THE COMPLETE TRILOGY, COMPENDIUM OF THE HEART: An epic love story

by RJ Hunter

  "David, are you alright? Aren't you cold?" She asked, sitting down next to him.

  He looked up at her, half smiled and shook his head.

  "David, I know what happened when you went ice fishing. William told me, I hope you don't mind?"

  He looked out across the field opposite, his eyes red and damp from both the tears, and the cold.

  "The snow, the cold, the winter, Sally - it all makes me sad. Sometimes, I wish I could forget, but it wont let me."

  Sally followed his gaze, thinking over what he'd said.

  "You can never forget something like that, David. I think you have to learn to live with it, learn to accept it, and understand that it was a tragic accident, beyond your control."

  "He was just a kid, with so much to look forward to."

  "I know he was, David. Please don't be so hard on yourself. You're a kind and wonderful person, and you can do a lot of good in the world."

  He turned to face her, wiping away a tear, with his handkerchief.

  "I love your way with words, Sally. It's so comforting."

  "Please come inside, David. William and Jenny care for you so much, and don't want to see you so sad."

  They both stood up, facing each other.

  "Jenny doesn't know, does she?"

  "No, David, it'll be our secret."

  "Do you care for me, Sally?"

  The question took her by surprise, and she had to be careful with her answer.

  "Yes, David, of course I care for you. I want to help you."

  "You already have, Sally."

  She then took David's handkerchief, and began gently dabbing away his teardrops.

  "Come, on lets go inside," she smiled, reaching out for his hand.

  Almost at once, they kissed. It was only a fleeting kiss between two friends, lasting mere seconds, but the intensity of it surged through both of them like a bolt of lightening. Sally immediately pulled away, but as she did, she heard William calling her name. She turned and looked, feeling her heart drop to the floor, as she saw him standing there watching, pain etched deep into his face. Jenny was standing beside him, clutching logs for the fire. She let them fall from her arms, turned and stormed back into the house, stopping briefly to collect her few things, before returning to Lloyd-Evans House.

  "I can explain, William, it wasn't how it looked."

  "How was it then Sally, you tell me?"

  "David was upset, I just went to help him, that's all."

  William didn't answer, but went back inside, put on his duffle coat and left the house also. David, meanwhile, went up to his room, locked the door, and didn't say another word.

  It dawned on Sally, that it just wouldn't work, living here with the two brothers. Things were just too intense, and a certain invisible barrier had now been crossed. She couldn't put the clock back and began to pack, before lugging not only her case, but her heavy heart, out into the snow

  .

  10. THE LAKE

  Frank looked into the bathroom mirror and ran his finger along the length of the scar running down the left side of his face. It was about three inches long and had an angry, purplish, red hue to it. He had lost over two pints of blood and needed stitches following the events of the Christmas dinner and dance. The doctor at the hospital told him, if he had been out in the cold for just a couple of minutes longer, he would have died. Frank had also been told that a young woman, called Pauline had come to his aid, kept him warm, and had ultimately saved his life. Frank, however, dismissed this, as he had other things on his mind. He had also suffered a couple of broken ribs, plus extensive bruising, following the attack by Carol's family. He wanted revenge on Pauline for scarring him, like he wanted revenge on Sally for not backing up his story, when Pauline had accused him of rape. But that wasn't so important now, since he had learnt she wasn't going to press charges. He wanted revenge on William, for taking his woman and stealing the necklace, and revenge on his stupid, confused brother for hitting him with a poker. But it would all have to wait. The scar was healing, and the bruises had gone, but the pain from his ribs still made him wince as he reached up to continue shaving.

  Frank's father, Hugh had reluctantly agreed to stand bail for his youngest son, after initially refusing point blank. It had been Frank's mother who had beseeched, begged, and finally threatened to leave him, if he didn't put up the money and hire a lawyer for Frank. Whether it had been out of a mother's love for her wayward, disfigured son, or Pauline's disclosure that she was carrying Frank's child, no-one would ever know.

