The Heart is Torn

by Mallett, Phyllis

  ‘Great news!’ Jaime Spencer exclaimed, rubbing his hands together when Beth entered the stable. ‘I heard that Seagull put into Falmouth yesterday for urgent repairs. Adam Traherne was just here. He came from Falmouth by the night coach, and no-one knew he was here until he chose to show himself on the street this morning. He’s gone home now, and in a great hurry.’

  ‘He couldn’t have been in much of a hurry if he spent the whole night visiting the inns,’ Beth observed tartly, her relief at Adam’s return tempered by his sense of priority.

  Her first priority would have been to visit him.

  ‘He was occupied by business most of the time. He needs to turn Seagull around as quickly as possible and get her back to sea.’

  Beth fetched her horse and departed, frowning as she paused to gaze along the street in the direction Adam had taken. But the knowledge that he was intent on business affairs weighed against her impulse to follow him. He was planning to put to sea again as soon as possible, and yet they had planned to marry at the end of this trip. She turned reluctantly in the opposite direction and rode homeward, suddenly filled with gnawing doubts.

  Riding along the top of the cliffs, she no longer gazed at the distant horizon. Adam was home at last and now she had no need to wonder about him. She left the cliffs eventually and followed a meandering path that led into the trees surrounding Sedge Manor until she reached the main road coming from the town. She passed between black iron gates and cantered with clattering hoofs along a gravelled driveway towards the large sandstone house standing foursquare and solid, silhouetted against the bright blue sky. A heavy oak door guarded its entrance.

  A horse was tethered at the bottom of the steps leading up to the smooth terrace, and Beth was relieved to observe that it was not Jonah Peake’s grey stallion. It was Dr Lampard’s black mare, and Beth frowned as she dismounted beside the animal and tethered her own mount. What was the doctor doing here? He never visited socially. Was her father ill?

  She hurried up the steps and into the house, filled with an unaccustomed urgency, and halted almost in mid-stride when she saw the doctor talking to her father at the foot of the wide staircase. Both men glanced around, disturbed by her somewhat noisy entrance. The doctor smiled immediately, but Beth was struck by her father’s harsh expression, although he was not in the habit of smiling or laughing these days.

  ‘Hello, Doctor,’ Beth said and went forward more slowly. ‘When I recognised your horse outside I feared something was amiss.’

  ‘You’re looking well, Beth,’ Lampard replied.

  He was a short, portly man dressed in a dark green riding cloak, his weathered face showing pleasure.

  ‘It’s merely a social visit, but I have to be leaving now. Widow Belham is not expected to survive the day and I have need to be present for her last moments.’

  Henry Farrell held Beth’s gaze when she looked at him. He was tall, heavily built, his face bearing evidence of his present grim outlook on life. His height was somewhat diminished by the slumping of his shoulders, which he was now accustomed to doing. His features were sharp, the skin stretched tightly over his cheekbones, and his eyes were lack-lustre, dark-circled and showing strain.

  ‘Wait in the library for me, Beth,’ he said. ‘I have need to talk to you.’

  Beth nodded, frowning. She bade the doctor goodbye and entered the library as her father escorted his visitor to the door. Sensing that something was amiss, she feared that it had to do with Jonah Peake’s visit. She desperately wanted to see Adam, but he was putting business before pleasure and she had to accept that, no matter how it hurt. A strange sense of unreality gripped her and she sighed heavily.

  The door was closed noisily, and Beth turned away from the window as Henry Farrell walked to his desk.

  ‘What’s wrong, Father?’ she enquired. ‘Jonah Peake always seems to bring trouble when he visits you. And why does he come so often? There was a time when you and he had nothing in common. Now he is always calling here, and his arrogance has grown with each visit.’

  ‘How did you know Peake has been here?’

  Henry Farrell gazed unblinkingly at Beth, his hands busy with the decanter on the desk. He poured himself a liberal drink and raised the glass to his lips, his eyes never leaving Beth’s intent face.

  ‘I met him on the cliff top. He said he was coming to visit you.’

  ‘Have you been into Polgarron alone, against my wishes?’

