Beyond the Storm

by E. V. Thompson

‘So soon? It would be difficult to change anything now, even if I wished to, but I will need to find somewhere to go for that weekend, I really do not wish to meet with him again.’

  ‘Perhaps … perhaps me and Tristram ought to change our minds about going to the fair if it’s going to make things difficult for you.’

  ‘No. You and Tristram have both been looking forward to Camelford fair for months, you must go. I will think of something. Now, if you have finished unpacking, I think I will have a little rest. You must do the same too, neither of us had any sleep last night. Check that all is tidy for Reverend David’s return, then take a rest in your room. You were a tower of strength at Helynn in very difficult circumstances, I do appreciate it, thank you.’

  *

  Reverend Kilpeck did not return with Percy until that evening. Tintagel poorhouse’s oldest resident had died during the afternoon and David had spent some time discussing with the churchwardens a funeral befitting a centenarian who had long been the oldest inhabitant of the parish.

  By the time the two men reached Trethevy Alice and Eliza were up and about and, after expressing surprise that Alice had returned from Helynn after such a short visit and hearing the story she and Eliza had agreed together for their unexpected return, David said, ‘I have some news for you too, both good and bad.’

  ‘Tell me the good news first,’ Alice replied, ‘I am not in the mood for bad news right away.’

  ‘After you left yesterday we had a visit from Dean Fitzjohn and his daughter Ursula …’ – Edgar Fitzjohn, Dean of Windsor, was the distant relative who had been instrumental in appointing David to the living of Trethevy – ‘… It seems he was at University with Reverend Wallis, vicar of Bodmin and both he and Ursula are holidaying with him for a couple of weeks. They came here yesterday evening and were most disappointed you were not here, but their host, Reverend Wallis, would like us to have dinner with him on Tuesday, at Bodmin vicarage.’

  Showing the pleasure he felt at having received such an invitation, David beamed at Alice. ‘Bodmin is one of the most important and lucrative livings in Cornwall and Reverend Wallis is an important churchman. He could be a considerable influence in my future, I accepted the invitation, of course, trusting you would be home by then. I hope you approve?’

  ‘I am absolutely delighted, Ursula and I were childhood friends, as you know, how is she?’

  Alice was grateful for the opportunity to move away from the subject of Hugo Trevelyan and her visit to Helynn, but she was taken aback by the enthusiasm with which David answered her question.

  ‘Ursula has grown into a beautiful girl, very beautiful, she is intelligent too and well-informed on Church affairs. I found her most enjoyable company.’

  Aware that David had been attracted to a girl for possibly the first time, Alice was thrilled for him. ‘What a pity I wasn’t at home when they called, but I look forward to meeting with Ursula again after all these years.’

  ‘Well, you will have your opportunity on Tuesday, I said you would be very disappointed at missing her – at missing both of them – but as I was quite certain you would be home by then, I agreed we would both spend the whole day with them, remaining until after dinner. It will be the first time we have been away from the Trethevy rectory together for a long time.’

  ‘I look forward to that very much, David. Very much indeed.’

  She meant it, not only for the prospect of a day out with her brother. David had never before shown such enthusiasm at meeting a girl. Indeed, he had rarely shown enthusiasm for anything outside his calling. She thought that Ursula, who had always been a plain, rather serious girl, must have grown into someone rather special to have this effect upon him, but David was talking again.

  ‘Now, you must prepare yourself for the bad news. I am afraid this is not good. Eval Moyle has returned from America and is back on his farm.’

  Chapter Nine

  ‘I THOUGHT THERE was a warrant out for Eval Moyle’s arrest?’

  Eliza had been thinking about the news given to her by Alice the day before. Today was a Saint’s day and a local holiday and she was returning to the rectory with her employer after an early morning service, conducted by Reverend David at the tiny Trethevy church. She had thought they had seen the last of the vindictive preacher when he left for America in a hurry after the Truro ‘riots’ and was unhappy to know he had come back into their lives.