  Now, Frank was back home in the bosom of his family, fearfully awaiting his upcoming trial. To say he was jittery about it would be an understatement. If it went badly, he could end up going to prison for a considerable time. Of the cases against him, the attempted murder of William and Sally were the most serious. Next came the robbery of the Falcondale sub post office, and lastly, but no less serious - the alleged rape of the student, Karen. The thought of spending his life behind bars filled Frank with utter dread. It was bad enough getting thrown out of university before taking his finals, and having to own up to his mother that he had taken her best necklace, just to seduce a girl.

  Hugh Gant had spared no expense in hiring the best lawyer money could find, and eagerly paced the drawing room waiting for Duncan Fraser to arrive.

  "Is that parasite out of the bathroom yet?" He called to Irene. "This damned lawyer, for all the good he can do, will be here at any time."

  Irene ran up the stairs, and knocked hard on the bathroom door, imploring Frank to hurry up. Since his arrest, Frank's father couldn't bear to speak to him, for bringing such disgrace on the family, and used Irene as a go-between. The injuries Frank had received and the appalling cut to his face, had been more than enough to bring out the maternal instincts in his mother. Eventually, Frank sauntered down, and tentatively made his way into the drawing room.

  "Frank, this is Mr. Fraser, who'll be representing you in court."

  Frank greeted the middle-aged, balding man and shook his hand. He was an ugly-looking character, short and stocky, with a large nose and wearing thick spectacles. Scrutinising the lawyer, Frank wondered how on earth this chap could ever be considered the best.

  "Sit down Frank, we need to go over a few things." Said Frazer, in a surprisingly, deep and authoritative, Edinburgh accent. "I've been looking over your case notes, and I'm very confident I can get you off every charge. How does that sound?"

  Frank was taken aback, and glanced at his father.

  "Impossible!" Boomed Hugh, "You mean you can get my son cleared of attempted murder, robbery and rape?"

  Frazer, spent a moment weighing up both father and son, before carefully removing his spectacles. "Yes, that's what I said, Mr. Gant. I can get him cleared of everything."

  "Every charge?" Butted in Frank.

  "Every charge," replied Frazer, opening his briefcase and taking out some papers. "Now, in order for me to do this, I need to go through everything what happened that night."

  "Well, I can't remember much, I'd been drinking all day!" Grinned Frank, reclining back in his chair. "Ruined a damned good night, that bloody Pauline!"

  Frank's dialogue was brought to a halt by Frazer's fist slamming down noisily onto the table.

  "Now, you listen here, you ignorant young oaf. I couldn't care less if they hung, drawn and quartered you at Tyburn, or beheaded you at the Tower of London," shouted the lawyer, glaring at Frank, with piercing, grey eyes. "Your father has paid good money to get you the best representation. You will give me the respect I deserve, or you can find someone else. Do I make myself clear?"

  Frank was taken shaken by the small man's ferocity, and answered back immediately.

  "Yes, Mr. Fraser, you have made yourself very clear."

  "Good, now let's get down to work."

  It was March, and the last remnants of the winter snow had finally disappeared. It cheered Sally's heart to see daffodils growing around the campus, and the sound of birdsong in t
he spring air.

  The final few days of the Christmas break had been mind numbingly long and boring. Sally had even tried to patch things up with Jenny, but the wronged student wouldn't even acknowledge her, let alone open the door. Now, for Sally, it came as a great relief to eventually see the familiar faces of the returning students, and life on campus getting back to normality.

  Lizzie had arrived back, all bright-eyed and optimistic, and Sally made them both a coffee, and told her about the disastrous events at William's house.

  "There always a drama in your life, Sally? Why can't you just be like me, and live a normal, quiet existence! But I'm sure he'll come running back to you, with his tail between his legs."

  Lizzie's sense of humour and light-hearted approach to life made Sally feel better about things, and she was glad to have her friend back at long last. Lizzie told her all the news from home, how her mother, Pamela, was getting back with Edward again, and how Janice and Graham had to accept it. Bobby, Lizzie's little brother had also returned home, along with the family dog. It was all so uplifting, after the distressing times Sally had gone through, first with Frank, then the misunderstanding at William's house. One regret, Sally did have, was not being able to attend Margaret's funeral. Lizzie was very understanding though, since most of the country had ground to a virtual standstill during the bad weather.

