Voices in the Dark by Jaeza Rayleigh

Author:Jaeza Rayleigh [Rayleigh, Jaeza]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-11-06T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12: Revelations

With amazement, Lizzy realized the mystery voice was not a ghost after all. Thankful she had stopped to enjoy the quiet of the afternoon for a moment before making her presence known with a burst of song, Lizzy listened to the well-known voice of Lady Catherine sound faintly in her ear.

"You must see this continued stubbornness is doing you no good, Fitzwilliam. Why will you not do your duty and marry Anne?"

"Because that is not my duty. It is only your desire. My duty is to care for Pemberley and my sister," said the ghost voice.

"And how can you do that from this cell? Make no mistake; I will not relent. You stay here until the marriage takes place. Meanwhile your estate is without your management and your sister mourns her missing brother. That is not doing your duty."

"This entire situation is of your creation! Why do you insist on a union neither your daughter nor I desire? Why is it so important to you?"

"It was the fondest wish of your mother that you and Anne marry..."

"You lie!" he interrupted. "My mother told me she had no particular wish for me to marry Anne and my father said the same. What is the truth? Why are you doing this?"

Lady Catherine's voice echoed cold and hard, "It was your mother's desire and mine. That is enough for you to know. You will obey. You will marry Anne."

Alerted that she was hearing the voices of living beings, Lizzy had quietly searched for the source of the sound. As the argument reached this point, she found it. The inner roof of each stone lion's mouth was pierced by a hole covered with a rusty metal mesh. Lizzy guessed they were ventilation shafts of some sort to the room where Anne's cousin was now held prisoner. Their holes were probably not intended to carry voices but did so very well. Mindful the sound could be heard both ways Lizzy decided to retreat. She would speak with Anne to consider what help they could give the imprisoned man.

~o~

"She has William imprisoned and will not release him until he marries me?" Anne said in horror.

"Keep your voice down, Anne," Lizzy reminded her, hoping the exclamation had not been overheard.

"I am sorry Lizzy. Surprise overcame me. I had not thought my mother to be so bad as this. And William has always been so careful. She must have overpowered him somehow during his trip almost three months ago. It is no wonder I have not received any letters from Georgiana. She must be frantic for news of her brother and has probably mentioned his disappearance in her letters."

"Is she someplace safe?" Lizzy asked.

"She should still be at school. William planned to remove her in July and send her to Ramsgate or Brighton in the company of a paid companion."

"July is almost upon us. We must rescue him when we make our own escape."

"Yes, we cannot leave him imprisoned here."

"Do you have any idea how to

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.