  ‘The warrant was cancelled with all the others, when it was realised there was no case to answer in respect of the riot charges. Even had it not been, I am not sure it would still be valid after all these years. No doubt Moyle went into the matter before returning to Cornwall. We will just have to hope America has changed the man he once was.’

  Eliza had her doubts about Moyle being a changed man, but there was nothing that could be done about him and she had other matters to think about. The fair at Camelford was only a few days away now, and that afternoon she would be walking out with Tristram. She had no doubt their visit to the fair would be the main topic of conversation.

  She was wrong.

  They certainly spoke of the fair, wondering what would be there to enjoy. Neither had been to any of the country fairs before, but old Percy had and when telling them about his experiences he had been fulsome about the delights they would discover.

  ‘What are you most looking forward to seeing?’ Eliza put the question to Tristram as they followed a path that led along the cliff-top towards the nearby tiny fishing village of Boscastle, nestling in a coastal valley.

  ‘I don’t know, the wrestling and boxing might be fun.’

  ‘Fun for you, perhaps, I don’t see anything enjoyable about two grown men doing their best to kill one another!’

  ‘We don’t have to watch them,’ Tristram replied hurriedly. ‘There’ll be lots of other things to see. Old Percy said the last fair he was at had all sorts of animals like he’d never seen before and there’ll most likely be a dancing bear, a Punch and Judy, jugglers – and even someone able to swallow a poker!’

  ‘Ugh! I don’t think I’d like to do that.’

  ‘You won’t have to but there’s going to be lots of things you’ll enjoy eating.’

  ‘Now that’s something I can look forward to,’ Eliza said, happily. ‘Eating something I haven’t had to prepare and cook myself. It’s going to be worth going all that way just for that.’

  ‘It’s going to be worth it for me to spend the whole day with you.’

  It was said so seriously that Eliza looked at him in surprise, but she replied, ‘I’ll enjoy being with you for the day too.’

  ‘Will you? I mean, really enjoy it?’

  ‘Of course, I wouldn’t be going with you otherwise.’

  At that moment their arms brushed against each other and it seemed somehow right that they should link hands, hers small and light, his strong and calloused from hours spent splitting logs with an axe the previous day.

  ‘I’m glad,’ he said happily, adding, ‘We do like being together, don’t we?’

  ‘Of course we do, we’re together now, aren’t we?’

  ‘I wish we could be really together, Eliza.’

  ‘What do you mean, really together?’

  Eliza thought she knew what he meant. It was something other couples did when they had been walking out together for far less time than she and Tristram, but she had always put off thinking about it. Mainly, as she had to admit to herself, because she did not know what her reaction would be to him. They had been coming out like this whenever possible for some three years, but for the most part it had been along the open cliff top, or other places where they might be seen by others. They had kissed frequently and recently she felt his kisses were becoming more demanding. She had felt a strong urge to respond to them, but remembered the promise she had made to Alice about her behaviour when she was with Tristram. Besides, should she become pregnant it would reflect badly on her employers, Reverend David in particular. It would also bring to an end the ha
ppy life she had so unexpectedly been able to enjoy for the past three years.

  ‘You must know what I’m talking about, Eliza.’

  ‘I might, but why don’t you say it right out so I can be sure?’

  She was playing for time, not only in order to put her own confused thoughts in order but also in the hope that he might be too embarrassed to say what it was he wanted them to do together.

  Taking her by surprise, he said, ‘All right then.’ Releasing her hand and taking her arm, he brought her to a halt, ‘Why don’t we get married?’

  ‘Get married? Us? You and me?’

  ‘That’s right, you and me.’

  ‘But you hardly know anything about me?

  ‘We’ve worked in the same household for three years and been walking out for much of that time, what don’t I know about you?’

  Eliza’s thoughts were in turmoil. There was so much Tristram did not know about her – but did it really matter? Tristram wanted to marry her for what she was now, not for what society, the law, had once declared her to be – a convicted thief, sentenced to transportation.