  Sally's relationship with Lizzie on campus, never returned to how it was. Lizzie somehow had changed. Even her style of dress was now toned down and very conventional in comparison. But more surprisingly, she had become very studious, and now attended all her lectures and seminars, putting the average student to shame.

  Much to Sally's surprise, Lizzie also started seeing Ken again. Both he and Frank's court case was still pending, but Ken had miraculously survived being kicked out of the university. Now, seemingly he had seen the error of his ways, and was actually getting down to some hard work. Without Frank's influence, he had become much more cordial, and like Lizzie, was dressing in a more conservative manner.

  Once again the student's club, along with the various pubs and cafe's were all busy with young people, their grants topped up, and looking forward to the coming of warmer weather. Sally was bored, so taking a leaf out of Lizzie's book, she buried herself into her studies. Last October, everything seemed so promising, it was all so new and waiting to be explored, now her life seemed so empty and desolate. She missed William desperately, and dare she admit it, missed David too. She thought she may have seen them around campus, being that Falcondale wasn't a large university by any means. But nothing, it was so strange, like they had just disappeared off the planet. She had been to the library, a favourite haunt of William's on several occasions, and had asked the staff if they had seen him, but alas, none had. She had even tried to write a letter to him, explaining the misunderstanding about kissing David, and how sorry she was, but each time she finished the letter, she tore it up, and threw it into the bin.

  One morning, following yet another restless night, Sally had got up early, showered, washed her hair and had gone over to the post room, prior to attending a lecture. She had completed all her assignments for the ancient Greek element of her course, and it was now the turn of the Romans, in particular, the Augustan age. She had tried unsuccessfully to get books from the library on the Emperor Augustus, but it seemed everyone else in her group were doing the same thing. Her thoughts turned once more to William, and how he had helped her with an earlier seminar. She wished her gallant knight on a charger was around now, to help her in her hour of need. Checking through her mail, she found a familiar-looking letter from her parents, an official-looking envelope, she didn't like the look of, and a note from the library about some overdue books. Returning to her room, she searched high and low for the books, before realising they could be at William's house. She then opened the letter from home, it was from her mother, saying how much they missed her over Christmas, and how bad the weather had been etc. Her father had been ill with a cold, so didn't fully indulge in the festivities, but had managed to lose several pounds of weight in the process, not that he was particularly overweight in the first place. Enclosed with the letter was a cheque for £100, which delighted Sally and made her immediately think about what she could spend it on. Lastly, she picked up the remaining letter, and eyed it suspiciously, it had her full name and address at the campus, typed out to perfection in chilling detail. She took the letter and went to sit on her bed. It was what she had been expecting, her worst nightmare confirmed. It was the letter summoning her to testify at Crown Court. She felt herself start to tremble, as her thoughts returned to that terrifying night. It had started as such a beautiful, surreal experience to sleep with William, then lie in his arms, and blissfully fall asleep. But almost without warning, that magical moment had been violated and shattered into a million pieces. Sally recalled Frank's bloodied face leering at her, like some grotesque devil. She quickly put the letter back in its envelope, and locked her door. She searched under the bed, and looked inside the wardrobe, her ears alert to every sound, petrified that Frank may be lying in wait for her. With her lecture forgotten, she hid herself under the eiderdown, recalling how Frank had threatened her, and said how he'd cut William's throat. Her blue eyes welled up, and she sobbed, fearful of seeing his face again.

  She must have fallen asleep, as she was startled by someone tapping at her door. To her relief, she immediately recognised Lizzie's familiar voice.

  "Hi, Sally, darling, we haven't seen much of each other lately?" Chirped Lizzie, "Are you alright, you look as if you've been crying, you poor thing, what's up?"

  "Nothing, it's okay. I just had a headache and went back to bed."

  "I think you've been overdoing it. Ken and I are off to the cinema - Lawrence of Arabia is showing at the Odeon, do you want to come with us? Peter O'Toole's starring in it!"

