Chapter Fourteen

After breakfast and a run the next morning, Bella walked swiftly across the lawn to Cullen Hall. The weather had turned grey and overcast and Bella had pulled on a warm cardigan before setting off. She hadn't been disturbed the previous night, but the image of that carnation, sitting in the vase beside the other flowers, had been more than enough to prevent deep sleep.

She entered by the kitchen door, through the herb garden, as Edward had told her to. Sure enough, he was sat at the table, newspaper in front of him, tapping a biro against the crossword. His small wire glasses were perched on his nose again as he turned his gaze from the puzzle to her, a rapidly cooling cup of coffee at his elbow, next to a plate of half-eaten toast.

"Good morning." He said warmly.

"Morning." Bella murmured, pushing her hands into her jeans pockets.

"How did you sleep?" The question was slightly loaded but Bella shook her head.

"Fine. Nothing… I slept fine."

"Good. Eight letter word, begins with an s, Shadowy or foreboding." He read the clue aloud. Bella watched as he tapped the pen against the paper again before sighing softly.

"Sinister."

"…So it is." He scratched the letters in and Bella looked around sharply as the door leading into the rest of the house opened.

Rosalie appeared, clutching a plate and a mug. She stopped short at the sight of Bella and then looked at Edward. He smiled calmly whilst Bella averted her gaze, as though to give Rosalie some privacy.

"Feeling better?"

"A little." She said quietly, going to the sink and putting the dirty plate in there. Edward watched her for a moment, frowning slightly. Bella noticed that she was wincing, her hand pressed against her lower right abdomen.

"Have you taken your medication, Rose?" Edward asked gently and Bella jumped as Rose slammed the mug down into the sink, glaring at him before she stalked from the room.

Edward winced slightly as the door slammed behind her.

"Sorry about that. She's had some health problems recently.

"I know. I mean…" She quailed slightly under Edward's piercing gaze, "Jacob, the gardener, mentioned it…"

"From the mouth of Shelley Cope, I imagine. That woman could gossip for Britain." He said dryly and Bella bit her lip, looking at her feet.

"She's in pain?"

"She haemorrhaged badly. They don't think she can have… any more." Edward cleared his throat, clearly wondering if he'd said too much, "She's very private. That's why she's not been exactly welcoming; she just needs some time to recover."

"You can't put a time limit on that." Bella said hoarsely and Edward saw her eyes tear slightly as she kept her stare on her feet. She didn't seem to notice that her own hand had gone to her stomach, as though she had forgotten that it was flat and not swelling with life.

Edward didn't say anything. Instead he went to the door and gestured. Bella followed him.

Their footsteps echoed down the hallway as she followed Edward towards the library. Her heart sank as she approached the room, not wanting to be under the gaze of that painting again. However, Edward didn't seem to notice her reluctance and rapped his knuckles against the door. A voice called for them to enter and Bella saw Carlisle standing by the desk, flicking through a folder. He smiled warmly, putting down the folder beside a dozen others scattered across the antique desk.

"Hello Bella. How are you?"

"I'm good, thank you." Bella returned the smile and her eyes slid to the portrait hanging over the mantelpiece.

Edward and Carlisle followed her gaze and Carlisle gave a soft laugh.

"Striking resemblance, isn't it? You can see that he and our Edward are related, although Edward has his mother's eyes."

"There are definitely differences." Bella murmured and Edward's eyebrows lifted slightly before he turned to his father.

"Bella's reached a block with her writing and was hoping that hearing a little history about the house might get the ball rolling. You know more than I do…"

"Of course, anything you wish to know." Carlisle offered generously and Bella tore her eyes from the painting of Edward to look at him.

"Well… who was he? Edward Cullen?" She asked as casually as she could. Carlisle moved towards a bookcase, gesturing to a pair of seats. She and Edward both sat.

"That Edward is my great, great granduncle. He was the son of Caius and Jane Cullen."

He turned and opened a large book, handing it to Bella. It was so heavy that she had to use both hands and rest it on her lap. The yellowed pages showed an ornately drawn family tree and Bella's eyes went to the name Edward Cullen. He was on the same line as Marcus Cullen, who was joined by a marriage line to Didyme Afton.

Edward's line was not joined. Bella's eyes raked the page, but there was no sign of Marie Tanner.

"He never married. But he looks so much like you. I thought you'd be directly related." She murmured to Edward, touching the dates under his name. Edward leaned against the arm of her chair, the warm fabric of his shirt brushing against her bare arm.

"His brother, Marcus, is my great, great grandfather." Carlisle explained and Bella thought back to the man in the maze, so in love, so delighted with his American bride. No surprise there that they had had children, but still… this revelation had thrown her slightly, she had assumed that Edward was a direct descendant of Edward. Edward looked at his father.

