Love & Murder: An Eliza Winter Mystery

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Eliza practically sprinted back to the estate and Lucy was startled to see her mistress in tears. Eliza demanded that they head back to London immediately, so Lucy told Lady Davenport that a family emergency was forcing them to leave. Lucy quickly packed up Eliza's few belongings and Lady Davenport brought her chauffeur around to escort the two ladies back to the train station. Lucy knew not to ask questions until they were on the train back home, so she let Eliza fume as they made their way to the station.

"I'll take care of the tickets my lady," Lucy tells Eliza as their couple pieces of baggage are dropped next to them. Lucy darts off to towards the attendant and Eliza slings the leather case back over her shoulders. Something about having a weapon so close to her heart calmed her. She imagined putting an arrow through Colin's heart and smiled. Then he'd know how her heart currently felt.

A green and gold motorcar pulling next to the station catches Eliza's attention. It is the same one her family owns and she wonders what it is doing at the train station in Kent. She wanders over to it lingering by the curb and spots a driver she does not recognize.

"Excuse me," Eliza says to the driver leaning against the front end of the car. "But is this for Eliza Winter?" She curiously asks, but the driver immediately shakes his head no.

"Sorry miss, I'm waiting for a Lord Tennyson," the driver states.

"Oh, Andrew is coming to Kent?" Eliza curiously asks, shocked to hear of him being so near.

The driver shrugs, "Sometimes it's the son, sometimes it's the father."

"I was unaware the Tennysons had property here," Eliza says, wondering how forthcoming the driver will be.

"They don't no longer miss. Just sold up actually. One of them's just comin' to collect a few things I was told," he says and suddenly, the empty estate behind the Davenports makes sense.

"Lady Eliza?" Andrew Tennyson says and Eliza spins to see him standing behind her with a suitcase in hand.

"Oh! Andrew, what a surprise to see you here," Eliza says, trying to remain calm. Everything is suddenly falling into place, but she doesn't want to give herself away. She suddenly wishes Colin were here and at the thought of him she says, "I'm actually here with your cousin."

"And where is Bradshaw?" Andrew asks while looking around him. He then looks to Eliza and adds, "I thought you both took an earlier train. Why are you here at the station now?"

"We did," Eliza replies, now trying to step around him. He blocks her movement as she says, "We just decided to go back to London early. My maid is getting our tickets now." She tries to get past him, but he's now holding a knife at her waist. She glances down and swallows hard.

"Get in the car Eliza," Andrew demands and Eliza realizes she wasn't playing it as cool as she thought.

"Lucy will be back here any second," Eliza mutters out, not taking her eye off the blade.

"Then you better get in quick," Andrew says while pushing the blade further into the fabric of her dress. She nods and he stuffs Eliza into the car. When he drops in next to her, he holds the knife up to her neck and says, "One peep from you and I will slit your throat do you understand?" Eliza quickly nods and the driver drops into the front. Andrew plays up his charm and she realizes the chauffeur has no idea what's going on.

As they drive away from the station, Eliza sees Lucy standing near their luggage. She watches as Lucy turns and catches the motorcar pulling away from the station. Eliza just hopes she goes and gets Colin and they can figure out where Andrew is taking her.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

When they pass the Davenport's estate, Eliza realizes they are in fact going to the empty property Lady Davenport mentioned. She sighs as she realizes she is literally passing Colin and there's nothing she can do.

After they pull up the long gravel drive, Andrew yanks Eliza out of the back and holds the knife at her side as they walk up the stone steps.

"Won't there be staff?" Eliza quietly asks, but Andrew shakes his head, "They left when we sold up. The driver has his own living quarters by the garden. It's just you and me darling."

"Just leave the suitcase in the foyer Branson," Andrew calls over his shoulder and the driver nods to him while gathering up the small amount of luggage. Andrew pushes his way inside and doesn't let go of Eliza's arm as he drags her up the stairs. She realizes that Andrew probably doesn't realize she has a case of arrows and a small bow slung over her back and decides not to call attention to it. She hopes he'll just think it's an odd woman's travel accessory, a cylinder that holds a map.

When they arrive in a bedroom at the end of the hallway, Andrew kicks the door open and shoves Eliza inside. She's careful not to turn her back to him and he leads her over to the four-poster bed that sits in the center of the room. The rest of the furniture is covered in white sheets.

"Is this where you would take Penelope?" Eliza asks as Andrew rips off a sheet covering a night stand and begins tearing it into pieces. He holds the knife in his mouth and is still within arm's reach of Eliza. She knows not to make a run for it...yet.

"I had nothing to do with Penelope," Andrew mutters as he grabs Eliza and yanks her over to the bedpost.

"No? Then why hold me hostage? I was under the impression that you killed her," Eliza says plainly, trying her best to remain calm. Andrew starts to tie her wrists to the bedpost while laughing maniacally at her statement. His eyes remain on the task at hand and as he pulls the final knot tight, Eliza is pulled closer to the post. He hasn't said anything about the small case on her back so she angles herself so her back is facing the wall, while her hands are tied to the post connected to the headboard. Her jacket poofs over the strap across her chest, hiding it perfectly.

"I didn't kill Penelope, but I did have to clean up the mess. I'm always cleaning up the mess," Andrew seethes while gathering the rest of the sheet in to a ball.

"If you didn't kill her, why are you tying me to a bed?" Eliza asks while shaking her head.

"Because you know too much. You were never supposed to know anything. I was to keep an eye on you, learn what you knew and what you suspected. But my bloody cousin had to come in and ruin everything. He wanted nothing to do with you until I mentioned taking you to the opera. Then suddenly, he was asking you first!" Andrew says as he begins to pace. Eliza's mind is now racing. Colin knew Andrew was going to ask her? But Colin had kissed her before Andrew extended the invitation. He had been crawling in through her window long before he knew of Andrew's intentions.

"I didn't know anything until I saw that you owned the same motorcar as I did. That and you had a home in Kent. I was wondering why Penelope had been sneaking away here and why she was telling people she was driving around in a car. It was so people would assume she was with me if someone saw her getting in or out of it," Eliza said, fitting the pieces together.

"How did you figure out she was meeting my father in Kent?" Andrew asks with his hands on his hips, hoping to figure out everything she knows. Eliza stares at him with her jaw dropped. She tries to process what he just revealed but can't.

"Your father? She was meeting Lord Tennyson here?" Eliza asks in shock.

"Yes! Whose mess do you think I am cleaning up?" Andrew shouts and Eliza is suddenly at a loss for words.