Beth nodded quickly, chilled by Adam’s words as much as by the driving rain that half-froze the air. They had taken shelter in a doorway, but the heavy shower ceased as abruptly as it had started, and Adam drew Beth out of their shelter, holding her close to his side. She was filled with a sense of foreboding as they picked their way through the puddles, aware of the hostility that was never far from the surface of everyday life in Polgarron.
‘Thomas,’ Adam called, and a tall man, dressed as a seaman, paused in the act of entering an alehouse and glanced over his shoulder at them.
He nodded when he saw Adam, and came towards them briskly, his face set in grim lines.
‘Captain, I’ve got bad news,’ he greeted. ‘A band of men boarded Seagull last night and tried to take her over. We were hard put to beat them, but saw them off in the end, although they killed Tredgett and William.’
Adam’s expression hardened at the news, and Beth experienced a cold thrill as she imagined what had occurred. She watched Adam’s face, fascinated by the knowledge that he held the power of life and death over his crew and the men opposing them.
‘So we were right to take precautions,’ he observed.
‘Aye, Captain. There are some dogs on the shore who plan to steal your profits. But we have their measure and they won’t catch us napping. I’m returning to Falmouth within the hour. Have you fresh orders for the crew?’
Adam looked down into Beth’s taut face, shaking his head and sighing.
‘It looks as if the fates are against us at the moment, Beth,’ he said. ‘You’d better return to the coach and go back to Sedge Manor. I have to sort out this business in Falmouth, but I’ll come straight back to you the minute I’m able. I’m sorry for this, but there is nothing I can do.’
‘Your ship comes first,’ Beth said firmly. ‘I’ve waited three years for you, Adam, and a few days longer won’t be a great hardship now that I know you’re safe. But please, take care.’
He kissed her lightly on the cheek. ‘Shall I walk you back to the coach?’
‘No. You do what you have to. I’ll be waiting at Sedge Manor for you.’
‘Tell the coachman to return for me after he’s dropped you off, Beth.’
Adam grasped the seaman’s arm and strode off along the street with him, their heads close together, and Beth watched until they entered an alehouse, her disappointment complete and a niggling fear rising in her breast.
She began walking back along the street to where they had left the coach, and had barely covered twenty yards of the muddy thoroughfare when Martin Cresse appeared at her side like a black shadow. She started nervously at the sight of him, and he grinned.
‘You should be nervous, mistress,’ he said heavily. ‘Jonah is not pleased with the way you are reacting. If you think the Trahernes can save you you’d better start thinking again. It’s time you heeded the warnings I’ve been giving you. If you want to save your father from what’s facing him then you should start doing as you’re told. There’s much going on in the background that you know nothing about, and although you don’t believe me, I’m only trying to save you trouble. I’m about the only friend you have, believe it or not, and soon you’ll be needing all the help you can get. Don’t make the mistake of relying on the Trahernes. They can’t help you.’
Before Beth could reply, Cresse lengthened his stride and departed, and she gazed after his powerful figure, filled with a coldness that had nothing to do with the weather. Her steps faltered as she considered, and she was relieved when she saw the Traherne coach and found the coachman sitting inside. Her relief swelled when she was conveyed out of town, but her happiness at seeing Adam again had vanished completely.
Rain was slanting down again, and Beth gazed worriedly out over the Channel as the coach jolted along the cliff road to Sedge Manor. The sea was rising, the roar of the waves and the wind growing louder.
The branches of the trees surrounding Sedge Manor were whipping and waving furiously in the grip of the tenacious wind howling across the Channel. As she alighted from the coach, Beth instructed the coachman to return to Polgarron and wait for Adam. She felt reluctant to face her father, but entered the house quickly to get out of the storm.
Her brother, Nick, was in the library, seated by a roaring fire, and he looked up at her entrance and watched her silently as she advanced towards him. She met his gaze, and saw nothing but trouble in his expression.
‘Where’s Father?’ she asked.
