| |
I hadn’t eaten toast since the day Gabriel had introduced me to the scold’s bridle. Since I’d arrived at Edwina’s the smell of it at the breakfast table had made my stomach turn, and I’d had to fight the memories of the pain and humiliation that it conjured. But that morning, after my friends had confirmed my suspicions that beneath it all I was, at heart, a normal person with normal moral values, I felt that I shouldn’t allow the memory of Gabriel to keep me from something as wonderful as toast forever. I was still cautious – a stack of two slices only, but given that I’d seen Tristan eat five in one sitting, I felt my portion was perfectly reasonable.
Edwina and I chatted about nothing as I ate, and she peeled potatoes in the sink, her arms flecked with tiny bits of peel. There came a knock at the front door, and Edwina looked at the half-peeled potato she was holding with a gesture of dismay.
‘That’ll be Rebecca,’ she said, and I looked at her blankly. ‘Damien’s mother. Would you mind letting her in?’
‘Oh, of course.’ I jumped to my feet, a half-eaten piece of toast still in my hand. I found myself intrigued by meeting Mrs Hudson again now I knew her son was hiding in the walls. I found I felt a little nervous of such a meeting too, but I brushed that aside.
‘Morning,’ I said chirpily as I swung the door open with gusto, still clutching my toast. Then I froze, for it wasn’t the small, gently rounded Mrs Hudson who faced me.
Gabriel looked exactly as he had the first time I had seen him. Despite the relative heat of the day, he wore his thick, long winter coat, with the collar turned up and the brim of his hat pulled low over his brow. He smiled when he saw me, and doffed his hat to me with an ironic flourish.
‘Good morning, my dear.’
My eye was caught by the gash along his temple, still healing and scabbed, stained with yellow and grey bruising.
‘What an interesting hairstyle you have affected since our last meeting,’ he purred, lifting a brow and twisting his lips as though he was trying not to laugh. ‘Did you think I wouldn’t recognise you? Or were you thinking of starting a new life as a boy? You are a funny little thing, aren’t you?’
I stared at him still, frozen to the spot, the figure of my nightmares come to life. It took me several long moments to process what I was seeing, and for my brain to confirm that yes, this was really happening. I made to slam the door on him, but he was too quick for me and put his foot in the way. He put his hat back on and reached out to me, gently stroking the hand I held the door with. My skin crawled.
‘Perhaps you’d be quicker, dearest,’ he whispered, ‘if you weren’t still eating so much.’
Edwina came out of the kitchen wiping her hands on her apron, and then stopped, stock-still in the middle of the hall, pale and open-mouthed.
‘Good morning,’ Gabriel said smoothly, doffing his hat once again.
‘Good morning. Tristan,’ Edwina called up the stairs, ‘Fleur has a visitor.’
‘Would you be so good as to invite me in?’ Gabriel smiled, all charm. ‘I’d like to have a little chat with my wife.’
‘I don’t want you here.’ I found my voice at last.
‘Oh dear, but then, it isn’t really up to you, is it? I am your husband, after all. My thoughts are your thoughts, my desires are yours.’
I looked around to Edwina, pleading mutely for some assistance.
‘I thought you might need some gentle persuasion,’ Gabriel said, reaching into his pocket, ‘So I brought my good friend Manton. I trust you won’t have any further objections?’
He drew out a pistol, polished to a high shine and engraved with flowers and vines.
‘Pretty little thing, isn’t she? Now, if you’ve no more objections?’
I chanced another glance at Edwina, and she nodded. I stepped aside, my feet feeling heavy as lead, and allowed Gabriel to pass.
He surveyed the little sitting room as he entered it, and gave a sniff.
‘Hmm.’ He placed his pistol down on a side table and shrugged his coat from his shoulders, shaking it out and folding it with the greatest of care. ‘I suppose there aren’t any coat hooks? No? Ah. Never mind. One makes do.’
He laid it gently over the back of the chair facing the door and briefly stroked the wool with loving fingers.
‘Do sit down, won’t you?’ He said with a roll of the eyes. ‘One would think you were unused to guests, but of course that can’t be the case.’
Edwina took my hand and we perched uneasily on the sofa, side by side. Tristan bounded down the stairs and stopped in the doorway.
‘You,’ he said, the word dripping with hatred.
‘Tristan,’ Edwina said quietly. ‘Mr Raynor and his firearm have been so kind as to pay us a visit. Won’t you join us?’ She gestured to the last empty chair in the room, and Tristan sat, obediently.
‘I see they trained you well in the army – good to see you responding to orders. And that my money wasn’t wasted, of course! Such a shame you never saw any action, though.’
Tristan made to rise, but Edwina put out a restraining hand.
