‘But I am home now, and we have much to discuss, sweet Beth. Have you missed me?’
Beth thought of the endless months of his absence, the countless hours when she had been the loneliest woman on earth, and her joy knew no bounds. But the knowledge of her father’s plight sent her spirits plummeting and she drew back from him with despair showing in every line of her countenance.
‘Beth, what ails you? Has my homecoming displeased you?’
He was alert to her moods, and grasped her hands, drawing her towards the door of the house.
‘I was about to ride out on business, and planned to call on you later, but your appearance makes me realise that any business will have to wait. We have lost far too much time as it is, and nothing else matters now we are together again.’
‘I must talk seriously to you, Adam.’
Beth’s tone faltered and she compressed her lips, filled with the cold knowledge that she should follow her father’s wishes and agree to marry Jonah Peake. But she could not bring herself to utter the words that would plunge them both into an abyss of misery. She was not responsible for her father’s downfall. He had brought that fate upon himself, and ought to rely upon his own resources to escape the net Peake had drawn around him.
Adam’s smile vanished as he grasped her shoulders.
‘What has upset you?’ he demanded, his brow furrowed. ‘Have you fallen in love with another while I’ve been away?’
Beth shook her head slowly, unable to answer. Adam’s gaze was incisive, and she feared that he could read her thoughts.
‘Are you worried about Nick?’ he asked. ‘I met him on the coach last night, and offered him a job because he seemed at a loose end. I know what store you set by him. But he said he had irons in the fire. Is he giving you cause for disquiet?’
‘It is not Nick,’ she said.
‘Your father, then? He was missing your mother sorely when I went away. Has he not improved since? Three years is time enough in which to recover from what ails him.’
‘Father is at his lowest ebb. I am dreadfully worried about him.’
‘Then I shall talk with him and find out how I can help. Don’t fret, Beth. I am back now, and we shall go ahead with our plans. Nothing can be permitted to delay them. I have dreamed through the dreary months of my absence, and vowed that when I returned nothing would stand between us.’
Beth allowed him to escort her into the big house, and gazed around with interest for she had not set foot inside it during his absence. Jeremy Traherne was standing in the doorway of a room to their right.
‘I was wondering when you would come running, Beth,’ he observed with a laugh. ‘I’ve heard how you’ve been haunting Polgarron for news of the Seagull. Well, Adam is home at last, girl, and the waiting is over. You can launch your plans now. I can tell that you’re hearing naught but wedding bells now. But how does your father stand on that? When I saw him in Polgarron a week ago he hinted that all was not well with your attitude to marriage with Adam.’
Beth froze at the words, and shook her head quickly as she met Adam’s questioning gaze.
‘I have no knowledge of what was in my father’s mind when he spoke to you, Captain,’ she said hastily. ‘And I have come now to set wedding matters afoot.’
She closed her mind to her father’s problems and continued.
‘I told Adam before he sailed that I would marry him on his return, and I have not changed my mind. Nothing has changed, and I hope that Adam is not of a fickle nature, for everyone is expecting us to get wed and I have no wish to cause disappointment.’
‘Well said.’
Adam embraced her, and Beth closed her mind to the inner voice that repeated her father’s words.
‘Come and sit with me and we shall talk over our plans. You can tell me what you have been doing while I was away. In truth, my time dragged so much I began to think that the day of my return would never arrive. We hit such bad weather and more than once I sensed that we had reached the limit of our endurance. But Seagull is a stout ship with a heart of oak, and she shook off everything that came her way.’
‘Before you two settle down I would like to ask Beth some questions.’
Jeremy’s voice was harsh, and she glanced at him to see that his usually smiling face was set in grim lines. Suspicion shone in his narrowed eyes.
‘I’ve heard rumours about Jonah Peake’s activities of late, and your father’s name was mentioned more than once. To my knowledge, Henry Farrell is not the man to mix with the likes of Peake, so it is fairly obvious that Peake has some kind of hold over your father, Beth. Tell me, is Henry in trouble?’
