It was Rosina who spoke to him. ‘Simon Peter recognised this pony as belonging to Master Luke. Obviously something is very wrong. Can we help?’
‘Luke’s had a bad fall,’ Kane plunged straight into the facts, ‘not far back there. He’s lying over a boulder close to the meeting house. Please do something, he’s very badly hurt. I’m afraid he’ll die!’
‘We must have ridden close past him on our way back from the mine. I’ll go back with you, Master Kane,’ Peter Blake said, taking charge of the situation, ‘and see what I can do for your brother.’
Turning to Rosina he handed her the reins of the runaway pony. ‘You take the pony and Simon Peter straight to the manor, my dear. I can hardly go there myself at this point, but you can tell them to expect Master Kane and myself along with the injured boy and to send at once for a doctor.’
The company parted, two for the manor, two of them to return to the scene of the accident.
* * *
Earlier in the day, in a big house at Marazion, a visitor had been shown into the sick room of Jenifer Drannock. Jenifer showed no surprise or emotion. She invited her visitor to sit at her bedside in its position beside a large window which looked out over St Michael’s Mount and the busy shipping on the sea around it.
‘I knew you would come to see me, by and by. You have been home first I take it,’ she gasped, her voice now weakened out of recognition.
‘I have not.’
Jenifer raised her faint eyebrows. ‘Then you can tell me, Sir Oliver Pengarron, why you have chosen to come to see me before your family.’
Oliver studied the changes in Jenifer’s appearance as keenly as she did his. While she had shrivelled in size and grown as pale as the white nightgown she wore, he was deeply tanned and dressed in the clothes of a working man.
He said, ‘I need to straighten out a few things with you before I see Kerensa, to be able to face her with a clean breast. How is she, Jenifer, and my family?’
‘Why ask me? I never leave this bed.’
‘Because I am certain you have kept yourself informed of their welfare.’ He waited patiently for her to answer.
She did not spare him. ‘They’re missing you terribly.’
Oliver sighed and looked away. ‘I’ve missed them more than I could ever have imagined…’
His thoughts drifted away and Jenifer knew he was oblivious to her blatant scrutiny of him. He had changed much in the months of his absence. The devilish arrogant gleam at the back of his black eyes was gone. The straight back, the firm set of his broad shoulders, the fine handsome lines of his face were still there. But the restlessness was missing, the constant urgency to be on the move, always seeking to be doing something, to have his own way. Yet there was pain in his face; the changes had cost him dearly, Jenifer was sure of that.
‘You’re wondering where I’ve been and what I’ve been doing all this time I’ve spent away,’ he said, his eyes darting back to her. His voice was also different, a tone softer, more mellow, the words delivered just that little bit slower.
‘I daresay you’ll tell me if you want to,’ Jenifer replied. ‘Are you wondering what I’m doing here,’ she could only manage a slight lift of one weak hand, ‘in this grand house in Marazion? It’s a far cry from the life I was used to in Perranbarvah. This nightgown I’m wearing is made from the finest Irish linen, it cost more money than I’ve had to spend on my family in all my married life. What do you think about me living here as the lady of the house, Sir Oliver? How did you know I was here? Or, have you, as I suspect, been keeping an eye on my welfare too?’
Oliver smiled in submission. He would not play verbal games with the dying woman. What he had come to tell her she knew already, she had been with him every step of the way.
‘You and my Sam had two things in common,’ Jenifer said, ‘both satisfied to have only one woman in your life, and like you Sam liked to think he could get one over on another person.’
‘Go on, Jenifer Drannock, say it.’
A faint smile softened the deathly hue of Jenifer’s face.
‘Very well, welcome home to Cornwall… Obadiah Drannock of Portsmouth. Welcome home to Cornwall and back from the dead.’
Oliver couldn’t help smiling. ‘How did you know?’
