This time Nicholas was dumbfounded, utterly so that his mind was not capable of even disbelief.
He simply looked at Sophia, mind blank, not even confused.
For the many months he had thought she was a conniving liar, he could not even fathom why she would bother to tell lies about a non-existing estate now. Unless she was devastatingly desperate.
But Nicholas knew Sophia was not stupid. Why would she make up this astounding story when she knew it would not be supported by the truth? If she was trying to manipulate him again, Nicholas knew that Sophia would be aware that the way to fail would be to create another big lie.
She was not insane either. There was a sense of calmness in her eyes as he stared at her blankly. There seemed to be relief as well. Relief for finally telling the truth?
"You are not merely saying this because you are aware our family is not chummy with the Trilbys, are you?" he finally asked.
It was the only reasonable thing he could think of.
To use the Trilbys to be free from all of this was a wise move, but to accuse the family of murdering another family was entirely of a different nature.
Sophia shook her head. "No, of course not. Why would I?"
Nicholas brushed his fingers through his hair. "The Trilbys had done horrible things, Sophia. I could easily believe you when you say they murdered Durley's family and yours, but I would need facts to support this story."
Sophia lifted her shoulders in a shrug.
"Have you ever thought that mayhap your brother had been lying to you? That this story was all created by him so he could manipulate you?" he asked gently, knowing how she felt toward Durley.
She did not appear to take offense. She merely took a deep breath and sighed. "You believe that I believe my brother because I am completely dependent on him, because he saved me from that brothel. You are thinking that I believe everything he tells me because I fear that if I do not, I shall find myself back in that horrid place." She slowly shook her head with a wry smile. "You do not know Marcus the way I do, Nick. You merely know him for the man who gains profit from a place filled with whores and selling slaves, even by the businesses he now owns, including the Herald itself." She looked straight at him as if she could see every inch of his face. "You know him not in kind, but in worse. I know him for the man he does not wish for everyone else to see. That is the difference. He is my family as much as your family is yours."
He planted his hands on his hips and stared at Sophia. He thought for a while before saying a word. "Assuming that your story is true—that this Mecklenberg exists—why have the entire Town not heard of that horrible night? Surely your brother and I are around the same age. Such story of what happened to his family must have reached the ears of many people and I would have grown up knowing about it."
"Marcus was merely eight years when it happened, Nicholas. I was seven and you were naught but at the age of fourteen, perhaps having a marvelous time in school." Sophia let out a silent scoff. "And are you hearing yourself, my lord?" she asked. "I just informed you that the Trilbys were responsible for the massacre. We all know them to be amongst the oldest families in the Town. They keep to themselves and had never been involved in great scandals. What they did had never truly been published on the Herald, were they?"
Sophia was correct. The Trilbys always had a way to cover the truth. The only scandal they ever had to face was when Noah Trilby married a woman who turned out to be a murderer. What happened after the woman's eventual arrest and death had never been known.
"The Trilbys are a part of a very complex family tree, Sophia," he uttered patiently. "They belong to a long lineage exclusive merely to them." He stepped forward. "Does Durley even know who amongst the Trilbys his enemies are?"
Sophia blinked and for a second Nicholas thought she would again admit that she did not know the entire story, but apparently Durley had given her more details. "Marcus spent a total of thirteen years building himself to what he is now, my lord. He never stopped because he has a goal. In the span of merely thirteen years he managed to own businesses. He merely did not do that but he also found me and in those years he started his own investigation until today, twenty years later after the massacre." Her jaw clenched. "My brother is not a dimwit, Nicholas. He knew who his enemies are from the very start."
Nicholas lifted his hands. "Who then? Who amongst the Trilbys could have done such horrible acts?"
Sophia shook her head. "One would only look into the people who own Egerton and Wyndam, Nicholas. The two estates did not sprout out of nowhere. Mecklenberg was taken and divided into two by none other than George Trilby."
"Have you ever been near Egerton and Wyndam, Sophia? Do you know that the two estates are separated by a—"
"The village of Filkept," she said with certainty. She smiled. "Perhaps I know more than you of the Town's history, my lord." Nicholas frowned in confusion as Sophia moved to walk to the chair he vacated. "Filkept was merely a part of Mecklenberg. It had no name. Although it has rock walls that separated it from the two main parts of Mecklenberg, it has passageways that serve as connections to both sides. It served as naught but a settlement. The people who lived there were workers for Mecklenberg, almost the same as Puck is to the Everard mines. The only difference was that Filkept was merely established as a village two decades ago." She settled in the chair before she continued. "Filkept gained its name after the massacre. I wonder if you can conclude as to why it came about?" she asked.
