Embedded Files
Elizabeth Sherwood is trapped in pitch black darkness behind a secret panel in the study of her friend, David Reardon’s family home. She bangs on the wall calling for help but no one seems to hear her. After a few minutes she gives up banging and as her eyes adjust to the darkness she starts to look around for an alternative way out. She carefully moves towards some steps and almost trips on some items at the top of the steps. She bends down and discovers a box containing some papers, and much to her delight a torch, which she quickly switches on. As the light fills the passage way, Elizabeth breathes a sigh of relief, as she’s a little afraid of being in dark confined spaces. The air feels damp causing Elizabeth to sneeze. She fumbles in her pocket for handkerchief but it’s not there.
Elizabeth bends down and takes the papers out of the box to look through them. She finds there is another letter from the mysterious Rebecca and also a note pad of paper, it’s all blank except one page that has Gerald Reardon’s signature written multiple times on it. Elizabeth recognises the letter head but at first can’t remember why. Eventually it comes to her that David’s letter from his grandfather was written on that paper. Elizabeth is puzzled as to why these things are being kept in the passage way. As she shines the touch around the passage, she looks for some kind of mechanism to open the sliding wall. She thinks to herself that there has to be something to trigger the door otherwise there’s be no point in the door but after searching for a few moments, she gives up in despair. Instead she notices that there are steps going up and down the building and thinks she may have more luck in another part of the building.
David Reardon looks around his bedroom, surprised to find that Elizabeth is not in there. He decides she must be downstairs so leaves the room and makes his way along the corridor towards the stairs. As he goes he hears Stacey giggling and sees the door to her room is ajar. David hears voices and stops outside Stacey’s her room to listen.
Stacey: “Okay you can open them now!”
This was exactly what Stacey had said to David earlier.
Stacey giggles: “Well what do you think?”
David hears a softly spoken man reply but can’t quite tell who it is.
Stacey flirts: “Oh that’s a silly question I already know you like what you see. Do you want to see more?”
David peaks his head around the door and sees Arthur sat on the bed. Stacey removes the bra to the sexy underwear she’d been modelling for him earlier and so is now topless. She makes her way towards Arthur takes his hands and puts them on her breasts and then kisses him passionately.
Shocked by what he’s seen David quietly pulls the door shut and stands in the corridor, contemplating what he saw and muttering to himself: “Well I never!”
At that moment his father walks down the corridor towards him: “David, not eaves dropping I hope?”
David is a little flustered: “Erm,.... No, no not at all!”
Thomas laughs: “You’re blushing son!”
David feels embarrassed and then they both hear Stacey moaning loudly with pleasure.
Thomas smiles: “Maybe we should leave them to their privacy!”
David agrees and they walk towards the stairs: “Did you know about this?”
Thomas questions: “What Stacey and Art?”
David Nods.
Thomas lets out a deep sigh: “Oh yes it’s been going on for awhile. It’s not just Art, it’s pretty much any man that steps foot into the house, So watch yourself!”
David laughs: “Oh she’s already tried it on with me earlier, but I wasn’t having any of it.”
Thomas smirks: “Good for you son. She tried it on with me once too”
David shakes his head in disbelief: “Did grandfather know about this?”
Thomas shrugs: “Not at first, but I can’t be sure what he knew by the end, she’s not exactly discreet!”
David: “I can’t believe it. Didn’t you ever say anything to grandfather?”
Thomas tuts: “Oh no, there was no point!”
David is puzzled and questions why? “What do you mean no point? Surely he had the right to know what his wife was up to behind his back?”
Thomas sighs: “Trouble was David he knew my feeling about Stacey from the beginning and he didn’t want to hear it. Both Bea and I were in agreement from the start that Stacey was only after one thing, his money! Bea never said anything to him, she was happy for me to be the one to tackle him. I guess in retrospect I don’t blame her. He didn’t want to listen, he thought I was jealous. He thought I was worried about my inheritance. He even threatened to cut me out of the Will at one point. So you see David our relationship had been a little strained these last few months. In fact he hasn’t spoken to me at all in three months!”
David feels guilty: “I’m sorry Dad, I had no idea. I guess we’ve not had any contact in that time either?”
Thomas knowingly shakes his head: “No we haven’t!”
David puts his arm around his father’s shoulder: “We really need to make more time for each other.”
Thomas nods: “We sure do. Neither of us is getting any younger and I know what it feels like not to be there for my father, when he died. I would hate for you to feel the same way I do.”
David becomes concerned, he’d been so wrapped up in his own life and the letter from his grandfather, he hadn’t for a second considered how his father may be feeling: “Do you want to talk?”
Thomas chokes back his emotions: “No son, I’ll be fine, but your offer means a lot to me. I think I’ll go out and get some fresh air.”
As his father heads down the stairs to the front door, David calls: “Have you seen Elizabeth?”
Thomas nods: “Yes the last time I saw her she and Bea were in the study. It looked like a fight was brewing. I’m not sure which one I’d put my money on.”
David smiles and heads into the study, which he finds empty. Just as he’s about to leave he finds Elizabeth’s handkerchief on the floor by the fireplace. He walks over and picks it up, wondering where she could be.