She looked at him with wisdom in her fading eyes. ‘Kerensa has visited me often since you left, she hasn’t told me anything about your personal life but I think I’ve a reasonably good idea of what’s been going on. Forgive me if I’m speaking out of turn but I believe there’s a huge rift in your perfect marriage. And what other reason could there be for that but the truth of Samuel’s parentage coming to light? Samuel and I should never have asked and held Kerensa to that promise. It is never right for a man and wife to keep secrets from each other. It was because of our selfishness that you and Kerensa and your lovely young family have suffered so much.
‘Then, of course, once you knew the truth, there was the problem of what to do with your half-brother’s family. You could not, of course, allow us to go on living in poverty. I knew at once you were behind this sudden inheritance of Bartholomew’s. Samuel had no distant relatives. There have been Drannocks in Newlyn for as long as there have been Pengarrons as lords of the manor. Samuel and I knew his father Caleb’s family very well. There was never an Uncle Obadiah, in Portsmouth or elsewhere.’
As she talked Jenifer had grown weaker. Oliver rose and poured her a glass of barley water, holding the bottom of the glass as she sipped.
‘Don’t tire yourself, Jenifer. As you already know what I came here to tell you I’ll leave in a little while so you can rest. I only need to know if Bartholomew and your other children, my nephews and nieces, have been told my father was their grandfather.’
‘Not as yet, but they must be told. They have the right to know the truth before they learn it from another source and suffer the same shock you unfortunately did. Bartholomew has always had his suspicions, you know. Many times he has remarked on his resemblance to you. I have been hoping you would return before my time came, but when I felt the time was very near, I would have told them myself. I ask only one thing of you, Sir Oliver, be with me and let us tell them together.’
‘I’m glad you’ve asked me that, Jenifer. It will be the best thing to do.’
‘I have a question for you, Sir Oliver. What do my children, Samuel’s children, really mean to you? Do you have any objections to acknowledging them publicly as your kith and kin?’
‘I have no objections, Jenifer. I will be proud to make the fact known all over Cornwall. And please, no more of this “Sir Oliver”. I am your brother-in-law, so just Oliver from now on. I will call again, in a couple of days, and we can talk to the children then, if that is agreeable to you.’
‘It is. Will you bring Kerensa with you? She was so pleased with our good fortune. I always enjoy her company when she calls.’
A look of uncertainty showed on his face. ‘I will bring her,’ Oliver said quietly. ‘If she will ever go anywhere with me again.’
‘Why should she not?’
‘More to the point, why should she? I have treated her extremely badly, she must be deeply hurt.’ Oliver bowed his head and looked at his feet.
He looked up again when Jenifer said, ‘Kerensa loves you. Have you any doubt she would not go to the ends of the earth for you?’ She reached out and placed a trembling hand on his. ‘You said you are proud to have my family as part of yours, but have you rid yourself of that other pride? The pride that drove you away from the people that love you the most in all the world?’
Gripping her withered hand, Oliver brought it tenderly to his lips and placed there a gentle kiss.
‘Yes, Jenifer, it is all gone. It was a long and painful experience, but I could not come home until I’d endured it to the bitter end.’
Jenifer looked out across the sea. ‘He’s out there somewhere… my Samuel… When our little business is done I can die in peace and take my place with him. My only regret
is that he never purged himself of that useless destructive pride as you have done.’
Chapter 29
Kerensa was half sitting, half lying on a sofa in her sitting room. Her chest rose and fell softly as she dozed.
‘Kerensa…’
Oliver barely whispered her name, but it was enough to make her draw in her features and move slightly. Her glossy auburn-red hair was splayed out on the cushions behind her head. Her beautiful face was tinted a soft satiny pink. She looked child-like and vulnerable and although all conscious thought was lost to her there was sorrow etched in every breathtaking line of her face, the face that was so dear and which he had missed so much.
He wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and swear on his life that he would never leave her again, but he stayed by the door. He felt strangely shy in his own house, as if he was something of an intruder and she had more right to be here than he did. He felt awkward about letting her know he was there. He had put that sorrow on her face; what right had he to walk back into her life and hope all could be as it was before?