  ‘Yes, and I saw Nick there. He returned on the London coach last night.’

  ‘Then why hasn’t he returned here? His business in London was urgent. Can he not do anything right? Have I to do everything myself?’

  ‘It is not good news from London.’ Beth’s face betrayed nothing of her thoughts.

  ‘What did he tell you?’

  ‘That nothing can be done before the New Year. You have chosen the wrong time to sell.’

  Farrell slumped in his seat and lifted a hand wearily to his head.

  ‘Then I am finally ruined,’ he said. ‘I must do as Peake demands if I am to save anything at all.’

  ‘What do you mean? What kind of a hold has Peake on you? Why is he always coming here? You never had any time for him in the past. He is not the kind of man you would mix with. What has changed you?’

  ‘Times have changed, and your mother’s death started the decline. I have been out of my mind since that awful day she died, and my life has been a nightmare ever since.’

  ‘I’ve seen the changes wrought in you, but Mother died three years ago, Father, and you should be well recovered by now.’

  ‘It was a blow I could not overcome. It caused me to drink too much, and I gambled in the hope that the interest would enable me to cope. But all I’ve managed to do is squander my fortune, and now there is nothing left, no money and no business. My last hope was to raise money by offering shares in the mine, but it seems that even that avenue is closed to me.’

  Beth stared aghast at her father, trying to take in his bitter words.

  ‘Oh, Father, what have you done?’ He smiled wistfully, shaking his head. ‘You don’t know the half of it,’ he rejoined. ‘If only I could spare you the agony that I have made for us.’

  ‘It’s Jonah Peake, isn’t it? He’s at the bottom of it.’

  ‘I owe him more than I can repay, Beth, and I’ve come to my senses much too late. Peake came this afternoon determined to collect his pound of flesh. I realise now that he was following a vicious plan while pretending to be my friend. He always intended to oust me from Sedge Manor and take over my business interests, and he’s finally accomplished that. I’m penniless and in debt up to the hilt, and there’s only one way I can escape the consequences of my foolishness.’

  ‘One way? Then you must take it, Father. You can’t throw away everything you’ve ever worked for. What on earth would you do if the estate passed out of your hands? What does Peake want?’

  ‘I can hardly bring myself to tell you. I’ve been the biggest fool in Christendom, and fear that I have come to my senses too late.’

  Beth shook her head uncomprehendingly, her mind blank with shock. She had seen her father suffering the loss of her mother, but had no idea what he was doing. His drinking had been bad enough, but turning to gambling, and with a man like Jonah Peake, would be the height of folly. She walked around the desk and placed an arm around his neck, greatly concerned.

  ‘Perhaps it isn’t as bad as it seems, Father,’ she consoled. ‘Tell me about it. I’m sure we shall find a way around your problems.’

  ‘There’s no way out,’ he said despairingly. Peake has won his game of deceit and I’ve lost everything. We shall have to leave Sedge Manor, and I’ll have no business left.’

  Beth frowned as Martin Cresse’s words returned to her. He had intimated that the Farrells were about to fall into great misfortune. How had he known that? Her mind teemed with conjecture.

  ‘You said there was one way out.

  What is it? Why can’t
you take it?’

  ‘The only decent way out is not forthcoming if Nick’s trip to London has failed. I was counting on him to succeed, but it is not to be. I am at the end of my wits, Beth. I’ve sacrificed all to my grief.’

  ‘You said there is one way out,’ she persisted. ‘Tell me, Father. We must take any step that offers a solution.’

  Henry Farrell leaned his elbows on the desk and buried his face in his hands, groaning. Beth patted his shoulder, horrified by the depth of his distress. He was beside himself with grief and she was powerless to help.

  ‘Peake says he will refrain from pressing for repayment of my debts if I agree to give him your hand in marriage, Beth. That is his only concession. He wants to marry you before Christmas, and if I refuse then we shall be evicted from Sedge Manor and I shall be publicly disgraced.’

  Beth sighed long and hard as she considered her father’s words, and the last of her hopes died within her. She had always been aware that Peake wanted her and would stop at nothing to satisfy his craven desires, but to strike at a grieving man through his sorrows in order to gain mastery over him was the work of the devil himself.

