Home of the White Dolphin - Segment 16

Chapter 76

August 20, 1846 At the Edgeworth mansion in Derbyshire

“I’ve already mentioned my father telling his drunken cronies all about you. Well, it seemed while he was visiting your family, he caught sight of your sister. He knew, of course, your father was readying you for me, but my father immediately wanted little Elizabeth for himself. It didn’t matter when he heard she was still a virgin. In fact, that made my father more determined than ever to have her.”

Enjoying himself, Ronald grinned before asking, “Do you remember the night Elizabeth got the scar on her face?” Seeing Jane nod, he went on, “Well, my dear wife, that masked man who screwed you was your future father-in-law. That evening, your precious father invited him to check out the baby bitch for himself. According to what I overheard my father sharing with his friends, you drained him dry with your hot little body.”

Jane once again interrupted him. The fact her father-in-law knew she wasn’t an innocent bride when she married his son didn’t sink in at this time. “Forget Lord Edgeworth. My sister, what does she have to do with that Melissa? I know for a fact the captain took Elizabeth’s virginity on the ship coming here.” She didn’t understand when Ronald started laughing so hard tears came to his eyes.

“Oh, that’s priceless! I must make sure my father knows this.” He stopped to wipe his eyes. “He was so excited that night seeing your father dragging Elizabeth into your bedroom. Even though he’d just finished pretending to attack you, my father was eager to ravish the crying 13-year-old girl. You see, Jane, your sister looked so much like Melissa at that age, they could have been twins. Raping Elizabeth would be almost like being with Melissa again.”

Ronald stretched to get the kinks out of his tired body. “He didn’t get Elizabeth that night, but still wanted her. Your father swore she was still a virgin and promised she would come with you on the trip here. The first time I saw her after you arrived, her resemblance to Melissa was surprising. Elizabeth had the same dark brown hair, big blue eyes, and even had Melissa’s innocent look about her. Your sister could have been my friend alive again.”

“And yet you invited her to come in and see your art. Is that how a friend would act?” Jane thought back to Mitchell’s anger on that day, and a sudden thought came to her. “You did that on purpose, didn’t you? You’d seen how Mitchell felt about her and knew he wouldn’t let your father get to her.”

“Mitchell?” Ronald ignored everything else Jane said. “Are you saying that Mitchell is the captain’s first name?”

“Of course, I thought you knew. Why?”

Chapter 77

December 23, 2008 – At Walker's Maison du Renard Rouge

Randall listened while Walker filled him in on what Samantha had read from Elizabeth’s diary, the companion to Whiting’s ship log. He thought for a few minutes before asking, “I wonder if Jane Edgeworth had a boy or girl. Are there other letters from her? Maybe they will give us more information.”

Walker pulled out the next letter from the pocket. “There isn’t another one from her until more than two years later. The date at the top is April 11, 1848. Jeez, Randall, I swear this woman’s handwriting is hurting my eyes. Why don’t you read it? You’re used to deciphering small clues.”

“Yeah,” said Randall, taking the piece of notepaper from his friend, “you need to save your limited aging eyesight for looking at your beautiful bride.” He looked down at the letter. “I see what you mean. Okay, I’ll give it a try.”

He began reading the tiny sentences, pausing now and then to figure out a particular word. “My dear Elizabeth, I received your letter about the birth of my niece, Blythe, and want to congratulate you and Mitchell. I suppose since his parents never married that it doesn’t bother him to carry on this family tradition.

“I’m proud to say my own child, born on May 12 and now almost a year old, is the lawful heir to the Edgeworth name and fortune. When the baby was born, my husband says the boy looks just like me, beautiful with wisps of soft blonde hair. His cries during the night soon proved irritating, so Ronald gave in to my demand for a wet nurse. He quickly found a local unmarried woman, who had recently lost her own child. Thankfully, her breasts provided plenty of milk for my greedy little son. She told me the child latched onto her nipple and suckled so fiercely he actually hurt her at times. Well, better her breasts than mine. My sister, how did Mitchell feel sharing your breasts with Blythe?

“I do have sad news to share with you. Shortly after the birth of my son, we lost my dear father-in-law. Since my husband is the current Lord Edgeworth, you must now call me Lady Edgeworth. Father will be delighted to know that, so I’ll write him when I finish this letter. Won’t he be proud to tell his friends that his grandson, Jason, will one day become Lord Edgeworth?”

Randall stopped reading, startled at hearing Walker’s loud, “Son of a bitch!”

“Old friend, is that a comment about one of the Edgeworth men or a commentary on what I just read?”

