Destiny's Path

by Anna Jacobs

  ‘I think she’s right,’ Pandora said.

  Zachary turned to her, dismay on his face. ‘You’re encouraging her to go travelling on her own?’

  ‘She’s already come from Australia on her own.’

  ‘She had Ronan with her.’

  ‘Not when she started off. She went as far as Galle on her own. She should be allowed to follow her heart. You and I did, after all.’

  ‘Well, I won’t have her travelling on her own. And in winter, too. No, no, it’s not to be thought of.’

  Pandora winked at Xanthe then said to her husband, ‘Rubbish! Besides, the solution to that is easy. She can take someone with her. How about Hallie? Your sister’s dying to see something of the world. I know you promised to take her to Blackpool in the summer, but that’s a long time to wait.’

  ‘Two young women, both of them pretty, travelling alone. Definitely not!’

  ‘You’re getting stuffy as you get older, my love.’

  He gaped at this unexpected dig.

  Pandora looked at him sadly. ‘You are, you know. But as you’re not Xanthe’s guardian and she’s over the age of twenty-one, you can’t stop her. All you can do is make sure she travels safely.’

  Interested, Xanthe let them argue. In the end, he said, ‘Well, if Hallie agrees to go, I’m making sure the whole journey is carefully planned. Every single detail. I’m not leaving that to anyone else.’

  ‘No one could do it more carefully than you,’ Pandora said. ‘Who will you ask to help you?’

  He thought for a moment, then said, ‘Mr Featherworth told me he always has a railway guide in case he has to travel suddenly. I’ll go and borrow his.’

  It was a full hour before he came back waving a book in a bright yellow wrapper at them. ‘Here you are! Bradshaw’s Monthly Railway Guide. I called in at Mother’s on the way back and persuaded her to let Hallie come with you – though she too thinks you’re foolish for rushing off like that. But Hallie’s as reckless as you are and thinks it’s going to be an adventure. I think you’ll both be very uncomfortable, travelling in the depths of winter, and will soon regret your hasty decision.’

  When he’d gone back down to the shop to supervise the staff during the final hour of opening, Pandora cocked one eyebrow at her sister. ‘Well, you’ve got what you wanted, haven’t you?’

  Xanthe went across to hug her. ‘Yes, yes, yes! And you’re the best of sisters for helping me like that!’

  Pandora hugged her back. ‘I don’t want to lose you, but I know what it’s like to love someone who’s being stupidly noble. Zachary was exactly the same about marrying me, because I was part-owner of the shop. I had to put my foot down and make him see sense before he’d agree to marry. So I do understand.’

  Xanthe heaved a sigh of relief. ‘That’s settled then. I’m sorry we’ll be travelling in the middle of winter, though. It’d be far more interesting in the summer, I’m sure. Maybe you could all come and visit me there, after I’m married.’

  ‘You’re that sure Ronan will still want to marry you?’

  ‘Yes, but all sorts of things can happen and I don’t want to leave anything to chance.’ She sighed and her eyes grew dreamy. ‘I can’t wait to see him again.’

  Only when she was in bed did she allow herself to remember his letter saying she was free to marry someone else. As if she would!

  And she’d not let him marry anyone else, either.

  Ronan sat in the library at Ardgullan, feeling depressed. He’d managed to save the estate, but at what cost? He’d used up all his own inheritance to pay off the most pressing debts and was living as frugally as a monk.

  If any more debts came in, he didn’t know how he’d pay them. Mr Hatton thought they were all accounted for, but even he did not go so far as to guarantee that.

  The last time he’d been to see the lawyer, Mr Hatton had again raised the question of him marrying Miss Johnson.

  ‘I’ve spoken to her father and he thinks it a fair match, is prepared to lend you money to modernise the house.’

  ‘What does she think?’

  Mr Hatton looked surprised. ‘I don’t know. I deal with her father.’

  ‘Well, I’m still considering it and so is she.’

  And it was still the last thing he wanted, but if it was a choice between that and losing Ardgullan . . . no, what was he thinking about? He couldn’t, wouldn’t! Look what had happened to Conn in an arranged marriage?

