Talek hit the door behind him with the side of his fist, startling Amelia. ‘Henry is already married! I checked myself.’
‘I didn’t know he was married.’
‘So Henry was not the only one to blackmail Grace. You did too.’
‘Blackmail is an ugly word.’
‘An ugly word for an ugly deed,’ he snapped back.
Talek turned his back on her and yanked open the door. His image blurred before her eyes as tears began to fall. Her brother hesitated, battling to calm his temper as loud sobs began to rack her body. She buried her face in her hands and heard him slam the door. Amelia thought he had left, until she sensed him by her side searching for a handkerchief.
‘He took advantage of your vulnerability and played on your emotions,’ said Talek, finding the lace cloth and handing it to her.
Amelia took it in her trembling hands and dabbed at her eyes. ‘I have ruined everything for you.’
‘Henry is to blame. Not you.’
‘I thought he loved me.’ She blew her nose. Her confession had left her drained and despite everything, Talek still chose to protect her. He didn’t deserve to be parted from the woman he loved. A fresh set of tears rose up and began to fall.
‘He wanted to get his hands on your shares, Amelia,’ said Talek, offering his own handkerchief to replace her sodden one. ‘I cannot be certain of his plans, but if he asked you to marry him, he was intending to commit bigamy. Once he had control of your shares, he could outvote me on every decision.’
Amelia felt herself unravelling, bit by bit. The despair and pain of being cast aside by Henry had left her sleepless and stolen her appetite. Now Talek’s logical observation only made things worse. It all made sense to her now and she felt a fool for not realising it before. Talek waited with her until her tears dried away. Neither spoke. Finally he stood.
‘Where are you going?’ she asked, looking up expectantly.
‘To bed. It has been a troubling day.’ He smiled wearily at her. ‘I suggest you do the same. Don’t cry for Henry any more. He is not worthy of your tears.’
Her brother’s attempt at reassurance was kindly meant, but she could still see the disappointment in his eyes. Knowing she was responsible for putting it there was a heavy burden to bear.
Amelia listened to his footsteps cross the hall and climb the stairs, and wondered if he would ever truly forgive her. She helped herself to a glass of port, hoping the plum and berry notes would deaden her pain. It didn’t. A maid arrived shortly afterwards to escort her to bed. She was in no mood for sleep and spoke more sharply than she intended, sending her away with no instruction to return. Her heart was too raw. How were they to move forward from this mess?
Amelia waited for the house to fall silent, before retrieving the letter she had placed beneath her cushion. She turned it over in her hand. Henry’s familiar scrawl lined the warm, flattened envelope. It had been delivered that very afternoon, between Grace’s anxious visit and her brother’s weary return. Despite all that she had learnt about Henry, her body had responded with the same thrilling excitement it had to all of his previous love letters — and she had hated herself for it. As she read it, her common sense warned her to beware, as Henry was persuasive and she knew it would be easy to believe in him all over again. He insisted that he wasn’t really married and it was only her he wanted. Even his invitation to meet tomorrow and elope seemed more feasible than ludicrous. Henry’s words of love had once filled her head and reignited in her hope for the future. And it could again. Then Talek had returned home exhausted, haunted and feeling the loss of Grace. And she learnt that Grace had continued to protect her and take the brunt of Talek’s anger. And she felt her own act of betrayal against them both anew and with fresh eyes. Her part in it tore her up inside.
Amelia moved to the writing desk, withdrew some paper, picked up a pen and began to write. She was thoughtful and hesitant at first, but soon the words came fast and furiously, spilling forth with a passion for the one she loved most. She wrote words of love and forgiveness and arranged to meet. The second letter, to Talek, was harder to write. How do you explain to the man who had always cared and protected you that you were going to leave him without a backward glance? With no chance for him to persuade or say goodbye? It was a brutal way to depart, but it had to be done. Meeting Henry was the right thing to do. And having him by her side for the remainder of her life, was her only future and nothing, not even her brother’s forgiveness, would make her change her mind.
* * *
Amelia rose early the following morning to find Talek was already up. From his appearance, he had slept little, as she had. They exchanged a few halting words, as they breakfasted, but soon lapsed into silence. The clock on the mantel ticked away the minutes until Talek abruptly left the breakfast table. Amelia glanced at his plate. He had eaten very little again and she knew Grace’s vacant chair was the cause. She wondered how he would cope tomorrow, when there would be two vacant chairs by his side.
‘Will you be gone long?’ she called after him.
Talek paused in the doorway. ‘I have a busy day ahead of me. I need to assess the pit to establish if it is safe to reopen and I want to visit the families of the miners involved again. Later I have a meeting with my solicitor. I need to know where I stand while Henry is missing.’
‘What if he doesn’t come back?’
‘I hope he doesn’t. At the moment I’m not sure if I could stomach seeing his face again. However, I need to find out what I can do to limit any further damage by him. It is difficult and messy. I need to discuss it with someone who can give me sound advice.’
‘So you will not be back until late?’
‘No.’ His gaze softened as if seeing her anew, before she had betrayed him. ‘I don’t like to leave you alone. Perhaps you could write an advert for a new companion and I will submit it to the newspaper.’
