The Inheritance: Chapter 5 - Part II (Updated 11/14)
CuriousSimmer:
The Inheritance
Chapter One - Part XIV
October 1945
I needed Dante's support. He had been somewhat cold and distant since he witnessed my encounter with Roger at the Thornycrofts and I needed to tell him what was transpiring. I called him and arranged a dinner date at Dinozo's, a restaurant in town. I called Lady Thornycroft, who was so taken with Josephine, and asked if she could sit with the baby. She agreed, explaining that with "the boys off in town, I could use some company. I'll come right over."
"I'm glad you came," I told him, giving him my best smile. He seemed reluctant to reciprocate, and so I turned on the gas, so to speak. "Listen, I just want you to know that this whole thing with Roger doesn't change anything with us."
"So...you're not breaking it off with me?" he asked, softening a little. I shook my head and explained what Father Bianchi had told me, and how I had decided that my marriage with Roger was over in name as well as in fact.
"That's wonderful!" he said, and covered my hand with his.
"So tell me, Dante," I said. "How do you feel about a Christmas wedding?"
"I'd marry you tomorrow, mi amore," he said.
"I love you, Dante," I said, and I meant it more than I ever had. "But I do need some time to plan!"
"Whenever you want, Elizabeth. I'll be there."
By the time I got home, an early snow had fallen, but as I slushed through the snow, I couldn't help but ignore the biting cold. Indeed, there was a much more pressing matter that held my attention.
My house, my villa, my work for the past many months was in flames. And Josephine was inside! I battled through the snow, wrenched the door open and rushed up the stairs into the nursery. I was horrified by what I saw.
The nursery was all but up in smoke. I could hardly breathe from the smoke filling the room, and I could barely see anything. But I had to battle on, I knew. I turned to the corner where Lady Thornycroft had been rocking Josephine's cradle.
Where my daughter should have been, there was only ash, and soot, and smoke, and flames.
Snookumboo:
This Story is superb, I've just read all of it! Can't wait for an update!! What a cliff hanger...
Also I love your writing style! It keeps the story interesting, the pace is right too!
CuriousSimmer:
The Inheritance
Chapter One - Part XV
October 1945
Meanwhile, that same night...
As darkness fell over the Thornycroft manse, a white sedan pulled up to the driveway and a pair of darkly-clothed figures stepped out. As they hurried towards the window that one of them had already broken, the slimmer one said in Russian, "We know Grant isn't here, but what about that Roger Williams? What about Lady Thornycroft?"
The more muscular of the pair said, "Why do you think we brought weapons?"
"I don't like it," replied the woman. "We shouldn't kill unless we have to."
They were lucky, though. Neither Roger Williams nor Lady Thornycroft nor any other soul was in the manor, except for their target. Adela led the way; she knew the route best, having taken it before. "Hurry up," she called down the ladder as Erik clambered into the attic. "We haven't got all night."
They pushed into the secret room, ignoring the warning sign on the door, not quite sure what to expect. What they found was both shocking and pitiful, and Adela's heart was wrenched. "The poor thing," she said to Erik. "Can you believe they keep her up here this way?"
"I'd keep her up here if she looked like that, too," said Erik as they moved into the room. He was unable to take his eyes from the deformed woman before them. Adela stepped forward.
"What is your name, my dear?"
"Eleanor," said the girl, her voice thick with confusion. "Who are you?"
"We're friends of your mother," said Adela, trying to sound calm and kind. "She sent us to take you to a safe place while she goes back to England."
"Why?"
"She didn't say, dear. Come with us, now."
The confusion was evident on Eleanor's face. She considered for a few moments before finally saying, "All right."
"So she is deformed mentally as well as physically," said Erik with a self-indulgent chuckle.
"Shut up," Adela snapped. "This is the worst kind of exploitation; we should be ashamed of ourselves."
"Come on, let's just get her out of here."
As the white sedan trundled away from the Thornycroft's manor towards town, they didn't know that less than a mile away another family was being torn apart--my own.
Back at the villa...
The last thing I remembered was the nursery. Josephine was gone, gone, and the smoke was choking me, and then...blackness. The first thing I felt was the chill. I was cold everywhere. I opened my eyes and saw Dante kneeling next to me.
"Where's Josephine?" I blurted out. From the look in his eyes, I knew before he even shook his head. "No. No, no, no. She's got to be--she's--"
"Hush, child," said a warm voice from behind me. Mama Moretti stroked my hair as she helped me to sit up. "It'll be all right, my dear. Please, calm yourself."
I wept silently into Dante's shoulder until we all heard a shout. "Who's that?" I asked.
"A police investigator. You've been out of it for a little bit. Come on, let's see what he's found," Dante said. He helped me up and we walked towards the shed.
"I've found someone," said the investigator. "Do you know her?"
"Yes, that's Lady Esther Thornycroft," I said, feeling cheated. I thought he had found Josephine. My arms ached to hold her. "Have you found my baby?"
"A baby? No, no baby. I'm sorry," said the investigator. "But this Thornycroft lady, it looks like she's been whacked pretty hard."
"What does that mean?" I asked. "What is she doing way out here behind the shed?"
"The footprints indicate that she was dragged here."
"But that would mean that someone was here at the time of the fire," I said, my mind working overtime. "That might mean whoever did has my baby!"
"Don't get your hopes up," said the investigator. "Infant lungs aren't as strong as adult ones. Unless your child was out of the house before she inhaled much smoke, there's not much hope..."
When he saw the look on my face, he allowed the sentence to trail off, looking sheepish.
Dawn broke over my home, but for all the anguish I felt, my life was being overtaken by dusk.
Snookumboo:
Great update can't wait for more!
steelguy:
Wow. So that's why she was kept locked up there. It was a bit dark and shadowy in this episode, but I expect that was deliberate. It certainly made for a spooky feel.
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