“Never awake a demon. He can completely swallow you in its gloom”.
Christine Bircham was born into a wealthy family and so she also wanted to die. Money for her was something that simply was completing her sophisticated style of living, but if it would have ever completely evaporated from her money bag, then she would have felt that she had been destroyed.
She never wondered about what she would have done if she hadn’t had money. Such a thing was something completely out of her way of thinking and she didn’t even want to know the meaning of such a useless word. It was completely out of her vocabulary.
Dane Bircham, Christine’s father, had been an honest merchant all his life. He entered any business that could bring money and in a somewhat strange way, he always succeeded. Being this tobacco trading, importing French Mobilier, or giving money on loan to those addicted to any kind of addiction, it was something that Dane managed to do always.
But people always wondered why nobody is trying to kneel him, to cheat on him, or to steal from him. He hadn’t anybody in charge to protect or control his business, but he always had a very big income. He was everywhere and he always managed to do everything by himself. It was something weird enough, so people started to check, to ask, to whisper behind his back, but everything was a mystery. And that mystery’s name was Audrey Bircham.
Dane’s wife was that kind of woman that loves to do everything in silence. She was in a good relationship with everybody, but nobody knew anything about her. Her thoughts were something that one could only guess and her manner of doing things, from time to time, was raising doubts. And that mystery, in great secret, was discovered one day, when Sir William Haris Wilson was found dead in the Misses Audrey’s boudoir.
A woman that till now was apparently an impeccable and faithful woman resulted to be the secret lover of one of the richest and important people of those times. And what was even more surprising was the fact that Dane did nothing to wash his stained reputation. That meant only one thing: he was aware of his wife's affair or maybe he was the one who encouraged her to enter such a relationship.
And from that precise moment, Dane Bircham had become the person who one shouldn't ever deceive him. Step by step, the High Society found out about a Secret Group that is pulling the strings of power in their country, but nobody knew who is ruling all this. They could only guess, they could only whisper, but none of them had enough courage to stand and to ask openly about it.
Christine instead always knew who the puppet master was. Dane, greedy for power and money, tried to manage it by himself, in great secret from his wife, whom he considered to be too innocent to be involved in such things, but when he faced the first main problem and he didn’t know how to solve it, then he decided to talk to his wife.
Audry simply smiled while watching her husband. She had a special way of doing things, something that was attracting people like a magnet, and that something was her power over others. She never seemed to be a fragile person, but others, especially men, were losing their heads when she was smiling at them, and right away they were available to fulfill any of her caprices. Far away from being a beauty, Audry learned to use her instinct and her charisma to succeed. While other women were calling on hysteria and open seduction to enter men’s beds, Audry was using her brain. She forced herself not to gain weight, even when she was pregnant with Christine, and her tasty body was always her best weapon to use if necessary.
Thus she married Dane. She knew who he was only by looking at him. Even if he apparently was an important man, Audry knew that she could manage him at her will, but being a wise person, she never did it openly. She preferred to wait, giving him the space he needed, and in the end, he was the one who kneeled in front of her and asked for her help. Of course, this was far away from being random.
She had her own faithful men, always ready to hand and it was only necessary to send a message and somebody did something that ruined Dane’s plane and brought him to her feet. From now one has started Audrey Bircham’s era.
She was never a kind person. If somebody was deceiving her or Dane he was immediately taken out of the game and replaced with someone wiser and skillful than him and it had been ever the main key to Bircham’s success.
Thus, they managed to change some bills meant to protect them and their fortune and the majority of taxes they were paying were mostly only on paper.
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Bircham’s fortune had increased with such a speed that they soon became one of the most influential families in the area. Nobody was able to face them. At least it was what the majority was thinking. Only one person had an influence on Audrey and that person was her brother, Baron Beneath.
No matter what Audrey did, she couldn’t convince her brother to enter their “business”. He preferred to stay out of all this because he was aware that what Dane and Audrey were doing couldn’t be legal, and more than this, it wouldn’t last long.