Walker didn’t answer Randall’s question, saying instead, “Jason Edgeworth, that’s the name of the bastard who built this place and tortured those five women before killing them. You remember them from your last visit, right?”

Seeing Randall’s grimace at the memory of seeing the pitiful remains of the women, Walker knew he did remember. That was something neither man would ever forget.

Randall asked the question that Walker wished he could answer. “If this is the same Jason Edgeworth, how did these two books end up in your parents’ home?”

Chapter 78

September 27, 1847 At the Edgeworth mansion in Derbyshire

Jane lay in bed listening to the baby scream for his breakfast. Her husband had insisted the child’s nursery be next to their bedroom, and Jason’s wet nurse slept there next to the crib. Jane poked her snoring husband in his side to wake him up. Since the birth of the child, Ronald had often returned to spend the night in her bed.

“Ronald, wake up and find out why that lazy slattern isn’t feeding Jason.” Jane yawned after poking him in the ribs one final time. She and Ronald had been up late with the local constabulary and family doctor. Around nine that evening, Ronald went to his father’s study and found Lord Edgeworth’s lifeless body slumped over on his desk. Even after the doctor ruled the death of the elderly Lord Edgeworth a heart attack, the authorities insisted on spending long tedious hours interviewing the family and servants.

Before sharing a late dinner with Jane and Ronald that night, Lord Edgeworth had caught her alone while Ronald was still in his art gallery. “My daughter, you’ve finished the time required by the church after the birth of a male child. Tonight, you will come to my room before midnight. I no longer will have you denying me as I foolishly and most generously let you do during your pregnancy.” He grabbed her arm and dug his fingers into the delicate flesh until he saw her wince from the pain. “I’ll even let you pretend again that you’re a virgin. You remember that night, don’t you?”

Lord Edgeworth dragged Jane against his body and felt intense delight seeing what he thought was fear in her eyes. “My darling daughter, I even have a special treat waiting for you tonight.” Opening his other hand, he showed her a rolled strip of thin leather. “I know this isn’t as good as the strap your father used on Elizabeth to show her his love, but it will have to do. Tonight, you will be my Elizabeth, my Melissa, and feel my love on your sweet little body.”

After one last demand she come to him after dark, Lord Edgeworth let go of Jane’s bruised arm and headed for the dining room, whistling and trailing the unrolled leather strap behind him. She stood there, knowing it was time to carry out her plan.

That afternoon, Jane had wandered around the estate to enjoy the warm autumn weather. She carried a small basket to collect wild flowers for the dining room table. When she came to a small copse of trees near the family cemetery, Jane spotted a patch of mushrooms growing near a decayed tree stump. Neither she nor Ronald cared for the taste of mushrooms, but she knew they were a favorite of her father-in-law. Unluckily for him, Jane knew these particular mushrooms were poisonous.

She picked a large handful of the deadly fungi and placed them in the basket under the flowers. Once she got back to her room, she cut up the mushrooms into tiny pieces and secreted them in the pocket of her day frock. She knew the cook was serving Lord Edgeworth’s favorite mushroom soup for dinner and smiled at the perfect timing.

At dinner, when Lord Edgeworth looked away to yell at his son for coming late to the table, Jane managed to scoop the mushroom pieces into his bowl of steaming hot soup. She could hardly contain her excitement as she watched her father-in-law finish the whole bowl of soup. Because she didn’t know how long it would take for him to die, she hoped there were enough of the deadly mushrooms in his soup for his death to happen before midnight. There was.

Chapter 79

November 23, 1857 – Aboard the White Dolphin

Elizabeth looked up into the ship’s rigging, an exasperated expression on her face. She saw 11-year-old Blythe hanging on the ropes and calling down to an extremely annoyed Robbie. The young cabin boy, who nearly vomited at the sight of a bloody slimy baby, had grown into a first-rate sailor.

The years since that stormy day of Blythe’s birth hadn’t been trouble-free for those on board the White Dolphin. Traveling on rough water to various ports of call wasn’t any more hectic than the fights between Elizabeth and Mitchell. He constantly demanded she obey his every command; she fought against the restrictions placed on her just because she was a woman. Yet, with all the anger Mitchell sometimes felt at her rebellion, he never once resorted to violence.

Today, he felt frustrated since Elizabeth still was angry with him. The argument last night ended as it often did, with Elizabeth in bed under him trying to push him off. Even after all these years, he enjoyed forcing her to submit to his sexual fantasies. The morning after, though, she made him pay for his actions, as she was doing right now.

