Where Love Takes You (10 page)

“You
took your time, brother,” I heard the words but could not recall where I had heard the voice before and then, through a haze, I saw a man standing before us. He was thin and tall with grey hair and a long grey beard.

“Who
is this, Richard?” I whispered, “is it your friend?”

“Yes,
my dear, it is. Now listen to what the kind man has to say,” he told me gently. My legs felt weak and I knew, that at any second, they would buckle beneath me and indeed they did. I fell to the ground from Richard’s grasp and all I could smell was the heady scent of roses as my head fell on what was a concrete floor. I closed my eyes, glad to lie down and sleep, but I felt Richard and the woman, whoever she was, pulling me to my feet. I smoothed my skirt, brushing the rose petals away and I was once more holding on to Richard’s arm, but my mind was beginning to feel less hazy and I was starting to feel more aware of what was happening. I looked at the woman, struggling to recall who she was. She was pretty and dressed well and then it dawned on me.

“Verity
,” I almost shouted, “what are you doing here?” I strived to free myself from Richard’s grasp, realising something was dreadfully amiss, but Richard held on to my arm and spoke to the stranger.

“Please
carry on.”

“Are
you sure, sir?” the man asked, “for I can see the lady is distressed.”

“I
am sure and I am paying you well for your services, now please proceed,” Richard ordered.

“Very
well, sir,” the stranger said looking at me with sympathy in his eyes. “I will begin. Dearly beloved we are gathered together in the sight of God.” At this point, my befuddled mind came to life and I realised with some dismay, that the man was a priest and this was a marriage ceremony with a reluctant bride.

Chapter Ten

“No!” I shouted, my voice reverberating around what must have been a small chapel.

“Don’t
fight it, Charlotte, you know you have loved me all these months and marriage to me is what you long for.” Richard’s voice was menacing.

“I
have no desire to marry you,” I told him, my voice getting stronger at each word I spoke. “You are correct that at one time I longed for you but that was before I got to know you.”

“But
I am the same person,” Richard argued.

“Sometimes
you are and sometimes you are like a completely different man,” I shouted at him.

“We
will carry on with the ceremony,” Richard said to the priest, catching hold of my arm so tightly that it hurt.

“No
we will not,” I told my employer angrily, “for if we do, then I shall tell Lina that you tried to marry me against my will.” At these words, Richard relaxed his hold on me and I freed myself from his grasp.

“Lina.”
Richard uttered the name gently.

“Yes,
Richard Roseby, your lovely daughter who you adore, for that is the only good thing about you. I realised long ago that you love her.”

“I
do indeed love her with my whole being. It has always been Lina and myself and she has brought me such joy.”

“Then
think of her, for I would not willingly wish to upset her, or cause her to think ill of you.” I spoke to him as to a child. In the pause which followed, the priest spoke.

“If
I am no longer needed, then I ask please that I leave,” he implored.

“Wait
one moment,” Richard told him.

“And
why did you see fit to drug my wine and bring me to this place to marry me under pretence, what possible motive could you have?” I had to ask the question, which now my head was clear, was the uppermost thought in my mind. There was silence until Verity spoke.

“Richard
has gambling debts and could lose Middlepark if it goes on much longer,” she said quietly.

“And
you,” I pointed to her as I spoke, “you, a gentlewoman, are in league with this, that Richard should marry an unwilling bride for money.”

“I
am ashamed to say I am,” said Verity as she lowered her head, unable to look at me.

“Well
I hope you’ve both come to your senses and be thankful that I shall say no more about it, but only for Lina’s sake, because I have grown very fond of her.” My words, I realised, were true. I had become very attached to Lina over the past months and would not wish to hurt her or cause her any unhappiness. If she knew of this charade, what would she think of her father, who she adored? All was quiet, except for the priest snapping his Prayer Book shut. My head thumped and then the door burst open. It was Jonathon, the mist swirling in with him. I ran to him and as he enfolded me gently in his arms, at last, I knew where I belonged. It had taken this to make me understand my true feelings.

“What
is going on here?” Jonathon asked, as I snuggled closely against him, safe at last.

“How
did you come to be here?” asked Richard.