‘Well, we don’t want to keep you, Mr Raynor, so let’s get down to business, shall we?’
I stared at her admiringly, wishing I had half of her strength and composure.
‘Ah, a woman after my own heart. You could learn a great deal from her, Fleur. Well, as you wish, Mrs Lovett. My business here is simple. I merely wish to speak to, and then leave with, my wife. As is my legal right, you understand.’
Gabriel smiled and my stomach churned. Despite their promises the previous night that I should not have to return to him, now that Gabriel was here, I didn’t see how they could stop him. He was an irresistible force, accustomed to overriding any obstacle. And now he had brought a gun into Edwina’s house. I had no chance.
‘What would you wish to say to Fleur?’ Tristan asked, his voice brittle and on edge.
‘Merely that I forgive her those misdemeanours which caused her to flee her home. I understand she is highly strung and was unaccustomed to living in a house such as mine. You see of course,’ here he gestured to his forehead with a flourish, ‘what she did to me. I daresay a lesser man than I would have nought more to do with her for that, even cast her aside to the authorities – but I am not that man. I have grown fond of her, in my way, and would have her return to my side.’
‘And if she won’t go?’
‘Oh, good heavens,’ Edwina rose suddenly and clasped her hands together. ‘I haven’t offered you tea. How remiss of me! You must think us quite the fools, Mr Raynor.’
Gabriel looked discomfited for a brief moment as Edwina hurried to the door and called to Jane to bring the tea tray. I marvelled at her gall and cleverness. To set Gabriel off balance and to force him to relinquish control of the situation appeared to be her aim, and it seemed to be working.
‘I do apologise,’ she said again as she settled herself back down beside me, shuffling slightly like a nesting bird. ‘You were saying?’
Gabriel cleared his throat and rearranged his featured into their usual supercilious mask.
‘Merely that I am desirous of the company of my wife. And that I do not intend to leave without her. Come Fleur, let us not inconvenience your delightful host any further.’
‘I don’t want to,’ I said, gripping the edge of the sofa as hard as I could, screwing up all my strength and courage into making myself heard.
‘But my desires are yours, dearest,’ Gabriel said smoothly. ‘And my desire is that you come home. Remember, your vows. You swore before God. You wouldn’t want to disappoint God now, would you? You wouldn’t want to lie to God?’
‘You said you’d kill me,’ I said quietly. ‘If I didn’t have your child, you said you’d kill me.’
Gabriel looked appalled.
‘I see. Well, Mrs Lovett, I don’t know what she’s been telling you, but I can assure you I would never, never threaten her in such a manner.’
‘What husband would?’ Edwina asked, her voice so light and unconcerned that I worried for a moment that she believed him.
‘Could, even?’ Gabriel asked in agreement. ‘She is a child, really. I think we forget how young she is sometimes.’
I could see Tristan straining to rise and defend me, only held back, it seemed, by his mother’s restraining hand on his knee.
‘When she stumbled into our care, however, there were some injuries to her person – I don’t suggest you were the cause, Mr Raynor – ah, here’s the tea. Be a dear and pull the table across, won’t you Tristan – not that one, Mr Raynor is using that for his... Manton, did you say?’
Gabriel nodded, looking unsure of himself once again.
‘Manton, eh?’ Tristan said as he rose to do Edwina’s bidding. ‘Jolly good pistols, those.’
‘My favourite – I have a duelling pair.’ Gabriel shifted in his seat and added, ‘Hair trigger.’
‘No need for them myself,’ Tristan continued as Jane set the tea tray down with a clatter and a scowl. He was clearly forcing himself to be pleasant, and his words were coming out as a snarl. ‘But if I ever did, I’d prefer a Manton set.’
‘It’s always good to have something to aspire to,’ Gabriel said with a condescending smile.
‘Cream, Mr Raynor?’ Edwina jumped in before Tristan could respond.
‘Just a splash. Now, if Fleur would-’
‘Sugar? No? I can’t abide it myself, but Tristan takes it, don’t you dear? I wondered if it was just the general masculine preference, but I see not. There. You were saying?’
‘I believe you raised the subject of Fleur’s injuries?’ Gabriel said, a definite edge of anger creeping into his voice.
‘Ah, of course. I’d forget my head if it wasn’t screwed on. Now, I’m not saying you were responsible, but I’m sure you’ll forgive me for asking. My conscience – with the Lord, you understand – I couldn’t send her back to you without asking.’
Gabriel bowed his head in acknowledgement.
‘Of course. Well, I don’t like to speak of it, but since you’re close, I should share it with you. Fleur and I were only living together since our marriage for what – three days, was it? So, I can’t be sure, but I did notice, during that time, that she had a tendency towards, not only lying, but also to self-harm. My mother – I live with my mother – found it most distressing. As did I.’
