“Tell me Isobel, how long were you with Aunt Elspeth before Rupert arrived?”
“Two and a half weeks,” Isobel replied, remembering those hideous moments. “Aunt Elspeth was her usual vacant self, twittering on about something over tea. Ellison answered the door to Rupert who thundered in, ranting and raving about being kept waiting before helping himself to the decanters.”
Isobel’s voice was monotone as she remembered that fateful afternoon when her life altered so dramatically. She could view the scene as though from a far distance. “He said he had come to remove me. That you had died, leaving him as my guardian. I was stunned and horrified, mainly at the news of your death.” Isobel trembled so much she couldn’t hold her tea cup, and placed it carefully on the table before her. “I tried to ask him what had happened, but he said he didn’t have all of the facts, but a magistrate - a man called Worthing - had informed him of your death in Norfolk and that made him my legal guardian. He told me to pack immediately as I was leaving. He couldn’t remain in Willowbrook, and would see to its disposal at a later date.” She glanced towards Peter. “When I tried to argue with him that I should remain at Willowbrook, he began ranting that Elspeth was unstable and should be sent to an asylum. Elspeth became so distressed that I agreed to leave. But only after securing his promise that he wouldn’t have her sent away and she could remain at Willowbrook for the time being. I didn’t know what to think; what to do. I couldn’t believe you had died, but I didn’t know how to clarify it. I was stuck, and so upset. He gave me only a short time in which to pack.”
“Did he tell you where you were going?” Peter asked carefully.
Isobel shook her head. “By the time I had packed a few meagre belongings, he had summoned the coach and was leaving. I was ushered outside, and into the waiting carriage before I knew it. I insisted on Kitty coming with me. At first he wouldn’t agree, but when I said I needed a lady’s maid with me and flatly refused to leave without her, he agreed. It all happened so quickly, and I was so horrified with the news about your death Peter that I just couldn’t think.”
“Can you remember how long you were in the carriage?” Peter knew Rupert had lodgings in London that could be reached within a day.
“We travelled most of the night. It was still dark when we arrived at Gosport Hall.”
“Gosport Hall?” Peter’s voice was incredulous. He had completely forgotten about the place.
“What’s Gosport Hall?” Dominic asked, causing Isobel to jump.
“Gosport Hall is a small hunting lodge on the outskirts of Northampton. It is very remote, but easily accessible. Papa inherited it when Grandmama passed on some years ago. It was handed directly to Isobel when Papa died, only we hadn’t done anything with it with Isobel so young. Then with Mother dying and everything, it just never seemed particularly important. Well, you know, I just completely forgot about it. Especially as it is Isobel’s. It was really for Isobel to decide what to do with it when she came of age. It was closed up and moth-balled ages ago,”Peter replied. “We used to go there a lot as children. It was a second home for us. We stopped going there when Mama died; Papa couldn’t bear being there.”
Isobel saw the steady look that passed between the two men and raised a questioning brow at Dominic.
Dominic read her question. “I have suggested to Peter that Rupert could well have taken you to his house on the other side of town. Knowing we were trying to find you and holding you so close to my home would appeal to his warped sense of humour. He would enjoy the fact that you were so close to us, but we couldn’t see you.”
“You were searching for me?” Isobel’s voice was incredulous.
“Of course we were searching for you.” Dominic looked askance at her for considering they might not have bothered. “We returned as soon as most of the smugglers were behind bars. When we arrived back at Willowbrook, Elspeth was in a state and the staff in total disarray. By that time, you had been gone nearly six weeks. Any trail we had, had gone cold. We had to start from scratch in our search to find you.” Dominic’s voice turned husky with emotion as he remembered those fraught weeks.
“Did you reside the entire time at Gosport Hall?” Peter queried.
“Yes. Because we didn’t move, it gave me the opportunity to get away.” It also gave her some small measure of comfort to be somewhere so familiar. She smiled gently at Peter. “I also remembered your way of visiting the ladies, er, Taverns, in the village.” Her lips twisted as she fought the urge to tease him, glad for the brief respite from the stark memories.
Peter scrunched his nose up, and smiled ruefully. “The rose trellis.”
Isobel nodded, her smile fading slowly. “The rose trellis.”
“You climbed a rose trellis?” Dominic raised a brow and eyed Isobel’s skirts warily.
“I climbed down the rose trellis to get away.” Isobel explained Peter’s escape route and regular journeys to town.
Enlightened, Dominic nodded. “That explains your clothing.”
“What clothing?” Peter interjected, growing more curious by the second.
“I survived recapture by Rupert being dressed as a boy,” Isobel explained.
“Disguised, and staying on the run,” Peter added thinking of the random trail they followed up the country.
“Tell me,” Dominic needed to get back to the matter at hand. “When you first arrived at Gosport Hall, what happened?”
Isobel paused knowing what he was asking. She waited for several moments in an attempt to gather her thoughts.
“He summoned me downstairs. I don’t know what I was expecting. At Willowbrook, he was curt but sort of polite. Not altogether friendly, but not nasty either. As soon as we reached Gosport, he took to the library, and in particular the bottles it contained. I was summoned downstairs to see him. He had already eaten and was drunk.”