  ‘You haven’t given me an answer, Eliza.’

  Tristram felt a sense of disappointment that bordered on despair. He had been mentally building up to this moment for weeks and had decided he would propose to her at Camelford fair, the first whole day they would ever have spent together. But, walking along the cliff-top, holding her hand, his feelings had overcome him and he could delay the proposal no longer.

  He had not seriously considered that she would refuse him. In truth, in his mind it had never been a question of whether or not they should get married, more a question of when it would be.

  ‘Why do you want to marry me?’ She needed to ask the question twice before he responded.

  ‘Why? Why do people get married?’

  ‘Because they love each other and want to be together, always.’

  ‘Well, I want us to be together always.’

  ‘What for, just so you can do things to me, have your children and someone to look after you in your old age? Is that why you want us to be married?’

  ‘Yes … No! Not just for that.’

  Tristram was confused, aware this was going all wrong.

  ‘Then what else?’

  ‘Because … well, because you’re special.’

  ‘That’s getting better, but you still haven’t said how you feel about me. The way two people should feel about each other if they are going to get married.’

  ‘You must know how I feel about you, Eliza. I wouldn’t have asked you to marry me otherwise.’

  ‘But you haven’t asked me, you’ve just suggested we should get married. You could have been talking about buying a pig, a horse, or a dog. Anything!’

  Bewildered, Tristram said, ‘It’s nothing like buying a pig, or any other animal, Eliza. I want you to marry me because I love you, you must know that.’

  ‘I didn’t know it, Tristram, and I’m no good at guessing.’

  Suddenly gripping his arm in both her hands, she added, happily, ‘But I know it now, and that’s what I wanted to hear you say.’

  ‘So you will marry me?’

  Eliza was far more excited than she dared to show him, but she still needed time to think of the implications of marrying Tristram and what she would need to tell him of her past – and she did not believe she could keep such an important secret from the man to whom she was married.

  ‘I’ll let you know on the day of the fair.’

  When he looked bewildered, she explained, ‘I know what it is I want, Tristram, but I need to talk to Miss Alice and Reverend David and … oh, there are lots and lots of things I need to think about, but you can kiss me now if you want to. I mean, really kiss me so I tingle all over….’

  Chapter Ten

  LIEUTENANT JORY KENDALL arrived at the Trethevy rectory early in the evening of the day before the Camelford fair. He brought with him a huge bunch of roses, picked from the Kendalls’ rose garden by his mother and sent with her best wishes to Alice, together with an invitation to spend a few days with the family at the Kendalls’ mansion at her earliest convenience.

  It should have been an exciting moment for Alice. Not only would it signal recognition by the Kendall family that she existed, but be an acknowledgement by them that she occupied a special place in their younger son’s life.

  But Alice was not at home. She was spending a few days at the Bodmin vicarage with her childhood friend. Ursula would be returning to Windsor with her father in a few days time and their Bodmin host had invited Alice to his vicarage in order that she might spend the last few days of Ursula’s holiday with her.

  It was a perfect excuse for Alice not to meet up with Jory during his visit but Eliza was strongly critical of her decision, so much so that Alice felt a need to remind her that she was her ladies maid and not her nurse maid. Nevertheless it did not stop Eliza from using subtler means of letting her employer know she felt she was wrong.

  In truth, Alice was not happy to be avoiding Jory. Despite all she had learned at Helynn about his unforgivable conduct towards the late Isabella Trevelyan, she found herself thinking of him quite as much, perhaps even more than before, despite a determination to convince herself she had eliminated him from her life.

  Nevertheless, she tried hard to dismiss him from her thoughts and she left for Bodmin having reminded Eliza about the way she was to behave at the fair. Then she set off in the pony trap to see her friend. Tristram was driving her there and Eliza did not doubt that he would receive a similar warning along the way.