Nicholas held his breath as he stared at Sophia, his mind reeling with confusion and disbelief. "To make the workers silent."
Sophia nodded. "There were too many workers for a few men to murder," Sophia said. "What better way to make them stop questioning the true nature of their new master than to provide them what they had always wanted? Provide them with a place to call home."
"I still cannot figure how George Trilby managed to gain Mecklenberg unless he—"
"Louise Frederick was our father," Sophia interrupted with an almost impatient tone. "He was a distant cousin of George Trilby. It was apparent that Mecklenberg would be passed down to Marcus, but should the entire Fredericks perish, everything shall go to George Trilby, the closest heir. No one contested or questioned it when Mecklenberg was given to George Trilby for he was the rightful heir law. They all believed the entire Frederick family was murdered. No one bothered to look for Marcus, assuming he perished in the fire along with his family and other servants. Their remains were unrecognizable when the fire died down, Nick. Marcus had been assumed dead all this time."
"Marcus Durley is not his true name."
Sophia smiled. "Of course. Lucian Marcus Frederick, Lord of Mecklenberg. Durley is merely an illusion provided to the townspeople. It does prove how fickle people are, does it not?"
"And your name?"
Sophia remained quiet for a while, her face clearly deliberating. "Katerina Elizabeth," she replied. "I refuse to call myself a Frederick for I was never given the name. And I refuse to acknowledge Katerina Elizabeth as well for it is a name I had forgotten. I do not deserve it until I regain my memory."
Nicholas decided not to press further and instead reverted the subject to George Trilby. "Egerton and Wyndam were given to Robert and Francis Trilby."
"Of course you know the men who are amongst your circle," Sophia said with a smile.
"Not all, merely those that concerns me," Nicholas replied, "particularly Robert Trilby."
"He is dead."
"Yes, but two of his children are alive. Noah and Amelia Trilby."
She took a breath and sighed. "George Trilby divided Mecklenberg and named them Egerton and Wyndam. Egerton was passed down to his eldest son, Robert Trilby and Wyndam to his second, Francis Trilby." Sophia had a knowing look on her face as she added, "Noah Trilby is the newest member of the Town Leaders." She paused and Nicholas waited for her next words. "He also is brother to Amelia and Maxine, the latter considered dead, banished after having an affair with your sister-in-law's father."
"You know more than you have let on, Sophie," Nicholas said. "I must have been a fool to have tried to keep such details of my family secret."
"My brother did his research quite thoroughly, Nicholas," she said. "Would you wish me to continue with the Trilby lineage?"
Nicholas shrugged. "I shall try to keep up."
"Francis Trilby's son, Leopold Trilby, inherited Wyndam upon his death many years past. Leopold's brother is whom we all know as the Lord of Thorne—David Trilby."
Nicholas groaned. He wished for a moment Emma and Ysabella were here. His sisters would have been able to take in all these information far better than him.
"But it is not the Lord of Thorne that we concern ourselves about for Wyndam is currently owned by his brother, Leopold who is dying."
Nicholas stiffened. "Your brother plans to take advantage of that."
Sophia shrugged. "I cannot say his exact plans, my lord, for he has kept the more detailed parts from me for my protection. And he was correct to do so because I am telling you everything I know now." Her voice was laced with guilt again.
"I am afraid I do not know Leopold all that well. I am not aware of any heir to his—"
"His daughter, Vega Trilby is set to inherit the estate, Nick."
Nicholas shook his head. This was too much information. He only knew of Noah and Amelia and the only nephew of the two he knew of was Edmund Trilby. He merely read or heard of their niece, Vega, from the Herald and the men who thought themselves in love with the chit. And of course he heard of their cousin, the Lord of Thorne but never truly knew enough to even know if the man existed at all for he very rarely graced social events. He heard of the rumors about him, yes, but to have personally met him, no.
"You must have heard of Osmund Trilby, of course," said Sophia. "He was murdered five years past. He left a son."
"Yes, I know of his son," Nicholas supplied but did not want to provide more information about Edmund. The young man had been through enough. But the look on Sophia's face told Nicholas that she knew the story behind Edmund. Nicholas would not dare discuss it with her, of course, for it would prove to be futile.
"The only living son of George Trilby is George II himself," Sophia said, "and he is considered to be the head of the entire family. He is the current Lord of Caddington."