Elizabeth had already tried the flight of steps going upwards but there had been no visible way out. So now she was on her way back down the stairs. Suddenly she stops at the sound of faint voices. At first she thought someone else must be in the passage but then she realised the voices were coming from the other side of the wall. She stops by a panel similar to the one she had come through in the study, and listens to try and hear what is being said. It soon becomes clear that it is Davina and Beatrice talking.
Davina and Beatrice are in the dining room.
Beatrice asks: “Be a dear and pour me a glass of sherry!”
Davina is most put out by the suggestion: “I’m not a servant, where is Wainwright?”
Beatrice shrugs: “I don’t know she’s been acting very strangely all morning. I don’t know why but I’d lay odds that it has something to do with David and his friend and I intend to find out.”
Annoyed that her niece refuses to pour her a drink Beatrice rises from her seat at the table to pour her own drink.”
Davina watches disapprovingly: “Don’t you think it’s a little early for alcohol?”
Beatrice raises an eyebrow, surprised by the remark: “My dear, it’s never too early for alcohol! Now tell me what do you think of David’s friend Elizabeth?”
Davina takes a deep breath: “Well, she seems very nice, very intelligent and articulate.”
Beatrice interrupts with a smirk on her face: “Yes, my kind of girl really!”
Davina chooses to ignore the comment. Her Aunt had never married and there had been question marks over her sexuality but the topic of conversation had never been discussed in the family and Davina had no intention of discussing it now as she didn’t really approve of same sex relationships. She shudders with repulsion and carries on: “However, there is something very strange about her and David.”
Beatrice adds: “She’s not his type you mean?”
Davina ponders for a moment: “It’s more than that. It’s their whole chemisty together, their body language, none of it displays that they are a couple. She avoided lots of my questions about their relationship, almost as though she was embarrassed by the whole subject!”
Beatrice smiles: “I knew I could rely on you to enlighten me as to what is going on. You never miss a trick do you?”
Davina: “It doesn’t pay to keep one’s head in the sand does it? Knowledge is power my dear Aunt!”
Beatrice is puzzled: “So why is Elizabeth here and what is she up to?”
Davina shakes her head: “I don’t know. Maybe she has some kind of hold over David. Maybe she’s after his inheritance?”
Beatrice ponders: “Hmmm, maybe you’re right. Blackmail again do you think?”
Davina nods in agreement: “It could well be?”
Beatrice sniffs: “I wonder what our dear David has been up to this time?”
Elizabeth is shocked by the conversation. Here she is trying to work out who could have murdered his grandfather and now she finds the suspects suspecting her!”
Suddenly she sneezes again which startles the women in the dining room.
Beatrice calls out: “Who’s that? Who’s listening in to our conversation? Show yourself at once!”
Elizabeth feels embarrassed and is stuck in dilemma. On one hand she would like to get out of the passage way and thinks she needs help to do that but on the other she doesn’t want Beatrice to realise she was listening in. Then to her surprise she hears a third voice coming from the dining room.
Beatrice tuts as Stacey walks into the room: “I might have known it would be you spying on our conversation!”
Stacey protests: “I wasn’t spying. How can I be spying in my own house?”
Beatrice is outraged: “Your house!? What makes you think it’s your house?”
Stacey smirks: “I may not be the brightest person in the world but I am married to the owner of the house, so I’m next of kin. As the owner has died then rightly what was his becomes mine!”
Beatrice’s face reddens as the anger swells inside her: “You’ve been here a few months! I have lived here all my life devoted to my father!”
Stacey laughs: “Devoted to his money more like. We all know about your Friday nights out gambling!”
Davina is surprised by the relation: “Not all of us dear, but that’s certainly interesting to know!”
Beatrice’s face reddens even more this time with embarrassment as she gets to her feet to pour herself another sherry: “How dare you insinuate I have some kind of gambling addiction!”
Stacey snaps: “I ain’t insinuating anything, I’m saying it as a fact. Your father was well aware of it. He also knew about how you prefer the ladies and I don’t just mean to talk to!"
Beatrice glares for a moment and then lashes out slapping Stacey around the face. Instinctively Stacey slaps her back which catches Beatrice off guard. Glaring at her younger adversary Beatrice storms out of the room.
Davina has an approving smile on her face: “Well, well well Stacey, still waters certainly do run deep. If I were a betting woman, which I’m not by the way, I would have put money on Beatrice to come out on top. Looks like she could be knocked off her pedestal and that I’ve under estimated you. Make no mistake I’ll have my eye on you so that I don’t do that in the future. Now I really must go and find Arthur, it’s nearly lunch time.”
Stacey smiles: “Oh I think he’s having a nap, he suddenly came over all tired like!”
Davina is puzzled by the statement but decides not to pursue it and leaves the room.
Elizabeth is rather taken aback by all she heard through the panel in the wall. As all goes silent she continues her way down the stairs and comes to another panel with a similar box on the floor next to it, only this one is empty. In frustration she kicks the box and suddenly there is a scarping noise as the panel moves.