But Baron was wrong. And Baron was also right. Audrey's plan never failed. Even after her mysterious disappearance, the “business” continued to develop. But it hadn’t been continued by Dane. The one who took the reins of the Secret Society was Christine. And soon after her coming at the head of the “Red Ants”, Dane Bircham was found dead in one of his grain lands.
Nobody ever found out who was guilty of Bircham’s death. It happened only half a year before Baron’s death and what happened to Halton Stonebridge. Somehow, the wagging tongues managed to peg back Dane’s death of Baron and all this happened with one main purpose: to weaken Baron’s power and to force him to step away from all the important plans of those days. And it happened because of somebody’s order. It happened because Christine had wanted it and she had it.
Being only 18-years-old when she decided to take her mother’s place at “Red Ants” leading, Christine had demonstrated that she can be more powerful and dangerous than her mother was.
Her approach to Luis Chesterman could only increase her influence, and so big enough till now. She was someone fresh, someone, who could bring a new breath in that strict society, and only by seeing her once, did Luis knows that he made the right choice by approaching her.
Being Chesterman’s lover also brought some problems to Christine, but she didn’t even lift a finger when all the noise raised around her had been already silenced. Those who had started this had been silenced with threats or simply found dead in some mysterious place and the manner the bodies were found brought a new tradition in London: fear. If you betray Chesterman or Christine Bircham then you have no escape. Running wasn’t the option. Death was.
These flesh of memories had raised in Christine's head while looking at Brian through the living room window. He was outside, taking a walk with Eva in “Red Ants”’ splendid garden and somehow he was in Christine’s sight too.
This man, who till now was adamant in his decision to not get involved with Christine, was now in her house, asking her for a favor and it was even more surprising than the simple fact that they two were cousins. His demand was related to Eva and Christine wanted to know why. It was something that now got all her attention and she will not calm down till she won’t find out the hidden reason for all this.
In exchange for her help, Brian had pledged not to be involved in making important decisions about importing Cuban tobacco. This was something that Luis wanted, to take the profitable business from Evans, but he couldn’t do this if Beneath would have been involved.
Brian had always been a serious and sincere person. Was it business or personal life, he never loved to cheat on someone and this sincerity brought him the respect of the Queen and more power that Christine had till now? Only one of his words was able to break plans and kneel anyone and Luis was aware of his influence. He knew that killing Brian wasn’t the option. Kneeling him wasn’t an option too, because Brian had the shelter of Edward Anderson Bell, who wasn’t only Brian’s father-in-law, but also his partner in many businesses and anybody who was trying to go against the British Prime-Minister was a dead man, whatever it was meant to be.
Emily approaches Christine and both women look outside the window. Miss Davis was the only one who was sad for Eva. She didn’t know Brian’s real interest in her, but it can’t be something good, only because it also involves Christine.
“Do you know something about Beneath’s interest in Miss Stonebridge?”, asked Christine.
“I don’t have the slightest idea about it”, Emily simply answered.
“Then, find everything about it. And it can wait”, said Christine and left her place next to the window.
While Christine was leaving the living room, Emily could notice in her eyes a dark blinking. Something evil was coming and she was already afraid about it. She knew Christine well and she knew what she was capable of. She loves nobody and she shows no mercy to anybody. Many girls had passed through this house and leaving this dwelling had worked only to fulfill Christine’s interest. Eva won’t be an exception. This poor girl will be forced, in one way or another, to bow her head, to spit on her pride and honor only to make Christine happy.
Emily looked again at Eva and Brian, who was standing now in front of a big and rotated Maple tree, looking up at the little red pile of fur that was jumping from one branch to another. And all this makes Eva happy. Miss Davis can see it in the manner she is moving her hands. She's nervous. She's happy. Her anxiety and happiness were also related to Brian Beneath and Emily needs to find out why. She has to do it for Christine, she needs to do it for Eva, but she definitely must do it for herself.
The devil inside Emily was now awakened.