Virginian Lover

by Oliver, Marina

  When the final count was made almost three hundred and fifty people had died, most of them horribly. George Thorpe and a dozen others on the Berkeley Hundred had been killed, and the ironworks had been destroyed. Once the numbness of the shock was over the colonists began to talk of outright war with the Indians, and the need to subdue them if the settlers were ever to live at peace in Virginia.

  The cattle and stores were brought into Jamestown and half a dozen other main settlements, and gradually some sort of order prevailed. During this time Edward hovered on the brink of death. The less serious wounds had begun to heal but he was still delirious for much of the time, and when rational he feebly cursed Bella.

  'I've had no luck since I set eyes on you!' was his constant cry. 'What good have you brought me?'

  'Some land and money,' Bella once retorted, irritated beyond endurance at his implacable hatred, and the necessity which bound her to him.

  'And what use are they now? My fields will be forest again before I can tend them.'

  Two weeks after the disaster Edward seemed to improve, and fretted at his inability to do more than pull himself from the pallet where he lay to a stool beside the fire. Occasionally friends came to visit him, staring curiously at Bella before settling down to play cards and dice with him.

  Daniel came every day to help tend Edward's wounds, and it was mainly from him that Bella heard of Adam's doings. Adam had called once the day after they had been installed at the house, and thereafter carefully kept away. Alice frequently went to visit Meg and some of her other cronies, but Bella nursed her hurt and bewilderment in solitude, driven out of the house and into the town only when Edward's friends were with him and their admiring looks and bold comments could no longer be borne.

  One morning in the middle of April, Alice came running back to the house only a few minutes after she had taken Toby with her to visit Meg. 'What is it? Toby?' Bella demanded. 'He's fine, Miss Bella, he's gone with the older children to the quay. There's a ship in from London.'

  Infected by her excitement, Bella ran with Alice to watch the ship sail the last few hundred yards towards Jamestown and anchor in the deep water which came right up to the walls of the town. For a while there was pandemonium as new settlers disembarked, thankful to have reached land safely after a journey of eighteen weeks. The established settlers eagerly described the terrors of the massacre, and amidst it all the sailors tried to unload the cargo. In the middle of the chaos Adam suddenly appeared at Bella's side.

  *

  'How go things with you?' he asked quietly, and she turned to look up at him, wildly attempting to mask her welcoming smile with a cool nonchalance.

  'I am well,' she replied. 'I hear that you have been very much occupied of late?'

  'Yes, there has been a great deal to do.'

  'I heard about Thomas. I am sorry,' she said, feeling very inadequate.

  'We lost many good men,' he replied soberly. 'But John is to be wed, had you heard?'

  'No, but I am pleased. He was so kind. Who is she?'

  'Rachel Marsh, who was on the same boat as he was, with her parents. They were both killed and she is now alone, and John hopes to wed her immediately so as to have the right to take care of her. She will be a good wife for him.'

  'Yes, she seemed very sensible,' Bella replied, recalling a quiet, but very self possessed young woman who had been at some of Adam's parties.

  'How is your husband?' Adam asked after a pause.

  'He seems better. Thank you for sending Daniel to help, he has been a great support to me.'

  Adam smiled bleakly. 'Pray ask him for anything you need. Have you made any plans yet?'

  'What sort of plans?' she asked bitterly. 'Edward will be unfit to work his plantation for many weeks yet, even if it were safe to return there. I would like best of all to get on that ship and go back to England.'

  'Then why do you not do so?' he asked coolly.

  Bella bit her lip and turned away. He did not want her! She was undoubtedly a great embarrassment to him. But she could not face a future with Edward, and only remained with him now because of the unsettled state of the colony and the fact that there was nothing else to be done while he was ill.

  'I think I might. Would you give me a character?' she asked, her voice brittle. 'Do you think I could occupy the same sort of position in London as I did with you? I cannot think what other future there would be for me now.'

  'Naturally I will arrange for you to have an allowance,' he answered abruptly. 'It can ge paid through my family in London. I will put pressure on your husband to send you money too.'

  'I neither want nor need your money,' Bella said furiously, and turned away, hastening back towards the house where Edward was greatly excited and demanding to be told all about the ship's arrival.

  On the following day a letter from the ship was brought for Edward, and he read it avidly, then lay back thoughtfully watching Bella as she moved about the house preparing dinner.

  'Was it good news?' she asked at last, made uncomfortable by his gaze.

  'Of a sort,' he replied, and suddenly grinned. 'Where's that brat?'

  'Toby? He went with Alice. Why?'

  'He's almost three, is he not? A sturdy lad.'

  Bella looked at him curiously, but he relapsed into silence. He had never before shown any interest in Toby, and she could not understand why he should now think of the little boy.

  'Is there any news from England?' she asked to break the uncomfortable silence.

  'Not a great deal. The war in Europe continues, but it is all much the same. I've a mind to try my fortune there. I could be a good soldier once this leg is healed. Help me to the stool now.'

  She stared at him, aghast, then moved to take his arm as he rose.

  'You mean to return to England?'

  'Why not? There is nothing for either of us here, is there?' he asked, watching her closely. Bella recovered herself.

