AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The estate was quiet as Hugh made his way through the halls. He came upon the door to
Finch’s quarters and rapped politely upon it, then took a small step back and folded his hands
behind him. When there was no answer, Hugh rapped again. Finch was likely asleep, and it
would take him some time to throw on a robe and answer the door. There was no cause for
alarm. But as time continued to pass, Hugh began to run out of excuses.
“Finch?” he called through the door. “Finch, are you quite well? Should I call for Everard?”
There was no reply.
“Finch?” Hugh tried again. When he heard nothing—not even the creak of the bedsprings—he
tried the door and found it unlocked. “Finch, I’m coming in.”
The room was dark when Hugh entered. Finch had to be asleep. So as not to disturb him,
Hugh left the overhead light off and summoned a flame that he held cupped in his hand. It cast
a dull, flickering glow in a radius of several feet, allowing him easy passage.
“Finch?” Hugh whispered. He approached the bed, lifting the ball of fire so he could see Finch
for himself.
Only Finch wasn’t there.
“Finch?” Hugh’s blood ran cold. He swiveled on his heel to look in the direction of the en suite
bathroom, hoping to find Finch in it, but the door was open and the lights were off. Thoroughly
alarmed, he rushed across the room to turn on the light and immediately wished he hadn’t.
The room had been stripped bare of all of Finch’s personal belongings.
Hugh’s hand dropped from the switch. He looked from the wall, once covered with vintage
record jackets, to the empty armchair over which he’d once spotted Finch’s beloved polar bear
pajama pants. Nothing. Not a trace of the man he loved remained.
“Finch?” Hugh asked again in a small, broken voice. He crossed the room to Elizabeth and
Eleanor’s gilded cage and saw that it, too, had been emptied. Eleanor’s wheel had been taken
away, and Elizabeth’s beloved tissue box was gone. The girls were nowhere to be seen. Not
even the small container holding their chocolate chips remained. Tears in his eyes, Hugh
dropped his head. “Finch…”
What could have happened to cause this? Finch wouldn’t simply pack up and leave, especially
not now that Hugh had come to his senses and claimed Finch as his own. Hugh brushed tears
from his eyes and shook his head. If he wanted to get to the bottom of this, he’d need to pull