‘Not that I know of,’ she replied stoutly. ‘His great problem is recovering from the death of my mother, which has occupied him these past three years, and I fear that he is making heavy weather of his efforts. He cannot disentangle himself from the chains grief has thrown around him, and does not seem to have the strength to face up to reality, or even the will to try.’
‘Jonah Peake is a villain,’ Jeremy rasped. ‘There’s more to him than meets the eye. I would not turn my back on him in any circumstance. In Polgarron, there is much talk of him these days, and there’s never smoke without fire. Peake has got a finger in a great many pies, and I’ve been alert to his doings these past months.’
‘And I need a clear mind for what I have to do,’ Adam responded, smiling at Beth. ‘Jonah Peake can do what he likes, so long as he doesn’t step on my toes. Are you still eager to marry me, Beth? Has anything changed between us?’
‘Nothing has changed, and that is the truth.’
Beth threw her arms around his neck and clung to him.
‘This is like a dream come true, Adam, and I want nothing to spoil the pleasure I’m feeling.’
‘I have to go into Polgarron to attend to some matters, and you shall come with me.’
Adam bent his head and kissed the tip of her nose.
‘I have no wish to be apart from you today, or any day, for that matter. We shall mix Traherne business with pleasure, and see to our business where we can. We have much to talk about, and no time to waste.’
‘In truth,’ Beth agreed. ‘I have a great curiosity about your travels which has nagged me since you sailed away.’
‘You will have your fill of my adventures, sweet Beth,’ he promised.
‘I’ll ride over to Sedge Manor and have a chat with Henry Farrell,’ Jeremy mused. ‘I’ve been meaning to approach him, but I’ve held off until your return, Adam.’
‘What is happening?’ Beth demanded, filled with fresh doubt. ‘Is something wrong?’
‘We feel there is, but have no way of knowing until we talk to the men hereabouts.’
Jeremy’s voice was low and insistent.
‘I have heard rumours, but that is all. At first I ignored the talk, but it seems to be building up to a climax and can no longer be ignored.’
‘I shall feel easier when Seagull is able to sail into Polgarron,’ Adam said. ‘Do what you have to, father.’
‘You can rely upon me,’ the older man replied.
Beth was perturbed by their words. The Trahernes were noted for their courage in facing adversity. She wondered if Jeremy had discovered something of Jonah Peake’s nefarious activities, and, if he had, what could he do to end the evil that had been spun around the good, solid people of Polgarron, herself and her father included?
Adam, seeing her doubt, took her hand in his and looked into her eyes.
‘It is nothing for you to worry your pretty head about, sweet maid,’ he said. ‘Apart from the storms that beset us on our voyage home, I had trouble aboard ship. Two men were hanged for mutiny, and I had word that Jonah Peake’s hand was behind it.’
Beth clung to Adam’s strong arm as they departed and entered the coach that had drawn up at the bottom of the terrace steps. The coachman cracked his whip and four black horses threw their combined weight into their collars. Beth sank back into the leather upholstery and feast
ed her eyes upon the man she loved, hardly able to believe that at long last he was by her side. Adam was watching her, his eyes filled with brightness as he took her hand in his.
‘You must tell me what ails thee, Beth,’ he said firmly. ‘If your father has been caught up in Peake’s foils then I should know about it. Father says there has been talk, and I cannot help your father if you remain silent. I know by your manner that something is wrong, so take me into your confidence.’
‘I should have to talk to my father before I could say anything.’
‘Then you do have some knowledge of what Jonah Peake is about. This is not just rumour going the rounds.’
Adam was watching her, his eyes filled with brightness as he took her hand in his.
‘Father spoke to me this very afternoon,’ she admitted with some reluctance. ‘He is in the very throes of trouble.’
‘In Peake’s clutches, you mean?’
Adam’s eyes were narrowed, his face set in grim lines.
‘This is the very devil of a situation. I’m home after endless months at sea, and instead of being able to get on with my personal business I must waste time on distractions. But if we are to be happy then we must spare the time to discover what is wrong hereabouts and set those matters to rights.’
