by Karen Joyce
“Percival, I don’t even know how to tell you this, so I am just going to come out and say it.”
“Lincoln, you are making me nervous.”
“Lady Madeline is engaged.”
“Engaged?” repeated Percival, as he raised his arms in protest, struggling to comprehend these words. “But how? When? Who?” he asked, barely making sense himself of the words that were running through his mind.
“Two days ago.”
“Then why not inform me of this,” he said, as he stood up from his chair and walked over to the cabinet to pour himself another drink. “Why refuse to see me without any explanation?”
“I can only guess that she was hoping to spare your feelings,” suggested Lincoln, as he walked over to the window, wishing he could escape from the room.
“And what of this man who has come in and swept her off her feet? Tell me, Lincoln, surely you must know of him. I can only imagine the kind of gentleman that she would deem worthy of her,” he said, as he took down another nip of whiskey and poured another.
“Percival, I ask you to keep in mind that I never knew the depth of affection you felt for Lady Madeline and if I had known, I never would have gone ahead. I would never willingly do anything to betray the close bond of our friendship.”
“I don’t understand you. What part could you have possibly played in Lady Madeline’s romantic affairs? What do you mean when you say you would never betray our friendship? Is this man an acquaintance of yours? Please, don’t tell me you had a hand in this engagement?”
“Percival, the man you ask about? This man is not a stranger to you. In fact, he is closer to you than you realise.”
“Is what you’re telling me…are you saying this man is you? No, it’s not possible. I refuse to believe it.”
“Whether you choose to believe or not, it’s the truth.”
“Lincoln, I fail to understand your motivations and I question how honourable they are.”
“Percival, I realise this is difficult to hear but I don’t appreciate the inference you’re making.”
“Of course, you can deny it, but I know you better than you realise. Perhaps, even more than you know yourself.”
“And what exactly do you think you know about me that I don’t?”
“I know that not two weeks before, you were in love with another woman and now that she is out of the picture you have quickly found a replacement. One whose family connections and place within society will be most advantageous for you.”
“Percival, I know you are hurt by what I have done and I am deeply sorry, so I will forget these words that are borne from pain and not from reason.”
“How very gracious of you, Sir or should I address you as the Duke of Montague? Do you really think I am blind to your ambitions and the measures you are prepared to take to achieve them?”
“You must know I would never intentionally cause harm to you. You have been the brother I never had, and there is nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”
“Your brother? If this is how you treat your brother then I pity your enemy. All my life I’ve struggled against the injustices of this world because I was not as fortunate as you to be born with a silver spoon in my mouth. You have no idea how intolerable my life has been, just so I can have an ounce of the recognition and reward that I have watched fall so easily into your lap.”
“I strongly object to this treatment and it’s unfair of you to hold my family’s affluence against me. I have worked very hard for what I have achieved, no matter the opportunities I have been granted along the way.”
“Do you have the temerity to stand there and speak of opportunity and affluence when the blood of an innocent man and his family are on your hands.”
“You are well aware that none of that was of my doing.”
“And yet, you continue to covet this man’s land and possessions. Not to mention you have not taken one step toward bringing Lord Ashwood to justice for the crime he has committed.”
“Percival, I am doing everything I can to make amends for what Lord Ashwood has done, but there is nothing I can do to bring justice to Mr MacDonald.”
“Ever since college I’ve watched as everything came so effortlessly to you and no matter how hard I toiled, I could never compete with your…what did the professors call it? Of course, how could I forget, your genius. And there I was always two steps behind, standing in the shadow of your greatness. All the years I’ve spent working at the College, toward my future and here you are, the representative of Gravesham, a member of parliament. But it’s never enough for you, is it? You must have it all. No matter the price others must pay; no matter who gets in your way. You didn’t even have to go out and look for it. It just came to you.” Lincoln was shocked to hear Percival speak these hurtful words. He could never have believed that Percival had ever seen him as anything other than a friend, but to hear him speak this way. To know he had always seen him as competition. As someone who wasn’t deserving of all that he had achieved. Although he had betrayed Percival, he was the one who felt deceived. He had to remind himself of the pain he had caused to him; that he didn’t know what he was saying.
“I believe you’ve had a little too much to drink and I do not care to see this side of you. I’ll have Seamus prepare your carriage,” said Lincoln, as he went to take Percival’s arm and lead him out of the room.
“Get your hands off me, Judas. All you men are the same with your sense of entitlement. You never stop until there is nothing left for the rest of us. From the moment you are born into this world, you take and take until there is nothing left. And now, the one woman that I have ever loved in this world is going to marry you. The woman I love is going to spend the rest of her life with a man who doesn’t even share her affections.”
