Page 61 of A Governess' Forbidden Flame
“Sebastian, I…” Amelia’s entire body was moving as she was trying to catch her breath, for she had obviously been running for a while. A wave of protective tenderness washed over him, and he knew right then and there, he knew it well. It was love. It couldn’t be anything else.
But that was not the only realization that exploded inside his mind, for Amelia’s next words brought even more shock. Her words were barely audible, down to an exhausted, frightful whisper, but he heard her clearly.
“I found the treasure…”
But before she could say anything about the treasure she had found, Frederick emerged from behind her, holding an aimed pistol at them both. Instinctively, Sebastian stood in front of Amelia, shielding her with his body, although he himself was fearful that something dreadful might happen.
“Well, isn’t that touching, cousin?” Frederick mocked them. “And you were telling me that I could court her and even marry her!”
“I never said that!” Sebastian growled at him angrily, wishing to grab the man’s neck and snap it like a twig. But he remained calm. He needed to bide his time.
“You’ve said enough anyway!” Frederick shouted at them with a mad look in his eyes, and Sebastian knew that all it took was one slip of the finger to cost someone their life. “It is my turn to talk! And I say, do not move! If you tell me where the treasure is hidden, I might consider letting you all live…”
Chapter 31
Adrenaline was surging through his veins, a mixture of fear and insane courage with which Sebastian meant to keep his family safe. There had obviously been a madman there in his home, only he was blind to see him for what he truly was. He even welcomed him into his home, offering shelter and comfort. Now, that madman was holding a pistol aimed straight at him, and Sebastian knew that one mistake could end it all.
He blamed himself for all of this. He should have known better. After all, his own home was marred by curses and mysteries…he should have known that allowing strangers in his home would only bring forth tragedy. How he wished that he could turn back the hands of time and see to it that none of this ever happened. But life didn’t work that way, and there were repercussions to every mistake.
He slowly raised his hands to the level of his chest in an effort to show Frederick that he was unarmed, and as such, he posed no threat. His mind raced with possible solutions to this predicament, but none seemed plausible enough, none would have come without casualties.
“Frederick…” he started, but his cousin did not seem to like that.
“So, now I’m Frederick.” The man grinned with amusement. Sebastian could not believe that the man actually took pleasurein threatening them in this manner, from treating them in this way. “Now that I am holding this gun, I am no longer Mr. Turlington. You finally accepted me as your cousin, now that it is too late.”
Sebastian shook his head. He could sense the rage and hurt in Frederick’s voice, but he refused to acknowledge it. “Whatever this is about, we can figure it out,” he continued, ignoring the comment because he knew that Frederick wanted to make him lose control. A man who did not have control over his mind and his actions was a puppet. And Sebastian was no man’s puppet.
He had to keep a grip on himself. Despair had no place in his mind. Neither did a sense of helplessness. Losing control was the last thing that Sebastian should do. He had to keep his mind composed. He had to focus on every detail of the scene and seize any opportunity that might entail their salvation.
He thought about it for a moment. If Frederick was here, with him and Amelia, that meant that Vivienne was possibly with Anna. Or perhaps Anna was in her room, having been given lessons to do on her own. That was also a possibility. Sebastian had to force himself to believe the latter. It had the power to soothe him, at least for the time being, so he could focus on Frederick and saving both himself as well as Amelia from the man’s mysterious wrath.
“Just…lower the pistol, Frederick. I’m sure you do not mean to harm us. We are cousins, after all,” Sebastian pleaded, not even certain of his own words, but that didn’t matter.
Hastily, he glanced over at Nicholas. The man was standing a bit further away from them, rendered equally helpless. There was, however, a hoe by his side, lying on the ground. If he did anything, all Frederick had to do was aim the pistol in his direction and shoot. It would all have been over before it even started. They all needed to stay put and bide their time. The old gardener seemed to understand the silent plan, and he merely nodded at Sebastian, who once again, focused on the man with the pistol, the man who had control over all their lives.
“You don’t even know what this is about,” Frederick continued, shaking his head while his pistol remained aimed at them, counting the seconds until it was ready to shoot.
Sebastian could feel Amelia trembling behind him. He wanted to embrace her, to reassure her that he would do everything in his power to keep her safe, that he would even die for her, but he couldn’t turn around to say or do any of those things. He could only hope that she knew it deep down inside her heart that his belonged to her.
“I don’t,” Sebastian admitted. “I really don’t. So, why don’t you tell me? Just you and me. Let Amelia and Nicholas go. They have nothing to do with this.”
“No!” Frederick shouted, his fingers keeping an even firmer grip on the pistol. “Everyone stays where they are!”
“All right, all right.” Sebastian tried to calm him down because he could see that Frederick was getting more agitated with each passing moment. Up until now, he seemed content with the power being in his hands, but as Sebastian kept talking to him, Frederick started to act more frantically. That meant more caution was needed on their part.
“Just…tell us,” Sebastian pleaded.
Frederick gritted his teeth, obviously wondering where to start, what would be the most climactic beginning to the tale he had been waiting to share with them for such a long time.
“I have been waiting for this day for the last ten years,” Frederick finally admitted, breathing heavily as he spoke, the veins in his neck ready to pop. “Ever since my mother told me who I really was and what I was owed.”
Sebastian didn’t understand. “What do you mean?”
“This is all your fault.” Frederick skipped a large portion of the story to accuse Sebastian of a crime he did not even know he had committed. “You have stolen everything from me! All of this…” he quickly gestured around them, at the house, at the garden, “all of this is rightfully mine!”
Sebastian still didn’t understand. He knew that asking for more clarification might make him furious, so he kept quiet because it was evident that Frederick would not stop there with his story. No. He would tell it all, because that was why he had come there in the first place.
“My mother was disowned for becoming pregnant,” Frederick explained, sounding disgusted with his own story. “And that is why she had me in the slums of London.”
