Chapter Text
Today was a big day at the Hobson estate. The maids were rushing in all directions, the guests were lingering in the gardens, staring wearily at the grey sky and hoping the rain would not ruin the wedding ceremony. The kitchens were in full swing, preparing as many delicious foods and delicacies to serve to the noble men and women attending. The whole estate was vibrant with activity and frenzy, as more and more coaches entered the large property and more and more beautiful dresses and elegant costumes got added to the already growing crowd.
There was one peculiar person who did not seem fazed at all by the atmosphere of the large manor, out in the countryside surrounding London. Officer Lowell whistled to himself without a care in the world, staring curiously at the perfectly organised dance taking place around him. He was not invited to the wedding. And Evelyn Chevalier, the head maid of the estate, was fully aware of it as she walked down the large marble stairway leading to the entrance hall of the manor, as she knew the list of guests like the back of her hand.
-Officer Lowell. She greeted him coldly in her large puffy black maid dress, her razor sharp eyes keeping an eye on the ballet of maids and cooks she was in charge of. What a surprise to see you here on this day. I’m afraid Lord Hobson won’t be able to attend to your needs, however.
-Oh, don’t bother Lord Hobson for me. The cheerful Scotland Yard detective smiled at the head maid. I know today is an important day for him. It’s not everyday one gets married, after all.
Evelyn's sharp gaze scanned the officer’s features, trying to gauge whether he was serious or not, and what the reason for his presence was. He would not dare ruin the wedding day of an important aristocrat like Lord Hobson with some kind of search, would he? Despite the power Scotland Yard held in the kingdom, that would be overstepping their bounds. Then why was he here?
-Then could you please state the reason for your presence here? Evelyn asked, not even bothering to smile - she was in her lair, and the young officer was not even a guest.
-I just wanted to congratulate Lord Hobson personally. Lowell said with a puppy smile. I am aware we have put him through a lot during this investigation, and I want to assure him that Scotland Yard is still doing its best to find the murderer.
-I will transmit this message to my Lord. Evelyn retorted. I am sure he will be delighted to hear that you have stopped suspecting him.
Officer Lowell shrugged and sighed.
-We are just doing our job, you know. I am sure Lord Hobson would never be involved in the murder of his best friend and business partner… but we have to investigate any possible lead, even the more incongruous ones… if you see what I mean.
Evelyn’s eyes squinted as she stared at the officer in his blue uniform, but she didn’t answer. The threat was barely veiled. They still believed Lord Hobson was somewhat involved in the mysterious murder of his long time friend, Lord De Winter, and they were not going to let that trail go so easily. As if on cue, Officer Lowell kept going.
-I have to admit that I was quite surprised to learn that Lord Hobson was going to be wed to Lord De Winter’s daughter so soon after his murder, however. It is quite strange, don’t you think, Miss Chevalier?
Evelyn’s expression softened. If he was asking her about anything, it meant that he really had no proof to indict Lord Hobson. He was stooping as low as to try and extract information from the estate’s employees… but, unbeknownst to him, this enterprise was doomed to fail miserably. Evelyn was loyal to her master, after all.
-The tragedy that hit the De Winter family helped strengthen the already existing bond between them and Lord Hobson. She simply replied with an amused smile. Lady De Winter herself blessed this marriage, happy that her daughter was finding some peace and happiness in the midst of all this grief.
-Right. Of course. Lowell nodded. I don’t doubt for a second that Lady Astra must be… delighted. And I’m sure she would never accept to marry her father’s murderer. Yet another proof that Lord Hobson is innocent, isn’t it?
-For sure. Evelyn smiled. This is going to be a beautiful day for both the Hobson and the De Winter families. Now, if you’ll excuse me, Officer Lowell, I would ask you to leave, as there is still a lot of preparation to do before the ceremony.
-Of course, of course, I’m getting out of your hair. The Scotland Yard officer nodded, before adding in a very serious tone. Let me just warn you, Miss Chevalier. Lying to the authorities would make you an accomplice. I assume you are aware of this.
Evelyn raised a brow. How daring was this commoner to talk like this under the roof of a nobleman like Lord Hobson? Scotland Yard was decidedly getting a bit ahead of itself.
-Are you perhaps implying something, officer?
-No, of course not. He smiled. I just want to ensure that you are aware that, for your own good, if you ever hear of anything… you know where to find me.
The officer put his hat back on and, after a last scan of the entrance hall, took his leave.
-Enjoy the ceremony. And my congratulations to the soon to be Lady Hobson.