“It is not as simple as that. I care very much for Lady Madeline…”
“I believe the exact words were that you see her as one sees a distant cousin or perhaps, an old friend and yet, she is to be your wife. Do you hear yourself, Lincoln? Do you realise how preposterous you sound. You have just told me you are to be married and yet, you do not love her. Can you not see now why I would question your motives? I have always known that those of wealth and affluence only ever deign to marry for fortune and opportunity, but I never believed you were one of them. You don’t deserve her but if she is so blind to the true nature of your dubious character, then perhaps, you deserve each other.” Lincoln didn’t know how to respond. How could he explain to him the pressure he was under to appease his family; to pave the way for his young cousin’s marriage. How he had only wanted to do what he thought was right. And how if he had known there were a chance for Percival and Lady Madeline, he never would have stood in their way but now it was all too late. What had been done could not be undone and there was nothing left to say in his defence. So, he didn’t say another word and instead, he just listened and took it all in. He had betrayed his closest friend and he deserved whatever treatment would follow. When Percival had finished the assassination of his character, he put down his glass, but before he walked out of the room, he turned and looked at Lincoln with a determined look of vengeance that chilled him to the bone.
“You shall reap what you sow.”
Lincoln was left feeling deeply unsettled by his words, but before he had a chance to articulate his fear, he was interrupted by Seamus.
“Master Rine’art, Mrs MacDonald and ‘er youn’uns ‘ave arrived.” Lincoln took a moment to gather his composure before responding.
“Thank-you, Seamus” he replied, as he walked to his desk to gather his belongings.
“Sir, if I may,” he said, tightening his hold upon the brim of his worn brown flat cap, “are you sure you ‘ave made the right decision?”
“Seamus, this house, this land doesn’t belong to me and must be returned to its rightful owners.”
“But what will you do? Where will you go?”
“Don’t forget I have my home in London and I have secured temporar
y lodgings close-by for when my stay here is prolonged.”
“But, the property requirements? Suppose you are disqualified. I speak on behalf of all the folk of Gravesend when I say you ‘ave done so much for us and we can’t afford to lose you. I do not dare to think what ‘ould become of us if we did not ‘ave you ‘ere.”
“Allay your fears, Seamus. I am not going anywhere, I can assure you. I have made arrangements to purchase property here in Gravesend that will more than satisfy the property requirements you speak of. Now, let us return to the business at hand. Have you spoken to the men about the MacDonald’s return?”
“Yes, I ‘ave carried out all your orders, just as you requested.”
“Very good and the carriage, is it ready for my journey?”
“Yes sir.”
“Thank-you Seamus. If there isn’t anything else.”
“No, sir. Shall I show the MacDonalds to the parlour for you to receive them?”
“Never mind all that, Seamus. There will be no need for formalities. Please have the butler and the maidservants assist them with their luggage and ensure they have everything they should desire. I shall come out and greet them before I take my leave for London.”
“Very well, Master.”
As Lincoln followed Seamus, he felt a great weight lifted off his shoulders, as he stepped out of the manor and saw the MacDonalds standing at the door.
“Welcome home, Mrs MacDonald,” he said, smiling at her as two of the youngest of five children stood behind their mother frightened by this man they had met on only one occasion prior. “You are a difficult woman to find.”
“The night my husband went missing, I took my children and made haste under the cover of darkness to the safety of my sister’s home in Ireland, but I thank God you found me for our home and our land is all we have to our names and without it we would have had a difficult road ahead because you see, though my sister was generous to us, she is not a wealthy woman and has her own troubles without the burden of mine.”
“Your children are lucky to have a mother as strong and brave as you, Mrs MacDonald.”
“Without my husband to lean on it has been trying for my family but I’m trying to keep the family together, so you cannot imagine how much it means to me, to my children, to return to their home. This home that is filled with so many of the happy memories they once shared with their dear, loving father.” Mrs MacDonald maintained her composure but the tears welling in her eyes betrayed the emotion that lay within them. “Sir Rinehart, I will never forget what you have done for me and my family and for the memory of my husband,” she said, as she reached out and took his left hand in hers, squeezing it firmly with affection.
“I wish there were more I could do for you and if you or your children are ever in need of anything, anything at all then I shall endeavour to help you in any way I can.”
“Thank-you, Sir Rinehart. You are a good man and God will reward you for this blessing.”
“My lawyers have drawn up the papers and will call upon you this afternoon with the deed for your home.”
“Goodbye, Sir Rinehart,” she said, her voice echoing the gratitude of her husband’s soul, as she ushered her children inside their home.
