Tears of joy had overtaken Louisa, but she managed to say her part, looking deeply into his eyes and speaking huskily.
“I, Louisa, take thee Roderick, to my wedded husband –”
While she spoke he regarded her with a look of unutterable love.
When he vowed to endow her with all his worldly goods, she smiled. They possessed no worldly goods between them, none at all.
And yet they had everything.
They had the whole world and Heaven too.
They walked silently back to the house, arms entwined and climbed the stairs together. In the tiny, shabby room they clung to each other.
“I must go soon,” he muttered against her hair.
“I know. I hate to think of you walking all the way back. Go, my love – my husband. And yet – one kiss – one kiss –”
He kissed her repeatedly. They both knew the parting was inevitable, yet neither could bear to break away.
“My love,” he sighed, “dearer to me than my life, I shall be with you soon. One day this will seem like a dream.”
“My husband,” she murmured. “Whenever you come to me, you will find me waiting for you.”
“One last kiss –”
He laid his lips on hers in a gesture that was both a farewell and a promise. For a long moment they stood there, their hearts beating as one, knowing the true joy of love given and received equally.
And then, in a few brutal moments, it was all snatched away.
There was an ominous sound downstairs, footsteps rapidly climbing.
The door was kicked violently open.
There stood Lord Westbridge. And on his face a sneer of pleasure so vile that Louisa shuddered.
The next moment he stood aside, revealing three thickset ruffians. Louisa screamed as they rushed into the room and hurled themselves savagely on Roderick.
He fought them as long as he could, but he was no match for three of them and soon they had forced him to the ground, where they could kick him. Lord Westbridge seized Louisa, holding her in a grip of iron, forcing her to watch.
“No,” she screamed. “No, no – stop, don’t hurt him!”
But her words were not heeded. The three men continued their vicious work until Roderick lay unconscious on the floor. Louisa fought madly, but Lord Westbridge’s grip was ruthless.
“How foolish of you to think you could escape from me. Luckily you were seen running from the house by a man who was on your land that night to do a little poaching. He knew I would pay well for the information.
“I would have caught up with you earlier but the man lost sight of you. I wonder how you knew to come here.”
“I was told this house was empty,” she replied quickly, fearful of getting the Lightlys into trouble. “It’s common knowledge. I took a chance on getting in.”
“For the Vicar’s sake I hope that’s true. You three, why are you just standing there? I didn’t tell you to stop.”
The three men had paused over Roderick’s broken, bleeding body.”
“Oh, God,” Louisa wept, “you’ve killed him.”
“He had better not be dead,” Lord Westbridge snapped.
One of the ruffians checked.
“No, My Lord.”
“Good, because I have further pleasures for him.”
“No, no, no –” Louisa wept.
Lord Westbridge shook her.
“You have the audacity to weep for him in front of me? That is one more offence for which you will have to suffer. Not now, but after our marriage, when you will be my property and nobody can gainsay me. Now, be silent, you are beginning to annoy me. Be silent I say.”
Louisa was in a state of collapse, incapable of anything more than a soft moan. If he had not been holding her tightly she would have crumpled like a rag doll.
“Take him out of here,” Lord Westbridge snarled. “There, enjoy your last look at him, my Lady. You will never see him again in this life!”
Through streaming eyes she watched as the men lifted Roderick and carried him out of the room. Lord Westbridge was holding her back against him with one arm across the front of her shoulders. His other hand had vanished. He seemed to be reaching for something.
Suddenly his hand reappeared, holding a cloth. She had only one second to realise what was happening before the cloth was clamped across her face. She tried to struggle but it was useless against the ominous vapour of chloroform that filled her nostrils and infused her brain. She slumped unconscious.
*
Everything swam before her, furniture blending into wallpaper, faces coming and going. After a while things settled into place and Louisa realised that she was back in her own room.
She fought for her memory, but her last sight had been of Roderick’s unconscious body being hauled away. Then Lord Westbridge had contrived to overcome her with chloroform, and now she was at home. But everything that had happened in between was a blank.
She became aware that she was not alone. Her mother’s tear stained face hovered over her.
“Oh, my darling, you are awake at last. We thought you were dead. When we heard about the terrible thing that happened to you, we had such fears –”
“What – terrible thing, Mama?”
“Oh, Heavens, your mind is wandering.”
“No, my dear,” that was her father, appearing beside the bed. “After her dreadful ordeal it is only natural that she should be a little vague.”
“What – happened?” Louisa asked hoarsely.
“That wicked man abducted you. It is only thanks to Lord Westbridge that you were saved.”
“He – didn’t – abduct me –”
Lady Hatton gave a little scream and hurriedly put her hand over her daughter’s mouth.
“Yes, yes he did, my darling. He snatched you against your will –”
“No –” Louisa cried frantically, “I went with him – gladly –”
“Do not try to shield him,” her father interrupted. “It is like you to be generous, but Lord Westbridge told us how he found you struggling in that fiend’s arms, screaming for help.”
