Fallen Hero (A New Adventure Begins - Star Elite 3)

“Come and have something to eat,” Aaron urged quietly with a gentle smile when he saw her hovering uncertainly in the doorway. “I am pleased to say that the tavern owner was happy to oblige Oliver’s request, and has furnished us with enough food to last us several days.”

He waved to a chair and heaped a huge array of food onto a plate which he held out to her. Elspeth took it with shaking hands and stared down at it blankly for a moment. It was more than she had eaten since Thomas had passed away. Her stomach rumbled hungrily as her nose was teased by the delicious scent of pie, freshly baked bread, ham, beef, and a whole chicken leg all of which sat upon the plate surrounded by a banquet of vegetables.

“Thank you,” Elspeth whispered with such heartfelt gratitude Aaron paused and looked sharply at her.

Unbeknown to her, his face hardened as he helped himself to a mound of food and sat beside her at the table. The reverence on her face when she saw the food made him angry because it warned him she had seen precious little sustenance over the last few days.

“Coming through,” Callum called as he surged through the back door carrying a large bundle of wood. He dumped the lot onto the hearth with a heavy thud and retraced his steps. At the door, he paused to let Jasper into the room with his burden. Two trips later, there was enough wood in the house for all the fires to be lit.

“Thank you,” Elspeth murmured when they immediately set about distributing the wood around the house.

She looked at Aaron, who smiled at her. It was difficult to know what to say. The speed in which the men had turned her house back into a home was shocking, and while blissful, was a stern warning to Elspeth that she was woefully unprepared to face life on her own.

“Thank you all so much for this,” she said once the heat from the roaring flames had started to chase the chill away. “It is more than I could ever expect. I don’t know how to repay you.”

“No repayment is necessary,” Oliver assured her with a smile.

While the fires were making a start on warming them all up, the men gathered around the table and began to eat. A somewhat expectant silence settled over them while they all assuaged the worst of their appetites. Eventually, after several moments of desultory conversation, Aaron broached the topic none of them really wanted to discuss for fear of upsetting Elspeth. However, it had to be done because they all needed answers to several very puzzling issues.

“We need to ask you what happened to Thomas,” Aaron said gently when he had finished his meal.

Elspeth, who was still eating, froze instantly. She swallowed and stared blankly at him. Slowly, she eased a crumpled piece of parchment out of her pocket and straightened it out before she held it out to him.

“I received it from the solicitor about two weeks after Thomas had gone to London. I thought he – Thomas - had come to see you,” she sighed sadly. “When one week passed and he hadn’t sent word when he would be back, I started to worry. A week later, this letter arrived. I asked the solicitor to inform you of his death in time for the funeral.”

“His body was brought back to the village?” Aaron asked once he had read the brief, clinical note detailing Thomas’s demise.

Elspeth nodded. “The solicitor arranged it with the vicar.”

“It says here that he died in a carriage accident?” Aaron handed the note to Callum to read.

Elspeth nodded. “Nobody knows what happened exactly. Thomas was found by the side of the road, in a ditch to be precise.”

“I am sorry,” Aaron murmured.

He didn’t know what else to say. It seemed such a waste of a life that he was lost for words. The last thing he wanted to do was mutter inane platitudes to Elspeth. Given her situation, it was not going to help her. What Elspeth needed was more practical help, the most important of which were now sitting half-eaten in the middle of the table and were roaring away in the fireplace behind them.

“There is something odd, Aaron,” Elspeth murmured eventually.

She studied her empty plate in amazement. She truly struggled to believe she had really eaten so much food, but she had, and her stomach was wonderfully full because of it.

“Are you preparing to move?” Aaron asked when Elspeth appeared lost in thought.

“Not yet, but it is only a matter of time.”

“Why?” The man called Oliver asked. “Have you not been left the property in Thomas’s will?”

“I don’t know. The solicitor hasn’t been in contact with me yet about any reading of Thomas’s last will and testament,” Elspeth replied.

Aaron frowned. “That should have been done already.”

“I know,” Elspeth said. “I have written to him again to ask what is taking so long but he hasn’t responded.”

“How odd,” Oliver murmured.

“It might be because Thomas hadn’t paid the solicitor’s bill,” Elspeth said, her tone reluctant. “I went through Thomas’s papers in the study, Aaron, because I needed to try to get some money to purchase food and provisions. All I found were bills, all of which remain unpaid. What’s worse is that the ba

nk statements I have found show that Thomas removed all of his money prior to his visit to London.”