He Opened A Matchmaking Agency In 18Th Century London [EN]: Chapter 21

The Burns Earl Murder Case

◈ London, Intelligence Club

“Mr. Sanderson, it’s been a while. Why haven’t you been coming to the meetings lately?”

“Ah, yes… I had some business to take care of.”

For a while, Theo hadn’t been able to visit the club.

He had been out of London for nearly three weeks, dealing with matchmaking requests from people who had heard rumors and come from afar.

However, at the Intelligence Club, which he attended after a long time, Theo heard a rather shocking story.

Antony Burns, a viscount and a member of the Intelligence Club who often talked with Theo, was imprisoned as a murderer. It was unexpected news.

“Viscount Burns committed murder? That can’t be.”

“The fact itself is surprising, but you’ll probably be even more surprised when you hear who the murder victim is.”

“…Who is it?”

“It’s Earl Francis Burns.”

“Yes?”

Earl Francis Burns of the Kent family, who had recently married, was stabbed to death by someone on a promenade, and the culprit was none other than Viscount Antony Burns. It was an unbelievable story.

The murdered Earl Francis Burns was also Viscount Antony Burns’ uncle.

Viscount Antony Burns was subsequently found guilty of murdering the Earl by a jury at the local court.

He is currently being held at Newgate Prison in London, awaiting the final hearing by the noble jury.

Theo, with a surprised expression, looked at the old gentleman sitting next to him and asked.

“Wait a minute… Lord Rodney? Isn’t the Kent family under your jurisdiction, Lord Rodney?”

“That’s right.”

“So, are all these stories true?”

“Yes, unfortunately, it’s true. Viscount Antony Burns is currently imprisoned in Newgate Prison for the murder of his uncle.”

The man nodding with a dark face was Lord Benedict Rodney.

He had worked as a barrister at the National King’s Bench for a long time before retiring last year. At the recommendation of the deceased Earl Burns, he was serving as a magistrate in the Maidstone area of the Kent family.

(*King’s Bench: A court that deals with cases related to the King or cases that affect major figures such as nobles.)

The murdered Earl Francis Burns had been single until he was over 40 years old, and a few months ago, he had a grand wedding with a young noblewoman.

To others, it may have seemed like an old Earl had fallen for a young woman, but Theo, who had met the two through Viscount Antony Burns, knew that they were a good match.

Although there were considerable differences in age and personality, there seemed to be no problem in their smooth married life. Rather, their feelings for each other were considered no less than those of an ordinary, loving couple.

It was common in 18th-century society for an Earl with a high status, a lot of wealth, and a still-healthy man in his 40s to marry a beautiful young woman, and there was nothing particularly problematic about it.

However, if the husband dies suddenly for an unknown reason not long after the marriage, the story changes.

The wife, who was praised for her youth, had to suffer all sorts of dirty rumors, such as trying to kill her older husband and monopolize his property, or instigating her hidden lover to kill her husband. People tended to look at her with prejudiced eyes, as if such a thing had really happened.

However, this case was different.

“Fortunately or unfortunately, we couldn’t find any suspicion on the Countess. The surroundings were very clean. Her usual behavior was so chaste that no bad rumors arose.

Perhaps because of that, Viscount Antony Burns was the first to be suspected and eventually pointed out as the murderer.”

Then, Magistrate Rodney glanced around and whispered quietly to Theo.

“Actually, I have something important to tell Mr. Sanderson, so I joined you like this.”

“To me?”

“Yes. It’s nothing else… A few weeks ago, I was called by the Countess Burns, and she said she wanted to see Mr. Sanderson as soon as possible.”

“The Countess wants to see me?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

It was unexpected. Theo’s only connection with the Burns couple was that they had tea together for a while, arranged by Viscount Antony Burns.

He mainly talked to the Earl or Viscount and didn’t even exchange a few words with the Countess.

He couldn’t understand why she wanted to see him so urgently.