‘Kerensa’
She woke with a small start and looked down at her side and murmured something. He only caught the end of what she said, ‘…heard your father calling my name,’ and assumed she was half awake and dreaming she was talking to one of the children.
He took a deep breath, tears misted his eyes and he could only speak in a whisper.
‘You were not dreaming, Kerensa, my love.’
Her head spun round. ‘Oliver! Is it really you!’
He tried to answer but the words choked in his throat. Kerensa stared at him, too afraid even to blink lest he disappear like an apparition.
‘Have… have you come back to me?’
Her eyes were startled and full of fear. Oliver could not bear to see her like this.
‘If you will have me, Kerensa.’
The next moment he was kneeling before her – not the words and actions of a man torn by arrogance and pride.
‘I have waited so long for this moment.’ Tears of joy and emotion sparkled in her eyes and she let them gather and fall unchecked.
Oliver grasped her hand and placed his head on her lap, then lifted it again swiftly. He had looked straight into the face of a wide-awake pouting baby.
‘What… who…?’
Taking the baby more fully into her arms, Kerensa smiled with real happiness for the first time in months.
‘Kelynen Ann Pengarron, meet your father.’
Oliver was stunned. ‘You mean… I’m her… she’s my…? It was her you were talking to.’ Then he was horrified. ‘Dear God, are you telling me that I left you to bear this child alone!’
Kerensa laughed and said fondly, ‘I fed her not five minutes ago and we both dropped off to sleep. She’s a good baby, the children adore her.’
The horror had not left Oliver’s face. ‘How will you ever forgive me, Kerensa?’
‘There is nothing to forgive.’ She leaned forward and kissed his shocked face. ‘Have you forgiven me, Oliver?’
‘There was nothing to forgive you for, my precious love. I have such a lot to tell you, a lot to explain.’ Oliver looked intently at his newest child. ‘She’s beautiful, like you are. You must have a lot to tell me too. I’ve been longing to see you again and Olivia, Kane and Luke. Are they well? Have they missed me? Will they be glad to have me back?’
‘They’ll be as happy as I am.’ Kerensa stroked his hair and he kissed her hand, reaching up to kiss her cheeks and lips and then the baby’s head. His touch, his lips, the weight of his arms as they rested lightly on her lap reassured her he was really there and it wasn’t just a wonderful dream. She took in his deep suntan, his calloused hands, the working-class clothes he wore. It spoke of at least some of his activities since he’d been away from her, but explanations could wait till later.
‘Would you like to hold Kelynen?’ she asked proudly.
‘Yes, I want to hold her. I want to hold you. And all of my family. But she will do for now.’
He took the baby into the crook of his arm, she looked engulfed against his big strong body. He kissed her tenderly, doing the same to Kerensa before standing up and studying his daughter again.
‘I hope you did not have a difficult confinement. You must tell me all about it, I want to feel as though I’d been there.’
‘It was an unusual event,’ Kerensa said in understatement.
‘Kelynen. You have given her a Cornish name, like yours. I like it, it sounds so right for her – and Ann, simple but lovely. How came you by these names, Kerensa?’
Kerensa stood up and linked her arm through his. She wondered how he would feel when all the facts of Kelynen’s birth were revealed.
‘One was from a suggestion from someone, the other I asked another person to choose… It’s a long story, Oliver,’ she said carefully, smoothing a hand over Kelynen’s delicate head. ‘She’s different from the others – see, she has neither your colouring nor mine, but she has your dark eyes.’
Oliver slipped an arm round Kerensa’s waist and could not conceal his relief and joy. ‘This is the best homecoming I could possibly have, knowing that you still love and want me, and a new little daughter. She’s a little sweeting, have you had her baptised?’
‘I have delayed in having her baptised in the hope you would come home and give her names after Kelynen of your own choosing.’
Oliver gazed in wonderment into Kelynen’s clear dark eyes. His thoughts drifted to a foreign country and then nearer home to Marazion.