‘You mean she did that to herself?’ Edwina was shocked.
‘Oh yes, I’m afraid so.’ Gabriel nodded. ‘All self-inflicted.’
‘Even that large bruise across her back?’
‘Ah, yes. We don’t know how. But when one is determined to hurt oneself, one will find a way.’
‘Dear me, you poor thing, Fleur. Poor, strange child. You are very good then, Mr Raynor, to house her and attempt to rehabilitate her yourself – that is your plan, I take it?’
‘Indeed,’ Gabriel nodded.
‘Would it not be better – easier too – to allow her to have... professional help?’
‘Well, yes, but really-’
‘Scone?’ Tristan asked. ‘We have gooseberry jam. You can’t buy that you know, you have to make it yourself.’
‘Really?’ Gabriel coughed. ‘No thank you.’
‘If you’re sure. I’ll have some. Fleur?’
‘Fleur hasn’t finished her toast yet.’ Gabriel laughed, and I realised I was still holding the half-eaten piece, screwed up and crumbling in my hand, a little pool of melted butter on the floor and a streak of grease staining the sofa.
‘Oh, dear me!’ I laughed and it was strangled and high-pitched. ‘I suppose I really must be mad!’
‘As I was saying, another husband, one who felt less responsibility to his dearly beloved, might wish to send her away to a hospital. And that may yet be my recourse. But for now, I feel I must try.’
Gabriel leaned back in the chair and took a sip of tea.
‘How honourable of you,’ Edwina said, and Gabriel bowed his head again. ‘Would you say,’ she continued, ‘That you feel so bound to protect her because she is not only your wife, but your niece also?’
Gabriel’s teacup clattered noisily back into the saucer, and he shifted uneasily in his chair once more.
‘I hope you understand, Mrs Lovett, that I answer your questions out of the goodness of my heart. I’m under no obligation to do so, as that child is legally my property. I would advise you not to push me, else I decide to take her with force. I could very easily claim you kidnapped her from me, and as a close personal friend of the local magistrate... well.’
‘I wonder,’ Tristan said, leaning back as though at ease for the first time, ‘if your attitude was the same regarding Cassandra. You recall of course that I knew her rather well. Tell me, was she mad too?’
Two spots of red had appeared high on Gabriel’s cheeks.
‘I never intended to visit this-’ he gestured at the surroundings dismissively. ‘This house, if that’s what you’re calling it, but the envoy I sent has yet to return to me with my legal property. Is he here too?’
‘My father, do you mean?’ I asked, feeling a surge of power in seeing the usually implacable Gabriel visibly shaken. ‘He took to his bed to recover from being beaten to a bloody pulp.’
‘Oh no,’ Gabriel looked crestfallen, although the anger still remained in his eyes. ‘Did he get attacked on the road? It can be dangerous when you’re alone.’
‘I trust you’re just as worried about Peregrine then, as he’s been alone in the road for at least the past twenty-four hours.’
‘Is that his name?’ Edwina asked. ‘Peregrine? I didn’t think he looked like a Peregrine.’
‘A broken nose will do that to a person,’ Tristan observed dryly.
‘It’s his surname, Edwina.’ I said.
‘That is something, but still, I’d never have guessed it.’
‘If you wouldn’t mind,’ Gabriel practically growled. ‘I do have other things to do today. So, if you don’t mind-’
‘Oh, but I do, Mr Raynor,’ Edwina said quietly. ‘I mind very much indeed. ‘I am very fond of this country of mine, but I do have issue with what is legal for a man to do to his wife. Indeed, who it is legal for a man to marry. The child of your sister-’
‘I don’t think you should talk about my sister,’ Gabriel ground out through gritted teeth.
‘But why? Such a lovely woman. I remember her well – we only met once or twice but she was always so kind. Unlike the rest of her family, I daresay.’
‘She is not to be spoken of by the likes of you.’
‘Lovely red hair, if I recall.’
‘I said- where are you going?’ Gabriel stopped and pointed at me as I rose from the sofa. ‘Sit back down.’
‘I’m not going anywhere,’ I said petulantly, ‘I just wanted to look out of the window – call it a mad fancy of mine.’
Gabriel glared at me, but I felt almost drunk on adrenaline. He was off balance; he wasn’t in control. There was still his gun to think of, of course, and by skirting behind the sofa towards the window, I would be in a much better position to make a grab for it if he decided to use it.
‘Of course, I remember your mad fancies well. Perhaps a hospital would be the best place for you after all’
‘Red hair, did you say, Mother?’ Tristan was still clearly struggling to control his temper. ‘Much like Cass, then?’
