Page 50 of Secrets of Capell Manor
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“Hand me that nail. It’s by your left foot, man.”
Devlin looked down at his foot and couldn’t see the nail.
“It’s right there.”
Devlin scooted his foot slightly to the left and saw the iron nail head mostly covered in straw. He bent down, retrieved it, and handed it to his friend, who straddled a wooden beam that spanned the width of the hall. Alden worked to repair many broken support boards and some of the stall doors each day. After all, Benton couldn’t climb up to the rafters, and neither could Ridley.
“Someone built this right. There’s excellent craftsmanship here. No shoddy work at all. It’s a shame that it’s been left to ruin.”
“Yes, the former lord, Lord Miles Capell, never did anything half-assed.”
The comment came from Benton, who was working further back in the stable.
Devlin joined Benton where he was working. The old man was making a burial coffin. Devlin wondered if he should be touched by the old servant’s loyalty to the family he faithfully served, or shocked that the man would waste time building a coffin. Edmond deserved to be rolled into a hole and nothing more.
“What are you doing, Benton? Why are you making a box for Edmond? I applaud your loyalty, but he doesn’t deserve your efforts.”
Benton looked at Devlin and then slowly turned, and his small, careful steps took him to a pile of planked lumber. Benton reached for a long plank, and Devlin stood to assist the man with the heavy piece but stopped. Benton lifted and carried the plank easily. And although he still moved as slowly as a snail, he carried the board to his workbench and placed it on the piece he was working on.
Benton turned to Devlin and said in a sad voice, “He wasn’t always the man you came to know through your investigation here, you know. The Capell name was once one that commandedrespect across the region and even favor from the monarchy. Why, young Edmond and our king were close friends. I had to rescue those two quite often from many careless choices when they were still in short pants, I tell you.”
“King Charles, as a boy, was often here? At Capell manor?” Devlin asked.
“He certainly was. The boys were close, just as Lord Miles and King James were before them.”
Devlin was shocked. He knew that Charles trusted Capell, but now he knew how far back their relationship went.
Benton picked up a large mallet and rigorously hammered the wooden nails into the board and again. When he was finished, Devlin asked, “So what changed him?”
Benton thought for a moment. “It wasn’t only one event that changed Edmond. I think it started when he lost the love of his life. Not his wife. He never loved her. But there was one before her. He wanted her in the worst way. And the feelings were mutual. She brought out the best in Edmond. But her life ended tragically in an accident. He was never the same after she was gone.”
Devlin could not conjure any version of Edmond who could ever love anyone that deeply.
“And there was a horrible argument with his father not long after. I was not privy to all the details, but I know Miles never truly trusted Edmond after that incident. And when Lord Miles passed away, Edmond continued making poor choices, with his money…and his life.”
Benton turned away from Devlin to pick up a hammer, and as he fastened the planks together, his face remained sad and drawn. Devlin watched him for a moment and then left him with his memories. He hoped that for Benton’s sake, he’d reminisce on Edmond in his younger years and have comfort.
Chapter Fifteen
Rosalind woke when the breaking dawn’s shafts of sunlight peeked through the shutter cracks in her chamber’s eastern window. She knew she should get up and move, but her body felt heavy, and her mood gray despite the promise of a sunny winter day.
The fire in her room had not been fed, and only a few embers burned in the hearth. Ridley had not made his rounds this morning. She propped herself on her elbows and listened, but she heard nothing.
She wasn’t worried. The children were most likely still sleeping as Alden kept his promise and, after dinner, had told the conclusion of the story he’d begun that morning. Many more tales followed. The children were delighted with each telling, and she didn’t have the heart to send them to bed. It was well past midnight before Devlin carried Luella to bed, and a very sleepy Kaylyn followed. She smiled because, for just a little while, she’d forgotten about her worries, and the cloud of fear and uncertainty lifted.
Rosalind somehow found the will to get out of bed, threw back the covers, and yelled, “Kaylyn! Luella! It’s late and you must get up. Come now, and get dressed.”
She heard a few groans from the connecting room. Luella entered her chamber. Her eyes were half closed, and her hair was sticking up all over her head.
Yawning, she asked, “Do we have to get up now?”
Kaylyn made her appearance, and while looking just as disheveled as her sister, she said, “Of course we do. We’ve got to put Lord Edmond in the ground.”
“Kaylyn! We don’t…,” Rosalind scolded. She was going to lecture the child on respectfully speaking about the dead butthen stopped. She couldn’t think of anything to say about Lord Edmond that warranted reverence on the day of his burial.
Instead, she bent down in front of the girls and gathered them in her arms. “Kaylyn is right. Today, Lord Edmond will be buried in the churchyard beside his father and his father’s father. And while I am not sorry that he is dead and gone, and I know you both aren’t either, I still expect you to behave accordingly. We won’t have lessons today or do our chores. We will stay calm and quiet and spend today in peaceful reflection and prayer.”
