Chapter Seventeen

 

The sun would not set for another hour, and the main street in Rumsbury was quiet as Juliet walked beside Annabel. The shops were now closed, the proprietors and those who worked for them off with their families for the night. Lord Parsons had invited Juliet to dinner after their stroll through the gardens, but she had politely refused, explaining that she wished to spend time with her sisters before they returned to their respective homes.

They came to a stop in front of a particular window. “It feels as if it was only yesterday when we were here,” Annabel said, brushing at the dirt with her handkerchief. She frowned at the smudge it made. “Yet, it also seems a lifetime ago. Is it not odd that the shop remains empty after all this time? It is as if it is cursed and everyone knows it.”

Juliet nodded as she squinted to see the nearly empty shelves. On the floor lay a single riding boot. It was here where she met Robert Mullins, a man she had thought a kind cobbler. Not long after, however, she came to understand that the man had blackmailed her mother and forced a kiss on Annabel.

Yet, it was learning that he was her true father – that he had left alone a woman who carried his child – was the most devastating. He had used her, his own daughter, to get to the woman who she knew as her mother, believing she could lead him to the wealth of Scarlett Hall. How could a man be so cruel to his own flesh and blood?

The regret she felt now as she stood in front of the window of the cobbler’s shop was not for his actions, but her own. It was she who had continued to speak to the man when she was forbidden to do so. It was she who had introduced him to Annabel and her friends, allowing him to nearly cheat them out of their money. What had begun as a simple act of rebellion had spiraled into Daniel now being imprisoned.

“I have brought so much anguish to everyone I love,” Juliet said, her heart heavy and her eyes filling with tears. “I thought that if I changed my ways, I could finally move on from my past. Now, it may very well ruin what Daniel and I built together, if it has not already.”

“Do not say such things,” Annabel said. “Daniel loves you, and nothing will ever stop that.”

Drawing in a deep breath, Juliet sighed. “His face, when I told him I was marrying Lord Parsons, will forever be etched in my mind.”

Annabel reached out and took Juliet’s gloved hand in hers. “You are doing what you can to save him. The pain you have today will soon be gone. You must not give up hope.”

“I believe that one day he will be freed, but I wonder if he can ever forgive me for what I have chosen to do.”

Her sister clicked her tongue in vexation. “This is not the Juliet I know and love,” she admonished. “That woman would never admit defeat. You are one of the strongest women I know, and you will not lose!”

Juliet smiled. Although she wanted to believe Annabel’s words, she feared the plan she had devised was doomed to fail. “I am just tired, is all,” she said.

Annabel embraced her. “Let us return home. There is nothing for us here anymore.”

With a nod, Juliet allowed her sister to lead her away. However, she gave the cobbler’s shop one last look. Annabel was right; that was a part of her past, and it did indeed need to be left behind.

“Come on,” she said, glancing at the descending sun. “I believe it is dark enough now.”

With her sister at her side and keeping to the growing shadows, Juliet led them through the back streets and alleyways to the opposite side of the village.

 

***

 

They kept to the shadows as they made their way through the empty streets. The jail sat beside the courthouse, and with the sun hovering over the horizon, the shadows of the large building would give them plenty of places to hide.

“This was a brilliant idea,” Annabel said in a hushed tone. “This way Lord Parsons will not know that you came to see Daniel!”

Juliet nodded as she looked in every direction, but no one was about. Earlier, Hannah had questioned Juliet about the cell in which Daniel now lived, and when she had mentioned the window, they decided it would be the perfect point of contact.

“To think that I must sneak about to see my own husband,” Juliet said with a frown. “Lord Parsons will pay for what he has done!”

They reached the alley that lined the cells in the section where Daniel was housed, and Juliet peeked around the corner. A few abandoned crates stacked against the gray stone walls would provide cover. No one was about, except a slat-ribbed dog sniffing for scraps of food. She hoped he was sniffing for food and not a large rat!

