Page 11 of One Last Lie

That softens my anger toward her. She still isn’t sure of me, but she cares for her brother.

Then again, if she isn’t sure of me, why did she hand me the note? Why did she interrupt her mother’s conversation with Elena? What is she afraid of?

These questions linger as Javier drives me to town. I debate whether I should ask him anything, then decide I must hope for at least one ally here.

“Javier? What is Elena’s relationship with the family?”

“Elena Serrano? She was Johnathan’s business partner.”

“I see. She mentioned something about Elena’s vote and the future of the company yesterday.”

Javier gives me a fishy look, and I quickly backpedal. “But it’s none of my business. I was simply curious.”

Javier nods, and we drive in silence for a minute. Then he says, “I’m not supposed to know this, and frankly, you aren’t either, but Elena was trying to take the company from Johnathan. They were at odds with how it should be run, and Elena attempted to have the board remove him. I only know this because I used to drive Johnathan, and I’d hear him on the phone. From what I understand, he threatened to sue her if she tried anything like that again.”

“Oh goodness.”

“Yeah. But like you said, it’s none of our business. You want my advice, Miss Wilcox? Just do your job and keep your eyes and ears to yourself. I’m not trying to be rude, but that’s the safest thing for you to do.”

“The safest? What danger am I in?”

"Losing your job," he says immediately. "Cecilia seems to have warmed up to you, but make no mistake: you are a servant. We are all servants. Everyone in that house whose last name isn’t Ashford is a servant. I know you’re new to this career, and that’s why I’m being a little harsh. It’s easier to learn the lesson this way then when you’re handed a check out of nowhere and told you’re no longer welcome on the property.”

I frown. “Does that happen often?”

“It happens.”

It’s clear that Javier intends for the conversation to be over, so I let things remain that way. But I don’t know that I can sit by idly the way he asks me to. Isabella gave me that note for a reason. She may still fight with me, but she trusts me, or at least hopes she can. She clearly at least wonders if her father could have been murdered. I intend to find out.

The moment the thought crosses my mind, I gasp. Javier looks at me with a frown, and I smile apologetically. “Hiccup. Sorry.”

Do I really intend to do this? Do I really plan to snoop into Johnathan’s past and see if his death might not have been an accident?

I see Isabella’s tears when she tells me of the pain she and her siblings feel, and my resolve is strengthened. I don’t know what I can do or if what I can do will be enough, but I’ll do what I can.

This time, I won’t stop looking.

Javier pulls in front of a medium-sized market with a sign out front that says, HAPPY HEALTHCARE PHARMACY AND RX.

“That’s the only drugstore in town,” he says. “A lot of folks just drive the extra hour to Buffalo, or should I say, tell their servants to drive the extra hour, but the family has a good relationship with Simon Trent. He’s the owner.”

“As long as he sells cold and fever medicine for children, I’m fine with this.”

Javier chuckles. “Yes, it’ll have everything you need.”

“Good. Thank you. I won’t be a moment.”

I walk inside and find the business refreshingly clean and well-organized. There are few shoppers. Perhaps Samuel is unlucky and is one of the first to catch a cold this season.

I find the medicine I need and take it to the checkout counter. The person standing behind the counter is a short, bespectacled man of perhaps fifty. He smiles at me, and I see his nametag.

“Simon. Simon Trent.”

He blinks. “Yes. How do you know my name? Have we met before?”

I smile and extend my hand. “Mary Wilcox. I’m the new governess at the Ashford estate.”

He pales and stammers a moment before saying, “Ah. Yes, well. Here.”

---