"Mrs Smith!?"
"That's impossible!" Treasure thought
"Is everything alright Treasure?" Mrs Daisy asked staring intently at her.
"Y...yes!" Treasure replied trying to wipe the tears off her face
"Who was it that called just now? What did he say?" Mrs Daisy asked again, but Treasure refused to speak a word
"Will you continue to ignore me?" Mrs Daisy yelled, but Jake held her.
"I think Treasure needs some time alone" he said leading Mrs Daisy out of the room.
"This isn't right!" Treasure thought to herself
"Why is she after my life?
"How could she do this?" She cried. Suddenly, something struck her mind
"My property papers!" She said
"They are still in my mansion at Bristol. I have to get them out of there before anyone finds them" she said to herself.
It was exactly two weeks after the incident, Treasure was recovering fast, but Jake had refused to travel back to New york. As Treasure became healthier, and prepared for her trip to Bristol, she forbade Jake from tagging along.
At Bristol, lady Sydney was acting more and more suspicious, but lady Ginervra had been watching her closely. Once, she saw Sydney discussing with an unknown man by the gate, but when she accosted her, Sydney denied it all.
"Has your old age finally blinded your eyesight?" She said
"It's Hurly the doorman. How could you forget so soon?" She said smiling broadly. Ginervra stared at her afraid of the worst.
"Very well then." She replied.
"The young mistress, Treasure, has given us all a week leave, so our services here won't be needed. She has asked that we leave the house key by the door, I think she'd be coming here over soon.."
"Really??" Sydney replied feigning excitement.
"That's awesome, but why has she asked us all to leave? Can she take care of the household chores herself?" She asked.
"I cannot give you an answer to that question. The only thing I can assure you is that she won't be staying for long, so you have absolutely nothing to worry about." Ginervra replied walking away almost immediately.
"Madam it's all done." Ginervra said to Treasure over the phone immediately she got to her room.
******************************
In New York, Jake was yet to resume at the office.
"This is too much to bear!" Mr Brightburn, his boss, yelled in frustration.
"...the holidays are already over, but he is yet to resume his work here. I better give him a call" he said reaching out to his cell phone.
"Exactly what is going on Jake?!" He yelled as soon as Jake had taken his call
"Where the hell are you?!" He asked again."
"I'm really sorry sir, but I've got urgent work in Bristol next week, after that, I promise, I will come back to New York, I will write piles of apology letters to every staff in the company. Please extend my leave of absence sir." Jake pleaded.
"Listen Mr Jackson I know your uncle owns this company and you happen to be his beloved, but that won't give me a raise or run the company's affairs would it?" Mr Brightburn complained.
"Yes, it won't run the company's affairs, but I'm pretty sure you can get a raise Sir" Jake replied as a coy smile appeared on his face.
"R...really? T...then you can take as much time as you desire, I give you my permission!" He exclaimed.
"Thank you Sir!" Jake replied and hung up the call.
"I'm sorry Treasure, but I just can't leave you alone" he said to himself as he stared at a photograph of Treasure in his phone.
Meanwhile, Treasure was oblivious of Jake's plan to follow her to Bristol.
"Hello madam, as ordered, I have informed Sydney and the rest of the servants of your arrival at 9 pm tomorrow night." Ginervra reported.
"You've done well Ginny, you've done well." Treasure replied.
"I am already on my way to the airport, I will be arriving there tonight. You can go home now, and inform the police like I have asked you to" Treasure said.
"Yes ma'am" Ginervra replied.
"I really hope this plan is a good one" Treasure said to herself in fear. She caressed the scar in her abdomen and winced in pain.
"Surely, this takes time to heal" she said to herself
"I hope to return unharmed" she said again.
Sydney had put a call through to Mrs Smith informing her of Treasure's arrival at Bristol
"How can you be so sure?" Mrs Smith asked
"I am sure madam, the young mistress told Ginevra herself." Sydney replied.
"This is the best time to act madam, before she arrives tomorrow " she said. Mrs Smith was lost in thought.
"She is still injured, how can she make a trip to Bristol? Something important must be here, perhaps the property papers!" She exclaimed
"Yes, I guess she's coming here to get them. I can use this opportunity to snatch them from her. This is a good plan" she muttered.
"Hello madam are you still there?" Sydney asked.
"Y...yes Sydney, leave the mansion already, you're on a leave, if you're found there, the other servants might get suspicious of you."
"Yes madam. I will leave now" Sydney replied and hung up the call.
"I better inform Elmer of this new development" Mrs Smith said as she hurried on to call Elmer. Treasure sneaked out of the house trying not to alert anyone. She took a taxi cab and got to the airport in time and sat in the lobby clutching her stomach.
"I have to do this. " She said to herself in consolation
"I can't give up now" she said again. Ten minutes later, she got on the plane and after sometime, it took off.
Meanwhile, Cherry was no longer comfortable with the cops' investigations. She knew she could no longer vouch for her sons and was equally worried that they might have had something to do with Marcus' murder.
"The cops were here to question the both of you on the murder of Lord Marcus." She said to her sons.
"They asked a lot of questions about you two and I gave answers to the best of my knowledge but I'm unsure of your innocence. So I want to know where you both were on the day Lord Marcus was murdered" She said, but none of them paid her any attention. They kept eating quietly avoiding eachother's gaze. Cherry got impatient.
"I'm talking to the both of you!" She yelled, but they gave no reply. Out of frustration, she threw her wine glass at the wall but it missed Curtis' ear by a hair's breath. Startled, Charles spoke first.
"Mom, why bother yourself over something so trivial?" He asked wiping the corners of his lips with his hands.
"It's already been years since Marcus died, yet the police have not been able to find any solid evidence. They can keep investigating, but I can assure you that I did nothing worth going to jail for, so relax" he said. Cherry stared back too surprised for words.
"Thanks Mom, the food was delicious." Came Curtis as he stood to his feet. He kissed Cherry's cheeks and made for the door.
"see you some other time." He said and walked away even before Cherry could utter a word. She looked at Charles who was still munching his meal, but she was totally lost for words.
"Those words, aren't convincing" she said to herself.
"Maybe Curtis and Charles are guilty afterall" she thought to herself
"No, that can't be" she said. Charles read her facial expression and suddenly, a smile stretched across his face.
"Relax mom, Curtis and I haven't done anything out of place" he said as he sipped his wine
"You should think less you know, you're looking quite older than your age." He said again. Cherry buried her face in her palms in frustration, but Charles made no effort to console her.
Treasure arrived Bristol at exactly 10 pm. Exhausted, she went up to her room and after taking a hot bath, she fixed dinner herself and went off to bed. She woke up at 5:34 am the next day, and slipped into her father's study. She found her property papers and house deeds in no time and took them out of the safe.
"I better hide this some place else before leaving for Coventry tonight." She said clutching the documents to her chest. She hid them in her room and prepared for her voyage that night.
"I should be gone before 9 pm." She said again as she took off her clothes for a change.