by Anne Brear
Elizabeth nodded and dabbed her eyes with a white handkerchief.
This new insight to Ethan’s mother made Isabelle want to close the gap between them. ‘It would gladden Ethan’s heart if you were to join us. It worries him very much knowing you will be here on your own.’ She smiled, hoping to win her over. ‘If you came with us, you would see your grandchild when it’s born.’
‘But it won’t be my grandchild will it?’ Elizabeth withdrew her hand and glanced at the fire. ‘The child will be a Farrell.’
‘Only in name. It’s a Harrington by blood.’ She stifled her spark of irritation. ‘The child is Ethan’s. He will be a father. Do you not want to share that with him?’
‘You don’t understand.’
‘What is there to understand? Your son, your daughter and your grandchild will be in Australia while you’ll be wandering around this great house by yourself.’
‘I’ve been the mistress of this house for thirty-four years!’ Elizabeth rose and paced the floor. ‘This house is my home, my children’s home. It was meant to be my grandchildren’s home.’ She stopped and stared at Isabelle. ‘Is it wrong for me to think this way? Is it wrong for me to want the same things any other mother wants?’
Isabelle shook her head saddened by the other woman’s pain. ‘You are not wrong to want that. Yet, I don’t see your dilemma.’ She stood and stepped towards Elizabeth. ‘You can have your family around you in Australia. However, you prefer to place this house above them.’
A blush swept up Elizabeth’s cheeks. ‘That’s a lie!’
‘Is it?’
‘You know nothing.’
‘I know I wouldn’t put a house before my family.’
‘No, you put everything else before your family! Your reputation, your vows to your husband-’
‘My marriage was a sham from the very beginning!’ Isabelle blazed. ‘Farrell didn’t want a wife. He wanted a slave!’
‘Then you shouldn’t have married him.’
‘Have you ever been hungry, Mrs Harrington, really hungry? Have you ever been homeless, friendless and so frightened that you’d do anything to make your life better?’
Elizabeth’s eyes softened and she sagged. ‘No.’
‘No. You haven’t. I wanted what was best for my brother and me. I made a mistake. But that mistake gave me Ethan and I would do it all again to have him.’
Sitting back on the sofa, Elizabeth picked up her teacup and saucer but didn’t drink. ‘I will not deny you have made Ethan happy. He was never happy with Clarice. But are you prepared to live the rest of your life in sin?’
Sighing, Isabelle walked to the fireplace and stared at the shifting logs. ‘It’s not the most ideal situation I agree. Actually, I seriously thought of giving Ethan up and going away. But I’m not strong enough. It was madness to even think I could do it.’
‘It would kill him if you left him for good.’
‘It won’t happen. I’m too selfish. I want him with me.’
‘Being a mistress will not be easy for you.’
‘True, I know. Ethan will keep returning to England to gain his divorce, as will I. But with or without it, we will be living on a station miles away from the nearest town. We will be happy on our own.’
‘And what about your children?’
Isabelle rubbed the slight swelling of her stomach. ‘We will try our best to make sure this child I carry is the first and last until we are both free.’
Elizabeth’s gaze was drawn to her action. ‘That might never be.’
She shrugged. ‘Then we’ll treasure this one all the more.’
They both turned at the sound of horses on the drive.
‘They’ve returned.’ A look of panic flittered across Elizabeth’s face. ‘Saying good bye to you will crucify Ethan.’
Isabelle smiled softly and looked through the doorway as Ethan, with Hamish behind, entered. ‘It won’t be for long and he has you to comfort him until he can join me.’
After half an hour, in which time Hamish changed his clothes and they all drank tea and ate cakes, it was time for the travelling party to leave. Hamish gave instructions for his trunks to be stowed on the carriage, while Ethan spoke with Brown about the journey to the Halifax train station.
Nervous, Isabelle hovered behind with Hughie and Bertie.
Elizabeth touched her arm. ‘Will you write to me?’
The request struck Isabelle dumb. ‘Write to you?’
‘Yes. I would like to know about my grandchild. I know Ethan will write once he’s over there but a man can never say the same things, the important things, like a woman can.’
Isabelle leant over and kissed Elizabeth’s soft cheek. ‘I will write.’