  ‘I cannot do that, Father,’ she said faintly. ‘Even though I would willingly suffer anything to help you, there is one thing I cannot do, and that is marry Jonah Peake.’

  ‘I am not asking you to, Beth. I know Peake for what he is, and I would rather lose everything than condemn you to a life of misery with that foul specimen of manhood. Leave me now, for I have much to ponder. I must find a solution to this problem or die in the attempt.’

  ‘You wouldn’t contemplate doing anything foolish, would you?’ she demanded.

  He straightened and looked into her face, smiling wistfully.

  ‘The coward’s way out?’ He grimaced. ‘But it may yet be the only way for me. I have sacrificed a great many things since your mother died, and, in truth, there is nothing left. Perhaps I shall have to consider that final solution. I have no right to bring further distress upon you. I’ve been foolish and weak these past three years, and I have accomplished nothing by my perversity. Leave me, dear Beth, and I will attempt to come to terms with the stark reality of my situation.’

  Beth turned away reluctantly, aware that no amount of pleading would alter the situation. She was numbed with fear as she left the room and went instinctively to the outside door. There was only one man in the whole world she could turn to for help, and she needed to see him urgently. Adam would know how to handle Jonah Peake. A strong man would have no fear of such a deceitful individual.

  She mounted her horse and rode away from Sedge Manor, pausing once to turn and gaze at the familiar silhouette of the house where she had been born. Her roots there were buried deep, but she could not bring herself to contemplate marriage to Peake, even if that were the only way to save the estate. Peake was a contemptible man, arrogant and pitiless, and the very thought of consorting with him made her flesh crawl.

  She cantered along the road to Polgarron until a lane appeared on the right, and, turning into it, she soon encountered a path that meandered to Traherne Court. Passing through a copse, she was startled when a rider suddenly barred her way, and reined in swiftly, thinking that perhaps Adam had changed his plans and could no longer wait to see her. But distaste filled her when she recognised Jonah Peake.

  ‘I had a feeling you would make for the Trahernes as soon as you learned the reason for my visit to your father this afternoon.’

  Peake’s rasping voice lashed at Beth, and she detected triumph in his sharp tone. He was obviously certain that his plot was evolving in his favour, and the memory of her grieving father’s helplessness whipped up a strand of resistance in Beth’s mind.

  ‘Father told me about it,’ she replied. ‘But if you can threaten him and get away with it then you’ll find a much bigger obstacle in me. I would not contemplate marriage to you, Jonah Peake, even if my life were at stake. I would rather die than be tied to you.’

  Peake leaned forward and grasped the reins of her mare, his face taut with fury, his eyes ablaze with passion. Beth raised her riding crop and lashed at him, fear and anger lending her strength. A livid mark appeared on his left cheek where the whip caught him, and tiny drops of blood appeared. Peake uttered a curse and released his hold on her reins.

  He reached out to grasp her, but Beth wheeled her mare and urged it into flight, eluding his clutching fingers. The mare almost blundered into a tree, and whirled sharply to avoid an impact.

  Beth lost her seat and fell heavily. She was dazed, and heard the rapidly fading sound of her horse as it bolted.

  Before she could recover, a strong hand grasped her shoulder and pulled her into a sitting position. She opened her eyes to see Peake’s angry features thrust close to her own.

  ‘When we are married, I shall take great pleasure in teaching you how to behave in my presence,’ he said harshly, his lips pinched and cruel. ‘You have been permitted too much freedom, my girl, but all that will change when you come to me.’

  ‘I will never marry you!’

  Beth shrugged herself out of his grasp and attempted to scramble to her feet, her senses reeling at the rough treatment she had received.

  Peake dug his fingers into the soft flesh of her shoulders and exerted considerable strength. Beth cried out in pain but he did not relax his hold. Drawing her upwards into a standing position, he embraced her with arms that seemed as strong as steel bands, his hot breath fanning her averted cheek. Beth struggled to get free but he held her easily, and, looking up into his intent face, she saw great passion in his dark eyes.