“Go on ahead,” Annabel whispered, her back against the wall beside Juliet. “I will remain here and keep watch.”

Juliet nodded, hurried hunched over to the first window, and peered inside. She was greeted by a toothless smile of an old man with a beard. He said nothing, to her relief, so she waved a quick greeting to him and moved to the next window.

This time when she peered through the bars, she saw Daniel curled up on the filthy pallet of straw. She ran her fingers across the six steel bars.

“Pst!” she hissed. “Daniel!”

He looked up at her, and when he saw who it was, jumped from the floor, and hurried over to her. His face had thinned in the short time he had been there, and to her shock, he peered through a swollen eye that was a deep purplish-green.

“What happened to your face?” she asked with a gasp.

“It’s nothing,” he replied. “What’re you doing here? And why haven’t you come to see me? I was sure you’d given me a message when you were here with…that man.” He said this as if it were a curse.

“Lord Parsons has forbidden me to see you,” she replied. “Apparently, he has paid off the guards to see that I do not. But that is why I am here. I have good news! The date of your trial has been moved up to Friday! We will be reunited sooner than we expected!”

She had hoped the news would make him smile, but instead he simply sighed.

“What is it? What is wrong?”

“I told you before,” he said. “Just let me die. And keep away from that man. Now you wear his jewelry and speak about him with excitement.”

“You do not understand,” she said. “I am doing this all for you!”

He reached up and gripped the bars with both hands. “I do understand more than you know. It’s why I asked you to stay away from him. Now, he calls on you every day, and I dare not speak about what he’s likely done with you!”

A tear rolled down Juliet’s cheek as she stared at him. “I swear to you that what you fear has not, nor will it ever, happen! Please, you must understand that I love no one but you!”

“Then you must stop this madness,” he demanded. “What we’re going through right now is far different than anything we’ve ever faced before. He won’t allow me to go free. I believe he’ll make sure I’m hanged.”

“Don’t say that!” Juliet said in a harsh whisper. “There is always hope.”

Daniel snorted. “I’ve given up on hope, for there‘s none left.”

For the first time in her entire life, Juliet felt the complete crushing, the complete desolation, of her soul. It was as if all her hopes and dreams had been ripped from her very essence. Yet, the fire of which her mother spoke roared through her body as she placed her fingers on those of her husband.

“You were once a stable boy,” she whispered as her eyes misted. “I was a young lady of the ton. Society dictated that we could not be together, and we proved they were wrong. We will do so again!”

A faint smile came to Daniel’s lips. “Do you remember when you taught me to read?” Juliet nodded. “I grew frustrated because I didn’t believe I could ever learn. Yet, every night, you came to teach me, to help me. The same determination I saw in your eyes then I see again now.”

“It will not be easy,” Juliet said. “And I cannot imagine leaving you here to live as you are, but I swear to you, we will get through this, together.”

Daniel sighed. “I’m sorry for what I said. I live in fear for my fate, but I’m more afraid for yours. So, my love, my Juliet, I swear to you that I do believe that if anyone is able to help me, it’s you. And even though it doesn’t seem possible, I’ll hold on to hope and to the love I have for you.”

“That is all I ask,” she said with a small smile.

He looked behind him and then turned back to her. “You should go. The guard’ll check on me soon.”

Juliet nodded and then grasped her fingers in his.

“I love you, Juliet. I always have, even before I realized it.”

“And I love you.”

“Come back and see me before Friday if you can,” he whispered as he withdrew his hands and their fingertips left one another’s.

“I swear it,” she whispered. Then she hurried back down the alleyway and around the back of the courthouse building where Annabel waited.

“Is Daniel well?” Annabel asked as she pulled Juliet in for a tight embrace.

“No,” Juliet replied. “But soon everything will be made right again. Come, let us go before someone sees us.”

As they retraced their steps, Juliet held close the words Daniel had said to her. He still loved and trusted her, and that was what mattered most.