“Mitchell,” he heard her call from the top of the stairway, “can’t you make your daughter behave?”

Despite his annoyance at Elizabeth, he couldn’t help grinning. “Why is she always my daughter when she’s being naughty? She seems to be yours during those rare times she’s acting like a young lady.” Not waiting for the answer he knew wouldn’t be coming, Mitchell yelled, “Blythe, get down here this minute. You’re scaring your mother.”

“Ha, you know Mama ain’t scared of nothing. I’m not coming down, Poppy, ‘cause he’ll swat my behind.” Blythe pointed down to where Robbie was shaking his fist at her.

“Not that you probably don’t deserve it, but what did you do to make Robbie want to swat you?” Mitchell knew the 23-year-old man would never hurt Blythe. If anything, he was more forgiving of her childish escapades than her parents were.

Robbie came over to where Mitchell was standing peering up into the ship’s ropes. “The brat called her cousin a rather rude name. When Blythe heard the 10-year-old boy was coming for a visit, I heard her tell one of the deck-hands that Jason was a nancy-boy. I don’t know who taught her that word or if she even knows what it means, but that deck-hand sure did. Later, I heard him laughing while telling the others what the captain’s daughter told him.”

“Blythe Anne,” yelled her father again. “You get down here right this second.” Turning to Robbie, who was trying not to grin at Mitchell’s use of the dreaded middle name, he complained “Nancy-boy? Ye gads, if Elizabeth heard that…I swear that child will turn my hair gray before she’s 12. Robbie, you have my permission to swat her behind. Give her a good one from me.”

Mitchell walked away, shaking his head and muttering, “Jeez, a nancy-boy?”

Chapter 80

December 25, 2008 – At Walker's Maison du Renard Rouge

Early Christmas morning found Walker stretched out on his bed, still sound asleep. He and a few other men had spent Christmas Eve at his rather sedate bachelor party. There were no women jumping out of big cardboard cakes, no nearly nude strippers teasing the men by sitting on their laps, and no pornographic videos to watch. Instead, there were good friends, a box of Romeo y Julieta Escudos cigars, and plenty of Walker’s favorite Courvoisier "Napoleon", Cognac Brandy.

Reverend McCready, the minister from Walker’s childhood church, had arrived the day before. Earlier in the year, he had found Elizabeth’s diary and Mitchell’s log in a church box. Every morning, the box contained miscellaneous detritus from buildings soon to be demolished. The construction company that was gentrifying the rundown area mistakenly targeted the home where Walker grew up.

After recognizing the people in the four photograph albums that were with the two books, he mailed all the contents to Walker’s mansion. Walker hoped he could help with the mystery of how the books originally were at his parents’ home. Both men had stayed in touch over the years, and Reverend McCready would be officiating at the Christmas Day wedding later that afternoon.

“Oh, my aching head,” groaned Walker, when the sound of his pager on the bedside table woke him. Reaching over to pick it up, he flipped open the cover and muttered, “Who the hell is waking me up at this ungodly hour? It better be important.”

He heard Jack laughing before replying, “How important is being Santa to the kids? Rise and shine, Mr. Almost-Married Guy, and get yourself over to Hannah’s Home. I’m already here, and it’s a total madhouse. Hurry up!” With that, Jack rang off.

Now wide awake and after checking his wristwatch to see it was nearly 6 a.m., Walker got out of bed and headed for the bathroom. Following a quick rousing shower, he dressed in black slacks and his Christmas-green sweater. Stuffing his bare feet into shoes, he was ready for the morning’s fun.

Avoiding the glass elevator as usual, Walker ran down the stairs until he reached the mansion’s large entrance room. Usually each year, stacks of Christmas gifts filled the area, but instead a crew from the nearby town of Westbrook was setting up chairs for the afternoon wedding. Walker stopped at the bottom of the stairs to take in the beauty in front of him.

Keeping to the spirit of Samantha’s desire for a Christmas wedding, the mansion’s staff had hung garlands of greenery throughout the room. Their fresh outdoor aroma added to the fragrance of the red and white roses in a large vase on the front desk. Reverend McCready would be standing there with Walker. Heading across the room between the rows of chairs, Walker imagined Samantha coming down that same aisle to marry him in a few hours.

He smiled happily, while thinking, Santa is being very good to me this year. Tonight I’ll be unwrapping my beautiful present.

Continued in next segment

Home of the White Dolphin - Segment 17  (GC) Chapters 81 thru 85 #2091649 by J. A. Buxton