"I have had the chance of hunting with his son once."
"Ezra Trilby, the Lord of Henley."
Nicholas scoffed. "You know too much about the Town I can hardly believe you are blind."
Sophia chuckled. "I merely know about the Trilbys, my lord. I know the details about them even with eyes closed. I can tell you who amongst them are pure evil and who, like some us, are mere victims by happenstance of birth."
She fixed a smile on her face again, appearing calm and collected. "It is upon you if you believe me or not, Nicholas, but that is my truth. Do not ask me what my brother intends to do, but should you ever find out that I am telling you the truth about Mecklenberg—which I suppose you are going to do so after you go back to Wickhurst—please do keep in mind that my brother does not wish your family harm." She was fighting off tears with a smile. "You did not take his home and family from him, my lord, the Trilbys did. You are fighting a battle to save your family from the very same thing that happened to the Fredericks and I understand that. But my brother is fighting a war to reclaim what they took from him and I hope you will come to understand that when you finally decide that you believe me." She stared at him blindly. "I merely wish it would not be too late."
His frown deepened. "Whatever do you mean?"
She smiled. "Osegod seems to have become a big hindrance to my brother's plans, Nick. He has proven his great ambition to lead us to believe that he shall not stop until he is at the top." A tear fell from her face and her voice began to shake. "The only reason why I told you everything is because I am beginning to be afraid for my brother." She wiped the tear with her hand. "And for myself."
Cold rushed through Nicholas at the thought of Sophia in the hands of Osegod—in the hands of anyone else. "No one will take you away, Sophia. You must understand that I cannot let you go away now just because you told me the truth. I am yet to confirm your story and your brother is yet to come to me." He stepped forward and with hesitation took her hand. "Even the League cannot take you away, do you understand?"
She swallowed, doubt in her eyes.
That night, Nicholas left Puck to return to Whiston where he wrote a hasty note for Margaret.
*****
His sister's reply came three days later and it was just as he had expected. He had already been in deep conversations with Ralph by then who did not think Nicholas was handling the matter with his mind. After what Maxwell revealed, his brother was even more so doubtful of Nicholas' capability to keep Sophia.
Margaret's short response was all Nicholas needed to prove to Ralph that he had not been an utter fool for having even considered Sophia's words.
Mecklenberg did exist twenty years past. It was formally renamed to the estates of Egerton and Wyndam for sensitive reasons by George Trilby. Louise Frederick was a distant cousin of George Trilby who inherited the estate after the murders of the Fredericks. Bandits were accused of the crime and George Trilby had asked for the Guards to cease the investigations to provide his family peace. The rename of Mecklenberg was supposedly to not remind George Trilby of the horrible murder of his cousin and his family. He gave the village of Filkept to the workers in memory of their previous master.
Lucian Marcus Frederick was the rightful heir of the throne but was pronounced dead, assumed that his remains were amongst the charred ones after the fire.
We are yet to know more.
-M
Nicholas immediately ordered for his horse be drawn out and rode to Puck alone, making certain no one was following him.
When he reached the cottage in the wee hours of the morning, he went straight to Sophia's bedchamber and found her curled in the middle of the bed, asleep.
His racing heart began to calm as he realized she was safe. And as he began to believe she had been telling the truth.
He slowly made his way to the bed and sat beside her. When she did not stir, he took his boots off and joined her under the covers, both of them fully clothed. Aabha was lying on his stomach on the floor, eyes shimmering in the darkness, focused on him.
They truly needed to find Sophia a more aggressive pet, he thought as he slid to the middle of the bed.
He felt her stiffen when his arm wound around her from behind and he shushed her by whispering, "It is me, Sophie."
He waited until she began to relax. When she did, her hand covered his hand. "I assume you gained the proof you needed?" she asked, her voice thick with sleep.
Nicholas pressed closer and buried his face in her dark curls, inhaling the scent of her, forgetting everything he hated about her and relishing on those he adored and loved. His arm tightened around her as he closed his eyes, feeling tears burning at the back of his lids.
It seemed that he was not the only one crying, he thought, as he heard her broken whisper. "I never wanted you to leave."
Nicholas felt a lump in his throat and he pulled her closer, not wanting to have an inch of space between them. He buried his face in her nape, not certain how he ought to reply. So much had happened he could no longer care.
"I never wanted you to leave," she choked out again and he shushed her to sleep.
Maxwell was wrong. He was not simply in love with this woman. He was incandescently, madly being a fool for her and he found he was all right with that for he was here and so was she.