  'I could not care,' she shrugged. 'Here, sit down.'

  'I'll make you, damn you!' he suddenly shouted, and lurched towards her instead of dropping to the stool which was near the fire.

  'Take heed!' Bella cried, and instinctively moved to catch him as he swayed precariously. He almost fell, and then grasped at her arms.

  'Aha, my beauty, you'll not evade me for ever!' he cried in sudden triumph as he pulled her to him.

  He was surprisingly strong despite his recent wounds, and Bella had to struggle furiously to evade his grasp, for he clung tenaciously to her. As she pulled away to escape him he lost his balance, and although he fell to the floor with a thud he retained his hold on her and they went down together.

  He attempted to roll on top of her, tearing at her skirts in a frenzy of lust, but she held him off. She was unable to wriggle free of his grasp, for he held one arm as if in a vice and by exerting all his strength dragged her bodice away from her breasts. He struggled to clutch them, but Bella shrank away and manged to slither from him, fending him off as he puffed after her.

  The fight was fierce but short, for Edward's strength could not last, and Bella was soon able to break away from his hold. She stood up, looking at him as he lay spent, groaning at the pain, and with trembling fingers tied her laces and straightened out her bodice.

  'You're no better than a beast!' she told him disgustedly, and went towards the door.

  'Bella, you're not leaving me!' he cried out in sudden alarm. She turned back, surveying him in contempt.

  'So you have another use for me, do you?' she asked sharply, and ignored his cries as she went out.

  *

  She made her way slowly to the wharf, hoping that the cool air would calm her and help her to think. It was clear now that she had to get away from Edward. The utter revulsion she had felt when his hands had pawed at her only confirmed what she already knew. Never again could she submit to him. Or to any other man, a small persistent voice told her, but she tried to ignore it, for, without Adam, what else was open to her apart from bec
oming the plaything of another man? Not Edward, never Edward Sutton! Some other man might be bearable, but what he might be like she could not envisage. In time, she tried to convince herself, she might even forget Adam Tarrant. After all, less than a year ago she had not even been aware of his existence.

  Was Edward serious when he had suggested returning to England? The very idea caused her to look about her in panic. She wanted to return herself only as a means of escaping him. If only he would go and leave her here with Adam. She pushed the wayward thought aside. She would still be married to Edward wherever he was, and Adam had shown that he no longer wanted her.

  The ship which had arrived the previous day was still being unloaded, and Bella stood on the wharf, watching it but for a long time not aware of the activity. Then, because there was nothing else she could do, and no one, for she refused to consider Adam, to whom she could go, she slowly wended her way home.

  Inside it was getting dark and she was blinded for a moment. She almost fell as she moved to the table to search for a candle. As she regained her balance and took another step her foot encountered something soft and warm, and Bella became frightened.

  'Edward!' she exclaimed, but there was no reply. Hastily she lit the candle, and then drew back in horror. Edward lay sprawled across the floor, his arm outstretched towards the door, and beneath him, oozing from the wound in his side, was a sticky pool of blood. He was still breathing but she dared not move him. Anxiously she ran for Daniel and was fortunate enough to find him immediately. He returned with her at once and competently heaved Edward onto the pallet, stripped his clothes from him, and rebandaged the wound. He did not ask her how it happened and Bella was too conscious-stricken to offer any explanations.

  'He'll do, Mistress Bella. I'll send Alice in now. You look as though you could do with a drink.'

  Bella thanked him distractedly, and sat beside the fire, oblivious of Alice when she came in and bustled about getting a meal. Alice was consumed with curiosity but took one look at Bella's face and worked in silence. At last she persuaded Bella to retire to the loft where they slept as soon as she had eaten.

  During the night Edward lapsed into delirium, and it was clear the next day that his exertions had retarded his recovery. He tossed and raved and Bella, full of remorse for deserting him, devoted herself to his care. He was far from grateful and spent his lucid hours berating her for disregarding his wishes.

  'But it'll not last once I'm recovered!' he stormed at her. 'We'll leave this Godforsaken place and in England I can keep you in your place! There's no reason for staying where life is hard when we could live at ease and in comfort.'

  'How can you do that in England any more than you can here?' she asked, but he smiled and shook his head.

  That night he lapsed once more into delirium. Bella sat with him and listened to his ramblings. They seemed to refer to the cards he so much enjoyed playing. After a while he slept and Bella rested her head on her arms. She was woken by a sharp laugh, and when she looked across at Edward his eyes were open, gleaming in the flickering light from the low fire she kept in all the time.

  'They thought they'd beaten me!' he was saying. 'Accusing me of cozening him! Ha! He wasn't worth the trouble, but I held such damned bad cards! And as for you, Henry Martin, you'll regret fobbing me off with so small a share! You getting all of Clifford Manor! I'd have been content with half and now I'll get the lot!'

  'Edward, what are you saying? What was that about Clifford Manor?' Bella demanded, rising and standing beside him.

  He ignored her, and she realized he was still in a state of confusion and did not know she was there.

  'Henry Clifford, indeed! What a jest! But you'll be sorry!'