“Actually, I was asked a few weeks ago, but I couldn’t deliver the Countess’s request because Mr. Sanderson hadn’t been coming to the club and wasn’t at home. The Countess seemed to be waiting for Mr. Sanderson a lot.”

According to Lord Rodney, the Countess plans to stay at home for the time being, so he urged him to visit her home as soon as possible when he had time.

Theo told Lord Rodney that he would go early the next day and left the club.

Clatter. Clatter. Clatter.

A great misfortune that he suddenly heard while trying to relieve stress in a good atmosphere after a long time made Theo’s heart heavy.

Moreover, Antony Burns remained in Theo’s memory as a pretty good person, so he felt even worse.

‘Viscount Antony Burns… killed his uncle? Huh-.’

The murdered Earl Francis Burns was Viscount Antony Burns’ uncle.

When Antony Burns was five years old, his father passed away, so he grew up considering Earl Francis Burns as his own father.

Later, when Earl Francis Burns did not marry until late in his life, Antony Burns became the heir to the Earl and received the title of ‘Viscount’.

If Earl Francis Burns could not have a son until he died, the title of Earl would be inherited by Viscount Antony Burns.

However, the situation changed when Earl Francis Burns married late in life a while ago.

If Earl Francis Burns had a son, Viscount Antony Burns would lose his position as heir and would not be able to receive the Earl’s property.

Club members whispered that Antony Burns committed the murder because of this dissatisfaction.

However, in Theo’s memory, he could not feel any malice in Antony’s feelings for the Earl and Countess.

Rather, he sincerely rejoiced at the marriage of the Earl and Countess, and he felt that his desire for them to have a healthy son and continue the family line was genuine.

He showed no particular obsession or greed for the title of Earl or property.

That he killed the Earl… Theo couldn’t understand it at first.

‘No one else can escape my eyes. Viscount Antony Burns had no ill feelings towards the Earl. But he’s imprisoned in that harsh Newgate Prison on suspicion of being the Earl’s murderer…’

If it was acknowledged that he had harmed his uncle’s life and tried to rise to the position of Earl for his own advancement, the general procedure in this era was to be sentenced to death and hanged shortly thereafter.

From the perspective of modern civilization, a quick extreme punishment carried out without clear evidence and due process may be difficult to understand, but in this era where hanging was common, once the guilty verdict of the noble jury was handed down, execution was inevitable.

◈ The next day, Maidstone Village.

After traveling southeast of London for about five hours in a chartered carriage early in the morning, they arrived at Maidstone Village, where the Kent family’s mansion was located.

The Kent family of the late Earl Francis Burns was in charge of Maidstone, Ashford, Tonbridge, and other villages.

Perhaps because of this, many villagers dressed in black were seen everywhere in Maidstone to commemorate the Earl’s death.

As the carriage went a little further into the village, a large stone building began to appear outside the window.

It was easy to tell that it was the Kent family’s mansion because of its antique and magnificent appearance.

In addition, the black mourning flags hanging over the numerous windows confirmed that it was the home of the deceased Earl Francis Burns.

As he entered the entrance of the building, a vast blue garden unfolded before his eyes, and it was so well maintained that he couldn’t help but admire it.

“Whoa- Whoa-.”

The carriage turned around for a while and arrived at the central entrance of the building.

Theo, who got out of the carriage and entered the interior through the entrance, was approached by a skinny man who appeared to be a butler at a fast pace.

“How did you get here?”

When Theo revealed his name and business, he left a message asking him to wait a moment and disappeared up the stairs.

Theo looked around the house while waiting.

It was magnificent and wonderful when viewed from the outside, but when he came inside, he was speechless at the splendor and antiquity.

‘Wow- it’s really fancy.’

In the center of the interior was a large hall, and based on that hall, corridors connected in all directions were intricately connected like a maze, and the scale was so large that a first-time visitor could get lost.

“I will guide you to the reception room. Please follow me.”

The butler, who had already come down, guided him to the waiting room, and Theo slowly climbed the stairs following him.