‘He’s gone for a ride. The stallion needs exercise. At least, that was Father’s excuse. Jeremy Traherne was on the point of leaving when I came home, and there was some bitterness in their conversation. I couldn’t catch the drift of what they were discussing because they both shut up the instant they saw me, but Father was angry. I managed a few words with him before he set out, and he had a look of desperation about him.’
‘In which direction did he ride?’ Beth asked, instantly alarmed. ‘You shouldn’t have let him ride off alone, Nick. He’s in a poor state of mind.’
‘I couldn’t stop him! And I certainly wasn’t going to ride with him in that weather. Only a maniac would willingly go out in such a storm.’
‘Where did he go? Do you know?’
‘He looked to be riding towards Needle Point, and you should be worried because it’s all your fault. You hurt him badly by refusing to marry Peake. You’re the only one who can help the family now. You’ve got to see sense.’
‘I don’t want to talk about it now,’ she responded. ‘Can I borrow your horse? I left my mare at Traherne Court when I went with Adam in the coach to Polgarron.’
‘Jeremy brought your mare back. It’s in the stable. I’ll need my horse. I’m going out again shortly. I saw Jonah Peake in town earlier. He offered me a job and I’ve decided to take it. I need to get on his right side if we’re going to lose the estate to him.’
‘You would work for Peake?’ Beth was shocked. ‘How could you, Nick? Adam offered you a job last night and you turned him down.’
‘Don’t go on about it, Beth,’ he said wearily. ‘I’ve got to look out for myself, for you’ll surely do the same. We’ve got to be sensible about this. Father has ruined us all, and we have to save what we can. The Farrell family is facing a crash, and if we don’t protect our own interests then we’ll go down with Father.’
‘You’re deserting the ship like a rat!’ she accused. ‘Did you tell Father about your plans?’
‘I didn’t get the chance to,’ he responded.
‘I’ll talk to you again when I’ve found Father.’
Beth turned and departed hurriedly. She went to the stable, fetched her mare, and rode out on the cliff path towards Needle Point, a local landmark on the eastern edge of Polgarron Bay. The mare was buffeted by the gale, and staggered when the more powerful gusts struck her. Visibility was poor. But Beth ignored the discomfort and went on, afraid for her father.
Presently a riderless horse came galloping towards her from along the cliff, and she recognised her father’s black stallion as it passed her. Stabbed with fear, she stood up in the stirrups, peering ahead for sight of her father. She rode on, tense, worried, and eventually sighted a figure sprawling inertly on the short grass of the cliff top. She reined in beside it and dismounted quickly, aware that it was her father, and Henry Farrell was unconscious.
Beth trailed her reins and dropped to her knees beside her father, but was unable to rouse him. He seemed to be deeply unconscious. She sat back on her heels and looked around, the wind howling incessantly in her ears. Then she saw a small figure coming towards her, riding a young horse, and recognised the stable boy.
‘Master Nick sent me to keep you company, mistress,’ the boy said, sliding out of the saddle and crouching at Beth’s side. ‘Is the master hurt?’
‘You’d better ride back to the stable and tell Tom to bring a cart,’ Beth instructed him. ‘Can you do that?’
‘Yes, I’ll be as quick as I can.’
H
e swarmed into the saddle of his horse and turned it, urging the animal back the way it had come. Beth gazed after him until he disappeared into the shadows. The wind tugged at her, almost overbalancing her with its power. She checked her father again. There didn’t seem to be any bones broken, and no signs of injury anywhere on his head, yet he was still unconscious.
It seemed an eternity before she heard wheels grating, and then a cart appeared. Tom Tredgett, the groom, jumped down from the cart. He bent over his master and then lifted him carefully and laid him gently in the back of the cart, having thoughtfully strewn the floor of the vehicle with straw before setting out.
‘We’d best make good time, Mistress Beth,’ he said. ‘I sent the boy to fetch Doctor Lampard. He should be waiting for us.’
‘That was good thinking, Tom. Thank you. I’ll ride in the cart.’
