by Eliza McGrey
Richard slammed into the wall, and Henry clocked him on the back of the head from behind.
Richard cried out in pain before whipping around and latching onto the front of Henry’s shirt, drawing him in.
Without missing a moment, Henry ducked out from underneath his grasp and spun on his feet, bringing the bat around and knocking it against Richard’s knee.
Richard doubled over, grabbing at his knee, at which point Henry drew the bat high over his head and brought it down with as much force as he could muster right onto the back of Richard’s neck.
Richard crumpled to the ground like a doll and sprawled out there on the floor like the corpse he’d left down there.
Henry’s chest was heaving as he turned around to look at me.
“Oh, Henry…” I said, the tears in my eyes blurring my vision, but he held up his hand to stop me. With the tip of his foot, he nudged Richard’s body. When he didn’t move, he stooped over and pressed his first two fingers against Richard’s throat.
“He’s still alive,” he said. “Good. I didn’t think that would kill him. Even still, I would rather he have to suffer for what he did than get out of it by dying.”
I ran across the dank basement floor and threw myself into his arms, spending more than a few moments crying into his shoulder. I didn’t need to explain it, and he didn’t ask. He just stroked my hair and held me tightly against him.
After my tears slowed, I pulled away and stared up into his face. “You saved my life, Henry.”
He smiled down at me. “That was my hope all along,” he said. “I’m just glad I got here in time.”
“I was so worried that you wouldn’t get my letter,” I said.
“When it arrived, the footman said that your lady’s maid made it very clear it was urgent, and so I didn’t waste any time,” Henry said. “I feared it might come to this…we don’t have a choice now but to expose him, do we?”
“No, but perhaps it is better this way,” I said.
Henry looked down at the bodies on the floor, and I watched as his jaw tightened.
“Henry, I’m sorry about your sister, I – ” I started.
“I know,” he said. “I saw her when I came in. I already knew she was gone, and while I will grieve for her properly when this is over, I was just as concerned about getting you out of there safely. And I know she would have wanted me to prioritize that by keeping my head and staying focused.”
“You were so brave…” I said, the tears welling up in my eyes again. “I don’t know how to thank you…”
“We need to get what we can from here and leave,” Henry said. “Can you stand? Would you be willing to look through this metal case with me before he wakes up again?”
“Yes, of course,” I said, steeling myself.
Henry walked over to the small chest and attempted to lift it. To our surprise, it rose into the air without any struggle at all.
“We don’t have time to look through the contents,” he said. “We must leave while we still have time.”
“But where will we go?” I asked. “No where will be safe for us when Richard wakes.”
Henry leaned over and stole a kiss, one that spoke louder than any words he could say. If it weren’t for the fear surging through me like a flooded river in a storm, I would have surely melted in his arms.
“We will have to hide away,” he said, his eyes bright as he looked at me.
“But where?” I asked as he took my hand firmly in his and helped to lead me toward the stairs leading back out of the basement.
“Well, I can think of a few places,” he said, keeping an eye on the rickety stairs, gingerly and slowly helping me ever upward. “Watch your step here, please.”
I allowed him to lead me from the house, doing my best to not look back, and trying to keep my heart from beating right out of my chest in fear that Richard might wake at any second to come and harm me.
I breathed a sigh of relief when we were standing out in the alleyway. Regardless of the darkness of the night, it was far less oppressive than anything I’d left in the dank undergrounds of that basement of this wretched house.
We stood there together for a few minutes staring at the dilapidated building, hand in hand.
“I’m very sorry, my Lady, but I am going to have to ask you to set aside your scruples for a short length of time,” he said, looking at me with sad eyes.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“You shall be living beneath the same roof as a man who is not your husband,” he said, and I thought I saw the smallest hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
“I couldn’t care any less about my reputation, Henry,” I said, hoping he could hear the sincerity in my words. “I would very much like to stay safe until we can decide on our next steps.”
“The story,” Henry said, nodding. “Yes, we need to write that as soon as we can. Well…I have a place in mind for us, and we should be safe there for at least a day or two until I can find a safe and secure place for us to stay until this all blows over.”
“Do you think it will blow over?” I asked, looking at him, the knots in my chest tightening again.
He sighed heavily. “It will, I believe,” he said with a nod. “It may take some time…but it will end.”
I stared up at the stars overhead, each of them a sparkling ray of hope in a very dark, frightening situation. If they could shine despite the darkness, then I would, too.
“Let’s go…” Henry said, turning around. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Right,” I said. And together we walked away from that house that had changed our lives forever.
Chapter 15
I stood at my desk, sorting stacks of documents and books into piles. It was hard for me to really determine what was important and what was not, as I wished to find as much incriminating evidence as I possibly could to condemn the Colonel. In my mind, I’d stopped referring to him by as his name as it helped to keep the distance between us.
