Page 67 of The Masked Baron
Eliana crossed to Miss Dubois and put a protective arm around her. It seemed to give Miss Dubois the courage she needed to continue. “My mother fell in love. My grandmother refused to let her marry because they needed the rich gifts the suitors brought. I think the disappointment only increased her sickness. She became fanatical until she believed she would only be beautiful if she carried a certain stone in her possession.
“After some time, she married in secret and became pregnant with me. Her younger sister became the new beauty, and the stone was passed down. The deception continued. For a time, life improved for my mother, but my grandmother told me my mother was never the same after my birth. She became depressed and violent. My father left her when she tried to kill him. I was very young when we moved back in with my grandmother. I later learned my mother never told my father the truth of the family charade.”
Ellis’s frown deepened. His mind whirled with all this information, but he needed to know more. “Then what?”
“I do not remember the particulars,” Miss Dubois answered, “but the whole family went into hiding. People were no longer attracted to the idea of a woman who stayed young and beautiful forever. Instead they became fearful of the idea of witchcraft and sorcery. Mother often became confused about what was truth and what was not.”
Ellis looked from Miss Dubois to Eliana and knew it was true. “I believe your story. Many of the facts connect with pieces I unearthed myself. But you have told me only half the tale. I want to know how you came to be involved with my family.”
“My grandmother and aunt could not keep my mother under control, and it was decided the charade must end, and we were all to go into hiding.” Miss Dubois’s face held a measure of regret and sadness, but she pushed through. “My mother went long periods during which she was normal, but inevitably she would become sick and throw fits. I hid from her when I was younger. I did not understand then what was happening.”
“Your grandmother and aunt did not try to stop her?” Ellis asked, struggling to make sense of the story.
Miss Dubois shook her head. “My grandmother wanted to protect herself and her younger daughter. It was decided the safest route was for us all to separate. My grandmother found us a place in the forest while she looked for new housing for her and my aunt, but they never returned. We had no one for company but each other for many years, so on occasion we would come watch the comings and goings at the manor house.
“My mother once told me from the first time she saw Lady Cadogen, she was jealous of her beauty. She would often talk about it, especially when she was in her other world. She became convinced Lady Cadogen possessed the magic stone, even though she told me my grandmother had taken it years before. She... she later killed your parents. In her mind, she thought she was doing right.” Miss Dubois’s lip trembled. Eliana rubbed her arm to comfort her.
His sister. His very own sister stood in front of him.
“Did she ever know my father?” Ellis asked, his voice subdued.
“I do not know,” Miss Dubois answered, her voice a little shaky. “She grew up in Thornton Way, so it is very possible.”
Ellis slashed at a low-hanging branch nearby. “I have been told she did, but it doesn’t seem to matter now whether or not he was a factor. Her mind was clearly unsound.” Ellis finally put his sword away, which seemed to please Eliana. Ellis motioned to the two of them. “You became friends. Miss Dubois came to see you the night of our birthday, did she not?”
“Yes, she did,” Eliana said. “We were both upset. Her mother had disappeared and was having one of her fits. I promised I would help her find her. I did not realize she would go to the manor house after our parents.” Eliana turned away. “It’s my fault. They are dead because of me.”
“Eliana, no, you are no more to blame than I am.” Even as Ellis said it, he knew he’d always carry the weight of his own guilt.
Eliana shook her head as a tear silently dripped down her face. “I am to blame. If everyone would have remained at the manor house, then our parents would not have been alone waiting for me. Miss Dubois will tell you she persuaded me to stay with her, but in all honesty, I did not want to go back. I started to after dark, but then I realized everyone was looking for me, and I was afraid. I could not face our parents or the rest of the guests. I was too embarrassed.
“I thought the situation could not get any worse, but then, while Miss Dubois was spying on the house for me, she overheard some of our servants talking about how the witch had killed the baron and baroness. I was devastated. I knew then and there I could never go back. I watched the funeral from a distance. We knew it was no longer safe for us to stay in the forest. It was only a matter of time before you found us. We fled to Scotland and found employment as maids, taking turns caring for Miss Dubois’s mother in the rooms we rented. A few times we made the trip back through the Black Forest so I could be here, closer to home.”
Ellis stared, dumbfounded. His emotions made a quick succession from shock and dismay to anger. Eliana had never been kidnapped at all. He raked his hand through his hair, but he couldn’t truly process Eliana’s revelation.
“You would choose to live with a madwoman over me? Am I so very terrible a brother you would let me believe you dead—lost from me forever? Did you never hear or see me all these ten years? You could have left a letter explaining. Anything!” Ellis’s voice had begun calm but rose by several degrees by the time he finished.
Eliana became defensive, folding her arms across her chest and matching his stance. “It wasn’t just about me. Miss Dubois needed a friend. I could not let her lose her mother like I did.”
Ellis rubbed his jaw and huffed. “It is not the same, and you know it.”
“I was angry and hateful too at first,” Eliana argued. “I knew from the beginning Sephira did not really know what she was about. She could not even remember it the next day. She was like a child, never again the same.”
Ellis shook his head. “That does not explain ten years of absence.”
Eliana looked at her feet sheepishly. “I was plagued with guilt. I wasn’t sure if you would forgive me. You changed, Ellison. You became this masked man. There wasn’t a passerby who didn’t have the fear of you on his breath. You spent days on end on a death hunt for Miss Dubois’s mother.”
Ellis’s jaw went slack. He reached back and ripped the mask from his face. Anger seethed from his lips. “I wore this for ten years because her wretched, murderous mother said it would keep you alive.” He tossed it bitterly to the ground. “I ruined my reputation, lost almost all of my friends, and lived a life completely different from the one I’d intended. I did it all for you. And you tell me you have been out here all this time of your own accord?”
Annie reached for Ellis and took his arm, pulling him to look at her. He knew his eyes were filled with unfettered emotion. “Ellis, you have found your sister, who was lost to you, and that is all that matters now. Rejoice in your reunion. Do not let the bitterness of the past leave no room for reconciliation.”
Ellis squeezed her hand on his arm and then pulled away. He walked to the pond and put his hands on his hips as he silently stared into the waters. He knew the others were hurting too, but he needed time. Ironic, since he’d had years of waiting for this moment.
After several drawn-out moments of silence, he slowly turned. “I cannot pretend I am the same Ellison you left, but I am still your brother. Let us be done with this. Let us return home and put the past behind us.”
There was clear sorrow in Eliana’s eyes. She shook her head. “It cannot be.”
Ellis spread his arms open wide and yelled, “Why not? There is no need to protect that madwoman from my temper. She is already dead.”
