Under The Moonlight

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

It was against the law for anyone to break into a person's home. But James couldn't care less as he snuck in through the window. The room he was in was empty and covered in dust. There were no family portraits or oil paintings on the walls which were bare and plain.

He remembered how he'd barely bothered to do much investigating at Lady Dashwood's estate earlier this morning with Hunter. There was nothing significantly different and he doubted he would have found anything more. Which was why he had gone straight home and disguised himself as the Vicomte, effectively leaving his dog behind before going to the Gentlemen's Club. Now he was breaking into an empty house in the hopes of finding useful information.

He wasn't getting paid enough.

James opened the only door in the room and peeked down the hallway. It was also empty. It almost seemed like the Smiths hadn't lived here for months, perhaps longer, and they took their belongings with them. Surely someone would have noticed an empty house by now.

Walking down the hallway and opening different doors, James wondered where the family was. It was obvious they knew something, but why didn't they report it to the police or ask for help?

Throughout the entire house, everything was the same. Empty. Any remaining furniture or clothing was covered in dust and decorated with cobwebs. No personal items were found anywhere, not even so much as a discarded letter. They had gone to alot of trouble to keep themselves hidden.

The last room he hadn't checked was a bedroom. A four-poster bed was placed at the end of the wall, the once lilac bedspread discoloured and gathering dirt. On the bedside table, a single key was placed delicately atop, begging to be used to open one of the chests of drawers.

Instantly, James snatched the key and tried opening the top drawer but it wouldn't turn. He tried the middle one and once he heard the feint click of the key unlocking the chest, his anticipation grew.

Opening the drawer, he saw a single missive and a miniature of Cordelia Smith. This must have been her room, he reasoned, unfolding the missive. The handwriting was definately that of Cordelia as it matched the missive she had sent Thomas. He scanned the missive, his eyes growing wide with each word he read:

To whoever finds this, I fear Lord Thomas Lockhart, Earl of Huntingdon, has been murdered. On the very day he had come to see me after I had sent him the missive, I had lied to him and told him that I had been after his money and title the entire time and had no feelings for him whatsoever. The plan seemed positive at the time because I could not allow our relationship to go any further as we could not be together. It was indeed my fault as my father did not wish for me to ruin my reputation by associating with a well known rake. I had agreed with him at first, but Thomas had captured my heart eventually. I knew I was in love but my father had found a suitor for me instead. I tried to reason with him but the moment I told him I was in love, he battered me harshly. I did not know he would go so far as to kill Lord Thomas but he did. No one knows of this except my mother and I. I had hidden this letter from my father but I cannot hide much longer. If he finds out, he will torture my mother and I again and I cannot go through with that. I do not know where we will go or what new identities we'll take up but I cannot live with myself, knowing that it was my fault that someone I love died and there was nothing I could have done to stop it. I sincerely hope my father is put to justice as I fear he has a grudge against the Lockhart brothers. 

Cordelia Smith.

The last part was written in a hurry, James observed. So it was Mr Smith behind all this. But where was he and just how long ago did his family leave?