Relief shone in Elizabeth’s eyes. ‘Good. Take care.’
‘Remember, you will always be welcome in my home.’
Nodding, Elizabeth stepped back as Ethan came to Isabelle’s side. ‘Ready, my love?’
She nodded. ‘I guess so.’
‘Well isn’t this a merry sight!’
They all turned as one and stared.
Farrell stood on the lawn beside the drive. He grinned as though it was a huge joke and sauntered towards them.
Isabelle expected her heart to stop beating any second. She couldn’t believe she was looking at him, not now just when she was to be gone from here in mere minutes.
‘So, Wife.’ Farrell smirked and licked his lips. ‘Yer’ve done well for yerself I see.’
Ethan stepped in front of her. ‘Take another step, Farrell, and it’ll be your last.’
Holding his hands up as if in surrender, Farrell stayed where he was. ‘No need to be all protective, Harrington. I’m not here to cause trouble.’
‘Then why are you here?’
Farrell shrugged. ‘Simple really. I want me wife.’
Isabelle moaned and clutched at Ethan’s sleeve. She’d been a fool to think it was all at an end. It would never end. Farrell would never let it.
Hamish strolled over to Farrell. ‘I suggest, my man, that you leave. Your presence isn’t wanted. There is nothing here for you.’
‘Really?’ Farrell’s eyes narrowed and he stabbed his finger into Hamish’s chest. ‘And I’m not yer man.’
Leaning closer, Hamish’s voice dropped. ‘There are twenty men all within calling distance. Still willing to try your luck?’
Farrell chuckled. ‘Bring on all yer men, if that’ll make yer happy, but there’s no court in the land that will disagree with me when I take my wife home.’
‘Home?’ Ethan scoffed, his eyes had nearly darkened to black. ‘You don’t have a home. It’s burnt to the ground. Meadow Farm is no longer yours. I’m taking it back and I have the law on my side!’
‘Have the stinking farm. It ain’t no use to me in America now is it?’ He grinned, showing missing teeth. ‘I just want what’s mine.’ His gaze centred on Isabelle.
She lifted her chin, confident he could do her no harm with Ethan and Hamish around her. ‘I will never willingly go with you.’
Farrell’s eyes narrowed to slits. ‘If that’s how you want to play it.’ He strode up to her, but before he had the chance to grab her, Ethan and Hamish reacted. They both lunged for him, yet, Farrell, anticipating them side-stepped and ducked. His years of running from the law gave him an advantage of knowing how to dodge and weave.
He made it look so easy that Isabelle felt a distinct urge to laugh. Only, it wasn’t funny when his large hand grabbed her wrist and flung her away from the group. She stumbled on her long skirts and fell to her knees.
‘Leave her alone!’ Hughie yelled, hitting Farrell on the back.
Elizabeth screamed. Men rushed from around the side of the house.
‘Isabelle!’ Ethan rushed to her side, but with a roar of madness Farrell shook off Hughie and Hamish and charged for Ethan, knocking him to the ground.
They rolled together on the grass. Ethan aimed a few good punches while astride Farrell’s chest before they
rolled again and Farrell was on top.
‘Stand up, Belle,’ Hughie said, assisting her to her feet as they both watched the two men try to get the better of the other.
Dazed, she let him hold her around the waist. The strength had left her. The scene played out in front of her was like something from a stage comedy. This couldn’t be happening. It was all a joke; a nightmare and she’d wake up in a minute. Stop it! Stop it! She’d had enough. No more. ‘Stop!’ she screamed. ‘Stop it I say!’
Startled at her outburst, Ethan paused and glanced up at her. In an instant, Farrell seized his moment and with one fluid movement he reached down to his boots and pulled out a knife. He plunged it into Ethan’s chest and jerked it up under his ribs as clean as a butcher boning a carcass
An anguished cry escaped Ethan as his eyes widened in surprise, he frowned and then a look of utter pain creased his face. Then he was falling, toppling backwards, away from Farrell and his bloodied hand.
Isabelle’s world spun, whirled off its axis. Horror of a magnitude she had never imagined had her swaying, gasping. She broke free from Hughie. Stumbling, her heart thumped as though it would burst from her body. She crumpled to her knees bedside Ethan, who lay holding his stomach and frowning as if in puzzlement as to what had happened to him. He groaned and she lifted his head and placed it gently on her lap.
