He shook his head, feigning somewhat believable confusion. “William, you need to calm down and tell me what the problem is… besides the accusation that I stole a coat I’ve never seen before.”
“You. You’re the problem,” William shouted, tearing his fingers back and balling them into fists, which made the stranger step back. “Your name. Where you come from – the gardening. You lied about it all. And you are still here! Who the fuck are you?”
“I didn’t lie about anything.”
“That’s not what I’ve been told.” Actually, William hadn’t been told Edward lied exactly. He was told that Edward didn’t exist. At least not in over eighty years.
Urged by all his uncontrolled fury, he snatched a large branch from the ground and held it up. William was confident he caught the slightest of smirks across the man’s face, but it didn’t last. “I’m giving you one last chance to tell me the truth, or you’ll meet my friend.”
“Friend?”
William hoisted the branch up in threat and promise. “Ah, this friend.”
“Steady there, Gandalf.”
TheLord of the Ringsreference wasn’t wasted on William, but he was in too much of a violent mood to accept it. “Spit it out, or I swear I’ll–”
“My nameisEdward, and Iamfrom Stonewell – although I get the impression you found out I don’t live there… currently.”
“I… did.” William jolted the branch, making the man wince.
“My family is from Stonewell; we just haven’t lived in the village in a long time.”
“Why should I believe anything that comes out your mouth?”
“That’s actually a very good question.” Edward, or whoever he was, lowered his arms down to his side, not bothering to wipe away the dribble of blood over his chin. Already, the skin around was darkening to a blue-black bruise. “I think trust is earned. And clearly, I need to work to gain it again.”
“Don’t fool yourself. I never trusted you,” William sneered.
“And yet you shared a bed with me last night. That suggests you did, at least, a little.”
“That was different. You tricked me. You lied.” Heat rose in William’s cheeks, so hot and sudden he grew dizzy for a moment. His arms were aching from holding the branch up and poised, ready to bludgeon this man if the moment required it.
“William,” he said, trying to disarm the furious man by using his name. “I swear, I haven’t lied. My name is Edward, or Ed if you prefer, and my family comes from Stonewell. Although currently, we reside in Oxford…”
“Edward is the name of a man who died here long ago. He worked on the manor’s gardens, just like you said you did. But that was a lie because the gardens are a fucking state. So, you are either shit at your job or that was a lie.”
Edward sagged his weight on the side of his hip, his brow furrowing. “Okay, I admit. Thatwasa lie. But if you just let me explain, and put down that staff, I might actually have the chance to–”
“Go on then, why did you do it? Convince me and then I might consider putting this down.” William shook the branch, which was beginning to ache the minimal muscles in his arms. “What was the point of lying about gardening when it was so obvious no one has?”
Obvious to anyone but me.
Edward pondered the question, his eyes falling to the monstrosity of the stone gatehouse at his back. William hadn’t noticed it before now, but the door was ajar. He peered enough inside to see a sleeping bag on the floor, amongst what looked to be a camping set. This must’ve been where Edward had been staying. And from the puddles of muddied water surrounding the sleeping bag, it explained why Edward hadn’t slept here during the storm last night.
More lies. More deceit. More reasons to distrust him. All until the next words left his torn lips.
“Because my great-uncle was called Edward, that was who I was named after. Yes, he used to work in the gardens, and it was the only thing I could think to say when you opened the door. I… didn’t expect someone like you to have actually moved into the property. It threw me off.”
Edward only mentioned one detail that mattered to William. “Teddy was your great-uncle?”
“Teddy.” He swallowed hard as if the admission was a painful one. “Yes.Heis why I’m here.”
William couldn’t stop the nasty words from falling out of his lips. “Then maybe this will be a surprise butTeddydied many years ago, actually. You won’t find him here…”
“Ouch, William. Hit me, threaten me with that branch, but don’t speak ill of the dead. They might be listening, you know.” Edward’s face paled, his eyes darkening with surprise and, most notably, pain.
It was on the tip of his tongue to apologise, but who was William kidding? He wasn’t brave enough to say it. And regardless if he’d just crossed a line, it was Edward who’d lied his way into William’s home. He was the bad person in this situation.
