Prologue

A cloudy day began in the small county of Ombersley, England. It had been raining non-stop for two weeks, and the inhabitants of the modest Fairley estate were slowly loosing their temper. 

Thomas Montgomery and Benjamin Ashbrook, respectively seventeen and sixteen years old, were so bored that their sighs often echoed on the walls of the house. And when they finally found an activity, which consisted in fist fighting, their mothers, Jane Montgomery and Lizbeth Ashbrook, rapidly stopped them.

“Are you two out of your minds?!” Jane shouted, hands in the air. 

“Yes! We actually are, mother!” Thomas replied. “We will die of boredom if we don’t occupy ourselves!”

“I am sure you two can find other activities that does NOT include fighting! How many times have you declared that you are not a child anymore, Thomas? Well, stop acting like one!”

Thomas scowled at his mother and groaned, before rushing to his bedroom. Jane shook her head, hands on her hips. Then turned to Benjamin, her nephew.

“I am sorry, aunty… We were just…” the teenage boy said.

Jane sighed and looked at Lizbeth, who patted her in the back and turned to her son. 

“Just go to your room too, Benjamin. We will have a chat later you and I.” 

“Yes, mother.” 

After the young man left, Lizbeth and Jane chuckled.

“So similar to their fathers!” Jane laughed. 

“It is actually uncanny…” Lizzie added with tender smile. 

After a moment of silence, Lizzie went on.

“Jane, about what we discussed the other day…”

“Are you still talking about that…? Do you really think it is necessary?” Jane wondered. 

“I do! Benjamin has asked me so many questions about James lately, and I… Well I am not the best person to answer them. But what we found could…”

“Fine, fine! Go ahead and give them away if you wish, Lizzie! You would probably do it without my accord, so…” Jane retorted.

The brown-haired woman grinned and pecked Jane’s lips. “You know me too well, honey!”

She headed towards her private study, which was her late husband’s study, and stepped towards the iron coffer that stood in a shaded corner. She grabbed the key in her desk and unlocked the door. It creaked open and revealed two big wooden boxes. 

Lizbeth placed them on the surface of her desk and rummaged through them. After checking everything was there, she took hold of the rectangular containers and walked towards her son’s bedroom. 

The door was ajar, and Lizbeth could hear two distinct voices coming from inside.

“Of course…” she muttered with a smile. 

The lady pushed the door open and went directly to the adolescent boys sitting on the bed. 

“Mo-Mother?!” Benjamin shouted in a startled jump. 

Lizbeth dropped the two boxes on the mattress and held them in place with her hands. 

“What is this, Mother?” Benjamin asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. 

Even Thomas straightened up at the edge of the bed and stared at the mysterious crates. 

Lizbeth took a deep breath after thinking about her speech. Her eyes then locked on her son, who gulped in anticipation. 

“This, Ben, is something that belonged to your father…” 

The young man gasped. His mother rarely mentioned his deceased father, so it must have been important. 

“I wanted to give this to you when you were old enough to understand everything… And I think that time has come.” Lizzie continued. “You are sixteen now, which means that you will soon become the real lord of this house, and I believe that what is contained in these boxes will help you learn more about your family name.” 

Benjamin’s eyes widened. Never had his mother talked so much at once; it must have been REALLY important! 

Lizbeth handed the first box to her son. It was heavier than he expected. He raised the top of the crate and was surprise by what he found inside. 

“Are these… journals?” Benjamin asked as he took one out.

He examined the leather tome and opened the cover. The very first page was filled with his father’s name: James Ashbrook 

Goosebumps ran on Benjamin’s skin; his father died before he was even born, so the mere thought that this small journal belonged to the man was eerie. The young man raised his gaze back to his mother, who had a sad expression on her face. 

“Are you okay, Mother?” 

“Yes, I am fine. I am just happy that you can finally discover who your father was.” Lizzie replied.

“Have you read the journals, Mother?”

“No, I have not actually! I want you to read them first, then maybe I will go through them too.”

Benjamin felt his excitement grow inside him; he was barely able to restrain himself from devouring the diaries right away. Lizbeth started to go back to the door, but remembered something.

“Oh, I forgot! I have to give you something to you too, Thomas!” she said. “I will be right back!” 

After a few minutes, Lizbeth came back with another box, much smaller this time. 

“Your mother found this in your father’s documents recently. And I think it is important that you have it.”

“Thank you, aunt Lizzie.” Thomas said as he unlid the box. 

Lizbeth left the two young men alone with their heirloom. Benjamin turned to face Thomas; he seemed so happy that the black-haired boy smirked.

“I do not think I’ve ever seen you so happy to receive a gift, little Ben!” 

“Stop calling me ‘little’! Of course I am happy! Are you not glad to know more abut your father?” Benjamin retorted. 

“I’m not too sure… If our mothers never really spoke of the men, it probably means they were not that interesting to begin with.” 

“I’m sure that’s not true! I will read everything and will surely discover amazing things about my father. I can read yours too if you do not intend to?”

Thomas raised an eyebrow and chuckled, “You and your sick curiosity… No, I will read it. I just do not expect anything spectacular, that’s all…” 

Benjamin remained silent for a few seconds, then asked:

“Do you… want to read them together?” 

“Huh! That is actually not a bad idea!” Thomas replied. “Do you want to start now?”

The younger boy nodded fervently. 

“Alright, alright! Which one is the first one anyway?”

The two adolescents rummaged through the boxes and managed to sort the various journals in order. 

“Okay! I think that is it!” Benjamin said as they both stood in front of three tall stacks of books. 

“Boy! It seems like your father wrote a LOT! How did he find the patience to write all this?” 

“Mother said he was very fond of writing letters and such. Maybe he wanted to become an author?” 

Thomas shrugged. He was not a very studious person, and enjoyed more physical activities; the thought of sitting at a desk all day to write was beyond him. 

“Shall we?” Thomas said, gesturing towards the journals. 

Benjamin nodded with haste again. “Yes!”

The two young men took the first diary and lounged side by side on Benjamin’s massive oak bed. The blond boy turned the cover and stared at the first page.

“He had such a nice handwriting…” he sighed with admiration. 

Thomas looked at him with compassion, he knew how much Benjamin longed for a father. He placed a hand on top of Ben’s head and patted him. Benjamin enjoyed the gesture with closed eyes; then he turned the first page. 

At first glance, it appeared that James Ashbrook was quite young when he started to fill this journal. The words were ones of a young teenage boy who did not understand his place in this world…

As the reading progressed, Thomas and Benjamin found themselves enthralled by the cursive letters inked on the paper. Their curiosity grew more with each part of Jame’s story; and Benjamin finally felt the missing piece of his existence come to life before his eyes.