The stark memories didn’t sit well with her, and Isobel needed to move. She rose and moved to stand before the fire, staring down absently at the flames as the memories resurfaced.
“He told me that he was my guardian now as Peter was dead, and I had better get used to his house rules. He listed a lot of silly things that to be honest, I didn’t listen to. He was red-faced and sweating. The sheer hatred in his eyes...” Her voice trailed off to a whisper, as the image of his beady eyes glaring at her ferociously swam in her mind.
“I told him that I didn’t need a guardian, but got no further than that.” She could sense the tension in the men seated behind her. Carefully, she described that fateful first night, fully aware of the rapt attention of the men seated around the room.
“Good God.”
“The bastard!”
“How often did the beatings happen, Isobel?” Dominic’s voice was low and lethal. Isobel turned towards him, a small muscle ticked in his jaw, confirmation that he was coldly furious.
“Most days. Some were worse than others,” Isobel’s voice was soft, and she felt the salty tang of tears upon her lips. “There were times ...” She swallowed repeatedly as the words locked in her throat. She knew if she was to have any future she needed to tell them everything. “There were times when I didn’t think I should survive.”
She sat down on the chaise again, relieved when Dominic immediately moved to sit beside her, holding her hand carefully in his. It gave her the strength to continue. “There were times when I didn’t want to survive.”
Dominic closed his eyes careful not to allow her to see the depth of his anger.
“Towards the end, the beatings became less frequent, but he had begun to make noises about Bertram DeLisle coming to visit, and I needed to smarten myself up. He told me that he had sold me to DeLisle who was coming to inspect his goods.” Isobel frowned trying to remember any other details that might assist in the downfall of Rupert. “His manservant also informed the few servants who remained, that I was betrothed, and was due to leave soon to be wed to DeLisle. That is what prompted Kitty into action.”
“Kitty h
elped you escape.” It wasn’t a question, but Isobel nodded anyway and described the events on the night of her escape.
“Did Rupert ever threaten or beat Kitty?” Dominic was curious just how far Rupert had gone.
“No, as far as I am aware he didn’t touch her. I don’t think she was treated very nicely, but she didn’t complain of beatings. She wasn’t afraid of Rupert,” Isobel replied. “Did Rupert throw her out?”
“No he didn’t. Kitty left of her own accord during the night while Rupert and his men were looking for you. She eventually made her way back to Willowbrook.”
“Have you spoken to her?”
“Yes, when we were looking for you. I went to Aunt Elspeth’s house to check if you had turned up. Elspeth informed me of Kitty’s arrival and we questioned her. Kitty was relieved to learn I was alive and readily gave me the details of what had happened from her point of view.” Peter replied noting the paling of Isobel’s previously flushed countenance.
“If it hadn’t been for Kitty ...” Isobel left the statement open, knowing very well both men understood.
“We will ensure she is rewarded for her bravery my dear,” Dominic reassured her, his eyes soft as they rested upon her.
“Kitty has decided she would like to remain with Aunt Elspeth as a companion, and Elspeth is delighted with the prospect. Apparently she has fitted in extremely well after her ordeal, and has gained somewhat celebrity status for helping save you,” Peter added ruefully.
“What happened once you left the rose trellis? We know you disappeared into the night on your own.” The very idea of the risks she took still left Dominic cold. “Where did you go? How did you survive?”
“I had a purse of coins Peter had left me before he went away, and Kitty gave me another pouch of her savings. I must make sure she gets those back with a little extra.”
“I’ll see she gets it,” Dominic shared glance with Peter. Kitty would receive the funds, plus interest, along with an estate cottage at Willowbrook, an increase in salary and a job for as long as she wanted it. Both men had already discussed Kitty’s involvement in Isobel’s survival. They had agreed to ensure Kitty had everything necessary to make her life a lot more comfortable for her part in saving Isobel’s life.
“You were half starved when I found you,” he added bringing the conversation back to the matter at hand.
In the first few days of leaving Willowbrook, she had stolen apples and berries from orchards and gardens along the way until she had begun to feel ill from all the fruit. To her utter shame and remorse, she stole a chunk of bread from a loaf left cooling outside the kitchen door of a farmhouse. Although she had not been detected, and sheer hunger had driven her to commit such a crime, guilt had settled like a heavy weight in her stomach as she had eaten, and it had been a circumstance upon which she had not wished to repeat. Since then she had very carefully used the coins in her purse to purchase sparse food along the way, however, given the length of time she had been on her own, that had all been spent early on leaving her at a loss on how to survive.
Tears pooled in her eyes as she remembered the sense of desolation she had felt each day when she had awoken to find herself all alone in the world, with nothing but the clothing on her back.
“Don’t upset yourself my dear, ‘tis all over now.” Peter soothed when silence fell amongst the room.
Isobel shook her head. “But it isn’t really, is it? Rupert is still out there.” She pulled her shawl more tightly across her shoulders, as if the room temperature had suddenly dropped several degrees.
“Why didn’t you head straight here? Did you not remember what I told you that last time we met before we left for Norfolk?” Dominic’s voice was sharp.
