"Would you like me to tell him?" Miss Bolton tilted her head to the side, still smiling.

I clenched my fists by my side, anger welling up inside me. "How did you find out?"

"I know some people." She shrugged. "You see, you may have been able to fool Lord Turner and everyone else, but there was something familiar about your face. You are more like Adam than perhaps you know."

"Don't you dare say his name! You don't have the right, not after what you did."

"Me? I did not do anything. He had an accident, that's all."

Miss Bolton shrugged and strutted across the room, eyeing Mr Turner as she did so. He kept his eyes on me. I knew he was disappointed in me. His eyes told me so, and I couldn't blame him. He'd trusted me more than anyone else in the house, allowed me to know his secrets, and believed that I was going to help him fight against Miss Bolton's tyranny. All of that work had just been unravelled.

The last thing I wanted to do was lose his trust, not when we were so close to exposing Miss Bolton for the villain that she was.

I knew it had been her plan. Margaret Bolton always was one step ahead. It was how she managed to get away with everything over the years. She planned, worked out every small detail, and made sure nothing came back around to her. Since she recognised my face, she must have been working out the best way to ensure that whatever trust I had with Mr Turner was gone.

Miss Bolton took a few more steps to Mr Turner, who shrunk back against the window, his eyes still on mine. "See, you cannot trust anyone, Jacob. She lied to you. She's been lying to all of you about who she really is."

"I-I do not understand," Mr Turner said.

"Do you need to have everything explained to you like a child? Lily Rhodes never existed. The references she gave were false, her name is false, everything about her is false."

"Why?"

"I needed to make sure she didn't hurt anyone else, not after Adam," I said. "You have to believe me, Mr Turner. I was doing it to look out for you."

"Look out for me?" Mr Turner frowned, once again shrinking into a child. The bruises on his face were a startling contrast to his pale skin. "How is this looking out for me? I trusted you and all this time you've been lying to me!"

"I'm sorry! I wanted to tell you, I did, but you wouldn't have believed me."

"Why did you say you were a servant?"

"It was the only way I could get close enough to you. Of course, when I started working here, I didn't know you were in London. Had I known, I never would have lied. All I knew was that she was interested in you, but I couldn't say anything until I was certain."

He shook his head, knotting his hands together in front of him. Miss Bolton smiled at me. It was a winning smile, one that she used to claim victory over those deemed smaller than her little finger. I'd seen that smile before. It was the same smile she gave me when my brother first announced his intention of courting her; the same smile she gave at his funeral just two months later.

Anger slammed into my chest like a wave. She was mocking me, doing everything she could to discredit me, so Mr Turner agreed to everything she said. It was a twisted game she played, but it almost always worked in her favour.

Adam had fallen victim to her games. He'd allowed her to get too close, fell for every sweet-talking act or trick she had to offer, and then died in what everyone else called an accident. I knew the truth. Adam's death wasn't an accident. Miss Bolton had all but confirmed it herself in the way she treated Mr Turner.

"Listen, Jacob, I know you feel as though you can't trust me because I lied to you, but she will kill you. She killed my brother."

"No, I did not." Miss Bolton rolled her eyes as though the idea offended her. "He fell down the stairs. It was an accident."

"You're a liar, and you know it. You've inflicted too much harm on too many people, and I'm not going to let you hurt anyone else."

I lunged for the door, but Miss Bolton was quicker. She grabbed me by the waist and threw me onto the floor. My left shoulder slammed into the hardwood, pain erupting through my body. Miss Bolton pinned me to the floor, snarling like a dog as she leaned in close to my face. Her warm breath tickled my skin.

"You will get to be with your brother soon."

The anger swelled once more.

I pushed Miss Bolton square in the chest, forcing her off me. She stumbled back, giving me enough time to scramble to my feet despite the throbbing pain in my left shoulder. I raced over to the fire and grabbed the poker, swinging it around. Mr Turner slipped away from the window and moved towards the bedroom whilst Miss Bolton was distracted.

"You do not have the guts, Lily-Rose. Your brother could not fight me off, and you will not, either. You are just as weak as he was."

Miss Bolton lunged at me, but I dodged her grip and swung the fire poker towards her. The sharp end of the poker caught her on the side of her head, tearing her skin as she was sent tumbling towards the ground.

In a matter of seconds, Miss Bolton lay with her arm dangling in the fireplace, the flames licking at the sleeve of her dress and working their way up the rest of her body.

She didn't react to the pain.

She just lay still. 

~~~

First Published - March 9th, 2024