From the Ashes

Chapter Nineteen

"You do not really think.... do you?" Annabelle asked her brother

"You can not deny she is devious enough to think of it," Richard said, "and for the record, I do not like the idea any more than you do but it has possibilities. I found out from Mr. Dooley that she had drained the family's finances. She took to entertaining some very expensive guests after father had died. All male. Most likely trying to ensnare another husband. She was obviously very unsuccessful."

"But what would be the tie in with Cecilia?" Cyril asked not being able to make the connection.

"Simple" Richard said, "if I married Cecilia her financial troubles were over. Cecilia would get the family title and we would gain possession of her money. Her Father had demanded we accept a hefty sum to secure the betrothal."

Juliana thought it must be every Father's dream to have their little girl marry such a man. Thinking of how her father had done the same for her.

"She had access to Cecilia and the wait staff," Richard continued. "If she wished to drug me the matter would be quite simple really." Richard seemed surprised at how true that statement really was and it sickened him to think about it.

"All of the wait staff hired for that evening were men," Juliana added in. "Servants tend not to question where their next stipend is coming from. If she wished to enlist their help to move Richard upstairs she need only to tell them that he had too much to drink and that they were to get him into the house unseen and she would pay them for their silence. I guarantee you they would not question her." Juliana thought of how she herself took money from Lady Bentley without question the day before she had left.

"Perhaps," Cyril said "Celilia's lover was not involved at all until the murder. Perhaps this murder was just the result of your stepmother's plan."

"Really, Cyril?" Annabelle looked shocked at everyone in the room "I know Mother can be cold-hearted but there was no guarantee that she would see a dime of that money. Richard is Lord of the Manor now and she must have known her spending days were coming to halt. So what benefit would there be to getting Cecilia and him together? Your motive seems rather flimsy if you ask me?"

Again Cyril was amazed at his wife's perception. He really has underestimated her all these years. "She has a point," Cyril had to concede.

"I had threatened to cut her off and send her packing just before the party," Richard piped in.

"You did what?" Annabelle asked shocked that her brother would act in such a way.

"It was only a threat, Annabelle. I had no intention of carrying through with it. It was just important she did not realize that."

"That's it!" Juliana said clapping her hands together and startling everyone in the room. "Do you not see?" Juliana asked shocked, it was so obvious.

"What?" Richard asked.

"Your mother," Juliana said barely able to contain her excitement. "She must have found out that Cecilia was with child. Cecilia was young and the embarrassment to her family would be great. If your mother knew this information it would not take much I imagine to convince the girl that if she played along all her problems would be over. If Cecilia just discovered she was pregnant she could easily dupe you into believing you are the father. Even if she were two or three months along that could easily be hidden from her parents, and with her now having a father for her child and your mother being the only one to know her secret...."

"She could save her family's name and my mother would use the secret against her to secure her position at Bentley Manor," Richard finished.

"Exactly!" Cyril chimed in.