Beth could only nod her head, filled with a desire to explain what she knew of her father’s downfall, but she could guess at Adam’s reaction if she told him. He would probably confront Jonah Peake and deal out summary justice. She sighed. That was not the way the problem should be handled, and she firmed her lips, determined not to speak for fear of starting a series of events which would end in complete disaster for all concerned.
‘Jeremy will get his teeth into the situation and shake it loose,’ Adam said. ‘We can leave everything to him and engage ourselves in what concerns us, Beth. I have been away far too long to let a parasite like Jonah Peake steal my time now I have returned. Come into my arms, sweet girl, and tell me that you love me.’
She smiled and surrendered herself willingly. Long had she awaited this moment, and nothing should be permitted to rob them of the sweet rewards of his return. She thrust herself into his ready arms and yielded to the love that coursed through her body. Her nagging doubts about the fate of Seagull were gone, but instead of pure happiness, she was racked with nagging doubt and misgiving.
‘In truth, if I did not know what is distracting you I would believe that you no longer love me, Beth,’ Adam said as the coach rattled into Polgarron. ‘Only half your attention is with me, and I am jealous of the reason for your lack of eagerness. Has Peake troubled you while I’ve been away?’
She shook her head emphatically, and he gazed into her eyes for interminable moments, as if he would read her teeming thoughts.
‘Has anyone else stepped on your toes?’ he persisted.
‘No.’
She blanked out the incidents of the afternoon, when first Martin Cresse and then Peake himself had accosted her.
‘I am sorry, Adam, for my preoccupation, but I am sorely worried about my father. His drinking has worsened these past few months. He has no time or inclination for business, and I fear that everything he has gained is about to come crashing down around his ears.’
‘I gathered something of the truth from Nick when I saw him on the coach last night. He explained that all was not well with your father’s business. He’d been to London in an attempt to raise money, and failed. Leave me to look into it, dear Beth. If I can help your father at all then it shall be done. I cannot have you looking as if your last hour had come. This should be the happiest day of your life. Your ship has come home, but you’re looking as if it went down with all hands. Come now, cheer up. I’ve brought you a chest full of treasures, and, as soon as Seagull gets in from Falmouth, you will see the evidence of the extent of my love for you.’
Beth smiled, reassured by his confident words, but her heart was heavy, and, when they alighted from the coach in the little market square, the first person she saw was Jonah Peake, holding the reins of his restless stallion and talking very seriously with a sullen Martin Cresse. She glanced quickly at Adam’s harshly-set face and saw that he had spotted the two men and was eyeing them intently.
‘Is there going to be trouble, Adam?’ Beth demanded, and he laughed and relaxed, shaking his head.
‘None,’ he replied gently, then added harshly, ‘unless it is thrust upon us. There will have to be an accounting for the attempted mutiny on Seagull, and if Peake did arrange it then he will be held to answer for his actions. But I doubt if he can be called to justice. With men like Martin Cresse serving him, he can hold himself clear of responsibility. But we will test his mettle, and if he does not suspect that we doubt him then we might just learn what we need to know.’
‘That means there will be trouble,’ Beth said worriedly.
‘If it does, you will not be affected, Beth. I shall see to it that your family does not suffer. Now put that business out of your mind. You have much to think about our future together. We have waited too long as it is, and I am impatient to set our plans in motion. Put your mind at rest and come along and let me get my business over with. Then we shall be free to follow our own plans. I have much to tell you about my voyage.’
4
Beth was surprised by the change in the weather since her earlier visit to Polgarron. Now the wind was blowing hard from the south-east and heavy grey clouds were piling in across the Channel, warning of the first of the autumn storms that could wreak havoc upon the Cornish coast.
The town looked bleak and unwelcoming as rain splashed across the sloping terraces of huddled roofs and half-concealed the square tower of the church. Adam led Beth into the doorway of a tavern for shelter and they watched the rain driving furiously upon the cobblestones. Beth looked at the forest of masts marking the sanctuary of the port and shivered as she imagined what it must have been like for Adam, ploughing across the watery wastes of the big ocean. But now he was here, safe from the dangers of the sea. She sighed and leaned against him.