And as I was in the process of seeking a divorce, I wanted there to be as much distance as possible.
I lifted a file with a hand written list of names, and I couldn’t determine who they were immediately. With a sigh, I set the parchment down in the pile of unknowns.
I grimaced as a flare of pain shot up my back, and I clutched at it, nursing the tender muscles with my knuckles. I urged them to heal faster. It had been weeks since the Colonel had pinned me up against that wall in that disgusting pit, but the memories of his hands on me still lingered whenever I turned my head or stood for a long period of time.
Gently, I lowered myself down in the chair behind the desk, staring at all of the parchment I had yet to go through.
On the edge of the table sat the newspaper that had been released three weeks prior, less than a week after Henry and I had escaped that horrible burned down townhome. After fleeing to one of Henry’s friend’s homes, we cooperatively wrote the story about the Colonel, revealing all of his wrongdoings. It had taken us many, many attempts, sometimes working late into the night to get the wording just right. Henry wanted to keep me out of it, but I insisted that my name be put on the article.
“He is going to figure out that it was me sooner or later,” I said the night before Henry took the paper to the press to be published. “He already knows that I know everything and will know that I had exclusive access to information that no one else would have.”
Henry conceded, but insisted that I remain hidden once it was published and that he would take care of any questions the press would surely bring to him.
The following weeks were bittersweet. The Colonel was arrested at home a few days after the article was published, taken by the local constables with an angry mob of people flooding the front garden waiting with pitchforks and swords outside for him to show his face. Henry had been nearby, and saw how murderous the Colonel looked as he was dragged from the house, shouting about lies and corruption. He complained they had no ground
s to take him, but there had been more than a few people who felt it was finally safe to step out of the shadows and confirmed the claims that Henry and I had made in the article.
He would be taken before a judge in London, and there was to be a trial to determine whether or not the Colonel was guilty. It was becoming a city-wide spectacle, with people talking about it everywhere. The few times I was outside of the house, I heard nothing but rumors about the Colonel.
Some were upset that such an upstanding man had betrayed his country. Others didn’t believe it was true, and that somehow his dim-witted wife and this journalist had conspired against him to ruin his reputation for money. In those moments, I found it very difficult to hold my tongue and allow them to pass. The very last thing I needed to do was let my anger get the better of me and make me the fool in public.
I massaged the back of my neck, the pain flaring as the stress of settled over me like a wet sack of flour.
A knock on the door drew my attention from my inner thoughts. “Yes, come in,” I said.
The door swung inward and Isabelle was standing there.
“Oh, good, it’s you,” I said with a sigh of relief. “I was concerned that you were going to be some other journalist attempting to get a statement from me.”
“Not at all, my Lady,” she said with a curtsy. “We’ve done our very best to conceal your arrival.”
“I really must thank you, and Mrs. Brian, I suppose, for allowing me back into the house to retrieve this,” I said, gesturing to the desk in front of me. “I know that I have no claim to anything here, but this information could prove very useful to the judge when he is making his decision about the Colonel.”
“Of course, my Lady,” Isabelle said, her gaze suddenly piercing. “We are your servants as much as his, and even if you cannot stay here during this time, we wanted to ensure that you had everything you might need to ensure the Colonel receives the punishment he deserves.”
“So you do believe me, then?” I asked.
“It would be foolish of any of us to deny it, given the proof that you discovered,” she said. “And, quite frankly, my Lady? I never cared much for him.”
I smirked. “Oh, Isabelle…please promise me that when I am able to find a more stable living arrangement that you will come and stay with me?”
“I would be honored to be my Lady’s maid – ”
“No, Isabelle,” I said, my smile fading slightly, my heart saddening. “I shall not be a lad when all this is said and done. I’ve given up that title now, as I’ve betrayed the Colonel. But I would very much like to have a friend that I can count on.”
Isabelle’s face split into a smile. “You will always be my Lady, title or not,” she said.
My heart ached with affection for her. “Thank you, Isabelle.”
“Now, I’ve had the cook pull together something for you for supper,” Isabelle said. “It should be ready in about an hour.”
“That sounds marvelous,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck.
“And what of some herbal tea for that pain?” she asked.
“That would be wonderful,” I said.
Isabelle smiled at me and left the room.
I did not deserve her, but somehow I’d won her loyalty, and to know that there was someone else who supported me made carrying this great burden that much easier.
Another knock followed very shortly after Isabelle’s departure. “Isabelle, you do not need to know when you were just in here – ”
“It’s Mrs. Brian,” came the cold words.
A shiver ran down my spine, but I rose from my chair and held my chin high, standing as much like a lady of stature as I could. “Come in, then.”
Mrs. Brian strolled into the room, her dangerous gaze falling on me. She was the only servant in this house who seemed to think that I was making this whole story up. Somehow the Colonel had won her loyalty, and I wasn’t entirely convinced it wasn’t because she loved him. She certainly spoke highly of him in the time I’d been there, even defended his actions.
