When the Heavens Fall
Page 22
“Punished how?”
“Some of them she put in prison, some of them she had burned at the stake.”
“How awful! That happened in Spain too. It’s called an auto-da-fé. My father wanted me to go, but I could never stand the thought of people being burned alive. I couldn’t understand why God would demand such a thing.”
“Queen Mary has become a fanatic, and since she married Philip, the two of them have caused hundreds to be put to death.” He hesitated and then said, “My uncle, Quentin Winslow, was on a list of people to be arrested. I found out about it when a man named Lord John Fairfax came to talk to me.” Brandon studied Dolores, waiting to see if she recognized the name. But she remained still and waiting. “As a matter of fact, Lord Fairfax is a member of Queen Mary’s Privy Council, the highest body in the realm, and he told me that any person on that list who refused to recant would be burned at the stake.”
“How terrible!” She lifted a hand to her chest. “Your own dear uncle!”
“Lord Fairfax is not a vicious man. He did not want anyone to die, and he knew my father slightly, so he came to me with a proposition. He told me that he could save my uncle, or at least stave off his arrest. He said he could do this, but only if I would do him a service.”
“What did he want?”
Brandon could not face her for a moment. He looked down at the deck. Then he forced himself to meet her eyes. “He told me that he and his wife had only one child, a girl. She was on a ship with her governess, and pirates attacked the ship. Everyone on the ship reportedly died. Lord Fairfax and his wife were crushed.”
“That must have been terrible.” She knitted her brows in confusion, and he could almost see what she was thinking: Why is he telling me all this?
“Yes. It was many years ago, but the pain and grief are still with Lord Fairfax. I could see it in his eyes.” He hesitated slightly then said, “A short time ago a man came to see him. He was a Spaniard. He had been a sailor. He told Lord Fairfax that the child did not die. She was taken captive by the captain of the pirate vessel. He took her to Spain with him and adopted her.”
The wind whispered. The sails flapped in the breeze. Brandon watched Dolores and waited. Even by moonlight he could see she was pale.
She finally whispered, “Are you telling me, Brandon, that I was that little girl?”
“Yes. The pirate’s name was Jaspar Mendoza, but you’re not his daughter. You’ve always known that.” Brandon knew she was frightened by his words, but he knew the story must be told. “You are the daughter of John Fairfax and his wife Barbara. Your real name is Eden Fairfax. Your parents are two of the finest people in England, and they love you dearly. They’ve never forgotten you. They asked me to bring you back to them.”
“I can’t believe it. But it must be true if you tell me.” And then she said, “And you found a way to get me to accompany you. You fell in love with me.”
“I—I couldn’t think of any other way to get you free of Mendoza’s power. I had to do something.”
“But you did fall in love with me?”
“I wish I could—”
Seeing his expression, she cried, “You—you don’t love me!” She backed away from him, shaking her head. “It was all a lie. Just a trick to get me away to take me to England!”
“It—it was the only way I could devise in the short time I had.” Brandon saw that she was trembling and he reached out to seize her arm. He wanted to embrace her, but she struck him in the chest with her fists.
“Don’t you ever touch me! You lied to me, you deceived me! I never want to see you again!” She turned and fled down the deck.
Brandon felt absolutely drained. He saw that his hands were trembling. “I never thought anything could do that to me,” he whispered. Absolute misery seized him. Perhaps the hardest of all to bear was that only in the last few days had he realized that he felt for her things he had never felt for any other woman he had known. Was it love? He didn’t know.
One thing was certain, Brandon decided, as he leaned against the rail and shut his eyes. He was the most miserable man on board.
PART FOUR
Eden
20
You know, my dear, in a way this is your birthday.”
Eden gave her mother a startled glance. “Why, Mother, my birthday is in January.”