“Ruby
told her sister, who works at Redcliffe, that Miss Trent had gone out in this awful weather and I set out to look for her. I saw your pony and trap outside a deserted chapel. I came in to see what was happening,” he explained, “and could you please tell me what a priest is doing here and rose petals?” he said looking down. “If I didn’t know any different, I would think a marriage had taken place,” he observed.

“It
very nearly did,” I said looking up at him, “with a reluctant bride.”

“You
cad, Roseby!” my beloved said angrily, stepping toward him, but I caught his arm to stop him.

“No,
Jonathon, there is Lina to consider and fortuitously, the marriage didn’t take place. Let us go, for I wish to go to bed and sleep, or my head will explode.”

“Very
well, dear heart,” said Jonathon, still glaring at Richard, “but be sure, Richard Roseby, that I shall not forget this.”

“Nor
I,” I whispered as we all dispersed into the mist, Jonathon taking me, reluctantly, back to Middlepark, but I knew that I would be safe now, for Richard would not wish to upset Lina.

That
night, I slept well in spite of my ordeal at the deserted chapel. Next morning I had arranged to meet Jonathon after breakfast at the gates of Middlepark. My head was clear and free of pain, for which I was thankful. I breakfasted with Lina and told her I had the day off, at which, she said she would spend the day with her father and Verity. Jonathon was waiting for me at the gates of Middlepark in his pony and trap. On seeing me, he jumped agilely to the ground and ran toward me, gathering me in his arms.

“Dear
Charlotte, I have been so worried about you all night,” he said putting me at arm’s length and looking me up and down.

“Worry
no longer, Jonathon, for I am well, just a little tired,” I assured him, “and I have every confidence that I am safe here, for I have been all these months before.”

“But
yesterday,” my new found love uttered with passion in his voice, “to be drugged and led to be married against your will, I know it is a crime.”

“But
I am unscathed and I am certain that the drug was quite mild, for I came to my senses fairly quickly, but mixed with the wine, it was a little more potent than it should have been,” I told him.

“Now
you are making excuses for your employer.”

“Please
don’t look at it like that,” I urged him, touching his cheek with my hand. “Mr Roseby is obviously a worried man and in danger of losing all he has, so stupidly, he sought to solve the problem by marrying me and my money. In truth, I am quite worried for him, if only for Lina’s sake.”

“What
a charitable young woman I have fallen in love with,” was Jonathon’s answer, “but I still feel that a crime has been committed against the woman I love.”

“Then
think of it no longer and let us go for a ride, for I wish to go to East Budleigh Church,” I urged him. When settled in the trap and bowling gently along the country lane, I explained to Jonathon about Madeline’s letters and how I needed to find Joanna in the Family Bible.

“Why
do you need to know?” was his question, but I found it hard to explain that I was now tangled up, inexplicably, in the mystery of Madeline and had to see it through to the end. There was also something niggling in my brain which I couldn’t quite recall, something which was said in the chapel last night while my mind was hazy. Try as I might, I couldn’t recall it.

“Can
you stop here please, Jonathon?” I told him suddenly and he pulled the brown pony to a halt.

“Do
you feel unwell?” he asked, concern in his voice.

“No
,” I said smiling at him, “I think we’ve just passed Holly Cottage.”

“Yes,
indeed we have,” confirmed Jonathon, “it is where Miss Curtis resides.”

“Then
I need to see her, if she is in, please, for I feel the nurse could solve a lot of the mystery.” Jonathon who jumped down from the trap and assisted me to the ground, his hands lingering gently on my waist.

“I
love you,” he said suddenly.

“And
I you, but I have to solve this mystery before I can move forward,” I explained gently, the words of love bringing a tear to my eye, which Jonathon observed. He took a white handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed the tear away.

“Thank
you,” I said, my heart bursting with love for him. “Now let us see if Miss Curtis is home.” The nurse was indeed at home. She ushered us into her living room. My first thought was how clean everything was, from the white walls to the scrubbed floor and woollen mats which were scattered around. There was a smell of baking drifting through the cottage and everything was so homely, I could have lived here myself.

“You’ve
come here at last,” said Miss Curtis when we were all seated on comfortable chairs with silk cushions of a deep red.

“I
need to ask you, Miss Curtis, do you know who Madeline was?” I began.

“Indeed
I do, Miss Trent, for I am Anna,” she said softly.