Huge portraits, one or two of which were hung in the homes of traditional nobles, were hung everywhere on the stairs. Considering that the price of one portrait at the time was the price of a commoner’s house, it was a direct indication of how wealthy and historically established this Earl family was.

“This room is the reception room. Shall we go inside?”

“Yes.”

Thump.

“If you wait here, she will be down soon.”

“Yes, thank you.”

The furniture in the reception room was bright and warm orange, and the wallpaper was newly applied with beautiful and colorful floral patterns.

The atmosphere of a newly married couple was in the air.

Crack. Crackle.

Three or four pieces of firewood were burning in the fireplace, creating small flames.

Perhaps because of the still chilly April morning weather, the heat felt from the fireplace seemed to be warming his chilled heart.

“Mr. Theo Sanderson?”

Then he heard the voice of Countess Georgina Burns, and Theo, who turned around, bowed his head in courtesy.

The first thing that caught his eye while greeting her was her lifeless eyes.

When he first met her at the tea garden, her sparkling emerald eyes were so beautiful that he still couldn’t forget them.

However, her eyes now contained only deep emptiness, having lost their former light and filled with sadness.

The charming and kind smile was no longer visible on her lips, and her elaborately decorated, rich blonde hair was dry and roughly tied up.

‘She looks like a completely different person because of the grief of losing the Earl.’

The black mourning dress she was wearing revealed a dark light as dark as her gloomy heart, and the way she grabbed the top of the dress and moved one step at a time looked precarious and difficult, as if walking on broken glass.

“I express my deepest condolences for the Earl’s passing.”

At Theo’s words, her eyes became moist as if tears would pour out at any moment.

Special memories dominate the person.

And memories create emotions and unconsciously reveal them through body language.

You can lie in words, but you can’t lie in facial expressions and gestures.

Because they reveal emotions momentarily without even realizing it, it is impossible to deliberately hide everything.

Theo had only met the Countess once, but he had a certain understanding of her usual behavior and gestures according to her emotions.

But now, the subtle expressions and gestures that the Countess is unconsciously revealing are moving as if she has become a completely different person from her happy days.

‘She’s in a tremendous sense of loss from the death of Earl Burns. It’s an early symptom of depression beyond simple grief.’

The shape of the eyebrows, the corners of the mouth, the relaxation of the eyelids, and the movements of the hands and feet all came together to reveal true great despair and sadness, and it was amazing that she was receiving guests so calmly now.

“The reason I called Mr. Sanderson like this is… because of the problem with Viscount Antony Burns.”

“You called me because of the problem with Viscount Antony Burns?”

“…Yes.”

The Countess’s voice, barely parting her lips, trembled slightly.

Even the clear and refreshing voice, like a soprano’s light song, seemed to have lost its light and was low and gloomy.

The Countess Burns continued to speak with difficulty.

“The Earl was always worried about Viscount Antony Burns even before the marriage. He was very upset that the Viscount was often drunk or gambling.

But Viscount Burns also understood her husband’s feelings. The Viscount was always sincerely sorry to the Earl, and he had been trying to reduce gambling and drinking as much as possible this year. I don’t think that Viscount Burns did such a terrible thing to the Earl.”

Theo also nodded. He, too, found it hard to believe that the Viscount, whom he’d met and interacted with at the club for the past year, could commit such a brutal crime.

“I know a little about Viscount Burns’ personality. I feel the same way.”

“……..”

After a short conversation, a rather long silence fell.

However, Theo did not try to break this silence.

Silence is also a language.

If you disturb the other person who is drawing out emotions because the situation of silence is awkward and keep talking to them, the other person may not be able to open their emotions properly. In this case, waiting is the best approach.

After a while, the Countess, who had calmed down, slowly opened her mouth again.

“Viscount Antony Burns said this to the lawyers on the morning of the local jury trial…

If he is found guilty and transferred to prison, be sure to visit Theo Sanderson, a member of the Intelligence Club. And he repeatedly and earnestly asked Sanderson to come and visit him in prison.”

“…?”