  No, Ronan would rather sell up and seek employment – except that he didn’t know how he’d earn a living. Unlike Conn he hadn’t trained for any profession, had lived what now seemed an idle and self-indulgent life until now.

  The future looked very bleak.

  And his dreams were still filled with Xanthe, smiling, teasing, challenging. How could he ever marry another woman?

  A few days later Mr Hatton sent his clerk with a letter saying another debt had surfaced and it seemed as if it was genuine, so would have to be paid.

  Ronan read and reread his letter, despair filling him. Mr Hatton was pressing him to reconsider the suggestion of marrying Miss Johnson. It was now the only way to keep the family estate.

  After a wakeful night, his heart heavy with grief, Ronan wrote to his lawyer to say he was willing to consider it.

  Then he went out for a long ride in the rain, where no one could interrupt him, or want him to do something, or above all, see how upset he was at the mere thought of marrying someone other than Xanthe.

  Did duty demand that you give up everything you truly wanted for the sake of the family name and estate?

  He still wasn’t sure he could do it. But he was caught in a cleft stick and had no idea what he would do if he lost the family estate and his money, because no one was going to pay much for a run-down place like Ardgullan House.

  If he had no money at all, there was no way he could marry Xanthe, so it wasn’t a choice between her and Georgina Johnson, but between losing everything or marrying money.

  20

  Livia was woken by a sound she couldn’t identify. Then she realised it was coming from Kathleen’s bedroom. Her guest was talking away, but who was she talking to?

  A figure appeared in her doorway: Orla.

  ‘Are you awake, Mrs Southerham?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘I think she’s gone mad. I daren’t go near her. I’ve never seen anything as shameful in all my life.’

  Getting up, Livia went barefoot into the living area and saw that Kathleen’s bedroom door was half open and the room was a blaze of candlelight. Had all the candles in the house been lit? What on earth for?

  She went closer and saw Kathleen sitting naked on the bed, gesticulating wildly and talking earnestly to someone – only of course there was no one else there. Livia glanced sideways at Orla, who looked terrified, and suddenly she was afraid, too, because Kathleen was a strong woman.

  She tiptoed away, followed by the maid. ‘You stay here and keep an eye on her.’

  ‘I’ll watch from outside but I daren’t go near her. Not for the life of me, I daren’t.’

  The door squeaked as Livia opened it but the voice inside didn’t falter. She stood on the tiny veranda for a moment or two, getting used to the dimness outside compared to the brightness in the guest bedroom. The moon was less than half full, but it gave her enough light to pick her way down to the lean-to by the stables, where Leo slept.

  She rapped on the door, glancing over her shoulder to make sure Kathleen hadn’t followed her and that Orla was all right. She had to knock a second time before it opened and Leo stood staring at her, clad in his nightshirt.

  ‘Mrs Southerham? Is something wrong?’

  ‘Yes. Kathleen’s behaving very strangely and I’m a bit afraid of her.’

  He stared at her, his brow furrowed as if taking this in slowly, then said, ‘Reece told me to help you if you were worried. What do we need to do?’

  She explained, embarrassed at the thought of him seeing Kathleen naked,
but even less willing to go back into the house on her own and try to persuade her guest to put on some clothes. She’d tried her hardest to settle Kathleen down, but it wasn’t working and she would now have to ask Conn to find somewhere else for his wife to stay – somewhere she could be cared for and protected against herself.

  ‘I’ll get dressed and come back to the house with you,’ Leo said.

  ‘I think we’d better take some ropes. We may have to tie her up.’

  He vanished inside and came back a few minutes later, fully dressed, though with his buttons wrongly fastened, and carrying two short lengths of rope.

  Still Livia hesitated to go back to the house. ‘She’s very strong. Can you manage her on your own, Leo? Or should we go and fetch Reece first?’

  ‘I think I can manage her long enough for you and Orla to slip the ropes over her feet or hands. I’ve made a sliding loop on each piece, like I do for horses. You just need to pull it tight.’

  They went back up the slope to the brightly lit house. Orla was standing outside, a shawl over her nightdress. They could hear Kathleen singing now and when they went inside, Livia was upset to see that the younger woman was still naked.