  ‘I shall tame you, Mistress Beth. I have watched you grow up over the years and always intended that you should be mine. Now the time is ripe and nothing will stand in my way. You hold your father’s future in your hands, and you will not stand by and watch his public disgrace so you will come to me to avert the scandal that is about to break. Make up your mind to it, and do not make ripples upon the surface of your father’s life.’

  Beth faced him with anger marring her smooth brow.

  ‘I don’t know how you managed to drag my father into your net, but your efforts shall not avail you. I will never agree to marry you.’

  Peake smiled, his face set cruelly in triumph.

  ‘You are the one caught in my net,’ he said softly, ‘and like a fish, you struggle ineffectually. I have you in the palm of my hand now, and can wait for this situation to reach its natural conclusion. Enjoy these last days of your freedom, Beth. When you realise that your choice is between your father’s life and marriage to me, you will come to my door willingly to save your father from the ignominy of having to take his own life. Think hard upon that, and you will understand clearly what you have to do.’

  Beth was aghast at his words, and shook her head as she turned away from him. Peake made no effort to detain her and she ran, shocked and despairing, along the path in pursuit of her mare. A short time ago there had not been a cloud upon her horizon. Adam had returned home safely and the bright future they had planned seemed ready to encompass them. But storm clouds had gathered, and she was suddenly bereft of hope. Her father was trapped in the sinister coils of Jonah Peake’s scheming, and she was starkly aware that she could not ignore the situation and allow her father to sink deeper into the morass of Peake’s evil.

  The mare was grazing in a dell, and lifted its head when Beth approached. She scrambled into the high saddle and set out once more for Traherne Court, but there was no joy in her heart, only worry and deep concern. Despite her feelings, she sensed that she would have to obey her father to save him, and if the only solution was marriage to Jonah Peake then she would be compelled to resign herself to that awful fact.

  But she would not yield without a fight, and hesitated to admit to herself what Adam might do when he learned of the change in their plans. She rode on fearfully, her hopes for the future in ruins, and despair filled her for she could see no solution to an insurmountable problem.


  3

  Traherne Court stood on a rocky promontory overlooking the harbour of Polgarron. Solid and impregnable, its high walls were proof against any invasive force that might assail it. Beth rode into the courtyard with a clatter of hoofs and slid from her saddle at the foot of the flight of stone steps that gave access to the thick oak door barring the entrance to the Traherne ancestral home.

  A stable boy, summoned by the sound of her arrival, came running to grasp the mare’s reins, and stood smiling as she dismounted. Beth thanked him and ascended the steps to the terrace, filled now with thrilling anticipation at the thought of seeing Adam. The door of the house opened as she approached, and a tall figure appeared. Her heart seemed to miss a beat when she recognised Adam Traherne, and then her pulses raced.

  She ran towards him, and Adam came forward, tall and powerful, moving with the strength and grace of a lion. He met her near the top of the steps and swung her up into his arms, crushing her against his hard body as he smothered her face with passionate kisses.

  ‘My Beth, at last! You don’t know how I have longed for this moment.’

  He held her at arm’s length and gazed hungrily at her flushed face.

  ‘I declare you’re more beautiful than I remember. So you heard that I was home at last and could not wait to see me! In truth, I wanted to make Sedge Manor my first port of call, but I have had serious business to attend to, and, as you well know, with the Trahernes it is always business before pleasure.’

  ‘I saw you in Polgarron earlier,’ she said as she clung to him. ‘You were in a hurry then. Oh, Adam, I have been so worried. Your ship did not arrive on time, and bad rumours were beginning to fly.’

  ‘We had a rough passage from the Azores.’

  He carried her along the terrace as if she were a child and set her feet upon the flagstones in front of the big doorway. Over six feet tall, he was a powerful man in his late twenties. His weathered face was smooth, his dark brown eyes filled with an intangible light that seemed to hint at the restless magic of distant oceans and exotic sights that had imprinted themselves in his depthless gaze. His curly dark hair hung over a rugged forehead, and his firm mouth softened as he laughed merrily.