Edward paced rapidly in the library, running his hands through his hair every few minutes; worry and frustration painted his face. He and the ladies had made a thorough search of the house while Mr. Montgomery met with Thomas and a few servants to have them fan out and search the garden and surrounding grounds. Nothing had turned up as of yet; neither Elizabeth nor his father had been found.
Charlotte and Amelia were seated on a settee, tired out from the exhaustive search. Amelia sagged against her aunt's arm, concern for her sister clearly written in her expression.
Mr. Montgomery entered the library, his countenance weary with worry. Edward stopped and looked up at his entrance, and Amelia visibly perked up from the settee.
"Any news, Papa?" Amelia asked hopefully.
Mr. Montgomery shook his head, glancing down at the floor. "Nothing, my dear; I know they'll do everything possible to find her. I wanted to check in with all of you before joining the others in the search of the grounds, to see if you'd learned anything."
Everyone seemed to deflate again as the hope of some good news evaporated.
"We didn't discover anything helpful," Edward began, "Elizabeth was last seen here, reading, and no one seemed to know anything about my father. But the longer he fails to appear, the more I fully expect him to be involved somehow."
"Edward," Amelia's voice was small, as though she were ten years younger, "if Mr. Stanton really has Elizabeth, somewhere..." her voice waivered, "He wouldn't honestly... You don't think he'd...do her harm, do you?"
Edward hung his head for a moment; then glanced over at her, noting that her chin trembled. "Knowing my father, I would say that he's a cold, hard man, and yes, he is not above using blackmail and threats in order to get his way. But I would not have ever supposed that he would actually physically harm a soul, until what I've learned since my coming here - the abuse your mother suffered from him, and..." his voice trailed off momentarily, thinking over the other things he had learned that his father was capable of. "I just pray that he doesn't do anything rash in order to prove his point."
Silence fell over the room for a moment, as each person absorbed into their own thoughts, and, undoubtedly, prayers about the situation.
Edward, taking hold of the open book, lowered himself into the chair that Elizabeth had been sitting in, reading, a mere few hours before. He stared at the book, tenderly touching the pages, pages she had turned with her precious fingertips. With a heavy sigh, he dropped his head into his hands wearily.
Lord, I beg You; please keep Elizabeth safe from harm, wherever she is. Help us to find her. If my father is involved in this in any way, I beg You to intervene, cause him to stop this madness... How can I ever forgive him if he harms her?
Edward wiped his hands over his face, closed the book, setting it on a nearby table, and jumped up from the chair, deciding it was time to take action. "Mr. Montgomery, with your permission, I'd like to send a servant into town to alert the law of this matter, for we may very well need their help when my father is apprehended."
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Edward."
It was not Mr. Montgomery who spoke, as it were expected. Every head in the room jerked alarmingly toward the familiar, mocking voice. Amelia gasped, and Charlotte tightened her grip on Amelia's shoulders, pulling her closer.
Charles stood at the far end of the library, just inside the door which opened out onto the porch. Obviously he had been there long enough to hear Edward's statement.
Mr. Montgomery stepped forward a few steps, his voice menacingly low, "Charles, what the devil have you done with my daughter?" His eyes narrowed, and Edward was sure he'd never imagined that Mr. Montgomery could look quite so furious.
Charles smiled smugly, "Oh, she is in a safe place, to be sure."
"Where is she?" Mr. Montgomery demanded, gritting his teeth. "If there be one hair on her head out of place, so help me..."
"You'll have her back, Peter, unharmed of course," Charles' voice dripped with arrogant sarcasm. "But first, you will do something for me. I want a binding agreement, in writing, of Edward and Miss Amelia's betrothal."
Amelia gasped from behind them, and Edward heard Charlotte quiet her.
"I will do no such thing!" Mr. Montgomery exclaimed, his anger rising.
"Father, stop with these games. Tell us where you've taken Elizabeth." Edward tried to keep his rage suppressed.
Charles turned toward his son. "Ah, Edward, my son!" a mock smile spreading across his face, then disappearing, "Don't think I've forgotten about what you've done. I'll be requiring those papers you took from my office, before your beloved can be returned to her family. Yes, I do believe she truly loves you... It will be quite a fitting punishment for you, I think, to never have her," his eyes narrowed, blazing at Edward, "I tried doing this the easy way; if only you would have done like I told you from the beginning, none of this would have happened."