"How did he die? He was very young."

"Well, that's quite the story." Carlisle said, leaning against the desk and folding his arms loosely, "He's something of a black mark in the Cullen family history. Nothing to think of now, but scandalous at the time."

"What happened?" A deep sense of foreboding brewed in Bella's stomach as she lifted her face to look at Carlisle. He smiled sadly.

"According to the official historical documents, he died young in an accident."

Bella shuddered, tightening her hands into fists. Edward… Her Edward… She knew that he had died young, but still… hearing it as an official declaration hurt her heart.

Edward was more on task.

"Why do you say that was the official stance? Was there another reason?" He asked and Carlisle spread his hands, shrugging slightly.

"Jasper did some research into the family history a few years ago… Jasper is Alice's fiancé," He said aside to Bella, "He's a professor of History at the University of London. Anyway, he found some letters that were written by Jane Cullen to her sister, Chelsea. They suggested that Edward had died another way."

Bella looked back down at the family tree, her fingers tightening on the cover as Carlisle's words pierced her heart.

"She wrote that Edward had committed suicide."

She closed her eyes, squeezing them shut as nausea rolled over her. Her breath left her in a shuddering gasp and felt Edward's gaze on her. His hand brushed against hers as he pretended to look more closely at the family tree.

"Do you know why?" He asked and Carlisle shrugged again.

"From what Jasper could gather, there was some kind of family disagreement. Edward was expected to fulfil certain roles and didn't want to, for some reason. It was never written down so those reasons would have been lost. His suicide was covered up to prevent family disgrace."

"What happened to Marcus and Didyme?" Edward asked.

"They went to America. Didyme's father was very wealthy in land in Illinois and ran multiple businesses. With no male heir, he invited Marcus to take the role once he'd married Didyme."

"So Edward had no choice but to become the heir of Cullen Hall." Edward sighed.

"He wanted his own life." Bella said softly.

If it meant that I would be free to live my life as I saw fit, then I would burn this place to the ground myself!

Edward's impassioned words played through Bella's mind and she curled her fingers into a fist. Edward noticed and stood, drawing his father's attention.

"I should have taken an interest in this sooner. I know so little about our family history."

"Well, any in-depth information you want would be better coming from Jasper, to be honest." Carlisle laughed gently, "Would you both excuse me? I'm expecting a call from the hospital about that grant they want us to fund."

He disappeared from the room and Bella got to her feet, placing the book open on the desk. She looked up at Edward as he moved to stand beside her and shook her head slowly.

"He didn't kill himself. He didn't." She insisted vehemently.

"No, it didn't strike me as likely, from what you've said." Edward agreed, looking down at the family tree. Bella touched Edward's name again.

"What happened to Marie? Why isn't her name here?" She mused and Edward clucked his tongue as she traced her finger down the names. They were clearest near the bottom of the page.

Marcus and Didyme… Alistair and Mary… Garrett and Katherine… Liam and Siobhan… Carlisle and Esme… The names of the couples descended the page to the three children listed at the bottom – Edward, Emmett and Alice.

Another name caught Bella's attention, above Marcus and Edward's. Joined by sibling lines to their father, Caius, was the name Aro.

"That's the man that Edward was arguing with in the rose garden." Bella said quickly, tapping his name, "He was telling Edward that he had to do his duty to Cullen Hall."

Her mind was buzzing with this new information and Edward seemed to notice her twitching because he closed the book and gestured to the door.

"Let's get outside. I think some fresh air would do us good."

Walking side by side across the lawn, Bella felt able to breathe again. Edward strolled calmly by her side, although when she'd glanced at him, he'd been running his hand through his hair, brow lined in thought.

The sun shine brightly and the glare bounced from the lake into Bella's eyes and she stopped in her tracks, staring at the calm surface. Edward paused beside her and his hand brushed against her arm in a would-be comforting gesture.

Bella looked up at him again, feeling a lump in his throat.

"Something bad happened here, Edward." She whispered, "He couldn't have killed himself. He couldn't. Not with Marie waiting for him, he couldn't have left her. He promised that he would find a way for them to be together."

Edward gazed down at her before slipping his fingers around hers and squeezing lightly before releasing her hand.

"I believe you. I think we need to talk to Jasper."

"What for?" Bella asked and he sighed.

"We need to find out what happened to Marie."

A/N: Hello darlings. A teensy bit more explanation for you here, including some info on Rosalie.

In case you didn't know – suicide in Edward's time would have beyond shocking. Not only would it have shamed his family, he would not have permitted a Christian burial in church, preventing him from entering heaven. He would have been buried without ceremony and not in a churchyard or crypt. Hence the cover up by the family.

www(d0t)polyvore(dot)com/cgi/set?id=37960765 – your illustrations for the week!

See you next weekend!

Much Love

Katie