Evelyn stood still for a moment as she watched the young officer down the stairs toward his coach, before clicking her tongue. The little pests of Scotland Yard were getting too bold. Coming to the Hobson estate on the day of the master’s wedding, of all days? And to make these kinds of insinuations? The Head Maid shook her head in disbelief. They were really desperate. Maybe officer Lowell hoped he could talk to a lower ranked maid and extract some useful information from her… Maybe they had informants among the many guests attending the wedding… or maybe he was foolish enough to believe Evelyn would be of any help to him. No matter the reason why Officer Lowell had been so confident, he was going to be disappointed. Evelyn was on the lookout for any inconsistencies. She was the eyes and the ears of the estate. Nothing escaped her. And everything she knew, her master also ended up knowing.
Evelyn turned around and chastised one of the younger maids, Corin, for dropping a bucket of water - again.
-Corin! Why can’t you be careful for once! Today has to be perfect!
-I-I’m sorry, Miss Evelyn!
-Clean up that mess you made. Evelyn barked. It’s a good thing I expected you to be like this and didn’t appoint you to a more important task.
-Yes, Miss Evelyn. My apologies, Miss Evelyn. The short framed girl bowed.
Evelyn had no time for her shenanigans. By that point, Corin’s clumsiness was a well known fact to her, and she had learned to organise the army of maids under her command around that wild card factor. Despite Corin, this day would go as expected. By the night, Lord Hobson would be married to Astra De Winter, daughter of the late Lord De Winter, and the estate would have a new Lady to serve.
Well… Evelyn’s loyalty went to Lord Hobson only. But she would do her best to accommodate the young bride nonetheless. As Lowell said, she had lost her father recently, and was marrying a man some believed to be the culprit behind her father’s murder. Things were probably a bit difficult for her. But she would have to do with it.
Evelyn attended the wedding ceremony tucked in a corner, along with some of the other employees of the estate. All the maids and butlers were obviously not invited, as their social standing was too low to be seen in the estate’s chapel along all of the London nobility that was summoned to the event. Mrs Alexandrina, the head cook, was sighing in awe at the ceremony, close to Von Lycaon, who handled the gardeners. As for Evelyn, she observed the wedding with distant eyes, more focused on the work she would have to do once it was over and all the guests gathered in the ballroom. She had planned the reception in the gardens, as the July weather usually was quite nice, but a torrential rain had started falling on the estate as the ceremony was beginning. England and its darn weather, she complained internally. Hopefully, she always had a backup plan, and had ordered the maids to move everything inside the ballroom, where the guests would be shielded from the bad weather. She would have rather been out there monitoring the operations herself rather than attending this long and boring ceremony, but, as the head maid of the estate, she had a duty to be present when her master would slip on a ring on the finger of his new wife. Thus, she patiently waited, distracted by her thoughts.
A whisper spreading through the mouths of hundreds of gossip-loving nobles caught her attention at some point, however, and her gaze shifted toward the entrance of the chapel. The bride had entered, walking alone along the central alley in a beautiful, shining white dress with a long train behind her. It was the first time Evelyn saw her in the flesh, although her master had long been talking about Astra De Winter. She was young, in her twenties, a lot younger than her soon to be husband who was closer to his sixties than his forties. Her luscious black hair was held up in an intricate chignon, tucked away under a veil that failed to hide her beauty. Her skin was all the rage in the kingdom; a soft honey colour, betraying her eastern origins, and slanted cat eyes where two beautiful irises shone like red diamonds under the candle light basking the chapel. She was a true beauty, far from the usual standards of England, but Evelyn couldn’t help but be captured by her appearance. She seemed so foreign, so exotic, and… so alone too.
-Why is no one leading her to the altar? Von Lycaon whispered a question to Alexandrina.
-Her father is no longer with us, and her family doesn’t recognise her since she is born from Lord De Winter’s affair with a foreigner during one of his trips to the Indies. Alexandrina answered, always aware of the latest gossip. My opinion is they want to shame her by not having anyone walk her to the altar.
-And it seems like it is working. Von Lycaon stated.
He was right. The crowd of noble men and women were whispering and gossiping as she kept walking alone toward the altar where her soon to be husband was waiting for her. They were chuckling, mocking, criticizing. In a world where appearances were everything, this was akin to a social murder, and Evelyn couldn’t help but feel sorry for the poor girl. She had already been through a lot, but she was suffering the consequences of her birth outside of marriage. Lord De Winter never had any kids with his legal wife, Lady De Winter, so Astra De Winter was his only successor… but it didn’t mean she was accepted by her family nonetheless.
