Chapter Twenty-Nine

 

Eleanor smiled as her daughter embraced the man she loved. What they shared was so great, they could have heated the entire house.

“Now, keep away from the windows,” she said. “We are not out of the woods yet. Mr. Grant may have accepted our tale, but that does not mean he will not set men to watch our home.”

Juliet nodded, grasped Daniel by the hand, and walked out of the room. They would be leaving soon and had much to do to ready themselves for their long journey.

Eleanor wondered if she could endure a second disappearance of the most vivacious of her daughters, but she wanted nothing more than for the couple to be happy. That could only happen if they left England.

“We had a deal, Lady Lambert,” Reverend Creassey said. “I went above and beyond my part by lying to the authorities concerning what took place at the cottage.”

“Yes, you did,” Eleanor said. She placed another piece of timber on the fire and then walked over to her desk, where she retrieved several sheets of parchment. “Join me, will you?”

With a sigh, the reverend walked with her to the fireplace. She looked over the pages torn from the journal her mother-in-law had written – her confession of murder and the events that led to that fateful day.

“Do you have the document Lord Parsons forced Juliet and me to sign?”

The man reached into his coat pocket, producing a parchment tied with a ribbon. “Why did you sign this?” he asked. “If yesterday had not gone as it had, the viscount would have had a terrible hold on you.”

Adding the contract to the pages in her hand, she leaned over and tossed them into the fireplace. The flames leaped eagerly to consume the paper until it became nothing more than ash.

“I wanted him to believe he was in control,” she replied to his question. “That what he held against me could force my hand. To receive what I needed, I had to take a great risk, but it was well worth it. Now, the last of the secrets of this home are gone, burned as thoroughly as the bodies of Lord Parsons and my brother.”

For a moment, her heart clenched as she thought of the boy she once knew. Yet, that boy had long since disappeared, and the monster who had replaced him was an evil man who sought to destroy Eleanor and her children.

“There is one other secret,” Reverend Creassey said in a mocking tone. “One of which you are unaware.”

Eleanor turned a glare on the old man. “You have told me before that Charles confided in you about everything, yet I am confident that anything else you keep hidden can never cause me as much harm as what I already know.”

The reverend chuckled. “As I have said before, what Charles shared with me was told in confidence, so I cannot reveal what was said. However, I will make this suggestion. Never let down your guard, not for a single moment.”

His lips spread into a thin smile as he removed the money she had given him. Once he verified they had not disappeared, he returned them to the safety of his pocket. “I believe I have done all I can here. Good day to you, Eleanor.”

As he walked toward the door, curiosity overtook her. What more did he know concerning Charles that could bring more problems upon the house of Scarlett Hall?

“Ambrose,” she called out.

He stopped and turned back to face her. “I realize you cannot reveal what Charles confided in you, but I must ask one thing.”

“You may ask, but I may have no reply.”

“If this secret were to ever emerge,” she asked, choosing her words carefully, “how devastating would it be?”

He chuckled as he buttoned his coat. “It would destroy not only the life of you and your children, but that of all the generations to follow. Goodbye for now, Eleanor.”

He was soon gone, leaving Eleanor to sigh as she stared at an empty doorway. Perhaps he was merely toying with her. Yet, what if he was telling the truth?

She clicked her tongue in annoyance. Either the secret followed the good reverend to the grave, or it came out into the open, but she had no control over either. All she could do was pray that this was indeed the last of the troubles her family would be forced to endure.

 

***

 

Juliet and Daniel slept throughout the day and into the evening, when her mother insisted dinner be brought to them in the bedroom Juliet had as a child. In just a few hours, they would leave for Dover, where they would take a ship to Calais, France to begin their new life together.

The idea of being so far from her family saddened Juliet but having Daniel at her side made it bearable. Remaining in Rumsbury – or anywhere in England – was out of the question, for if any saw her husband still living and breathing, all they had done would be lost. She refused to lose him again.

After their dinner, they stood before the window that looked out over the gardens, the night sky bright from the full moon above. Daniel wrapped his arms around Juliet, who nuzzled back against him, loving the feel of being in his embrace once more.

“So many nights, I climbed out this window,” she said. “I would go on what I called adventures, but I must admit that many were so I could see you.”

Daniel chuckled in her ear. “And I spent my time worrying that we’d be caught. I can’t believe we endured the past month, but now you’re back in my arms and you’re never leaving me again.”

She looked up at him and smiled. “It is where I belong,” she whispered, “and nothing will ever take me away again.”

He nuzzled her neck and then kissed her ear before resting his chin on her shoulder. “When you first mentioned going to France, I was frightened, but now I realize it’s just another adventure. And that’s what life is, isn’t it? Adventures strung together.”

She giggled. “When did you become a poet?” she asked as she glanced up at him once more. When he reddened, she ran a hand along the arm wrapped around her waist. “I thought it was beautiful. But I have come to realize that life is just that - life. It is not fair or unfair, it just is, and nothing exists that we cannot face together.”

For some time, Juliet remained in the arms of the man she loved, looking out past the garden where their future awaited them. And although she did not know what would happen, she did know they would indeed face it together.

Later, after Daniel returned to bed, Juliet sat at the vanity table and opened her old jewelry box. Inside was a letter she had written before marrying Daniel and the sapphire necklace and ring Lord Parsons had given her.

She did not keep them as a memory of the man, for she despised him even in death. Instead, she kept them as a reminder to someone in the future of what truly wins a woman’s heart.

Standing, she went over and pried loose a floorboard she had used to hide her secrets since she was a young girl.

Inside were numerous letters and writings as well as a bottle of brandy she kept hidden away. Beside them she placed the new items, and with one final look, replaced the floorboard. Whether she would ever return to see them again, she did not know, but they would be there for the next generation to find.

Joining her husband in bed, she snuggled into his arms. And as her eyes grew heavy, she fell asleep in his arms, as it always should have been. And always would be.