  Jory had arrived at Trethevy in one of his family’s carriages, emblazoned with the Kendall family’s crest on both doors. The groom driving the splendid vehicle had shared Tristram’s room overnight and now he and the Trethevy employee were together on the driving seat, while Eliza sat inside, with Jory.

  Eliza felt very important as they bowled along the narrow lanes on the way to Camelford, slower vehicles and pedestrians giving way to them, unaccustomed to such grandeur on the rural back roads.

  Jory seemed wrapped in thought for some time after their early morning departure from the rectory and when he did speak it was quite apparent what he had been thinking about.

  ‘It was very disappointing that Miss Alice was not at the rectory for my visit, Eliza. It is a long time since I last saw her and I had been greatly looking forward to our meeting.’

  ‘I expect Miss Alice is disappointed too, sir,’ Eliza lied, ‘but it is many years since she saw her best friend and as she’s someone Reverend David seems quite smitten with they might well have important things to talk about.’

  ‘Even so, she could have written a note to me, explaining matters.’ Jory was upset, he had been looking forward to spending time with Alice. ‘Is there something I should know about, Eliza? You went with her to Captain Trevelyan’s home, is there anything more than a friendship between them?’

  ‘Oh no, sir, I can assure you of that. There is nothing between Captain Trevelyan and Miss Alice and there never will be!’

  Eliza realised she had been too emphatic and Jory was aware of it too.

  ‘How can you be so certain, Eliza? Did something happen at Trevelyan’s home I should perhaps know about? Was he less than gentlemanly towards Miss Alice?’

  Alice found herself in a difficult situation. She liked Lieutenant Jory very much and would be delighted if she could heal the breach between them, but a loyal maid did not talk about her mistress’s private life. On the other hand she was probably the only person able to bring them back together, although she would need to be careful what she said to him.

  ‘Nothing happened between them, sir, and I should know, I slept in Miss Alice’s room that night although that was only because the house wasn’t really in a state to have visitors, but it seems you are known to the Trevelyan family.’

  ‘I doubt it, Eliza, to the best of my knowledge I have never met any of them.’

  ‘Well they ce
rtainly believe you have, sir, they had a great deal to say linking you with Captain Trevelyan’s sister, a Miss Isabella. I believe she died some time ago.’

  ‘They think I had something to do with an Isabella Trevelyan? That is quite absurd. I have never even heard the name, but why on earth should Captain Trevelyan lie about such a thing – unless his intention was to discredit me in Miss Alice’s eyes? If that is the reason it is thoroughly despicable.’

  ‘It wasn’t only Captain Trevelyan who spoke about it, sir. His father and their housekeeper seemed to know you too.’

  ‘That is sheer nonsense. I would take it up with Trevelyan right away if I could, but someone I spoke to recently mentioned that he will be returning to India very soon and is probably already in London. But that will not stop me from calling on his father and demanding an explanation from him.’

  ‘You would be wasting your time, sir.’

  Eliza told him of the senior Trevelyan’s behaviour and his mental state. Although it had not been her intention, as she talked Jory gained a fairly accurate idea about some of the things which had occurred during Alice’s visit to the Trevelyan home and he was appalled.

  ‘It sounds very much as though mental instability runs in the family, Eliza, your visit to them with Miss Alice must have been a great trial. I intend getting to the bottom of this ridiculous story that I was somehow involved with the unfortunate daughter of the family, but I am very disappointed that Miss Alice should have given credence to such infamous lies about me.’

  ‘She didn’t want to, sir, I’m sure of that, and she wouldn’t have, either, if such stories only came from Captain Trevelyan. It was because the same things were said by his father and the housekeeper too. They were so convincing it would have been difficult for anyone not to believe what they said.’

  ‘Well, thank you for telling me, Eliza. I can assure you that whatever was said, I know nothing of Isabella Trevelyan and am quite certain I never met her, but I will find out what this is all about and put things right between Miss Alice and myself.’