  Sally couldn't bear the thought of sitting for three or more hours in a cinema playing gooseberry to the loved-up, Lizzie and the now, whiter-than-white, Ken.

  "I'm sorry, Lizzie, I'm not feeling so great. Perhaps, another time?"

  As soon as Lizzie had gone, Sally locked the door again, and buried herself back beneath her bed covers. She didn't know if the tears she shed that day, were for William, or for having to attend Frank's trial.

  Fraser was as good as his word, within five minutes of taking the stand, Karen had broken down, and the judge had to order a temporary halt in the proceedings, while the frightened student regained her composure.

  Fraser, meanwhile consulted his notes until Karen was ready to take the stand again. The courtroom, was claustrophobic, and smelt official. It was devoid of windows, with dark wood panelling around the walls, and rows of benches located in the centre. There were separate tables for the prosecution, defence and court officials.

  "If the young lady has recovered, you may proceed, Mr. Fraser," instructed the solemn-looking, grey-haired judge, as he spoke from behind a large desk.

  "So, Miss Clarke, we have already established that you had a keen interest in my client," continued the lawyer, resuming his predatory stance. "The court is also aware that you willingly smuggled Mr. Gant into your room at the university, got drunk and consented to sexual intercourse with him. Is that correct too?"

  It was horrific to watch, and Sally had to sit in silence, dreading when it would be her turn, as Fraser destroyed Karen's feeble defence with clinical efficiency. He had ingeniously made out Frank to be a respected son of an eminent surgeon, embarking on a course of formal study, only to be pursued and seduced by a wanton, manipulative female, seeking to enhance her social standing.

  "No, it's not true. He raped me!" Pleaded Karen, her voice barely audible. "I told him no. I had the bruises to prove it. I couldn't leave my room for fear of seeing him again."

  "Nonsense!" Replied Fraser, looking her straight in the eye. "If that were the case, why didn't you report it at the time?"

  Karen, visibly shaking, couldn't bear the intense scrutiny,
and dropped her gaze, as Frank leered at her from across the court.

  "I was too ashamed."

  "Speak up, girl, the court can't hear you," ordered the judge, peering over his horn-rimmed spectacles.

  "I was too ashamed," repeated Karen, forcing herself to speak louder.

  "Too ashamed?" Shouted Fraser, sensing an easy victory. "You weren't ashamed at all. You had successfully snared this unsuspecting, respectable young man into your sordid web of deceit. You then seduced him, to forward your own ends. Then, when he no longer showed you any interest, you bided your time and waited for an opportunity to kick him when he was down. Isn't that right, Miss Clarke?"

  Karen was no longer able to continue and the jury were later to return a verdict of not guilty.

  Sally felt she was about to vomit, as her name was called out. She had chosen not to say anything to her parents, and instead, accepted the support Mr. Meredith had offered. Lizzie, to her credit had also volunteered to help, and drive Sally to the Crown Court, but she declined, not wanting to get her friend involved. Besides, Sally didn't know how long the case would last, and felt Lizzie would prove too much of an emotional drain on her.

  As Sally waited, she discreetly scanned the courtroom, looking for William. She briefly recalled how he had led her to safety when Pauline was running amok in the assembly hall, and how they had danced together as the snow began to fall. She tried to remember the song that had been playing, when he had held her in his arms.

  "Would Miss Sally Mary Carlington please take the stand."

  Sally's daydream was brought to an abrupt halt. She felt her legs go weak, as she stepped up to take her place on the stand. It was then, that she looked down and noticed what looked like, a pool of urine around her feet. Her heart bled for Karen and the ordeal she had just been through. Sally however, couldn't bring herself to put the girl through any more humiliation and torment, and said her oath, as if nothing were amiss. She then stood motionless as Fraser eyed her from where he was sitting. He made a couple of comments on a sheet of paper, before striding up to face her. He had piggish, grey, bloodshot eyes that bored into her, making her feel guilty before the questions had even started. Already, she felt tearful, and urged herself not to crack under the strain.