Love & Murder: An Eliza Winter Mystery

Revelations

Word regarding Penelope's death was sent to the Winters still staying in the countryside and they packed to get back to London immediately. While they were traveling back, Eliza remained crumbled into a ball in her four-poster bed, shutting herself away from the world by closing the drapes around her bed frame. She had no one left in the world. Her best friend was so happy and in love when she last saw her, but she somehow ended up alone in the Thames. What could have gone so wrong?

The night before the Winters were scheduled to return, Lucy attempted to console Eliza with tea and biscuits but her appetite was gone. So many things were gone now and Eliza didn't know how to process any of it. She shooed Lucy away and asked her to lock her in her room until her parents returned. Tomorrow her parents would be home, scrambling to get dresses for Penelope's burial together. It felt right preparing for a dark wardrobe as all of the light was currently sucked out of Eliza's world.

Penelope and Eliza were opposite in almost every way, yet somehow, they clicked. Penelope was outgoing, marriage obsessed, mediocre at everything a woman was supposed to know, but brilliant at acting how a woman should in society and around men. Eliza was demure, hated both London and socializing. She scored near-perfect marks in all of her studies, was excellent at the pianoforte, embroidery and watercolor yet was bashful around men her age. Penelope helped Eliza add color to her life and Eliza held Penelope back from reckless rash decisions...until now.

Eliza finally pushed the drapes on her bedposts open to fetch the pitcher of water Lucy left her and as she raised the glass to her dry lips, she heard a tapping sound on her window. She froze with the glass next to her chin and moved her eyes over to the window by her vanity. A large tree sits outside the window, so occasionally branches scrape against the glass, causing eerie sounds to fill Eliza's room. But this sound seemed more deliberate, more of a knock than a scrape. Eliza drops her glass back onto the tray and moves toward the window when she hears the sound again. She slowly looks outside and gasps when she sees a pair of eyes looking back at her. Her hand goes to her throat as she prepares to scream, but then the eyes come closer and she realizes she recognizes the blue eyes. Colin hovers on a branch, waving at Eliza to open the window.

She realizes she's in her cotton nightdress, so she grabs the silk robe hanging over her vanity chair and tugs it on as she crosses back to the window. She pushes the left panel out and Colin shimmies into her room.

"I don't know whether to be horrified or intrigued right now," Eliza breathlessly tells Colin as he settles onto the floor. "If anyone knew you were in my room right now, we'd both be done for."

Colin adjusts his jacket and smooths his dark hair down before saying, "Well, if your butler would let me speak to you properly, I wouldn't have to resort to breaking and entering." Surprised, Eliza raises an eyebrow and replies, "Oh? He hasn't mentioned that I've had visitors."

"Well, you have and he refuses to let me speak with you until your parents have returned from the country. But unfortunately, murder cases need to be solved quickly so I don't have time to wait," Colin says with a hint of annoyance. He frowns at Eliza, but when he takes in her sad swollen green eyes the frown softens. He takes a half step closer to her and with a hand remaining on her vanity he adds, "I'm sorry for barging in here. But I really do need to speak with you." Eliza clutches onto the top of her robe and gives him a nod. Her hand instinctively runs down her frizzy braid, but she quickly realizes she can't muster up the energy to care about her appearance. It's not what Colin is here for anyway.

"You're bold Lord Bradshaw. And for climbing up that tree and risking breaking your neck, I suppose the least I can do is give you a few moments of my time," Eliza replies. Colin's eyes dart to the door and Eliza quickly adds, "I've sent the staff away and Lucy has already checked in on me. No one will be opening that door."