Behind them she was aware of running, shouting, the sound of a gun going off and screaming, but it drifted into a muffle as she concentrated on Ethan’s toffee eyes. ‘I’m here, my love.’ She kissed him softly on the lips. ‘You’ll be fine, I promise.’ She kissed his forehead and brushed his hair back. ‘We’ll get help.’
His gaze wandered beyond her to the sky. ‘My…Isabelle…’
‘Yes, my love.’ She kissed him again. ‘Lie still, darling.’
‘I cannot…see you…’ Panic heightened his voice.
Isabelle bit her lip to stop from crying. ‘I’m holding you sweetheart. You’re in my arms.’
‘Good.’ His eyelids fluttered and closed.
‘Ethan!’ She shook him. ‘Look at me.’
He groaned and a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
She clutched him to her. ‘Stay with me.’ Her tears dropped onto his hair. ‘Don’t leave me,’ she whispered.
‘Belle?’ Hughie’s voice came from a long way away.
She stared up, trying to focus. So many people circled her and Ethan. Faces blurred and she dismissed them all. Bent over Ethan she cupped his cheek in her hand and silently begged for him not to leave her.
His eyes opened and he looked right at her. ‘You and me. We stole…a piece…of…heaven…didn’t we?’
Isabelle nodded, her throat tight with emotion. ‘Yes, sweetheart, we did.’
Pain made him grimace and she held him closer. Kissing his forehead while stroking his hair with one hand, she whispered her words of love to him until he could no longer hear them. ‘Yes, we stole a piece of heaven…’
Epilogue
Spring blossom, all delicate and soft, floated on the tender breeze to land reverently in fragile clouds on the lush grass. Nature’s own perfume saturated the air and was made more intense by the warmth of the May day. Bees buzzed from flower to flower and apart from bird song it was one of the few sounds.
The baby, trying her best to stand from where she sat on the white woollen blanket, gurgled in contentment. From somewhere beyond the small wood, a cow bellowed once, then twice.
‘Isabelle!’ Elizabeth called from the top of the slight rise leading up from the back of the house.
Sighing at the loss of her peace, Isabelle straightened on the bench seat and awaited Elizabeth’s arrival. The soft swish of skirts brushing the long grass indicated when she was near and Isabelle turned, summoning a welcoming smile.
‘I’ve come to spend a few minutes with you before Mrs Kirkland calls.’ Elizabeth smiled and glanced at her before quickly swooping down to gather up the baby. ‘Here’s my darling angel.’ She kissed the baby’s plump cheeks and tickled her tummy.
Watching, Isabelle couldn’t help offering up a silent prayer of thanks that Elizabeth loved her granddaughter. In the aftermath of that terrible January day last year, Elizabeth could have easily shunned her, but she hadn’t. In fact she had gone to extreme limits to make sure she was a part of her and the baby’s life. She’d taken Isabelle and the boys into her home and begged them to live there with her at the Hall. She’d supported Isabelle throughout the pregnancy and birth.
Settling down on the seat beside Isabelle, Elizabeth nestled the drowsy baby against her shoulder. ‘Isn’t it a beautiful day?’
‘Yes.’
‘I never thought I would say that again.’ Elizabeth rubbed her cheek along the top of the baby’s head. ‘I thought I would never experience a good day again.’
Isabelle plucked at her black skirts. Whenever conversation alluded to Ethan or his death she felt as though a weight pressed against her chest. She glanced up when Elizabeth took her hand and held it.
They sat for some time in silence. Alone with their thoughts, their memories, their grief.
After a while, Isabelle could breath easier, the pain of losing Ethan sometimes threatened to choke the life from her, but some days were better than others. The trial was over and the newspapers had stopped hounding them for information. The first anniversary of Ethan’s death had been endured, and now summer was nearly here and she could rest. She could forget. Not Ethan of course, she could never forget him, for she saw him everyday in their daughter’s toffee eyes, but the horror of that tragic day wasn’t as sharp as it was. The constant nightmares, the uncontrollable grief had lessened once Bethan was born.