“I know, but it’s exactly two years ago today that you came back to us. I’ll never forget that day as long as I live.” She put her arm around Eden and hugged her. Ever since Eden had come home, there had been love flowing from John and Barbara Fairfax almost like a river. Eden could not enter a room, it seemed, without one or other of them giving her a slight touch, an arm around her shoulder, something to reassure them that their daughter returning to them was not a dream.
Eden kissed her mother on the cheek. “You and Father have made life so wonderful for me.”
As if on cue, the door opened, and John Fairfax walked in. He came over to Eden at once. “Is that another new dress?” he exclaimed with feigned surprise. “I don’t remember being with you when you chose that fabric.”
“I chose it all by myself, Father.” Eden had developed a wonderfully close relationship with her parents, and as she saw the love in their eyes, she felt a profound sense of gratitude.
“I have a surprise for you, Daughter.”
“Oh, good. I like surprises. What is it?”
“We’re going to visit Queen Mary.”
“Really, John? You never told me that,” Barbara said.
“Why, I only found out today. Of late time spent at court has been more of a burden than a joy, but I do believe you two will enjoy this visit. And you’ll find lots of young men there,” John said to Eden. “What about your suitors? Which one has the lead in the race for your hand now?”
“I don’t think much of any of them,” Eden said with a gentle smile. “They are all rather boring.”
“You’re far too exacting, but you’re too beautiful not to find a husband.”
“Most of them are only after your money, Father.” She shrugged. “If I were a poor girl, the line would be considerably shorter.”
“Not so! Not so! Well, I’ll be telling you more about our visit to the palace later. Now I must go.” He kissed Eden and then his wife. “Two beautiful women in my house—how could I be so fortunate?”
As the door closed behind him, Eden said, “He’s such a good man, Mother.”
“The best I know.” Barbara’s brow furrowed as a thought came to her. “I am a bit concerned about your future. You must marry at some point, Eden.”
“I am not at all sure about that.”
“Well, what a thing to say! What else is a woman to do but marry and have children?” Barbara stood close to Eden, looking into her eyes. She was not as tall a woman as her daughter, but she still retained traces of early beauty. “Sometimes I think that you judge men rather harshly. Is that because of your time in Spain, because of what you endured there, darling?”
Eden lowered her head, and when she lifted it, her teeth were clenched. “I’ve told you how Brandon Winslow deceived me.”
“But, Eden, that was two years ago!”
“It doesn’t seem like it to me. He made me believe that he loved me, and I—I believed that I loved him. He deceived me, Mother!”
“But, dear, not all men are like that. Look at your father. Besides, he did what he had to do to get you away from that awful place. Don’t you feel some gratitude to him for that?”
Eden shook her head. “He tricked me into loving him. I’ll never trust a man again, Mother, as long as I live!”
On the last day of May, a messenger brought a disturbing message to Brandon’s lodging in Dover. A small, swarthy man in his late forties appeared at his door and said in a rumbling bass voice, “Lord Fairfax wishes to see you right away Mr. Winslow.”
“Do you know why?”
“No, sir. He simply asks you to make your way to him as swiftly as possible. I’l
l ride back with you, if you like.”
“Oh, that won’t be necessary. I can find my way.” Brandon pulled a coin from his pocket and handed it to the servant. “Thank you,” he said, then turned away, ignoring the man’s speech of gratitude. He had found himself extremely restless of late. He led an easy enough life, making plenty of money at the gambling tables, but an emptiness left him dissatisfied.
He left at once, riding hard. Still, the shadows were growing long when he brought his steed to a halt before the Fairfax mansion in Rochester. He said to the groom “Rub him down and see that he’s grained.”
“Yes, sir.” The groom led the horse away, and Brandon ran up the steps. He had no idea what Sir John wanted. He had not seen him since bringing Eden home from her captivity. Sir John had sent him money twice, urging him to accept his reward, but he had returned it.
His nerves were tense. Eden was in this house. Would he see her? Speak to her? He had thought about her almost every day of the two years since he had reunited her with her family. England had buzzed with the story of how she had been rescued from captivity in Spain, and over and over, he was asked to tell the story, making it impossible for him to forget her. The country’s distrust of Spaniards made Eden Fairfax into something of a national heroine.
