We lapsed into silence and stared at the words on the page. Lady Catherine's final words before her untimely death.

All this time, the journal had been hidden in the attic in the hopes that someone would find it and discover the truth. The truth about her suitor, about the events that lead to her death, and the person she believed to be responsible for her own demise.

It had been Jasper this entire time.

The man that all the servants swooned over, who would rescue a spider from the servant's hall before it got killed. Jasper, who had been nice to everyone he spoke to even if they didn't deserve his kindness. He was the one no one would ever suspect, the one that could fade into the background unnoticed. No one would suspect him to be guilty of anything, least of all the potential murder of Lady Catherine. He had covered all his bases, hidden the clues, and tried to dispose of the evidence; his attempts had been unsuccessful.

Now I knew why he had been poking around upstairs for the past few weeks. He wasn't supposed to be on the uppermost floor when I was cleaning the attic, and yet there he was. I thought nothing of it because, like everyone else, I never suspected him of anything. Jasper must have been on the lookout for the journal, but I found it before he did. The noise that he attributed to the easel falling over must have been him trying to find the journal.

If he had killed Lady Catherine, had he hurt Mary too?

"We have to show this to someone," Luke said, "they have to know what Lady Catherine suspected."

"You do it."

"What? You're the one that found the journal! You have more knowledge about it than I do, especially as you found it."

"I need to go and find Mary. If Jasper hurt Lady Catherine, I wouldn't put it past him to do something to her too. You need to go to Lord Richardson and tell him."

"Alright, but be careful. We know what he's capable of now."

"You too. Keep the journal hidden until you can show it to someone and if anyone asks, tell them I wasn't hungry and I've started my afternoon chores."

Luke nodded, tucking the journal under his shirt to keep it hidden from prying eyes. I handed him the locket which he stuffed into his pocket; he'd need it to show Lord Richardson the handwriting. He offered me a slight smile and crept from the room, leaving me alone with my now empty journal. Since Jasper didn't know we had uncovered my journal, I hoped to be able to mislead him if I came into contact with him. The least I could do was buy Luke some time.

I grabbed the journal and left the room, creeping down the stairs and past the servant's hall unnoticed. The servant's hall was full of loud, boisterous laughter as all the other servants were unaware of the events unfolding around them. I wished I could be like them.

If I had never discovered the journal, we wouldn't be in this mess. Jasper would never have taken an interest in Mary, she never would have disappeared, and Luke and I might have been able to step out with one another. Instead, we were tangled up in what really happened to Lady Catherine and how she died. But if I hadn't discovered the journal, Lady Catherine's death would still be thought to be an accident.

With no idea where Jasper would have taken her, I decided to start in the house and then head out to the grounds. If I couldn't find Mary, I might be able to delay Jasper and give Luke as much time as possible to speak to Lord Richardson. I didn't know if he would believe the story immediately, or would take a little bit of convincing. It certainly sounded like a convoluted, made-up story.

I climbed up to the top floor, drumming my fingers on the cover of the journal as I walked down the hall and towards the attic.

"Jane? I thought you would be having your luncheon right about now," Mrs Richardson said, opening her art studio door and peering at me. Over the top of her dress, she wore a paint-covered apron and she had painted a stripe of red paint across her cheek.

"Usually, but I haven't seen Mary since this morning and neither has anyone else. I thought she might be up here," I said.

"Hm. I have not seen her. I did hear some footsteps earlier but I was so engrossed in my painting, I did not think to check who it was. It may have been her. You are welcome to look around, she might be up here."

"Thank you, Lady Richardson."

She smiled. "You seem more trouble than before, Jane. Are you sure there is nothing I can do to help?"

"Forgive me if this sounds impertinent, My Lady, but you might be better off speaking to Lord Richardson. I do not feel as though I can explain it properly."

Lady Richardson frowned and moved to untie her apron from around her back. "I shall go and speak to him. If it is bad enough for him to be informed, then I must be across it. Would you like to accompany me?"

"I must find Mary or Mrs Channing will be after her."

"Very well." She nodded. "If you do not find her in half an hour, come and find me and we shall rally the rest of the servants to help in the search. It's a big property so it is possible that you keep missing her. In the meantime, feel free to search any room with my full permission."

Lady Richardson removed her apron and folded it up, placing it onto a small table to the left of the door. She closed the door and walked down the hall, leaving me alone with nothing but the ticking clock for company. I wanted to tell her the truth about Jasper, to spill the beans there and then, especially as she believed Lady Catherine to be scared of someone or something just a few days before she died.

If anyone were likely to understand without any evidence, it would be Lady Richardson.

I crossed the hallway to the attic, the ladder already propped up against the hatch. I frowned. The ladder was only out if someone needed access to the ladder and, as far as I knew, no one had needed to go up since we finished spring cleaning. Someone had been poking around up there and I had a pretty good idea as to who it was.

With the journal tucked under my arm, I scaled the ladder. The attic was as gloomy as it had always been, a small strip of sunlight streamed in through the window. Whoever had been in the attack had removed the loose brick from the chimney breast and left it abandoned on the floor. I crossed to the chimney, reaching into the gap to see if there was anything else lurking in there, but it was empty.

"You've got something that belongs to me, Jane."

~~~

First Published - March 1st, 2022