Early the next morning, I felt more or less ready to tackle the day. It was easy enough to slip into the empty kitchen, eat in silence, and find the next room to investigate while the rest of the household remained fast asleep. The previous night had been trying, but at least I could separate the job from whatever feelings, negative or otherwise, I had for my employer.

I spent hours on the bottom floor, clearing cobwebs from old pieces of cookware and forgotten jars. There were no windows in these rooms, and the tepid air made it even more claustrophobic. I'd never had real issues with cellars, but for some reason the unease grew. Perhaps it was a general unease with the entire situation that played tricks on me. I was an unwanted guest in this house.

Only, it wasn't the house itself that wanted me gone. I smiled at the thought. There were so many stories hidden within each room, and each of them deserved to be told.

Pots and pans were not within my expertise, and without much to go on, it was hard for me to assess them at all. I thumbed the bottom of a heavy piece of pottery to check for a maker's mark. My hands were getting dirtier by the minute, but there was no one here to judge me in the relative darkness.

At least, no one had the opportunity to judge me until I dared to go upstairs in time for lunch. I was walking toward the kitchen, fretting about my lack of progress, when Ashleigh took me unawares.

He eyed me from head to toe, pausing in the doorway on his way from the library. The look on his face forced my hands behind my back.

I nodded in greeting. "Mr. Demalier." He'd dressed casually, wearing a pair of chinos and a black shirt that he'd rolled up from his wrists.

"Ash. Call me Ash." He crossed his arms as if to shut me off completely.

"Ash it is." Only, it wasn't that simple. Not when the name implied some sort of intimacy between friends or close acquaintances. I very much wanted to continue down the hall to find someplace to wash my hands, but I feared it was far too impolite under the circumstances. If anything, it was his role to walk away from me, not the other way around.

"So, are you making progress?" he asked. I couldn't tell if he was truly interested or just making conversation.

"Not so much this morning. I've been down in the cellars."

"You have? I doubt anyone has been down there in years."

"So I gathered."

"Explains why you're covered in dust."

With a sinking feeling, I glanced down, finding that my state was much worse than I'd thought. Streaks of grime and dust clung to my trousers, and my shoes were grey rather than black.

"I'm not quite presentable, no." I finally saw my chance to get away. "I better go change before lunch."

Ash's face warped into an expression I couldn't even begin to interpret. "I don't think anyone will mind, actually. Mads often comes in covered in soil from head to toe."

I had no intention of showing myself in such a state. It was bad enough that Ashleigh had seen me. "I would rather avoid getting dust in my food, or yours."

"Your call. Come to my office later if you don't catch me in the kitchen. We have things to discuss." He almost smiled, but not quite.

"Will do." I turned on my heels and back tracked through the corridor, all to avoid having to walk with Ash to hear any more humiliating details about my clothes. Taking a deep breath, I tried to compartmentalise why I felt so uneasy around him. He'd shown that he didn't particularly want me there, but I had a feeling it went deeper than that. I wanted his approval for some mysterious reason.

* * * *

"So, where exactly is his office?"

Madeleine scarfed down the rest of her sandwich. James was home to deal with family issues of some unknown kind, which resulted in a less organized lunch. She rolled her eyes while chewing. "Second floor, second door to the right when you take the central stairs. And what is it with guys asking questions when a lady can't answer without spitting her food?"

"Apologies." I couldn't help but smile. Madeleine was proving to be a friendly companion, perhaps the sole one in the household.

"No worries." She said this while chewing, thereby making her previous statement a bit confusing. "Why does he want you in the office?"

"I'm not sure. He told me to meet him there to discuss something."

She chuckled. "You look like a deer caught in headlights. He's not that dangerous, you know?"

"Do I? I think he's rather formidable."

"Hah, that's simply what you're choosing to see. Ash is a sweetheart. A heartbreaker, for sure, but he never leaves a friend in a lurch."

"I'm not his friend." She did have a point, though. My mom regularly accused me of judging people too swiftly, and that I proved rather stubborn once I'd made up my mind in two seconds flat.

"Oh, come on. You two were rather chummy last night at the pub. He bought you drinks and all."