Turning, Isabelle lightly touched her daughter, Bethan Elizabeth. Her arrival softened the anguish, the hurt, the ache of Ethan’s death. She brought smiles to the house and love back into her grandmother’s heart. Isabelle adored her to such an extent that it frightened her. If anything happened to her baby, her and Ethan’s baby, she knew she would leave this world also.
Elizabeth shifted on the seat, adjusting Bethan’s sleeping form. ‘Hamish will be here soon.’
‘Yes.’
‘I shall miss him. He has always been like a son to me…’
‘Yes.’ Isabelle glanced away to the left over the lake and to the deer park on the other side.
Hamish. Poor Hamish. How he has suffered. He witnessed his best friend being murdered and then shot the murderer. His trail had run only days after the inquest into Ethan’s death and though he’d been found not guilty of murdering Farrell, the strain had taken its effect. The verdict of self-defence freed him, but his mind still held him prisoner. And today, he was finally leaving them to sail to Australia. She knew he ached to return to that strange country on the other side of the world and leave behind the disastrous events that altered his life. He’d stayed too long in England and wanted to go home. Isabelle envied him. For though she lived at the Hall, it was no home to her. Hamish knew of a contentment that eluded her.
She’d seen him often in the seventeen months since the accident, and, despite his initial aloofness, they soon created a tentative friendship. His quiet presence whenever he called soothed her agony. He’d become close to the boys, helping them through another difficult period and she was so very grateful for that.
‘I’m jealous of him seeing Rachel again.’ Elizabeth sighed. ‘I miss her so much. We all should have listened to her when Ethan and his father first mooted the idea of Clarice becoming a part of this family. Rachel was against it. She said Clarice wasn’t enough for Ethan, but we wouldn’t listen. All we cared about was the money she brought with her. Money that refurbished the house and restocked the fields with crops and animals.’
‘We can have no regrets, Elizabeth.’ Isabelle spoke without hesitation. She regretted nothing, except that Farrell managed to steal Ethan from her. ‘Fate deals with us how it wishes, we cannot fight it.’
‘I guess you
are right.’ Elizabeth patted Bethan’s back. ‘I have to be grateful for Bethan. Oh, I know I shouldn’t be. I should have nothing to do with my son’s illegitimate child, but…’ Tears formed in her eyes. ‘I love her so. If I cannot have Ethan then his daughter is a wonderful gift that I will treasure even if it does offend some of my friends.’
Isabelle raised her chin, hating the gossip about her and Bethan, hating people who judged her tiny daughter. ‘Bethan is indeed a gift. If others want to reject us, then let them. I care not.’
Elizabeth nodded and smiled through her tears. ‘We have each other, we need no one else.’
‘Yes...’
‘But of course we cannot forget the boys.’ She chuckled. ‘The house hasn’t been so full in years.’
‘They adore being here. Hughie shadows the estate manager’s every move, the poor man.’ Isabelle smiled. ‘Saying thank you feels so inadequate for all that you’ve done for my family.’
‘Well, I couldn’t turn my back on the woman Ethan loved more than anything else in the world. He loved you even more than this estate, which I never thought possible. I couldn’t ignore that. In my heart I knew I had to do what was right by him.’ Elizabeth gazed at her. ‘Besides, I have gained much more than I ever expected.’
‘This is a lovely picture.’ Hamish called out to them as he walked closer. ‘A beautiful grandmother, a delightful mother and the sweetest baby.’
They both turned and smiled in greeting. Elizabeth held out her free hand and Hamish lavishly swept off his wide-brimmed hat, bent over and kissed it.
Isabelle sat straighter. ‘Welcome back, Hamish.’
The smile he gave her was a little awkward and he returned his attentions to Elizabeth. ‘Sweetest, Elizabeth, as I arrived another carriage was coming down the drive. I assisted a most charming lady out of it.’ He flashed a rakish grin.
Isabelle frowned. She knew he was play-acting, but still it surprised her that he found another woman charming. Giving herself a mental shake she glanced away to watch a butterfly hover near the blanket. Why wouldn’t Hamish be attracted to someone? He was a single man in the prime of his life. It’s only natural he’d want a wife, a family…