“Then
it was you who wrote messages on my mirror in my room,” I gasped.

“Yes,
I am the culprit, as I wanted Madeline’s story to be told,” the nurse revealed. “But that doesn’t answer how you know about Madeline, Miss Trent. I just thought that being young, you would have pursued the two messages I left, especially my name, and I knew that we were bound to meet one day when I visited Lina, but alas you never asked any questions, so I had to ask you to come to me.” At the nurse’s admission, I told her how I had found Madeline’s letters. As I related the story, Miss Curtis’ eyes filled with tears. “Poor Madeline, she loved him so,” Miss Curtis said.

“But
who, Miss Curtis? Please tell me who it was she was in love with for I have tried to work it out for many weeks.” I pleaded an answer to my question.

“You
haven’t worked it out, Miss Trent?” the nurse said. “Well, it is young master Richard.”

“Richard
Roseby.” I breathed a sigh of relief that at last I knew. “So Lina is Madeline’s daughter,” I said slowly, at last understanding dawning on me.

“Yes,
Lina is Madeline and Richard’s daughter.” As she spoke, Miss Curtis went across and looked from the window as she continued. “Lina was born in this very cottage and her poor mother died two days later. I pleaded with Richard’s father to allow Lina to be brought up in her rightful home. Master Richard wanted it too, for he was beside himself that he did not marry Madeline. His parents, especially his mother, would not hear of it. I said they should have eloped if Richard had an ounce of loyalty in him, but he would not thwart his mother. I have to say, he has looked after Lina and brought her up on his own and above all, he loves her.” Here the nurse stopped, wrapped up, no doubt, in memories of the past, which had indeed, come to the fore many years later.

“And
where is Joanna?” I asked her, “for you used to be her nurse.”

“Yes,
indeed and Madeline her governess,” Miss Curtis said, turning back from the window to look at me. “It is Miss Verity, who is now at Middlepark.” The niggling thought of something said last night while at the chapel came to me. As she spoke to Richard last night, Verity had called him ‘brother’.

“But
why Verity, and not Joanna?” was my next question to Miss Curtis, who had now sat back down.

“Joanna
was named Joanna Verity. When she was young, about eighteen, or so, she was accused of pushing her mother down the stairs at Middlepark, not long after Lina was born. Her mother died from a broken neck. Joanna and her mother had been heard to be arguing, not long before the accident, by a number of guests at Middlepark. One of the guests said he actually saw Joanna push Mrs Roseby, as he went in the hallway to collect his cape. However, he was a short-sighted gentleman and his evidence was dismissed. It was quite a scandal at the time and Joanna was sent abroad where she married. She never returned to live in this country until her husband died a little over a year ago. Since she came back, she has used the name Verity and Lina does not know she is her aunt, but one day she will have to be told.” Here the nurse stopped.

“Told
about her mother, too,” I said to no one in particular.

“That
too,” said Miss Curtis with gusto. “Now let us have a cup of tea.” While drinking tea and eating small sandwiches, Miss Curtis said, “Have I solved all your mysteries for you now, Miss Trent?”

“No
,” I said, “there is one other. Who is the man in the miniature I found with the letters?”

“That
would be Madeline’s brother, who she adored. Sadly, he died as a young man and she treasured the miniature, keeping it with her all the time.” Her words had revealed all to me but there was one more question I had to ask.

“Please
can you tell me what Madeline looked like, Miss Curtis?”

“She
was a lot like you, Miss Trent,” the nurse told me and as we left the cottage. I looked back thinking of Madeline and her unhappy life, and then I thought of Richard and the words came to me without conscious thought: “You are a coward, sir”. But in spite of that, he had written those beautiful love letters and truly believed that he would never love anyone but Madeline. With this thought I felt some sympathy for him. In all of this, the one thing which mattered above all else, was the fact that he dearly loved his daughter. How I wished that Madeline knew this. I would never know if I had seen Madeline’s apparition in the mirror in my room at Middlepark for I was then a daydreamer, but I am pleased I learned her story.

Jonathon
and I went into the church as I wished to sit for a while and think over all Miss Curtis had told us that day. As we neared the church path, I looked up at the tall square tower and thought what a lovely place this would be to marry. No one had asked me yet, but I had a strong feeling that Jonathon would ask me one day.