“You are so fortunate in Lord Westbridge,” her Mama chimed in eagerly. “Even after finding you in such a – compromising situation, he is still willing to marry you.”
“Marry – him?”
“For pity’s sake Louisa, this is your last chance of a husband.”
“Never,” she muttered weakly. “Never.”
“Your pardon, madam, if I could just have a word with your daughter.”
Lord Westbridge stood in the doorway, his face a mask of sympathy. But she could see through it to the devil beneath.
“Yes,” Louisa said quietly. “I want to talk to him alone.”
She kept her eyes fixed on Lord Westbridge as her parents left the room. Suddenly she was filled with cool determination.
“Where is he?” she whispered hoarsely. “You devil! What have you done with him?”
“He is a madman. His fantasies were becoming dangerous. I have had him placed under restraint.”
“You mean – ?”
“There is a most efficient lunatic asylum in town. He will be well looked after, until his – er – delusions – are cured.”
Louisa covered her eyes. It was too horrible to contemplate.
“You cannot do such a wicked thing,” she sobbed.
“Wicked? I am merely taking care of him, to ensure that no harm comes to him. His incarceration may be a short one. Or it may be a very long one.”
With a sudden harsh change of tone he seized her, pulling her hands away from her face and forcing her to look at him.
“This nonsense has gone on long enough,” he snapped. “We are announcing our engagement today.”
“No!” she cried.
“Don’t you understand that you have no choice? Think of your parents. Think of Roderick Blake.”
“And if I marry you – ?” she asked desperately.
“That will make matters eas
ier – for everyone.”
It was as he had said. She had no choice. The face looming above her was implacable. In despair and heartbreak, Louisa mumbled,
“Very well, Lord Westbridge. I will marry you.”
*
The district was agog with excitement. The engagement had been announced of Lord Westbridge to Miss Louisa Hatton and the wedding would take place almost immediately.
Louisa knew that everyone thought she must be the happiest girl in the world and it only added to her misery.
Again and again she relived the magical moments when she had knelt beside Roderick in the sight of God, and they had been married in their hearts.
Many times she hovered on the verge of telling her parents about her ‘marriage’, but she knew it was useless. They would not believe her and if they repeated her words to Lord Westbridge, he might have Roderick killed.
That was the terror that kept her silent.
There was only one person in whom she could confide and it was Arabelle. Gradually she discovered that her friend had played her part perfectly, seeming to sleep late the next morning and be awoken by the sound of the house in uproar over Louisa’s disappearance.
“Then I threw a fit of hysterics,” she told Louisa with grim humour. “I thought if I was screaming they could not ask me any awkward questions.”
“You have been wonderfully clever,” Louisa said.
“Clever enough to abuse you a little. Your parents think I am shocked by what you did, and rely on me to preach submission and obedience to you. Otherwise they might keep me from you. As it is, I may still be of some help.”
Louisa squeezed Arabelle’s hand. It was wonderful to have such a friend, but even so, what could she do? The future still looked bleak and hideous.
“Did the Lightlys fall into any trouble?” she asked, fearful of the answer.
Arabelle shook her head in reassurance.
“Lord Westbridge never pursued them. If he had made a fuss, it would have revealed to the world that his chosen bride had fled from him with another man, and that would wound his pride.”
*
Lord Westbridge seemed determined to put her on display as he would have exhibited a beautiful vase that he had bought at a great price. He presented Louisa with a diamond ring so large that she flinched away.
“It – it will weigh my hand down,” she objected.
“It will proclaim to the world that you belong to me,” Lord Westbridge informed her coolly.
“But I am a person, not a possession,” she cried. “Even when we are married –”
“You will belong to me,” he broke in with a voice of iron. “My wife is mine as my house is mine and my furniture is mine. And like all my possessions, she must be a credit to me!”
Louisa shuddered.
“Incidentally,” he added, “I have not yet asked you exactly what occurred between you and that madman –”
“Nothing,” she replied quickly. “Nothing at all.”
At all costs Roderick must be protected.
Her denial made no impression on this snake-like man.
“As I was saying, before you were so impertinent as to interrupt me,” he resumed coldly, “I have not yet demanded the full truth from you. I am saving that pleasure until our wedding night.”
“But I have just told you,” she cried desperately. “Nothing –”
“Be silent. When I want to know, I shall inform you of the fact.”
He seemed bent on wiping out all traces of her previous life. She would no longer be allowed to ride her beloved Firefly. Lord Westbridge gave her a new mare. Although beautiful, she was too placid for Louisa. But he insisted.
“My dignity demands that you behave with decorum,” he proclaimed coldly. “I will not allow you to racket around the countryside as you have done in the past.”
She could not hope for any help from her parents. Lord and Lady Hatton were so thankful to be relieved of their money worries that they could think of nothing else. They blinded themselves to their daughter’s torment and tried to believe that all was for the best.
Louisa felt as though she had never really known her father and mother. She had believed that they loved her. But now they were ready to sacrifice her.