Evelyn sighed. The British and their nobility… those useless rules, those social constraints, those innuendos that could destroy one’s reputation… she could never get used to it. No matter if she served her master with loyalty, it all seemed like a messed up game where one had no choice but to partake because of their blood. Not that she pitied them much. When most of the population barely had enough food to scrape by, these silly noble games felt like a little price to pay for such an opulent life. And serving the nobility like she did ensured safety and money. No matter how critical she was of this senseless game of appearance, she profited enough from it to never put it in question.
-Poor girl, still. Alexandrina sighed. That is not the welcome I would like to have in my new forever home.
-The wedding was arranged by Lady De Winter anyway. Evelyn stated. She had no say in the matter, at the end of the day.
-Right… Alexandrina cocked her head. Well… at least I hope she will like it here.
Another cry of pain slipped through the cracks of the closed door leading to the nuptial chamber. Evelyn standing right as a t in front of it, could not help but feel uncomfortable, as the newly wed couple was consummating their marriage inside. Lady Astra’s gasps and pained whimpered echoed in the empty corridors, with no other witness to it than the head maid herself. Everyone else was gone by now. The guests had returned to their coaches and left the estate long ago. The maids were still up downstairs, cleaning up after the party and the ball, despite the late hour. Evelyn should have been with them, sending orders and managing her troupes to ensure the manor would look spotless once morning came. Yet, here she was, waiting in front of the new mistress’ bedroom, hearing the thumping and the huffing and the crying of a couple making love.
She would have preferred to be anywhere else, truly. She had no desire to hear her master’s loud grunts as he pounded his new wife, nor the aching gasps of the newly appointed Lady Hobson. She was aware that was how a marriage was consumed, of course, but she did not understand why she had to be a witness of it. However, her master had ordered her to wait for him outside the door, and so she did, always the loyal servant. Maybe he simply wanted her to stand guard here, in case anyone tried to attack him, but Evelyn did not believe this could happen inside his own estate. Lord Hobson was a powerful man, and the company he had founded along with Lord De Winter, the Odeum Indies Company, profited immensely from the riches of Britain's colonial empire in India and China. The consequence of these riches was jealousy among his peers of the nobility, as well as from some of the people he had thwarted on his way to the top. Lord Hobson had enemies, many of them. But he was also too powerful for anyone to try something as foolish as trying to kill him in his own estate.
Thus, Evelyn remained unsure of the reason why she had to listen to the sobs, fiddling with the stump of her missing finger on her right hand. Hopefully, the trial soon reached an end when she heard Lord Hobson’s low groan and his stumping came to a halt. A few minutes later, the master of the estate exited the room, wearing a silk dressing gown, a satisfied expression on his face.
Lord Hobson was a man in his fifties, whose hair and moustache were getting greyer by the year. He was tall, always took great care of his appearance, and hid a cunning and smart mind behind what sometimes looked like a gruff exterior to anyone who did not know him enough.
-She will make a good wife. He declared as he glanced back into the dark room behind him. It was obvious from how tight she was that she had never been with another man before. Lady De Winter told me otherwise, but it is obvious that her words should not be accounted for when it comes to Astra.
Evelyn nodded her ascent.
-Lady De Winter’s hatred for her is no secret.
-Hm. The Lord of the mansion grunted. Anyway, come to my office, Evelyn. We need to talk.
-Of course, my Lord.
This explained things. Lord Hobson simply wanted a word with her after the hectic day. Evelyn stared in the dark room through the half opened door that her master had not bothered to close, and heard a faint sob coming from it. The head maid gripped the handle and closed it, muffling the sound and ignoring the cries of the new Lady Hobson. Such was the fate of noble women. Being married to a man, and having to give him children. No matter how reductive it felt, this was the social role they had in this British aristocracy that seemed to still live in the medieval time. For one, the new Lady Hobson should consider herself lucky that she was allowed to remain unwed for so long thanks to her father’s input. But now that he was gone, she had to join the ranks and become a wife and a mother.
Evelyn followed behind her master to his office, and closed the door behind her. She had previously checked the corridor to ensure none of the estate’s employees could listen to their discussion. Lord Hobson sat at his desk, looking satisfied. He waited for his head maid to stand in front of him, before saying:
-I heard the little snoop from Scotland Yard stopped by this morning.
-Indeed, my Lord. With thinly veiled threats. He tried to coax me into telling him something.
-And did you take the bait?
-Of course not, my Lord.
Lord Hobson chuckled, and waved toward the shelves of his office. Not needing him to word his demand, Evelyn opened the glass door and took out a glass that she filled with a slug of Scottish whisky, before bringing it to her master. Lord Hobson took a swig out of the glass, and smirked.
-If he tried to coax you of all people, then he really has nothing against us.
-That is what I believed too. Evelyn acquiesced.
-Anything strange happening during the reception?
-I believe at least one of the guests might have been an informant, as he was questioning the maids. I made sure he knew where his place was.