  Kathleen turned round to stare at them as they went into her bedroom. ‘I was waiting for you, Leo. If Conn can have a lover, I can have one too.’ She smiled at him, a smile meant to be enticing, but which looked wrong on her heavy features, like a grotesque cartoon creature in Punch magazine.

  ‘Put your clothes on now, Kathleen,’ Livia said. She could feel herself blushing at the sight of her guest’s nakedness and she could see that Leo was embarrassed too.

  Behind them Orla muttered something and crossed herself but Kathleen ignored Livia and continued to smile at Leo.

  ‘It’s time to get dressed now,’ Livia repeated.

  ‘You don’t get dressed to entertain a lover.’ Kathleen stared down at herself and stroked her fingers along her thigh. ‘I’m sure Conn and his whore don’t get dressed when they’re together. You’d better take your clothes off, Leo. You’re the only man round here so you’ll have to do for a lover till I can get up to Perth. There are lots of fine gentlemen there.’

  As she rose and moved towards him, he took her by surprise and flipped her down on the floor, lying sideways across her.

  Livia tried to get the rope round Kathleen’s ankles, but she kicked out, knocking Livia flying, then tried to roll over and get rid of Leo. But he was very strong and by working together, Livia and Orla got the loop of rope over one kicking foot.

  While Kathleen was shrieking at them and kicking out with her free foot, Leo managed to twist one of her arms behind her back. She yelled out in pain and forgot to kick for a moment, during which time Livia got the loop over her other foot and tightened it. Orla immediately grabbed the other rope to deal with her hands.

  It was several minutes before they managed to get Kathleen tied and helpless, by which time all three of them had been kicked and bumped about. When they stood back, she jerked around on the floor like a landed fish.

  ‘Shall I cover her, ma’am?’ Orla asked.

  ‘Yes. We’ll use a sheet from her bed.’ Livia pulled one off and they tried to cover her, but she tossed it off.

  Livia suddenly remembered the laudanum Francis had taken occasionally towards the end and went to find it. Leo watched her put some into a glass and nodded to Orla. He held Kathleen’s head motionless while Orla pried her mouth open and tipped the liquid in.

  Kathleen choked and cursed, biting Orla before she could take her hand away, and using the sort of words no lady was supposed even to know.

  ‘We need to wait a while,’ Livia said quietly, though she could have shouted for all the attention Kathleen was paying to them.

  Gradually the laudanum worked and she began to subside, her struggles to free herself grew less violent. In the end she fell asleep.

  ‘She’ll sleep for a while now,’ Livia said.

  ‘The Lord be praised.’ Orla crossed herself and flung the sheet over Kathleen’s plump white body.

  Livia sat down on the edge of the bed, feeling suddenly exhausted. ‘Could you please go and fetch Reece, Leo? We’ll have to take Kathleen back to Conn and the sooner the better, before she harms herself or one of us.’

  When he’d gone she turned to Orla. ‘Do sit down. You must be exhausted too. She’s been very difficult to manage lately.’

  Orla nodded and sank down on the end of the bed. ‘She’s gone quite mad now, hasn’t she, ma’am?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Then I don’t have to work for her any more, do I?’ She bent her head and began to weep, her shoulders shaking. ‘I’m free.’

  ‘You could have worked for someone else before now, if you’d wanted to,’ Livia said, a bit puzzled as to why a maid would stay with an unpleasant mistress in a country so short of maids that a dozen people would have come offering Orla a job if they’d known she was available.

  ‘I didn’t dare. If she’d written to the new master, they’d have turned my family out of their house. She made sure I knew that.’

  ‘Oh, Orla, it wasn’t true. I’m sure it wasn’t. It might have been with the old master, but he’s dead and I’m sure Conn’s brother would never turn them out. Conn speaks well of him, says he’s kind. You’ll easily find another job. I’d employ you myself, but I don’t have the money to pay you at the moment. You can stay on here for as long as you like and I’ll give you a good reference. At least you’ll have a roof over your head and you won’t go hungry.’

  ‘What will happen to Mrs Kathleen?’