Lincoln shook his manager’s hand and said his goodbyes to the help. As he walked away he looked out onto the field at the men toiling the land. They had all paused from their labours to watch him leave and he saw as one man dressed in overalls, standing far away on the field, leaned upon his shovel and tipped his hat toward Lincoln in salute. Lincoln smiled and watched as Mr Nicolas Walsh returned to his digging. He was still upset by the confrontation with Percival but he wouldn’t allow it to dampen the little good he had been able to achieve here. For it was a small step for him toward something greater, and he hoped it would be fortuitous of one day being able to make amends for what he had done to his friend. Being in this lighter mood allowed a streak of optimism to flow through him and he wondered, What if? What if it wasn’t too late? If Lady Madeline cared at all for Percival then perhaps there was still a chance for them to be together. Baron Willoughby had given his word that upon a match being made with Lady Madeline, the marriage between Felicity and Fortescue would go ahead; surely, it wouldn’t affect the agreement if she were to marry Percival instead of him. Perhaps, there would be another chance for him to put things right after all.
XX
The innocence of new life is shed little by little as our young lives make haste toward the unknown of our tomorrows; fuelled by our desires, leading us to those days that are so full of death we cannot breathe when we feel its emptiness. The gift of memory becomes a curse as it stays behind as a reminder of what we have lost and can never be rediscovered. So many lives left incomplete; so many stories left untold. Is it better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all? Did Alfred Lord Tennyson look into the black eyes of death before he penned his quote? For to know the sweetest release of love’s touch and lose it all at once is a burden too heavy to bear. It is better not to know. Better still to be ignorant of loss. To never know what beckons a lonely heart out of the stillness of that long night. Kinder to never feel the cruelty of death’s touch when it has stolen all that you hold dear. Lincoln was running through a haunted maze met at every turn with a dead end. He couldn’t escape his destiny, no matter how hard he tried to prolong the inevitable. Sooner or later he must walk the only path that was left open to him. Haunted as he was by a world bereft of her. The remnants of her footprints in the sand that could no longer be followed. Swept away by the tide, erasing all that was left of her, till he was stuck in the minds of a thousand tortured men who were spiralling into a bottomless descent of madness.
This path led once again to the doorstep of another woman that he did not love. To hear Percival articulate his feeling for her into words frightened him for he saw clearly now, no matter how he tried to deceive himself, the truth would always fester within, waiting for its chance to rise and manifest itself. Until he could no longer recognise his reflection in the window of the carriage. In the hollow sound of his boots as they struck the pavement. In the weakened fist that knocked at the door. How conflicted were his mind and body as he walked through the entrance to the other side, knowing it would lead to the materialisation of his deception. The butler could never perceive the war that raged within the coolness of his demeanour as he led this man to the parlour and the woman that would bind him to his fate. Standing in the doorway he watched in slow motion as Lady Madeline rose from her chaise lounge and ran to him as if she were drowning in the sea and he was her only salvation, clutching at him as if he were a life buoy and holding on for dear life.
“Lincoln, whenever we are apart, I fear I shall never see you again and then when you return, I am frightened that it shall be for the last time,” she said, as she reached out her hand to stroke the side of his face. “My darling, my sweet prince, always when we are so close, I feel as if you are a world away. Please do not close your heart to me. Unburden your soul so I might share the weight. We no longer walk this world alone. Together we are strong. Our hearts united in the hands of love. Speak to me now, my love. Tell me what causes the coldness of your touch. What do you see that has caused your heart to turn to stone?” Lincoln pulled back from her and looked into her pleading eyes. How he pitied her now, standing there. Could she not see they were but two ships passing in the night? Whatever treasure she searched for was not buried within him. No matter how far she travelled. No matter how deep she ventured into his soul. She simply did not hold the key to unlock the chest that was hidden deep within his heart. It would forever remain closed to her. There was only one to whom it could open and without her, it was lost even to him. These thoughts of love reminded him of his duty to his friend; of the duty he now saw he must fulfil. Not only for Percival’s sake but for Lady Madeline and her future happiness that depended upon it. Taking her hands within his own, he held them for a moment to calm himself and prepare her for the words that
would pass between them.
“Madeline, I must speak to you now about something of the greatest importance,” he said, as he looked at her with an urgency of mind. Lady Madeline was not comforted by his touch, instead she was terrified, as if she were a little girl being lured away from the safety of her home by a stranger whom meant to harm her.
“What I am about to ask you, it is imperative you answer with honesty and without reservation. You mustn’t allow our engagement to betray the truth of what is in your heart.”
“Are you accusing me of being insincere? Lincoln, I have a mind to take offence to your inference,” said Lady Madeline, as she smiled at him in an attempt to force their conversation to detour away from where she did not care for it to travel.
“Lady Madeline, I only hope to express to you the seriousness of our conversation.”
“Very well then, Lincoln, speak to me now of this matter that is of the upmost urgency. For we have much to discuss in preparation of our wedding and I am afraid I am losing patience with this game of speculation.”
“Madeline, is there any affection whatsoever within your heart, no matter how slight in measure, for Percival?” Lady Madeline pulled back her hands in shock at his query.
“Lincoln, what are you asking me?” she replied, as she pondered for a moment his question then reached out to hold his hands again.