Luther had wanted Godric and his father dead. It was obvious that his uncle wanted to do away with his brother and his nephew – the only heir to the dukedom – so that no one would obstruct his inheritance of the dukedom.
But why had he been so insistent to spare Godric’s mother’s life? He had mentioned it several times in his letters to Anthony, that not a hair on the woman’s head was to be hurt.
Did he think that she would not have contested against his inevitable inheritance? Or rather, did he not want to spill more blood than necessary – only interested in disposing of those who stood in the way of the wealth he desired?
He rifled though the last bundle and at first, the sight of his uncle’s handwriting made him think he was simply going through more plots to kill Godric and his father.
But the first one was a poem. A love poem.
The second one was another poem, as well as a declaration of love. At the bottom, it was a request, made of three simple words.
“Be mine, Amelia,” Godric read out in a whisper, his heart sinking and twisting with disgust.
Amelia. His mother’s name.
Luther had been in love with his mother.
There were a few more letters detailing Luther’s endless affection for her, some bemoaning the fact that she favoured Godric’s father instead of him and his pleas for a chance to make her happy.
In the last letter, the handwriting was unfamiliar, but carried a nostalgic sense about it. Within the paper, Amelia apologized for being unable to love Luther back the way he had wanted her to,the way she believed he deserved. Instead, she told him that she had found the greatest love and companionship in his brother, the duke of Ironwell, and that they would be wed.
She expressed her pity to him that they would not be what he wanted them to be, but inevitably, they would become family, which was a bond as great as any.
At the end, she told him rather kindly that as an only child, she envied the fact that Godric’s father had grown up with a sibling and she felt blessed that Luther would be her brother too.
When Godric was finished reading it, he sat there for a moment and his heart mourned his parents once more.
He mourned his good father who had grown up with a man who despised him and wanted his fortune and inevitably his wife for himself. A man who had no problems spilling his distaste to a stranger and ordering them to murder even the duke’s young heir in cold blood.
He mourned his kind mother, who had been gentle and thoughtful in the way she had tried to dissuade Luther from pursing his feelings for her. His kind mother who had been excited to still have Luther in her life as a family member.
Godric could barely remember a lot of memories from when his parents had been alive, but he recalled their warmth and kindness. Especially to Luther. How they had tried to ensure he was not alone on holidays, sending out invitations for dinner to him every month.
And yet, Luther had not thought twice about ending their lives coldly. Even when things had not gone according to plan, he had raised no alarm or tired to atone for his sins.
Instead, he had further desecrated their goodness by twisting Godric into a tool.
With a sharp inhale, Godric willed his mind to focus and began to pack up the letters, slipping them into the pockets of his heavy coat. Then he worked to rearrange the office back just as he had found it, trying his best to ensure nothing appeared out of place.
Before he slipped out of the study, he picked up a document from the desk in order to keep up the ruse he had planted earlier. Only the butler was waiting in the hallway as he left the study and he was quick to hold up the document.
“It took me a while to find it. Uncle Luther might not be a messy person, but he is still terribly disorganized. I shall have a word with him about it soon.”
The butler nodded, looking relived.
“If you would like, Your Grace.”
Godric nodded a curt farewell and left the estate, his heart feeling hollow in light of all he had learned.
He had been right before. Nothing really had to change.
He would still seek justice, but its recipient would be different now.
Godric was intent on doing exactly what Luther had groomed him to do.
He would make his parents killer face justice. Luther had better prepare himself.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