She tied her horse behind the cart and sprang into the vehicle to crouch beside her father, pulling the straw around him to keep off the worst of the wind. She chafed his hands, for he seemed frozen, but her efforts were of no avail, and she sat in silent fear as the cart lurched steadily homewards.
Henry Farrell had still not regained his senses by the time they reached Sedge Manor. Nick came to the front door when he heard the cart’s arrival, and helped the stableman carry his father into the library.
‘Isn’t the doctor here yet?’ Beth demanded worriedly. ‘I’m frightened, Nick. Father should have come to his senses by now.’
‘I’m going to Polgarron anyway,’ Nick replied. ‘I’ll tell the doctor to make haste.’
He departed and Beth tried to arouse her father but he lay unmoving and very cold. His breathing was slow and slight, and her alarm grew as time passed. The doctor arrived finally, and shook his head after making an examination.
‘There’s a big lump on the right side of his head,’ he announced. ‘He must have struck himself in falling, probably hit a rock. I’m afraid there’s nothing we can do but wait. He should regain his senses normally, and, if he does, don’t let him go back to sleep again this side of midnight. If he’s still unconscious come morning then send for me again.’
Beth saw the doctor out, and when she returned to the library her father was stirring, blinking rapidly, a hand to his head.
‘Father! How are you feeling? Can you remember what happened?’
Henry Farrell frowned as he looked around, then sighed and closed his eyes. Beth shook him by the shoulder.
‘The doctor said you mustn’t go back to sleep, Father,’ she said desperately. ‘Stay awake, please!’
But Henry’s eyes remained closed, and he began to snore gently. Beth was filled with consternation. Her father’s face was ashen, and she feared for his life. But she sensed that worse was to come, for, in the space of a few short hours, her life had turned into a nightmare.
5
Beth spent a long and lonely vigil at her father’s bedside, caught helplessly between hope and despair. But as the hours passed slowly, her hopes dwindled and darker emotions rooted themselves in her mind.
Cold, tired, and emotionally exhausted, she sat on a hard chair beside her father’s bed until her limbs became cramped and she was compelled to rise and pace the dimly-lit room. Her gaze returned time and again to her father’s strangely-composed face.
The grandfather clock in the hall was chiming midnight when she heard an insistent knocking at the front door. Arising, she hurried down the staircase, hoping that Nick had returned. But she paused in the act of unbolting the door and demanded the identity of the caller.
A man replied but Beth could not make out what he said although she recognised the voice as Adam’s. She withdrew the heavy bolts and turned the big key in the lock. Adam came floundering in, buffeted by the raging gale. They had to fight together to close the door, and Beth leaned against it, exhausted, gazing at Adam as he divested himself of his sodden cloak.
Rain streamed down his weathered face. His tricorne was soaked and battered. He smiled though, his expression tender as he regarded her.
‘I don’t much like being ashore in such a storm. It’s much safer afloat. I saw Nick in Polgarron. He told me about your father’s mishap. How is he?’
‘Sleeping, and he shouldn’t be, so the doctor said. I’m so worried.’
He came to her, taking her hands in his.
‘Don’t worry, sweet maid,’ he said huskily. ‘I’m not going back to sea just yet. I won’t leave until we’ve married and this trouble has been cleared up. Jonah Peake is behind your trouble, and I’ll see that he doesn’t get away with it. I’ve let it be known in town that I’m going back to Falmouth to be with my ship, but I’m planning to lie low in Polgarron to get evidence of Peake’s wrong-doing. I don’t want you to worry if you don’t see or hear from me for a spell, and I shall contact you when I can. I haven’t even told my father what I’m about. He wants me to be with Seagull. But my first duty is to you, Beth, and that’s why I needed to talk to your father. But we’d better not disturb him if he is resting. Of course, what I’d like to do is spend time with you now, but I must be going. There may be some evil work in progress under the cover of this night and I need to be where it is taking place.’
