‘I’ll find a way. We can be married, just as we planned. And I will give you a home of your own, and children who will smother you in hugs.’
Amelia shook her hand away and closed her eyes. ‘No!’
Henry fell silent, knowing, perhaps, that he had promised too much. It no longer mattered. She had made a decision about her own future during the night, when sleep had eluded her and her feelings of guilt were at their worst. She had questioned her decision on several occasions since, when she had placed Talek’s letter on his desk, when she had arrived at the Wheatsheaf Inn, even when she had seen Henry for the first time. Now she was convinced it was the right thing to do. The horse’s ears flicked away a gnat. It was an old horse, with a swayed back and limited years ahead of it. She had chosen well.
‘Grace is a meddler,’ Henry was saying. ‘Did you know that her father raped her mother? She is contaminated. To think you have had her in your house and eating at your table.’
The sandy beach of Porthpean lay beneath the cliff. Amelia could not see it from the road, but the cliff edge was only a short distance with no hedges to block the way. She had chosen this spot well.
‘We will make a formidable team, Amelia,’ Henry continued. ‘Our combined shares will mean we have the final say. I have great plans for the future. A name change for the business would be the first.’
‘I rode alone to see you, Henry. I thought my courage would fail me, but I’m stronger than I look.’
‘You did well,’ he replied, absently. She wondered if he had really heard her at all.
‘I think I would like to drive the horse now. It will do me good to take control for once.’
Henry frowned. ‘There is no need. I can control the horse with one hand.’ His grasp tightened on the reins.
Amelia stroked his arm. ‘Please, Henry. You can guide me. Unless, of course, marriage to you would mean I’m denied such simple pleasures. Perhaps I need to reconsider.’
Amelia looked at him through her eyelashes. Henry’s frown deepened, then faded away. He laughed and passed her the reins.
‘Do as you will. Just a short way, no more. It will give my arm a rest.’
Amelia looked at the reins in her hands. The leather was well waxed, its pungent smell teasing her to use them. She eased the horse into a walk. The road dipped nearer to the edge before curving away. Henry instructed her on how to guide the horse, which she dutifully followed.
Despite her past experience, she remained unusually calm, gaining in confidence with each turn of the wheel.
‘Thank you for being so understanding, Henry.’
They exchanged smiles and Henry relaxed a little more. He looked out to sea.
‘I’ll see my solicitor right away. We should marry as soon as possible. You must not let Talek know or he will try to put a stop to it.’
‘You think you can still work with Talek?’
‘I have broken no laws. As one of the owners, I have simply withdrawn money I have legitimate access to. The clay contract was as much Caradon Potteries’ fault for buying unsuitable clay. Talek would have to buy my shares. I’m not willing to sell them. Not if I have you by my side. You will make a good mother to our children, Amelia. Life will be good for both of us.’
Amelia guided the horse off the track and onto the grass.
‘Where are you going?’ asked Henry.
‘I thought the horse could graze a while.’ Amelia guided the horse forward a little more.
‘The cliff edge is just over there. The horse may be one of your most reliable, but it can still be startled. Turn him to the left a little more.’
Amelia laughed. ‘I will be careful, Henry. Don’t fuss so. Some horses startle at the slightest butterfly, this one is steady. We once had a horse who took a great dislike to the smell of pigs. It took us a while to understand what would turn her into a bucking devil, but we discovered it in the end.’ She patted Henry’s knee. ‘Be rest assured, this horse likes pigs.’ Amelia halted the gelding and loosened the rein so it could stretch its neck to tear at the grass. ‘Although I do remember one incident he was rather naughty. It was a sunny day, not unlike this one, and we were passing a child who took it upon herself to scream very loudly. He is an old horse, but the sound of a piercing scream quite terrified him. He took off like a cannon ball. Nothing would calm him. He was, quite literally, blinded by panic.’ She gave Henry a steady smile. ‘I didn’t scream at all. Isn’t that strange, Henry? At a time when I thought I was about to die, I felt quite calm.’
Realisation dawned in Henry’s eyes. ‘Is this the horse that paralysed you?’
Amelia raised her eyebrows in mock surprise. ‘Oh, didn’t you know? Don’t look so worried. I’m sure he didn’t do it on purpose, Henry.’
Henry held out his hand. ‘Let me take the reins. You are not as strong as I am should he misbehave.’
‘There is no need.’ Amelia smoothed the leather with her thumb. ‘Everyone thinks because I cannot walk, I must be weak and in need of protection. My brother being one of them. He means well and I love him for it, but no one seems to realise that it takes courage and strength to survive an accident and learn to live with the repercussions of it. It takes a will of iron to rise above those moments when those in your company talk over your head or as if you were not there, as if my accident also rendered me devoid of intellect, sight and feelings. It takes resilience to get out of bed, knowing that your day is going to be the same as it was the day before. Even tending to the most intimate . . .’ She glanced at him. ‘I’m sorry, Henry. I’m sure that you don’t want to hear of such things, but when everyday tasks are so much more difficult and the boundaries of your world has shrunk until it feels as if you cannot breathe, a person can either give up or grow stronger. A wheelchair does not stop a person hoping and striving for a better future, it just makes it more difficult to achieve.’
Amelia’s grasp tightened on the leather. ‘Talek protected me, but he never spoke over me or as if I was not there. I still felt human in his company. And Grace treated me the same. And in recent months so did you. You fed me a dream of having my own home and children . . .’ she lifted her gaze to his and stared at him ‘. . . and I was foolish enough to gorge myself on it. I am wiser now.’ Henry opened his hand for the reins but she held on tight. ‘I have betrayed my own brother and Grace, who I consider a dear friend, for you.’
‘Give me the reins.’
‘You sound frightened, Henry,’ said Amelia, feigning concern. ‘Where is my charming, confident Henry now? Has he scuttled back to Margaret?’ Henry reached for the reins but she jerked them away. The gelding startled and raised its head suddenly, but did not move forward. ‘I lied to protect you. I betrayed those I loved . . . and it was all for nothing.’ She tilted her head to the side, as she stared at him. ‘How do you think that makes me feel, Henry?’
Henry grasped the reins in her hands. ‘I don’t care how you feel.’ He tugged, but Amelia did not let go.
‘You don’t deserve to have a happy life after all the pain you have caused.’
‘And how are you going to stop me? By riding this trap off the cliff so I will become a cripple like you! There is a difference between us, Amelia. I’m willing to better my life and take chances, whereas you don’t have much of a life left to live.’
Henry pulled at the reins again. Amelia’s body jolted violently towards him. She could smell his fear and it gave her strength.
‘The difference between us, Henry, is you want to live . . . and today I do not.’
A shadow of fear crossed Henry’s face as Amelia loosened her grip. He snatched the reins from her, but his triumph was short-lived. Her piercing scream had already begun to slice into the air, startling both the horse and the scattered gulls perched on the rocky ledges below the cliff. The white and grey birds rose in the air as the horse bolted, surrounding them with their panicked mewing as the grass topped cliff suddenly disappeared beneath the horse’s pedalling hooves.
Amelia and Henry jolted backwards, as the trap tilted vertical, their soft bodies jarring against the unforgiving seat. Gravity’s cruel hand pulled the horse and trap downwards as the gelding continued to gallop in mid-air. Amelia watched the poor beast as it fell, its body twisting, its hooves cycling, its thick neck arching as if embodied by a mythical creature taking flight.
She searched for Henry who was not far behind. He had been tossed free to fall unhindered by trap or reins, his arms and legs thrashing helplessly as he desperately yelled in fear. He was still alive — but not for long.