‘Well, I never!’ Edwina clapped her hands against her thighs as though in surprise. ‘Now you mention it, yes, she did look quite similar to Cassandra.’
‘Cassandra was nothing to Rosie. Nothing.’
‘You forget yourself, Gabriel,’ Tristan said, gripping the arms of his chair very tightly. ‘She was my fiancée, of course.’
Gabriel waved a hand airily and I noticed the hanging behind him ripple slightly. A stockinged foot appeared just below it, and my heart swelled with gladness that Damien was here.
‘Was your fiancée, dear boy, was. It didn’t take her long to change her mind once you’d swanned off to France, did it?’
‘You must have been very close to your sister,’ Edwina jumped in, presumably to stop Tristan from doing anything rash. ‘To marry a girl who looked almost exactly like her, and then take her daughter as your second wife. Her daughter. Imagine that.’
‘Like fucking your sister, almost.’
I turned to Tristan in shock, first at his language, then as the realisation of what he had said sunk in.
Gabriel bared his teeth and laughed.
‘What a strange imagination you have! Mrs Lovett, I hate to say it, but it may be worth having a doctor examine your son. And be glad you don’t have any other children for him to pollute. Now if you don’t mind, I think I’ve been insulted enough.’
‘My father told me about when he met my mother,’ I said from the window. ‘How they had to elope to get away from you.’
‘And when did he tell you that, pray? Before, or after he sold you to me?’
‘Oh, after, of course. My father is a weak man, or perhaps I’m being too harsh. He looked after me for seventeen years after all. He’s grown tired of running. He looked after Mother for four years, too.’
‘Four?’ Gabriel was incredulous. ‘She died when you were born.’
‘No,’ I said with a smile. ‘She lived. Didn’t they tell you I hadn’t survived, too?’
‘It’s all lies,’ Gabriel spat, ‘lies upon lies, none of it correlating or making any sort of sense. Just the ramblings of you and your father, both as mad as each other. You get that from his side of the family of course, nothing to do with me.’
I edged away from the window slightly, now within lunging distance of the pistol. I wasn’t sure I knew how to fire it, but so long as I could just get it out of Gabriel’s reach, I thought we would be safe.
‘He told me she had to escape to get away from you. Were you forcing yourself on her? Did you love her?’
‘Now, I don’t want to have to shoot anyone,’ Gabriel said with an affected laziness. ‘But this is already cocked, so it will only take a moment. I think it’s time we left, Fleur. Thank you so much for the tea, Mrs Lovett.’
Gabriel made to rise, and I only knew I had to stall him. The hanging rippled again, and I saw both of Damien’s feet now. I wondered why he didn’t burst out and kill Gabriel, and have done with it.
‘He said your mother helped them elope,’ I said.
Gabriel laughed again and reached for his coat, hanging it gently over his arm, smoothing out invisible creases with an agitated hand.
‘She felt she had no choice but to send Rosie away,’ came a voice from the doorway. ‘Not after you forced yourself her.’
We all turned to the doorway and saw Father standing there, still looking beaten and pale, still leaning heavily on the doorframe.
‘Yes,’ Father said. ‘That was a nice surprise for me, wasn’t it? The girl I love turns up my lodgings with a purse full of money, says you’ve become too much to bear and that we should elope. I only find out a month later, when she finally lets me close to her, that I wouldn’t be the first. And then when she begins to show, two months after that, I realise just how much I’ve been duped. I never touched her.’
‘Oh my.’
Gabriel stood frozen into position, standing by the chair with an unreadable expression on his face. I stared at him, stared at my father, and then back again, my mind a whirl.
The room watched me cross over to the little side table and pick up the pistol with shaking hands. Gabriel didn’t even reach out and try to stop me. He could have, if he’d wanted to. Instead, he just watched me, as I took two steps back away from him and raised the pistol, so it pointed at his chest.
‘Is that true?’ I asked.
Gabriel looked at me, his lip quivering slightly.
‘IS IT TRUE?’ I shouted this time, my hands shaking furiously as I aimed at him.
‘Do you really believe-’
‘It’s true, Fleur.’ Father said from the doorway. I began to cry.
‘Did you know? Gabriel, did you know that when you married me? Did you know I might be your child?’
‘He knew,’ Father said. ‘I told him when he found us. He just laughed at me.’
‘Let him say it. Tell me. Did you know? Did you know you were marrying your daughter?’
Gabriel’s lips twisted again as he seemed to be wrestling with himself as to what to answer. I saw his eyes flick around the room, searching for a way to escape.
‘Yes,’ he said eventually. And I shot him.