Beth was desolated by his words. She threw herself into his arms and he held her close. But she sensed a remoteness in him, a mental distance that hinted at his desire to be about his business.
‘Can you not stay with me until morning?’ she pleaded. ‘I feel so alone. Nick will not be home, and there is only Rose in the house. If my father’s condition worsens there will be no-one to go for the doctor.’
‘I’m sorry, but I must away. I would give anything to linger, but I need to be in town, and I have to find cover for tomorrow. Don’t tell a soul about my plans, Beth. This is a dangerous game to be playing.’
‘I won’t say a word to anyone,’ she replied, stifling a sigh. ‘Be careful, Adam. I would die if anything happened to you.’
‘Don’t worry about me.’
He crushed her to him, his powerful arms entwined around her slender body. She raised her face and he kissed her ardently.
‘My sweet Beth,’ he whispered. ‘Don’t look so forlorn. Fates seem to be against us at this time, but the skies will clear, and before long we shall be able to go ahead with our plans. But this trouble has been looming for a long time, and it is better to have it out in the open while I am around.’
Beth clung to him, wanting him to stay. He kissed her tenderly and she clenched her teeth against the pleas that tried to escape her as he turned to the door. A particularly heavy gust of wind blasted against the window panes, and somewhere outside a crash echoed as a tree was blown down.
‘Adam, it isn’t safe for you to go out there,’ she said fiercely.
‘We get worse weather than this at sea,’ he retorted. ‘Keep your chin up, Beth. Why don’t you go to bed and sleep the rest of the night away? You’ll be quite safe in here.’
‘I doubt if I will close my eyes for a single moment,’ she replied. ‘But go and do what you must. I shall worry about you until we meet again.’
He kissed her once more, and then opened the door. Rain lashed in and they had to handle the door together to get it closed, Beth throwing her weight against it and Adam dragging at it from the outside. Beth locked and bolted it. She peered from a window to catch a last glimpse of Adam, but saw nothing and returned to her father’s room.
Beth’s vigil continued through the long night, and when dawn finally came she was standing at the window of her father’s room, gazing out across the cliffs at the stormy sea.
A knock at the door aroused Beth from her reverie. She sighed heavily, crossed the room to look at her father, who was still asleep, or unconscious, and then tip-toed to answer the door. She was surprised to see the doctor standing behind Rose, the housemaid.
‘How is he this morning?’ Lampard demanded, bustling into the room.
Beth explained, and stood while the doctor examined Henry Farrell.
‘So he awoke just that once, eh?’ Lampard asked.
Beth nodded. She was feeling completely drained of emotion, and tiredness lay heavily upon her, making her feel listless and dull. She gazed at the doctor, who was looking at her keenly.
‘I take it that you have been awake all night,’ he said.
Beth nodded, gaunt by her lack of sleep.
‘Then I suggest you take yourself off to bed and get your rest. Your father will be quite all right lying here. If he wakes he’ll soon let you know. Rose can look in on him at regular intervals. Eat a good breakfast, Beth, and then go to bed. You’ll need to be well rested when Henry recovers.’
‘I’ll do that,’ Beth agreed. ‘But are you sure there’s nothing you can do for Father?’
‘Nothing at all. I must be on my way, my dear. I’ll call in again tomorrow morning. Of course, you must let me know immediately if your father’s condition changes in any way.’
Beth followed Lampard downstairs and saw him out. The gale seemed to have abated somewhat, but was still raging violently, buffeting the good doctor as he rode away. Returning to the sanctuary of the house, she was keenly aware of the solitude surrounding her.
After eating a meagre breakfast, she instructed Rose in the matter of attending her father, then went wearily to her bed. Certain that she would be unable to sleep, she did so the instant her head touched the pillow, although it seemed but a moment had passed before Rose was shaking her awake.
‘Miss Beth, I’m sorry to wake you, but Captain Traherne is here to see you. He’s waiting in the library.’
‘How is my father?’
The Heart is Torn Page 4