Dearest Ben,
I am entrusting this note to you in the hopes that it will find its rightful owner, Mademoiselle Remi.
It is the total collection of sums from her uncle; the other half of her dowry, which he kept hidden from me, and extra from his allowance. I devised a hasty, reckless plan to expose his scheme to acquire funds that did not belong to him. My intention was to give her some semblance of freedom from the people who would have been rid of her for less.
Ben, if you are reading this, I hope that you will forgive an old man for his foolishness. I should never have sent you away. After your mother and your sister, I was desperate to keep you alive. My fears won out in the end. It was a cruel thing to do in the midst of your grieving. The failures are my own burden to bear, and I will carry them in life and well after. I am merely hopeful that this finds you in good health, and that you are home, where you belong.
Please tell Mademoiselle Remi that her company brought me joy. Because of her, our home had warmth again. I hope that she may shine a light in those old and darkened halls for many years.
With Undying Love,
Your Father
P.S. Please tell Lamotte that he has been instrumental, and an excellent friend.
When Ben finished the letter, he was surprised to find a weight lifted from his shoulders. He could feel the damage from the last sixteen years, spent far away from home, chipping away. It was an incredible relief.
“God rest Lamotte’s soul,” Jacques said, lowering his head in respect.
“Edgar shouldn’t have.” Remi sniffed. Her nose was red and tears brimmed in her eyes.
“But he did,” Ben said.
Jacques crossed his arms. “Do you think he knew he might die pursuing Arnaud?”
“He might have.”
His father’s plan was bordering on mad, but he’d followed through on something he intended to finish. It was a short letter that brought solace, but it also left them wanting more. Ben would have liked to know about the valuables hidden under the mausoleum, and just how his father knew; how he’d found it soon enough to mention it in his will.
Or had he known all along and kept it a secret? He wondered.
“It was too good of him,” Remi sniffed again.
Ben took the check from her shaking fingers and put it back in the envelope with the letter. Tucking it inside his jacket, he brought Remi into his arms. She folded around him.
“If you two are going to nestle up like a couple of lovebirds,” Jacques groaned, “then I’ll excuse myself. If you need me, I’ll be dragging more dusty crates up the steps.”
Ben chuckled.
“What do we do now?” Remi asked after a few comfortable, quiet moments.
“As you said, there is plenty to do.”
She looked into his eyes, resting her chin softly against his chest. “I mean, what shall we do first?”
Ben purred, “We shall open a bottle of wine.”
“And then?”
Ben leaned down, grazing his lips along her ear. He felt her shiver as his breath skirted across her neck. He nipped at her smooth skin and grinned when she jumped.
“Ben!” Remi’s hands pressed to his shoulders, bracing herself against his sturdy build.
“The rest,” he murmured, “we’ll leave to the wine.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book was a labor of love for the last four years. I started writing during Covid and took a long break from it during the time after. I'm so glad I came back to this book and made it happen! I couldn't have done it without my amazing support system.
Thank you to my husband for being my biggest cheerleader. You pushed me to finish writing, you offered your input when I needed it most, and you were the first person to read it from conception to finished product. Thank you for all the encouragement, always.
Thank you to my author fam, Chantal Gadoury especially. We journeyed through the Shrike’s woods together once, and writing that book with you helped me feel so much more confident in writing this piece. You're one of my best friends and favorite storytellers.
Finally, a huge thank you to the incredible beta readers who took a chance on a few chapters and then dove headfirst into this thriller. Your feedback and kind words meant everything to me!
This book is my love letter to the ones who dream about brooding love interests, haunted manors, and the damsels that run from them in the dead of night.
Thank you for reading!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A.M. Davis is an artist and an author from Ohio. She co-authored her first novel, The Shrike and the Shadows, a dark and twisted retelling of the classic tale Hansel & Gretel. By daylight, she is the marketing manager for an upscale resort. By night, she is seeking out her next story, playing video games, or imagining what new piece to draw and anguish over dramatically.