A servant came to the door.
“I am Brandon Winslow. Lord Fairfax sent for me.”
“Yes, sir. He’s in his study.”
Brandon followed the servant down an ornately decorated hall, glancing at the pictures of Fairfax men—all prominent, all wealthy—and felt oppressed.
Brandon found Lord Fairfax standing beside a tall window. “I came as quickly as I could, sir.”
“I’m glad you made such good time, Brandon,” Fairfax said, a troubled expression on his face. “I have rather bad news, I’m afraid.”
“What is it, my Lord?”
“I’m afraid I can no longer keep your uncle from danger. You must speak to him at once!”
“What has transpired?”
“Nothing new. I simply cannot hold back the tide.” Fairfax’s eyes grew stormy, and he said, “The queen is getting worse. More and more people are being sent to the stake, even women and young people, because they don’t fall in with her Catholic doctrine.”
“What about you and Lady Barbara? Will you be safe?”
“Well, we are cowardly people, I suppose. We adopt the Catholic line, but it’s a matter of form with us. But you must get your uncle out of the country.”
“My father would be the one to do that. And believe me, we’ve tried to talk him into it before.”
“I know, Master Stuart Winslow has told me that his brother won’t listen to him. Go to your uncle, Brandon. I realize he is stubborn, but he must leave the country.” Fairfax paused and then put his hand on Brandon’s shoulder. “I have such kindly feelings for you, my boy, as does my dear wife. You saved my daughter in order to spare your uncle, and I can never forget that. I’ll do everything I can, but the Tudors are stubborn and they can be cruel. I thought Mary would be different after growing up with the cruelty of her father, but she is not. You must do what you can.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll try.”
Fairfax hesitated and seemed to hold back words that were in his heart. “May I have a more…personal word with you, my boy?”
“Why, of course, Lord Fairfax.”
“Your parents are wonderful people. Your father is one of the most honorable men I’ve ever met, and your mother is such a gracious woman.”
“You need not say it,” Brandon smiled bitterly. “I am well aware, sir, that I am the black sheep in the family.”
“But you don’t have to be, my boy. You can have a better life. I hear stories of your gambling and your dissipation, and it hurts me. I would do anything at all to help you be the son your parents can be proud of.”
Brandon lowered his head, unable to meet the eyes of the older man. “I’ve thought about it often, sir. I hope you’ll keep me in your prayers. I don’t know why I behave so badly. It’s almost like I’m a bad seed.”
“Nonsense! God loves you as he loves all sinners. Find God, Brandon, and be the man that God made you to be.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll try.”
“You’ll stay for the night?”
“If I may. It’s too late to find my uncle now.”
“I’ll have a servant show you to your room.”
“Thank you sir. I’ll leave very early, so we won’t see each other—but I’m grateful for your concern for our family.”
The morning sun was making a thin line of light in the east when Brandon left his room and descended the stairs. A movement to his right caught his eye. He saw that it was Eden and stopped abruptly.
Her eyes widened, and she exclaimed, “What are you doing here?”
“Your father asked to see me.”
Eden’s face was flushed. “Are you here to extort more money from him for saving me from the Spaniards?”
Brandon did not answer. A shock ran along his nerves, for the sight of her stirred up feelings that he had long kept buried. Although he knew that she hated him, excitement ran through him. “You’re looking well, Eden.” When he saw that she did not mean to answer, he added, “I hope you’re happy in your new life.”
“Oh, I’m certain that is a concern for you.” Bitterness flared in Eden’s eyes, and her voice was cold as she said, “I had hoped never to see you again!”
“I know you despise me.”
“Why shouldn’t I? You betrayed me. I’m surprised you didn’t complete your conquest and bed me.”
“I couldn’t find another way to get you free, Eden.”