“How can you be so ungrateful?” Lady Hatton admonished her. “Not every man would have overlooked your unfortunate involvement with a groom.
“But your future husband is most generous. Look at the jewels he showers on you. Not just the ring, but the sapphire and diamond tiara, the emerald necklace. The set of pearls he sent for you to wear at the wedding is worth a King’s ransom.”
“I cannot even choose anything for my own wedding,” Louisa screamed. “He is actually paying for my dress.”
“We could hardly have afforded a dress luxurious enough to suit him.”
“But Mama, it is so vulgar. He only wants to show off his wealth.”
Lady Hatton gave a little shout.
“I beg you not to say such things to him. It would be most improper of you to dispute with your husband. He will be your Lord and Master. It will be your duty to obey him in everything.”
“Very true,” agreed Lord Westbridge, who had entered the room just in time to hear their conversation. “I have come to take you riding, my dear.”
“I – I have a headache,” Louisa faltered.
“Obey me,” he said softly.
Reluctantly she did so. It broke her heart to ride with the man she detested after the wonderful rides she had shared with the man she loved.
*
She grew more and more heavy-hearted as the net tightened around her.
At night she cried herself to sleep.
Roderick haunted her dreams. What was happening to him? How badly did he suffer? Did he think she had betrayed him? Would she ever see him again?
One afternoon she was sitting at the piano playing soft, mournful chords, when Arabelle came hurrying in, looking around for any sign of Lord and Lady Hatton.
“I am alone,” Louisa said. “What is it?”
Arabelle came to sit beside her and spoke softly.
“Go to the empty cottage on the other side of the stream,” she whispered. “Hurry. I will go on playing and they will think it is you.”
Louisa’s heart beat with a mixture of fear and anticipation. Darkness was falling and she ran until she reached the cottage.
There were no lights and the place seemed empty. She stepped inside and stood while her eyes grew accustomed to the gloom.
Then she heard a groan.
“Roderick!” she whispered in disbelieving joy.
At last she saw him, lying on a bed in the corner, his hands reaching out to her. She threw herself down beside him, crying,
“Oh, my darling. Thank God! Thank God! Where have you been?”
“That devil had me locked up as a madman,” he told her hoarsely. “I managed to escape and reach here.”
To her horror she found that he was badly hurt. His body was covered with cuts and bruises and there was a wound to his head.
“What have they done to you?” she wept.
“It is a – bad place,” he whispered. “But never mind now. Someone helped me to break out.”
“Lord Westbridge claimed that you are an impostor and that the real Earl died in India.”
“Do you believe that?”
Her beautiful, innocent eyes glowed.
“My love, I know you are the soul of truth and honour. I never doubted you for a moment.”
“God bless you,” he murmured.” They will be looking for me. I should not have come here – putting you in danger – but the curate’s cottage isn’t safe any more, and you are the only home I know now.”
“Of course you came to me,” she exclaimed passionately. “Who should care for you but me?”
“Just until – I am strong enough to leave.”
“And then we will leave together. I will follow you to the ends of the earth.”
“Such a beautiful dream. But my darling, we must wait a little longer. Westbridge has claimed so many victims and now I may have found the way to save them.”
“But how?”
He was seized by a coughing fit. When it was over, he was exhausted.
“I will tell you when I am stronger.”
“Roderick, I must tell you something –”
“I know. You are betrothed to Westbridge. Word reached me in the asylum. I suspect that he arranged that it should. That fiend enjoys the thought of driving me mad.”
“But you must understand that I only did it for your sake. He had imprisoned you in that dreadful place –”
He gave her a weak smile, full of love and trust. “My dearest, do you think you have to explain to me? I realised at once why you had agreed to him.”
“But he has set the wedding date for next week. I couldn’t stop him. What can we do?”
“Act as if all is well. Do not arouse his suspicions. I need a little more time. Trust me. I will save you.”
“Don’t allow me to be forced to marry him,” Louisa implored.
“You are my wife forever,” he reminded her.
Then a shudder overtook him and he closed his eyes.
She sped back to the house and slipped inside. Arabelle was still doggedly playing the piano. She looked up with relief when Louisa returned.
Hurriedly Louisa explained what she needed, and together they ran to the kitchen, which was quiet at that time of day. Together they packed a basket of food and wine. From her bedroom Arabelle fetched an old petticoat.
Louisa’s heart was beating madly as she crept down through the dark house. At any moment she expected someone to stop her. But she was largely safe from being watched because Arabelle was playing the role of ‘dragon’ so effectively.
Lord and Lady Hatton entrusted her with the task, not knowing that Arabelle was heart and soul on their daughter’s side. So Louisa slipped out of the house without trouble.
She found Roderick sitting up, although still very weak. She gave him some wine and food and while he was eating she fetched some water from the stream that flowed outside. Then she tore the old petticoat into strips. She used some of them to bathe his wounds and some to dress them.
A Heart in Heaven Page 11