Amelia nodded, knowing in her heart she would not. Content she had agreed, Talek briskly strode to his study to collect some paperwork for his solicitor. Amelia stared at her breakfast and pushed the slice of bacon about her plate. She was anxious for him to leave, but determined not to show it. Finally the sound of the front door closing signalled that her brother had finally left. Amelia abandoned her breakfast and moved to the window to watch Talek leave. He had hardly spoken a word to her since rising and she could not blame him. She had let him down, no matter what his reassurances to the contrary had been. Amelia watched as his frisky horse was led out to him. Talek mounted the glossy, black horse and rode away from Roseland with the morning sun on his back. Tears pricked her eyes as she savoured the sight of him. She had always felt proud to be able to call him her brother. She burned the last image of him into her mind, knowing that she would never see him again.
As soon as he was out of sight, Amelia withdrew the letter she had written from her pocket and left it for him to find on his desk. She summoned the housekeeper and asked for the oldest horse to be harnessed and brought around to the front of the house. The creature was arthritic and not long for this world, but it was calm to drive and Talek would not miss it. She dismissed the housekeeper and waited alone outside for the driver to bring it to her. Considering it had been a long time since she had travelled by trap without Talek, Henry or Grace by her side, she felt unusually calm. Strange, she thought, how determination could dull anxiety. She looked about her. The garden looked particularly vibrant for this time of year and she would miss the suntrap dreadfully. Who needed a house with a view when the garden was so splendid?
The horse and trap arrived. She had specifically asked for Rundle to take her. He was a new driver to the staff and did not have the confidence to question her decisions. The long sleepless night had given her time to plan and the driver was, unwittingly, part of that plan. However, he was still a little taken aback when he realised she intended to travel unaccompanied, but after only a slight hesitation, he did as she instructed and lifted her into the trap.
Amelia thanked him. ‘Leave the wheelchair. I intend to stay in the trap for much of the day. I’m meeting a friend at the Wheatsheaf Inn on the outskirts of St Austell. Do you know it?’
Rundle told her that he did and climbed on board to sit beside her. He held the reins and glanced nervously at her. She smiled reassuringly. He reluctantly took up the slack. Amelia braced herself and clutched the sides of her seat as the familiar fear gripped her. The horse moved forward and after some moments she felt her body relax. She still found horse travel unsettling, but it had improved greatly since her accident and she was determined to arrive at the Wheatsheaf Inn on time. Amelia turned in her seat for one last lingering look at Roseland. Its welcoming ambience reached out to her, embraced her for one final time, then disappeared from sight.
* * *
The journey passed without incident, although Amelia was still glad when it finally came to an end. She had clutched her seat throughout until her fingers ached from the tension. She slowly released her hold as she glimpsed the white painted walls of the Wheatsheaf Inn peering through the small gaps in the trees. The old inn sat back from the road, almost hidden from view until one was virtually upon it. Towering trees shielded its back against the icy north-easterly winds, whilst at the front was a spacious courtyard where weary travellers could dismount. They left the road and turned into the yard. The small, black framed windows and swinging sign was familiar to her, as she had passed the inn many times. However, today was the first time it had been her destination and the familiar turned to the unfamiliar as the trap drew closer. Two men stood by the main door, passing the time of day. Their heads turned briefly in her direction as she arrived. She could not blame them for looking as a woman of her standing visiting an inn without a male escort was an unusual occurrence. However they had lost interest and disappeared inside by the time her horse and trap came to a rocking halt.
Amelia remained seated and looked about her. A woman, with a stained apron, emerged briefly from a rear entrance and threw peelings onto a nearby compost heap. She disappeared as quickly as she had appeared, returning inside to continue her chores. She realised Rundle was speaking to her, but she had not heard a word. She asked him to repeat it.
‘What would you like to do, Miss Danning?’
Amelia straightened in her seat. What if Henry didn’t come?
‘We will wait here. I’m meeting someone.’ Time dragged, as seconds felt like minutes and minutes refused to end. Amelia looked down at her lap and began to rearrange the folds in her dress with fidgety fingers. The minor task was soon completed, each fold of material neat and even as if she had been laid out to rest. A shiver passed through her at the macabre thought. She was in the midst of destroying her neat arrangement when the inn door opened. Her head jerked up. Henry stepped out into the sunshine, unhurried and unflappable as he always appeared to be. How long had he known she was waiting? Was he testing her commitment? Her heart lurched in her chest as he lifted his hat in greeting and smiled at her. Relieved he had come, she smiled back.
Henry walked towards her; his golden hair glistening in the sun. A sharp reminder of the time she had dared to run her fingers through it. This man had taught her how to feel loved and give love. He made her feel like a woman again rather than a cripple ignored by society. Talek had understood and tried to help, but a brother cannot make a woman feel like a woman again. Only being loved by the man you love can do that. How had it come to this? Yet Henry seemed unaware of the anguish he had caused to Talek, to Grace, and to her. While she had barely slept, he looked well and in good spirits, but for his bandaged arm and eyes dosed with laudanum.
‘I wasn’t sure if you would come,’ he said, looking nervously at the driver. ‘I hoped you might when I heard from Grace you had sided with me. However, promising you will meet me is one thing, travelling here is quite another. Is that driver new?’
‘Yes he is. Shall we go for a drive so we can talk?’
