A Cruel Twist of Fate by H. F. Askwith

Author:H. F. Askwith [Askwith, H. F.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780241629659
Publisher: Penguin Random House UK
Published: 2024-01-18T00:00:00+00:00

‘When I was looking into the past, I saw something,’ I said hesitantly. It was one thing to tell Jasper that I had seen the past – he was already predisposed to believing in the fantastical inventions in this house – but it was another thing entirely to tell him that what I’d seen pointed to Mr Cauldwell’s death being intentional, not an accident after all. I described the device to Jasper, watching his expression for any change. He listened intently, his face frozen and thoughtful. ‘Do you understand what that means?’ I asked. ‘If the archway worked, and what I saw was real, then somebody in this house is a murderer.’

‘We have to go. We have to see if there’s any sign of it,’ he said.

He was right – how else would I be able to know which horrifying set of circumstances was true? Either I was mad, or somebody in the house was a murderer. I struggled off the table and almost lost my balance, my body feeling strange and heavy.

‘Just take a second,’ Jasper said, his hands steadying me. A trembling shiver ripped through me. ‘You don’t seem very well,’ he said, and what looked like genuine concern crossed his features. He bit his lip, seemingly unsure of what to do with me.

I thought of Birdie’s previous governess in the asylum, and fear ran rampant through me – I knew what the Cauldwell family were willing to do if they considered me to be of unsound mind.

‘I just need to get out of these wet clothes and into something dry so I can warm up again,’ I said, trying to sound more assertive than I felt.

He reached over and touched my forehead with the back of his hand. His skin was cool. ‘You’re feverish,’ he said. ‘My ma will know what to do with you.’

‘Please, just take me to my room,’ I snapped, and he backed away from me, hands up in surrender.

‘Of course,’ he said. ‘If you insist.’

Just as I followed him out of the room, though, he stopped abruptly, and I stumbled, trying to prevent myself from crashing straight into his back. Sounds of a bitter dispute came echoing along the corridor. I peered round Jasper and saw Wilbur and Gabriel standing very close to each other. Both men had their fists clenched. Wilbur, startled no doubt by the sound of the inventing room door opening, turned and noticed the pair of us hovering. The mere sight of us seemed to completely inflame him, a rage I’d never seen before swallowing up his features. Gabriel followed his gaze, and when he saw us too, the expression he wore was a mixture of disappointment and anger. The skin on my arms began to prickle with the tension.

Wilbur leaned very close to Gabriel and muttered something in his ear that turned him as stiff as a board. Then he stalked off in the opposite direction as Gabriel came lurching towards us.

‘You fool,’ Gabriel said to Jasper, his voice low and firm and rumbling like machinery.

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