  He rambled on for some time, and then suddenly closed his eyes and slept. Bella sat and puzzled over his words. She had known Edward had been forced to leave England in a hurry immediately after their marriage, and from what he had now unwittingly revealed it could have been because of an accusation of cheating at cards. It was clear from the few remarks his friends had made in the past few days that he gambled often. How was it, then, he now felt safe in returning to England? And how was her brother Henry involved?

  She suddenly recalled the letter he had received and, after a brief struggle with her conscience, in which she concluded that she had herself been forced into this marriage and had a right to know the truth, began to search for it. There were few enough hiding places in the house, and fewer still Edward could reach. She recalled he had been lying on the pallet when he had received the letter, and it had not been on him after he had injured himself again. She soon discovered the single sheet of paper pushed into a gap where the primitive mud plaster of the wall had dried and parted from one of the wooden posts of the frame, just behind Edward's head.

  The only part of the letter which could have had any bearing on Edward's flight from England, and present freedom to return, was a reference to Mr Carter. 'Old man Carter died of apoplexy last month, you'll be interested to learn. His wife fell into a decline when her precious Benjamin fell into the Thames, and has been dead these six months. He'd have blamed you if you had still been in Kent, but was forced to admit the impossibility, much to his chagrin. It was rumoured that he meant to wed a girl of sixteen to provide a much-desired heir – though dear Benjamin had lost most of it at the tables. But it was not to be, and the King is the richer.'

  If the man Carter had been the one Edward feared, and he, and apparently all his family, were dead, that would explain why Edward could plan to return to England. But why had he railed against her half-brother? It sounded as though Henry had in some way cheated him, but how?

  *

  When Alice appeared and sent her to rest for a few hours, Bella gave up trying to resolve the puzzle, but later that day she told Alice what she had discovered.

  'You say he called him Henry Martin? Why?'

  'He called him both Martin and Clifford, he was raving, he did not know what he said.'

  'Could Henry have duped him? How can he talk of getting more from Henry unless he has some way of forcing him? What does he know to Henry's disadvantage?'

  Bella shook her head. 'I could believe much of Henry! If we are right and Edward cheated at his gaming, Henry could have known it. Could Henry have done the same?'

  'It's possible, he frequented taverns all the time.'

  Before they had discovered a way of forcing Edward to tell them the truth, he grew much worse. Daniel shook his head doubtfully and said the reopened wound in Edward's side was festering. Although she knew he had brought it on himself by trying to attack her, Bella blamed herself for having left him lying on the floor. It was pointless to remember she had thought him capable of moving back to his pallet, she had not made sure of it. She wore herself out caring for him, and Adam, hearing of her constant attention to her husband, was torn with jealousy he had never before experienced.

  Bella avoided him. Daniel reported she accepted the aid he could give, and rejected neither his visits nor the food he took, but never spoke of Adam. Has she forgiven the brute of a husband, he wondered, frantic at the thought? Had she, as he had half suspected all the time, merely been using him in her quarrel with Edward? Or had she resented living in Jamestown under false pretences? Surely she could not expect him to defy the conventions of the small community by taking her away from her husband when he lay seriously wounded. She must understand that when the present crisis was over they could return to Fairmile and all would be as before. He never met her to suggest this. She rarely left the cottage, and he would not intrude on her there.

  Her remarks about wishing to return to England seemed to imply she wanted neither him nor her husband, and although there was some consolation for Adam in this suggestion that she did not love Edward, it seemed she did not love him either. Whether she remained with Edward or went to England, he had lost her.

  Mary Bolton, watching anxiously, knew he did not see Bella. She hinted at her own readiness to console him, bu
t Adam was more brusque with her than ever before. He knew she would be the last woman to help him forget. But someone else might, someone new who had never previously been compared with his lost love.

  His opportunity came with a red-haired beauty who had arrived on the latest ship. She was encouraging, but cautious, seeking promises before submitting to him. The gossips of Jamestown were delighted and made certain Bella heard the rumours.

  She gritted her teeth and tried to wish him happiness, while her heart cried out in pain. She had no right to care, he had cast her off, and she knew his reasons were sensible, but had he forgotten so soon? They had never spoken words of love, but he had been both passionate and tender. Had even that meant so little to him he could brazenly flaunt his new mistress before her? Men, she decided yet again, were faithless, heartless creatures whose baser needs governed them to the exclusion of all else.

  One night, soon after dusk, when Alice had retired for a few hours until she relieved Bella of the task of watching over Edward, he woke from a restless sleep and lay looking at Bella who was sitting hunched up on a stool by the fire.

  'Bella,' he said softly, and she turned in some surprise. Usually, when he was rational he spoke to her sharply or cursed her unremittingly. 'Bella, please come here.'

  'What is it?' she asked, moving to stand beside him.

  'I'm dying,' he said, calmly but with bitterness. 'I'll never see that lying brother of yours squirm. You must do it for Toby!'

  'Toby? What do you mean? How can he lie? He's still a child.'

  'I don't mean Toby. Henry Martin. What he said was false.'

  He stopped and closed his eyes. At that moment a gentle tap came on the door and Daniel, who never stood on ceremony, entered.