The realization of the depth of his father's bitterness and hatred washed over Edward. It deeply grieved his soul that this man was so utterly consumed by his past that he wanted everyone around him to share in his misery, while taking no ownership of his actions, only blaming others for the destruction he had caused himself.
"Yes, Father, I can see that you seek to make me miserable and bitter, like yourself, by denying me the affection Elizabeth and I have for each other, perhaps so I will relate to your loss of Lydia. But, if I may say so, losing Lydia was in part of your own doing; and part in that she fell in love with Mr. Montgomery, not you."
As he spoke, Edward could see a change in his father's demeanor. Charles narrowed his eyes and folded his arms across his chest, shifting his weight from foot to foot slightly.
"What do you mean by saying these things? I do not think you want to have this discussion right now, Edward," Charles bit off the end of the sentence with malice.
Edward eyed his father.
Yes, I do believe he is fearful of what I know; he's afraid I will reveal his depravity.
Edward continued, ignoring his warning, "For years you have been unable to let go of the stinging fact that Lydia did not choose you, letting your resentment build toward Mr. Montgomery, believing that he stole her affection from you; so much so, that when mine and William's mother died, you saw an opportunity, didn't you? If an unexpected calamity was to befall Mr. Montgomery, removing him from the picture, what a perfect opportunity you would have to take his place - gaining his possessions, property, family, and most of all, his wife. Isn't that right, Father?"
Charles said nothing in response; he simply stared at Edward with a smoldering anger in his eyes, looking much like a simmering boiler about to erupt. Edward quickly glanced around the room at the expressions of the others; looks of surprise and realization dawning on them. Mr. Montgomery held his chest with one hand as the truth of Edward's words sank in.
"However, something didn't go according to plan, did it, Father?" Edward continued, "You didn't anticipate Mrs. Montgomery intercepting the note that you had intended for Mr. Montgomery, the note presumed to be from Thomas Briggs. In your greed and hatred, you inadvertently sent the very woman you coveted and claimed to love to her grave."
"What a ludicrous accusation!" Charles exploded, unable to contain himself any longer. "You know nothing! How dare you fabricate such lies and speak to your own father like this!" Charles bellowed.
"You wish to speak of lies, Father? Lies and deception, yes, you are the master of those, are you not? I found your box, full of random notes, the correspondence between you and your lackey, the photographs of you and Lydia. No, your involvement in premeditated murder was not evident by just the box and its contents alone, you were very careful not to implicate yourself in writing. On a hunch, I took the box to the private investigator who I knew you had hired in the past, to poke around and see if he knew anything, or if he could find out anything for me; turns out he had much to say on the matter, it didn't take much to convince him to talk, seeing as you had blackmailed him before, as well."
Charles remained silent, having no further response to the accusations against him. Edward couldn't tell for sure, but he sensed that his father knew he was cornered, with no cards left to play. Charles began to squirm under the scrutinizing glares coming from around the room.
"After Lydia's death, you blamed everyone but yourself for the result, and as your hostility deepened, you decided to make one last effort to make Mr. Montgomery pay for what you perceived that he took from you. You tried to manipulate him into a marriage agreement, and then forced me into your scheme as well. In my desperate attempt to please you, I almost went through with your folly. And still you attempt to manipulate more people in order to coerce them to bend to your will; like threatening Matthew with blackmail toward his father to encourage him to take Elizabeth away from me, in order to push me together with Miss Amelia, you've even gone as far as abduction to get your way. What is it you want, Father, to live vicariously through me, to watch Mr. Montgomery's discomfort at seeing me married to Miss Amelia, because we both resemble you and Lydia so closely?"
A hush had fallen over the room as Edward spoke; no one dared to move. Edward watched his father; he seemed to be struggling with conflicting emotions. Charles dragged his hands over his face and raked at his hair while shuffling around.
I think he's at a breaking point, if I can just get him to open up to me... Perhaps there's a chance that we can still salvage some of this relationship. God, please let him give in and let go of his pride.
Edward sighed and turned to the others and asked softly, "May I have a moment alone with my father, please?"