“Liar! You must have enjoyed making a fool out of me!” Suddenly she struck him a ringing slap on his cheek. “Be gone! Never come here again!” she cried. She whirled and ran away.
Brandon touched his cheek, staring after her. He was more shaken by the encounter than by any battle he’d fought. He was startled when a thought came to him. Did I really feel something for her two years ago? He could not answer the question, but neither could he get Eden out of his mind. Bitterness took him as he thought of his life and what John Fairfax had said about becoming a better man. He knew it was useless for him to see his uncle, but he was also grimly aware that he must try.
Eden had looked forward to the ball and seeing Nonsuch Palace. The occasion was interesting enough. She met the young ladies of the court, and one of them said, “Miss Fairfax, if you’d care to be one of us, I am sure that Her Majesty would be glad to have you as one of her maids.” The offer held no attraction at all for Eden, for life at court, at least what she had heard of it, was rife with immorality and seemed somewhat like what she had endured in Spain.
Now, as she entered the banquet hall, she saw that it was crowded. Her parents were already there, seated at one end of a long table, and when they smiled at her, she returned their smile.
She heard her name called, and turned to see a couple moving toward her. The resemblance of the man to Brandon was striking. He was an older edition, very handsome, but with a much sweeter expression than she had ever seen on Brandon’s face.
He said, “Pardon me for introducing myself, Miss Fairfax. I’m Stuart Winslow, and this is my wife, Heather.”
Eden made her curtsy and tried vainly to think of something to say. “I am happy to meet you.”
“Brandon has told us so much about you,” Heather said. “We’re so happy that you were delivered from the kidnapper.”
“Yes,” Stuart put in. “Your parents are as happy as I’ve ever seen them.”
Eden managed to carry on a conversation with them, although her knees trembled from being so near Brandon’s parents. She remembered clearly that Brandon had told her that his parents were more in love than any people he had ever seen. He had said, They’re like a young couple on a perpetual honeymoon. I’ve never seen love so true, so strong. She believed it when she saw Heather look at Stuart with obvious affection.
“No, he is not well, Miss Fairfax,” Stuart said. “He’s living an ungodly life.”
“But we believe,” Heather said quickly, “that God is going to put his hand on him. That he’ll find himself and be the man God wants him to be.”
Eden did not know how to speak to this pair. At length, they wished her well and moved away, and Eden went to sit beside her father.
“I’ve just met Brandon Winslow’s parents.”
“They are wonderful people, Daughter. There is not a more honorable man in England than Stuart Winslow, and his wife is what a woman should be.”
“They’re very unhappy about their son.”
“Yes. He’s a gambler. Very good at it, but a gambler all the same.” Fairfax shook his head, adding sadly, “He’s breaking his parents’ hearts.”
“Why would such a bad man come to Spain to save me? I suppose you paid him a great deal of money.”
“What? Not a bit of it, Eden,” her father said in surprise. “He did it to save the life of his uncle, Quentin Winslow. Reverend Winslow, I should say.” He remembered himself and where he was, lowered his voice, and whispered in her ear, “I went to him and told him that if he would get you free, I would save his uncle from being burned at the stake—at least for a while.”
“He didn’t ask for money?”
“No, he didn’t. As a matter of fact, I’ve sent money to him twice, but he’s sent it back each time with a rather sharp note saying that he didn’t do what he did for gain.” He looked about to make sure no one was listening. “I fear for Reverend Winslow. It would be a shame to lose him. He’s a fine preacher and as good a man as his brother.”
Eden asked no more questions, but she was deep in thought. This side of Brandon Winslow she had not known.
Eden’s meeting with Queen Mary was brief. She was brought to her room, and as she curtsied, she was shocked by how old and sickly the monarch looked. Mary’s complexion was almost the color of stale biscuits, and lines of pain showed around her eyes and on her forehead. Her voice was deeper than Eden expected. She spoke for a time about how glad she was that Eden had been brought back and reunited with her parents.