“There is someone here to see you,” she said curtly. “Remember, I will not keep my silence after you depart this house. I will see my Colonel restored to his respected place in society.”
“Well, I’m afraid that there will always be those who will be forever distrustful of him now, Mrs. Brian,” I said, my own eyes narrowing dangerously. “Such is the nature of the beast.”
Mrs. Brian’s nostrils flared and she turned around and stared out into the hall. “I shall leave you now.” She slipped back out into the hall.
I breathed a sigh of relief and sank back down into my chair.
“How’s it going?”
I looked up and saw Henry standing in the doorway of my old study. The ache in my heart faded as soon as I laid eyes on him. I smiled at him. “Better now.”
His face split into a smile and he stepped into the room. “How is your head?” he asked, just as he did every time he saw me now.
“I’m fine, as I’ve said time and again,” I said. “Though I do appreciate your concern.”
“I shall always be concerned,” he said. He rested his hand on my shoulder as he looked down into my face. As I was still married, we were keeping up appearances in public that there was no relationship between us. There were still many who were under the assumption that we were cousins, and neither of us were about to correct them.
I smiled up at him and rested my hand on top of his, squeezing it affectionately.
“Well, I thought you would like to be one of the first to know that the Colonel is now certainly behind bars,” he said.
My heart was in my throat, and it was like a chain had been broken around me. “How did you find out?”
“I was just sent a letter,” he said, holding it up. I hadn’t even noticed it in his hands. “He’s due to stand before the judge for trial in one week’s time.”
“Why so long from now?” I asked. “I have all of these documents to send.”
“London is a big city, and unfortunately crime is becoming more common,” he said with a sigh. “But I thought that might give you some peace to know that for now, you are out of his grasp.”
“His, yes, but what of those who still support him?” I asked. “The Colonel was an incredibly powerful man, and I am certain that he had many friends in many places.”
“This is true,” Henry said. “And that is why we’ve done our very best to keep you out of sight, yes?”
I nodded. “I just know that this is far from over. Even if he is found guilty, there will be those who will seek vengeance for him. If they hang him, he will be seen as a martyr, and I will be hated.”
“How could they see him as a martyr when he betrayed his own soldiers? When there were people that he allowed to die for the sake of money?”
“Money is the reason, of course,” I said. “The Colonel said as much to me. There was no other reason than selfish gain that he decided it was better to help the French than fight the war like an honorable man.”
“I don’t see how anyone could still support him after that,” Henry said. His gaze softened. “Have you heard from the minister yet?”
I nodded, drawing another envelope on the desk toward myself. “He wished to know the exact nature of the injuries I sustained that night,” I said. “I believe he is on my side. He told me read the article and would not want a woman such as myself to remain married.”
“So it seems as if the reasons for divorce could be accepted?” Henry asked.
“I think a great deal rests on the trial,” I said. “The minister might approve it, but then it would have to go to the judge as well.”
“It might be difficult, but no one would allow you to remain in a marriage to a man who had harmed you,” Henry said. “He threatened to kill you…likely would have if I had not gotten there when I did…”
A silence fell over us as we stared at one another, the horrors of that night still fresh in our minds. I knew they would haunt me for the
rest of my days.
“So…” I said, brushing some wrinkles from my skirts. There were still some bruises on the backs of my hands, but they were healing. With time, all the marks on me would fade, and this would all be a distant memory. For now, though, it was staring me right in the face. “What comes next?”
Henry sighed, leaning against the desk and folding his arms. “The only thing that I really know is that, at the end of all of this, I want to be with you, Maryanne. I love you, and I want to make sure that we can spend the rest of our lives together.”
My heart yearned for his words to be truth. “As do I, my love…” I said. “And perhaps one day we can have that. For now…”
“For now we must be patient,” he said sadly. “Yes, I know. You are still married, after all.” It was like poison in his voice.
“Before I forget,” I said, reaching toward the desk and pulling a drawer open. I reached inside and pulled out a small, silver locket with a thin chain. “I wanted you to have this back.”
Henry’s eyes widened as he took the locket from my. “It’s…”
“Yes,” I said. “Your sister’s.”
“I…” Henry said, his eyes welling with tears. “Thank you, Maryanne. This means a great deal to me.”
“I know…” I said gently.
He reached over and took my hand in his. “We will get through this together,” he said firmly. I could feel his hands shaking slightly. “No matter what happens. We will get through this.”
“I believe you are right,” I said, squeezing his hand. “I have you, Henry. Nothing else in this world matters to me. With you by my side, I can face it all.”
We stood there together in the warmth of the afternoon sunlight, knowing that the future may be approaching fast, but we would meet it head on with courage and our heads held high.
The Colonel would not win…no matter how hard he tried.
THE END
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