‘There are two particular names that come immediately to mind. Michelle and Jenifer – Kelynen Michelle Jenifer Ann,’ he said humbly. ‘What do you think, Kerensa. Are they acceptable to you?’
‘Yes, of course,’ Kerensa replied, marvelling that this moment had come at last, of Oliver being home and choosing their baby’s other names. ‘Jenifer after Jenifer Drannock, I presume,’ and it gave her a clue to the peace he had found. Then looking at him curiously, she added, ‘Michelle is a beautiful name, I’ve never heard it before.’
‘It’s foreign and the reason why I would like it comes from a long story.’ He smiled. ‘We must—’
Urgent noises at the double doors drew their attention away from their baby and a host of people rushed into the room. Polly was at the head of the group with Rosina Blake behind her and then came Olivia holding on to Simon Peter’s hand. The two sets of people stared at each other in surprise.
‘Father!’ Olivia rushed to her father and clung to his legs.
‘Sir!’ Polly dropped a rapid curtsy with her mouth agape.
Simon Peter walked further into the room and stood expectantly at Olivia’s side, rising up on his tiptoes to get a better view of the baby. Then Rosina came forward, her surprised expression fading at the seriousness of her errand here.
‘We’ve come about your son Luke,’ she spoke to both Kerensa and Oliver. ‘I’m afraid he’s had an accident, out on the edge of Lancavel Downs close to the meeting house. I believe he’s quite badly hurt. Master Kane has taken my husband back to the spot where it happened, they should not be long behind us.’
‘Oh no!’ Kerensa gasped. ‘They were told not to go out of the grounds.’
‘Polly, run and tell Jack to fetch Dr Crebo here without delay,’ Oliver ordered, handing Kelynen back to Kerensa. ‘I’ll go and meet Blake and my sons.’
‘Begging your pardon, sir,’ Polly said hastily, ‘but Jack was attacked back along, he won’t be fit to ride for weeks.’
‘What?’ Oliver snatched a worried look at Kerensa. He had a lot to catch up on. What other dreadful things had he left her to cope with alone? ‘Then get Michael or Conan to go instead.’ Turning to Rosina, he said, ‘I thank you for coming to tell us, Mistress Blake. Please, stay with my wife until your husband arrives.’
With a quick kiss on the top of Olivia’s head and a hug for Kerensa he darted after Polly out of the room.
Oliver and Conomor rode o
ut of the stable yard at breakneck speed. Horse and rider were pleased to see one another again. The black stallion needed no urging after the months of gentle exercise he had received instead of the regular long gallops he was used to from the only man who could truly master him.
Oliver took in none of the familiar sights that he had been so eagerly looking forward to seeing again. He galloped through the manor’s grounds and parklands with his mind only on his homecoming. He had been sure he would find Kerensa waiting at home with their children for his eventual return, but not of how he would be received. During his anxious journey home he had told himself he had no right to expect her to welcome him with open arms. Even if she still loved him, his long silent absence might have stolen some of that love. But Kerensa’s joyful reaction at seeing him suddenly before her had proved she loved him as much as ever. The hopes he had nurtured had been wonderfully fulfilled.
Then had come the mixed feelings at learning he had fathered another child, a child he had known nothing about. He understood why Kerensa had kept it to herself. Because of his harsh treatment of her he had missed Kelynen’s birth, forfeited the joy of seeing one of his children enter the world. He had not been there to share the pain and wonder of the experience with Kerensa. And then, just as he had begun to take pleasure at Kelynen’s presence, horror had been thrust upon him that another of his children had been in an accident, might be badly hurt. Was he to gain a child only to lose another on the same day?
It was not long before he saw riders coming towards him. Slowing down the restless stallion he was soon face to face with Peter Blake and his two sons. Kane’s scalding tears turned to those of shock, then relief, at seeing his father.
‘Oh, Father! It’s all my fault Luke’s hurt. I should never have agreed to race for the pony out of the grounds.’
‘It will be all right, son,’ Oliver said, leaning over to give the distraught boy a quick hug. ‘Don’t you worry about it now, let’s just get your brother home.’
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