He had bought me drinks, but I'd considered that as part of my reluctant welcome wagon. It wouldn't do me any favours to read more into his behaviour. "I guess it's time to find his office then." I needed to get out of this conversation before it got even stranger.

She laughed again. "You're too easy to read, honey. Have fun."

I rose from the chair, put the dishes in the washer, and fled the kitchen. Thankfully, it had only been the two of us at least. If Randy or Ash had heard any of that, I would have been mortified.

The office proved rather easy to find, especially since Ashleigh had left the door ajar. He was sitting behind a large desk, much similar to the one Mr. Thompson had in his office back in London. With his head bowed over something, I took my time to study both him and the room. The decoration betrayed centuries of use with its mismatched items. People had lived here, and they had upgraded for utility rather than style. Ash's laptop was probably the most modern addition.

Another few seconds passed before he leaned back on his chair and happened to glance in my direction. "There you are. Come inside." He gestured toward the chair on the opposite side of his desk.

More and more, this reminded me of that last discussion in Mr. Thompson's office. It didn't help my nerves at all. So, when Ash closed his laptop with a loud slap, I jumped in the seat.

Ash seemed to stifle a laugh at my expense. "So, you asked for some kind of records, didn't you?"

Business. I could deal with that. "Yes, I would like to see if there are any records or letters that can shed some light on the inventory. Especially if there are any more items like the Augustus Rex vase." If I could find anything to corroborate my theories, the vase itself would be far easier to evaluate.

"I see. Well, I'm not sure the family would approve if I told them you'll be reading private correspondence, but luckily, I don't much care what they think."

He'd mentioned his family at the pub as well. This was potentially a minefield. "I'm not here to cause family feuds, but it could prove helpful with letters. I can assure you of my discretion if anything unsavory should appear."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll find plenty of juicy gossip. We're an old family, after all. I can't think of anyone who would be interested in scandal these days, but I'm happy to hear that you won't talk to journalists. They can spin a story out of nothing if they have pages to fill."

I wondered if he spoke from personal experience. It almost sounded like it.

"I'm less interested in gossip than facts, so that shouldn't pose a problem."

Ash leaned closer, wearing a smug sort of expression. "Why am I not surprised?"

"I can't answer that, sir."

"Ash."

He was sitting too close, even across the desk. The tension was a tangible thing, and I wasn't at all sure how to react. Blushing was not my preferred response at all, but it happened regardless.

The smugness became even more evident. "You have my blessings to read whatever records and letters you might find, although I'm afraid I can't help you more than that. I have no idea where they are, or if they exist."

"I shall begin the search, then." I was about to rise from the chair when Ash's hand landed on mine.

"I've changed my mind. If you find anything dated after 1940, please leave it for last and consult me before you read."

His touch on my hand was far too distracting, and I struggled to make sense of what he'd said. It took me a few seconds to reassemble the words. "Of course. This is your home. Your family legacy."

Ash leaned back and left my hand alone, no longer remotely smug. "We don't have much of a legacy worth preserving."

It made sense for him to say such a thing, no matter how cynical it sounded. He wanted to sell everything, after all. Ruin centuries of personal history like few of us had access to. My heart pinched with sadness, although I couldn't say if it was for my sake or his.

I had my mom, but that was it. No other known relatives, no family farm or cottage. No history. I had what he wanted, but I wondered if he'd ever considered how lonely that could be. We'd had no protection, no one to tell us stories of what had happened to my grandparents. She'd been left at an orphanage without a single note to tell her where she came from.

I'd been an accident, and she wasn't even sure who my father was.

Beside me was a man who had family, who had a wealth of history at his fingertips, and he didn't even care.

"I guess I better get back to work." I couldn't think of anything else to say.

"I won't keep you."

I won't keep you. I almost wanted to laugh. No one beside my mom had ever kept me, at least not for long. Freddie had said that it was my determination to hold on that made others cut me loose, but Freddie had said many things and few of them had been kind.  

A/N Moment of truth: I hadn't intended for this to be an angsty story, but it seems I can't help myself. Ooops. 

So, anyway, I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to write in this chapter, and I had to get some help from my friends to get inspiration going. So, I thought you could help this time. What do you think is going to happen next? 

And please, if you are a silent reader, I'd love to hear from you. Either with a comment or just a vote. Votes really help to spread the word about a new story <3