I need you to stay here and look for clues you might have overseen," she urged.

"I thought I had searched everywhere," he said. "But it turns out I was wrong."

"Always remember that two heads are better than one," she smiled. "And sometimes, luck just favors you, that is all."

He chuckled. "What were the odds of knocking down exactly the book we needed to find?"

"What are the odds indeed," she smiled back.

Thin strips of the morning sunlight were starting to ooze through the window. She glanced in that direction. She didn’t even know how tired she was, until she realized how late it was. Better yet, how early.

"Perhaps we ought to rest a little now," she suggested. "Tomorrow is a big day."

"Today, you mean," he corrected her.

"Today," she agreed with the correction.

She walked over to him, stood right in front of him and gave him a chaste peck on the lips. "Good night," she whispered, before she turned around and walked out of the library, heading to her chamber.

Her heart danced, demanding more closeness, more physical touch, but she knew that it was over for this evening. An invisible hand was guiding them, bringing them here and showing them exactly what they needed to see.

Now, they had to be patient. There was still so much more to be discovered.