“I remembered,” Isobel replied softly. “But as I said before, I needed to keep to country lanes and away from towns. My journey was on foot, and took me far longer than I had anticipated. The route was quite winding, and took me to places I didn’t really need to go. With needing to earn additional pennies to eat, I was travelling far longer than I had ever anticipated. However, there was no alternative.” It was suddenly very important that Dominic understand. “I didn’t know if Rupert was following me or not, but I just couldn’t take the chance.”
“Were you heading here when I found you?” Dominic leaned forwards, his elbows resting on his knees as tension rose within him.
“Yes I was. I couldn’t think of anywhere else to go; anyone else whom I could trust.” Her lips twisted into a grimace of a smile. “I was going to throw myself on your mercy, and beg for your assistance in getting to London secretly; preferably without your wife knowing.”
“His wife?” Peter’s brow rose in alarm.
“Rupert told her I had wed another as soon as we departed for Norfolk,” Dominic bit out, fighting to reign in his temper at the web of lies and destruction Rupert had left behind him.
“What?” Peter stared at Isobel in shock prompting Isobel to carefully explain Rupert’s satisfaction in telling her of Dominic’s betrayal.
“How in the hell do you think I could have quite casually married anyone else?” Dominic’s voice was chiding, and he shook his head at her regretfully at her lack of faith in him.
“I had no reason to doubt him. Given your distant behaviour the day you left for Norfolk, I knew something was wrong. I just didn’t know what, and you didn’t seem to want to take me into your confidence,” Isobel’s argued. “Rupert’s story seemed all that more plausible and made your promise to offer assistance should I need it, seem feebly offered.”
Dominic shook his head, his gaze meeting Peter’s steady stare. He knew Isobel had faced her ghosts head-on in an effort to help them. In reality she had imparted little that would help them in securing his arrest. However it did give everyone a better understanding of what she had been through, and what ghosts she had to vanquish to recover completely.
“We thought you were dead,” Peter broke the silence. At Isobel’s startled jump, he continued. “We were told you were dead, and shown your grave.”
“You were?” Isobel finished weakly turning her horrified gaze towards Dominic.
Dominic reached into his pocket and pulled out the thin gold chain that had been the evidence used to convince them of her demise. “Why was this on another body by the side of the road in Newisham?”
He watched carefully as Isobel stared in horror at the necklace dangling from his fist. With a trembling hand she reached out to touch the necklace that had once been so dear to her. Dominic watched as her trembling hand hesitated mere inches from the delicate object before dropping back into her lap with a thump. She knew something, he was sure of it. His eyes met with hers questioningly. He was unsurprised when her gaze slid away from his guiltily. He knew her well enough to know that she was hiding something.
“Who gave it to you?” Isobel whispered, staring at her once adored necklace with something akin to appalled horror. He noted she didn’t ask where they had found it.
“The magistrate gave it to us when we found your grave. It was the only item found on the body of a badly beaten woman found by the roadside. It was what convinced us that it was you they had buried. It was once your most treasured possession was it not?” Dominic was aware that his tone had become brisk, and did little to hide his disquiet. He had never quite managed to banish the grief of kneeling beside her grave. Suddenly, he was so very angry at the misunderstandings of the past and after everything, her apparent reluctance to trust him.
“I-I don’t know,” Isobel said, breaking her fascinated stare and looking at the floor. She jumped when Peter sat forward in his seat.
“Please Isobel, is there anything you can tell us that might help, anything at all? Any snippets of conversation overheard. People you met, anything?”
Isobel frowned as she searched her memory. “I was kept locked in my room upon first arriving in Gosport. I was only called down to listen to one of Rupert’s rants, before I was sent back up to my room. I didn’t even mee
t DeLisle as he was due to arrive the day after I escaped. Once I got away from him, I kept moving and made sure I stayed out of sight. I didn’t make eye contact with anyone, and I am fairly positive nobody was following me.” There had been times in the first couple of weeks of her flight that Isobel could quite believe she was the only person in the whole world still alive. Sometimes, she went two or three days without seeing anyone other than sheep or cows.
“Not until I met Dominic that day in the village,” she said, glad to be able to turn the conversation away from the necklace and toward the reassuring bulk of Dominic. She watched as he placed his tea cup down upon the table beside the necklace with too much care. She quickly looked away from the necklace that had once been so dear to her – it made her feel far too uncomfortable. It reminded her so much of what she had not told them.
Suddenly, she yawned loudly. “Oh please excuse me. That was so rude of me.” The room began to swirl around her as tiredness settled around her shoulders once more. “I suddenly feel so very tired.”
“You must be exhausted,” Dominic replied studying her pale features with a frown. “It is the longest you have been up since you arrived!” His brief smile didn’t reach his eyes as stood up.
“I do feel tired but also livelier than I have felt for a long time. It feels good to be up and about.”
She was swept high into his arms and only just managed to say a quick good-bye to Peter, before she disappeared out of the door.
“You know you will have to allow me to walk the stairs by myself sometime. At the rate I am putting on weight, you will be lucky if you can get me off the ground, let alone up a flight of steps.”
If You Were Mine Page 10