Adam looked down into her face, smiling, and his left arm slid around her shoulders. She gasped at the intensity of her feelings, aware that she was small and defenceless in this brutal world while Adam stood square and solid. And yet she was compelled by blood and family to obey her father’s wishes, even to marrying Jonah Peake, if that was the only way to save the Farrell family from scandal and disaster. But she knew she would not have the strength of will, or the inclination, to withdraw from Adam. She shivered and tried to quell her thoughts. Adam drew her closer.
‘Are you cold, Beth?’ he enquired. ‘I could leave you here while I attend to my business, and come back for you later when I’m free.’
‘I’m all right.’
She leaned into his embrace as Martin Cresse walked by, and trembled when Cresse bestowed a spiteful sideways glance at her in passing.
‘I expect to meet someone here from Falmouth for a report on Seagull’s condition,’ Adam said. ‘I did not stay a moment longer in Falmouth than I was forced. Normally I would have attended the ship’s business before embarking on personal matters, but I am only human, and I needed to get to you. I have missed you, sweet Beth.’
‘These are troubled times, Adam,’ she said in a low tone, searching for the words with which to explain what she felt and what might be.
But she could not bring herself to say what was uppermost in her mind, for she would wipe out his happiness at a stroke, and probably set him off on a course that would spell disaster for all of them.
‘Trouble, if faced, can be warded off.’
He frowned, gazing speculatively after the big figure of Martin Cresse as the man hurried to get under cover from the rain.
‘I have never liked Cresse,’ he mused. ‘And he gave you some odd looks when we passed him and Peake back there. Is Cresse still working those poor acres he calls a farm?’
‘The place stands untended year in and year out. There is talk these d
ays that Cresse works for Peake.’
‘Doing what? Peake has an interest in many things, and, I suspect, not all of them honest,’ Adam said softly, but his tone was harsh. ‘There is only one business in these parts that embraces men of all kinds, and pays a great deal more than honest toil. You know what that is, Beth?’
‘Smuggling!’ she whispered.
‘Never say that word aloud outside your own home,’ he cautioned.
His eyes were narrowed and glinting.
‘You are aware what happens if folk get too inquisitive or talk too much about other folk’s business. Murder has been committed many times in defence of smuggling. It is a way of life along the coast, and seafaring men are only human in these poverty-stricken times.’
‘I was only telling you what Cresse is doing these days,’ she whispered.
‘I suspect he’s always been inclined to lawlessness.’
‘And now he’s always talking with Jonah Peake. But surely Peake isn’t involved in smuggling! He’s the town mayor, and a magistrate. Shouldn’t he be above that sort of thing and set a fine example for others to follow?’
‘I’ll wager Peake, as a magistrate, has never convicted a known smuggler!’ Adam laughed softly. ‘He would fear for his own skin if he did, and, in any case, the customs’ men would never find anyone to give evidence against a contraband runner.’
‘Are the Trahernes involved in smuggling?’
Beth looked searchingly into his face. Adam regarded her for a moment, then smiled and shook his head.
‘We were always too busy building up an honest business, Beth, and that’s the truth.’
‘I believe you. But what can you do if Peake is a smuggler, and did cause the mutiny on your ship? Could you fight him and win?’
‘I’ll get to the bottom of that business, and if Peake is involved then he’ll pay for it. But how to get at him is another matter. I’ll wager there isn’t a fisherman along this coast that hasn’t run a cargo at sometime to eke out his lawful income, or a farmer, smarting from the Government’s harsh tax on the export of wool, who hasn’t hauled his bales to the Continent in order to feed and clothe his children. The whole countryside is with the smugglers, from the richest to the poorest, all bound together by their code of silence. But if Peake is responsible for my trouble I’ll find someone willing to inform against him.’
The Heart is Torn Page 3