Elizabeth is relieved that she is finally free and steps out into what looks like a larder with multiple shelves stacked with food. A large canister like the one she saw being carried into the house is on the floor. The panel slides back into place and Elizabeth opens the larder door, finding herself in the kitchen.
Mrs Wainwright sits at the large kitchen table crying. Elizabeth becomes concerned and slowly approaches the older woman: “Mrs Wainwright are you okay?”
Mrs Wainwright is startled and turns round, quickly trying to brush her tears away in the hope that Elizabeth won’t realise she’s been crying but it’s too late Elizabeth has noticed.
Elizabeth gently asks: “What on earth is the matter? Why are you crying?”
Mrs Wainwright pretends nothing is wrong: “It’s nothing Miss, just and old lady being silly. Please pay no attention to me.”
Elizabeth pulls out the chair next to Mrs Wainwright and sits down. “Well it doesn’t look like nothing to me. I know it’s none of my business but when David showed you that photo and letter, you reacted like you knew something about them and have been acting a little strange since. Are these tears anything to do with that?”
Mrs Wainwright shakes her head: “No miss, I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
Elizabeth gives a weak smile: “Okay, but something is obviously upsetting you and I'd like to help but I can’t do that if I don’t know what the problem is.”
Mrs Wainwright ponders Elizabeth’s words for a moment and then takes a deep breath: “Okay, you seem nice and I hope I can trust you?”
Elizabeth’s warm smile widens: “Of course you can.”
Mrs Wainwright nods: “I do know about the letters and the man in the photo. Oh Miss I’ve done a terrible thing and I’m so ashamed!”
Elizabeth is intrigued and puzzled about what Mrs Wainwright is talking about: “What is it that you’ve done?”
Mrs Wainwright looks around the room to check no one else can hear: “The letters are from me. I’m Rebecca!”
Elizabeth is surprised but suddenly pieces start to fall in place: “And you had an affair with David’s grandfather?”
Mrs Wainwright looks ashamed: “I did. It wasn’t really an affair and was only a couple of times. I was young and no one had ever looked at me before. I worked in the village store and Mr Reardon would come in for his tobacco. He was so handsome Miss and always had a kind smile for me. I didn’t know he was married Miss I swear I didn’t, I would never have gone with him if I’d known. But one day I was upset, my sister had died and he asked if I was okay. I started crying and he asked what was wrong. He met me from work and took me for a drink. I’d never had alcohol before and it made me a bit giddy. Anyway one thing led to another and I didn’t know what was happening. I’d never done it before. Well I saw him a couple more times and I fell in love.”
Elizabeth smiles as Mrs Wainwright’s face lights up with the memory. Suddenly her expression changes as she continues with her story: “Then I found out he had a wife and I stopped things. It broke my heart Miss.”
Elizabeth shakes her head: “But none of that is so terrible. You didn’t know, you weren’t to blame.”
Mrs Wainwright continues: “In those days it didn’t matter. A girl could get a reputation and besides by then it was too late, I was pregnant. I didn’t know what to do at first. I couldn’t tell my family as I thought they would throw me out. When I did tell them I was right, they disowned me. I never saw my parents again. They threw me out on to the streets Miss....”
Mrs Wainwright starts to sob and Elizabeth puts her arm around her as comfort: “...I had no one. I thought about getting rid of the baby but I couldn’t do it. So I went away until I’d had the baby, I was so ashamed Miss. I’d saved a little money but I couldn’t afford to keep the baby, so I gave him up for adoption..”
Again Mrs Wainwright pauses as she cries.
Elizabeth gently tells her: “It’s okay!”
Mrs Wainwright regains her composure and carries on: “Afterwards I came back but I had no job, no money. So in desperation I wrote to Mr Reardon. I didn’t tell him about the baby, just that my family had disowned me when they found out I’d been with a married man. I hoped he might give me some money but instead he gave me a job, working here as the housekeeper. Oh it was difficult at first facing his wife but she and I became friends and she had the children and I treated them like me own. I know it probably wasn’t right but the longer I worked here the easier it was. Oh don’t get me wrong there were a couple of times where the Master wanted more from me but I refused and he never tried to force himself on me.”
Elizabeth is confused: “So everything worked out okay. So why were you crying?”
Looks of fear and shame cross Mrs Wainwright’s face: “It was the baby Miss. I never saw him, I never even got to hold him when he was born. He was just taken from me and I never spoke of him. Then one day about a month ago, Mr Reardon showed me the photo. The child, well he was a man, had traced his father. Mr Reardon confronted me, I’d never seen him so angry. He felt I’d lied to him and deceived him. He said he would have taken care of both of us had he known. He hated that his son had been adopted. Oh Miss I hurt him so badly. He threatened to sack me. I didn’t know what to do Miss...”Oh I’m such a terrible person...”
Mrs Wainwright voice trails off as she again begins to cry then after a pause: “Please don’t tell anyone!”
Elizabeth tries to comfort her: “Okay. It's okay, I won’t say anything.”
Neither of them is aware that someone else stands in the doorway and has overheard their whole conversation. A sly knowing smile crosses Beatrice’s face.
To be continued.....
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