-You did great. Lord Hobson smiled. What would I do without you, my little frenchie…
-Don’t mention it, my Lord. I am just doing my duty.
-I know, but you do it so well. He chuckled. Too bad no one else saw your talent and usefulness before you came here.
Evelyn's hands clenched, but she remained silent. She expected her master to talk about other topics, and she was right.
-Now… have you searched my wife’s luggage?
-During the reception, as you ordered, my Lord.
-And?
-No trace of the diamonds.
-Of course… Lord Hobson grunted. It would have been too easy if she had them on her. But they have to be somewhere.
The master of the estate shot up from his seat and began pacing through his office, under the watchful gaze of his head maid.
-Joran’s will made no mention of the Stars of Lyra, and yet we know they exist. The two biggest and purest rubies in the world… he kept mentioning them again and again in his letters to me when he was in China. I know he brought them back. But even his wife has never seen them. And they are not mentioned in his will. It must be because he has either hidden them, or already given them away. And the only person he would give them to is his daughter.
Lord Hobson sighed and scratched his head. His anger seemed to be under control for now, and he returned to his seat to take another swig of whisky.
-I have to get my hand on these diamonds. He mumbled under his breath. I’m the one who financed his expedition to China, so I’m entitled to them. And yet, he has lied to me and hidden his treasure from me. His friend. Just to give them to his bastardly daughter. And here I thought Joran was an honourable man…
Lord Hobson crossed his arms on his chest, his brows furrowed in anger.
-Fornicating with a chinese woman while his wife waited for him in England… and keeping his bastard daughter with him on top of it… with none of the riches he talked so much about… traitor… liar… this trip changed him for the worse. He was a fine man before going there, Evelyn. But the Indies changed him. The locals probably had a bad influence on him. Especially that woman he impregnated. He was tainted by their savage culture. I wish there was some other way we could have gone about it, but there wasn’t. He had to be out of the picture.
Evelyn nodded silently. None of this ranting was news to her. Lord Hobson’s plan to murder his friend had been set off a long time ago, and she was aware of most of the details, even though she didn’t take part in it. All of this feud had been started by Lord De Winter’s discovery of a pair of extremely rare red diamonds in China. Lord Hobson was obsessed with them.
China was still a rather unknown territory to the British. They’d won the two opium wars a few decades prior, earning them rights to Hong Kong, but they wanted more. Lord Hobson and Lord De Winter had devised an expedition to go deeper into mainland China and exploit the riches they would find there. Neither expected to find such pure diamonds. If Lord De Winter had found them so easily, then there could be even more. Lord Hobson's plan had been to use the Stars of Lyra as a gift to Queen Victoria to both strengthen his power in the Empire and embolden the state to keep pushing into China. Indeed, according to his letters, Lord De Winter had found the diamonds deep into China, far from the territories controlled by the British. But another easily won war against the weakened Qing dynasty could allow the crowd to take control of the diamond mines. Lord Hobson would probably become governor of that newly acquired territory. He would become more than just a merchant, his Odeum Indies Company could even rival the legendary East India Company. The plan was flawless. Well… apart from one small problem.
Lord De Winter.
Instead of returning to Britain, he settled in Hong Kong with the diamonds. He was apparently obsessed with them. He soon stopped replying altogether to his friend’s letters, and lived his life in the colony, raising the daughter he had with a local. Lord Hobson was furious. He had already promised the diamonds to the Queen, and the more time went on without receiving them, the more he looked like a fool in London. His anger toward Lord De Winter turned into hatred. But, hidden on the other side of the planet, there was little he could do to force his associate’s hand.
So, he planned his murder, along with Lady De Winter, Lord De Winter’s wife that he had abandoned back in England. They wanted revenge. But, more than anything, they wanted the diamonds. Sadly for them, Lord De Winter had become someone important in the young Hong Kong colony. His murder was soon investigated. And Lord Hobson was of course one of the main suspects. Hopefully, he had covered his tracks enough for Scotland Yard to be unable to indict him, but he still had to be careful.
Yet, the only thing that arrived in the boat repatriating Lord De Winter’s belongings back to England was his bastard daughter, Astra De Winter. There was no trace of the diamonds. And Lord Hobson was even more furious. His anger was still visible right now, as his fingers were tapping the teck wood of his desk.
-Evelyn. He stated, staring at his head maid in the eyes. You will be personally in charge of my wife as her personal maid. Keep an eye on her. Try to gather where her father hid the diamonds. And make sure she doesn’t snoop around. She has been a little too docile so far, and I surmise that she is probably hoping to uncover the identity of her father’s murderer. Keep her in check.
-Of course, my Lord.