  ‘I fear they’ll have to lock her away. What else can you do with someone like that?’ After a moment or two she stood up. ‘We should get dressed while we can.’

  About an hour after it got light, Conn heard the sound of a cart approaching. He went outside and saw Reece driving his ugly but capable mare round to the back of the house, with Leo sitting in the cart behind him. He went out to see what had brought them across so early in the morning and his heart sank when he saw his wife lying bound in the tray of the cart, glaring at them.

  As soon as she saw him she began cursing and screaming abuse, thrashing around till she’d tossed off the blankets and revealed her nakedness.

  Reece let Leo go to the horses’ heads and jumped down from the cart. ‘I’m sorry, but Kathleen’s gone completely mad. She took off all her clothes and tried to get Leo into bed with her. Livia couldn’t get her to see sense. It took the three of them to hold her down and tie her up. We tried to get her dressed, but she struggled so we gave up. She’d already scratched and bitten people, so in the end we just covered her up.’

  He waited till Conn had taken this in, then added, ‘Livia sends her apologies. She can do no more to help you. And Orla is terrified to go near Kathleen, so she’s staying at Westview with Livia.’

  Conn looked down in horror at his wife, whose madness showed in her eyes, as well as her behaviour. ‘What am I going to do with her now? We don’t have enough people to keep her under control, and no one here is nearly as strong as Leo.’

  ‘Even Leo couldn’t look after her on his own. We had to give her laudanum and it’s worn off now. We don’t have much left, I’m afraid but I brought the bottle for you.’

  Conn forced himself to go up to the cart, wincing as Kathleen cursed and spat in his direction. ‘What the hell am I going to do with her?’ he repeated in a whisper.

  ‘There’s only one thing you can do,’ Reece said quietly. ‘Take her to the new Lunatic Asylum in Perth.’

  ‘Lock her away?’

  ‘Can you think of any other solution?’

  Conn shook his head.

  ‘You’ll need to set off as soon as you can. Already she’s soiled herself and we daren’t untie her.’

  An hour later, Conn set off, taking Leo with him to help keep Kathleen under control. They had a little more laudanum but were saving it for when they got to areas with more people, hoping to keep her
subdued.

  Nancy watched them go, keeping an eye on her mistress, who had tears in her eyes. She’d never wish this to happen to her worst enemy and the wild rage in Mrs Kathleen’s eyes had shocked and upset her, as it had everyone.

  ‘Has she always been strange, that one?’ she asked Maia.

  ‘She’s never been – normal. Mrs Largan said once that Kathleen’s aunt was just the same, always strange and went quite mad as she grew older. Only I can’t help thinking . . . what if something I did caused this?’

  ‘You weren’t even there.’

  ‘But she knew about me and Conn, and I could see how that upset her, even though she didn’t love him. She was like a lost child, didn’t know where she belonged.’

  ‘It’s still not your fault.’ Nancy went across the room and because Maia was looking pale and upset, forgot her place and gave her mistress a quick hug. ‘No one knows what makes people go mad, but it’s nothing you did, I’m sure. Come and sit down. I’ll make you something to eat.’

  ‘I’m not hungry.’

  ‘You’re eating for two now, remember. You should eat something, for the baby’s sake. I’ll boil you an egg, shall I? Just one, softly boiled, with some of yesterday’s crusty bread.’

  Maia tried to eat but after forcing down less than half the egg, she pushed her plate away. ‘I can’t.’

  ‘Well, you’ve got something down you, at least. You look exhausted. Why don’t you go and have a rest? I can manage here. It’ll be easy enough with the master away.’

  When Maia had gone, Nancy finished off the food. Since the terrible days of being achingly hungry, she couldn’t bear to see even a crumb go to waste.

  Sitting back, she licked a smear of dried egg yolk from the back of one finger and looked round the kitchen. She loved it here at Galway House. She was learning more all the time about how to run a big house properly and every night she prayed they’d not bring in someone else to take over as housekeeper.

  No one else would love this house more than she did. No one, not even her master. It was her refuge and salvation, she knew that. And if she never had to leave it again as long as she lived, she’d die happy.