Page 56 of The Masked Baron
Ellis grimaced. “She is the devil.”
“That’s the only part of the story I ever hear.”
Ellis sighed. “I know. It is the only part I dwell on. While you may give me little credit, it does cost me to repeat this. After the death of my parents, Lady Kerrigan put together the pieces faster than the rest of us. She told me what she knew of the connection between my parents and Sephira. When my parents were courting, Sephira—or Miss Hasting, as my father knew her—fell in love with him. He was the richest man for miles, and titled. It was the end of Sephira’s reign, so to speak. People were wary of her, and she was more witch than beloved debutante. She swore she could have any man she wanted, but when the great Lord Cadogen took a different bride, Sephira was outraged. It was rumored she’d sworn revenge on my mother, but I’m not sure my parents or Lady Kerrigan even knew if it was true.”
“How didyouknow, then?” Annie interjected.
“Never mind. We’ll get to my sources later. Let me finish. Sephira seemed to disappear within a month or so after my parents’ wedding, and then she returned around the time of our sixteenth birthday. We had a party—”
Annie gasped. “Wait!Ourbirthday?”
Ellis opened the gate to the small cemetery next to the churchyard and nodded solemnly. “Yes, Eliana and I are twins.”
Annie shook her head in disbelief. “It makes sense now, but I didn’t see it before.”
“She disappeared sometime between luncheon and dinner that day. We split into several search parties to comb the forest and house for her. When I returned, it was to find my parents dead. Poisoned.”
“I’m so sorry.” Annie’s sincerity touched Ellis. He reached for her hand and enveloped it in his.
“Come, let’s sit on this bench and rest awhile. I know neither of us slept much, and I don’t want to tire you out.” Ellis directed Annie to the bench overlooking several graves belonging to the same local family. “There was a note. It said,While there is beauty still left at Braitwood Hall, your darling girl will never return.”
Annie shook her head. “The woman sounds mad.”
Ellis agreed. “That is why I have spent so long searching for her. An unknown woman matching Sephira’s description was seen by the stables on the return of the first search party. They had no reason to stop her. At the time, they did not yet know about my parents’ death and did not see a connection to my sister. My obsession is only half-vengeful. Honestly, while Sephira is still alive, no one is truly safe. But I have been searching for my sister.”
Annie bit her lip.
Ellis reached over and rubbed his finger against her cold pink lips. “You tend to chew on your lip when you are deep in thought. I adore it.”
Annie blushed, and he turned his head, knowing he had embarrassed her. “About the mask. You know Lady Kerrigan has been like a second mother to me, and Kerrigan like a brother. I treasure my relationship with them. It was Lady Kerrigan who suggested I wear a mask. I never thought much about my appearance, but Lady Kerrigan insisted the resemblance between my father and me was too great to be insignificant. She was sure any reminder to the witch would be like a death wish for my sister... if she was still alive.
“When you are dealing with someone as mentally unsound as Sephira, you have to imagine how she would think, and act accordingly. So I removed all the pictures of my family and hid them. I dismissed most of the servants, except for the ones who refused to leave, those who were the most loyal to my family. I let the grounds fall into disrepair so that between my mask, the rumors, and the shabbiness of the manor, there was not any beauty to be found. And I did not have to sacrifice my life to do so, though the alternative did cross my mind.”
Annie squeezed her eyes shut. When she opened them, Ellis could see the pain his story brought her. She put her hand briefly on his arm. “You make it sound like you took the easy way out. But what you did was brave.”
Ellis wanted to admit to being the honorable man Annie now thought he was. It was a nice change from the reactions he got being the Dark Rider all the time. But he could admit to no such thing. “No. I am a coward. I took up the mask because I wanted to live. Maybe it was selfish, but I saw myself as the last of the Cadogen line. I wanted to carry the name on. My father would have wanted it. But as the years have passed, I have never been sure my heart was soft enough to marry anyway.”
They were silent for a moment. It was strange how easy it was for him to share the feelings of guilt and wretchedness that had tormented him for so long. What was it about Annie that made him suddenly want to bare all his secrets?
“When did the rumors start?” Her expression was free from the harsh judgments he’d received for so long.
Ellis folded his arms across his chest. “Almost immediately. Our closest friends encouraged the rumors as part of the plan to erase my goodness and intimidate the witch.”
“No.” Annie shook her head, clearly wanting to disbelieve that his friends would help mar his name.
“It got out of hand. Those who respected my parents weren’t so loyal in their thoughts toward me. I started getting blamed for everything wrong. Some even said it was I who had killed my parents. The stories of the witch were soon replaced with the stories of the Dark Rider. I probably could tell you more than you could tell me—none of them true. Well, a few have traces of truth to them, but they are twisted and much uglier than the actual events.”
“Did it even make a difference? How did you come to learn of everything about Sephira?”
Ellis blew out his breath. “Ten years of detective work, seeking out old gardeners, family members, family friends. None of them agree on her story. I’ve never believed in magic, but how can a woman stay young for a half a century? And why did this vain man-hater suddenly go into hiding after the death of my parents? It’s maddening having all the questions I do and never finding answers.”
Annie’s gaze lowered, and he wished she did not have to bear the weight of his story. Her long eyelashes distracted him for a moment until she asked, “Will you ever get to the point when you can decide the search is over?”
Ellis’s words slipped vehemently from his lips. “When I know what happened to my sister and I know Sephira is brought to justice, then it will be over.”
She stared at him, and he could only guess at what she was thinking. He needed her to know he meant to see this through.
“When you found the three cots in the woods...” Annie’s expression became bright with understanding. “You were excited at the possibility of your sister being with the witch!”
