Finding Bliss

by B L Bierley

  FINDING BLISS

  BOOK 1 OF THE PENWOOD LEGACY

  BY B. L. BIERLEY

  This book is a work of fiction written solely from the author’s imagination. Any similarity to places, events, or persons, living or dead— real or imagined, is purely coincidental or otherwise unintentional. All locations, situations, scenes and scenarios within this work are purely the invention of the author or are used for literary reference only.

  Finding Bliss

  Copyright © 2012 by B. L. Bierley

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author, except in the case of quotations for critical articles or reviews.

  This book is for all of my romantic friends.

  Because we all need a little bliss now and then!

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-one

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  EXCERPT

  Chapter One

  Bliss, age five, Cardiff, September 1795

  Bliss barely blinked herself awake before the odd, waking dream stole her sight for a few minutes. At five years old, the idea of what it could mean was frightening.

  Bliss tried to stay calm and rational as she dressed quickly and hurried away to find her older brother Russ. The only thought in her mind that morning was to warn Russ!

  When she found him, the reception didn’t vary from every other time she warned him about signs of things to come. As usual, her warning was not taken as seriously as it deserved. Whenever she issued a warning, people tended to either ignore her or discount her for being silly.

  “Russ, you must stay inside today,” Bliss announced as the toast platter was passed down the table. And in keeping with the reaction of an older brother by three years, Russ gave her a pained expression before turning back to his eggs.

  “Mama, tell Russ he has to listen to me,” Bliss turned her attention to her mother, Lady Luxury Penwood. Bliss’s mother stared blankly at the news sheet without bothering to look up.

  “Bliss, I’m sure you’re just overreacting to a bad dream again. Russ has his physical exercise master coming today. I’m sure he’ll be fine,” Luxie replied with absent concern.

  “Then Dr. Benchley needs to come and check baby Cori today. She was coughing when Nurse gave her a bath yesterday evening. She might have a constumptive lung!” Bliss said prudently.

  This got Lady Penwood’s immediate attention. Luxie’s mothering was something akin to a shrewd farmer minding a flock of precious sheep. A problem in one usually bred more problems with the entire flock, and nothing was ever ignored when it came to illness in a family the size of theirs.

  “I believe it’s consumptive, darling,” Lord Oliver Penwood said with a hint of teasing.

  Right away Russ recognized his second youngest sister’s intentions.

  “Oh, not again! Mother, you can’t let her get to you like that! She’s just being a pest as usual!” he intoned through a mouthful of eggs. But Luxie wouldn’t be easily taken off this topic.

  “If she heard Cori coughing she wouldn’t make it up! I’ll send for Benchley. It’s probably a good idea. I’ve been feeling quite off myself,” Luxie added, turning her nose up at the bacon her eldest daughter Merryann was passing in her direction.

  “Well, I think it’s important to listen to your sister, Russ. Women have fascinating intuition, my boy! You could do worse than heed their advice,” Ollie said in his booming voice.

  Ollie leaned over toward where his younger son Mac was attempting to upset his bowl of oatmeal. Moving the unlikely toy out of his reach Ollie scooped a bit of the oatmeal up and placed the full spoon into the three-year-old’s pudgy hand with a stern look. Mac gave a dimpled grin and accepted the spoon with a sly twinkle in his eye. Bliss turned to her father and reiterated her request.

  “Papa, Russ can’t go near the lake today! It would be a disaster! He should listen to me, shouldn’t he?”

  “My dear Bliss, of course he should. But what is this danger you see?” Ollie asked in his amusement.

  “I’m not quite sure. But I know it’s bad. It’s very bad! I’m only trying to help, you know,” Bliss said in a huff.

  “Of course you are, dear. Perhaps if his master kept him to regimented land exercise today, would that make it better?” Ollie suggested.

  “I suppose. But don’t forget to tell him, Papa! I’m sure it’s very important!” Bliss added pointedly looking toward her surly older brother.

  Russ darted his tongue out at her, but Bliss didn’t tattle on him. It was harmless, this attitude her brother held toward her. Bliss knew in her very soul that she was right.

  Deanne Bliss Porter was the third child of a large brood belonging to the Duke of Penwood. Her talents for knowing something before anyone else usually caused an uncomfortable tension. Her visions of things to come seemed to grow in acuity each year. This vision was no different than a hundred others that assaulted her on a given day.

  Normal, ordinary occurrences like spilled ink, a dumped bowl of oatmeal, a scraped knee, or an unfortunate splinter she didn’t bother with anymore. Those things couldn’t really harm anyone for long. But when the threat came in such a bold, serious way—like the possibility of death, Bliss couldn’t ignore it.

  Russ’s mortal danger today couldn’t be ignored either. Bliss’s vision of her brother’s fate appeared like a gruesome painting of a corpse sunk in the lake, the body pale and cold. There were always variations of every vision. Sometimes a different scene would pop up in her mind to tell her that a previous vision had somehow been altered.

  Bliss’s clarity with her visions was still immature, and she couldn’t trust that the outcomes were firm. So the task to assure the safety of her family, even when her interference was met with ill-temper and annoyance, fell heavily on her shoulders. She could handle the burden as long as no one died!

  Before breakfast ended a message came. Russ’s physical master was detained that day. An unexpected accident made his attendance that afternoon unlikely. Russ pouted and teased Bliss about her ignorance.

  “See, Bliss! You really don’t know anything! You’re just a silly girl with too many nightmares. Go learn your sum twos and threes and leave me alone,” Russ had grumbled at her.

  His disappointment at not being able to take his physical lessons made him cross. Bliss forced herself not to cry at his angry words. The idea that she was somehow mistaken in her vision didn’t even occur to her. The feeling of an impending threat still hung around her like a shawl.

  Before leaving the table, Bliss reminded her mother about summoning Dr. Benchley for baby Cori’s cough. At not quite a year old, Cordelia was currently the baby of the family and the subject of many of her necessary li
es. Cori was unable to deny or confirm anything, so Bliss often used her sister’s health as an excuse to get the doctor to the house when she felt he might be needed.

  Bliss hovered in Russ’s presence the entire morning. Countering this, Russ complained to his parents that she was making him uncomfortable. Ollie told his son to amuse his younger sister and stay within her sights to keep her from worrying.

  While Lord and Lady Penwood held none of their children above the others, Bliss’s quirky behavior drew a subtle amount of indulgence that the other children weren’t given. Bliss stayed with Russ throughout lunch and during their hour of free time before afternoon lessons recommenced. Russ mercilessly dogged her with taunts of her peculiarity.

  “You’re just jealous because you don’t get to learn games or sports the way I do! Why don’t you go play with your dolls and leave me alone? You’re a bigger baby than Cori and Mac put together! Merryann, play with her! She’s staring at me all day!”

  Bliss accepted Russ’s jabs at her behavior without reaction. But the niggling feeling of fear still crawled over her skin, despite her older sister’s hushed soothing after Russ’s ranting.

  In the afternoon, Nanny Pearl was working on lessons of the alphabet when suddenly Bliss let out a blood-curdling shriek. The vision of Russ in the lake was clearer than any of the other possibilities now. Without waiting to be excused, Bliss tore from the room and ran down the stairwell.

  Nearly upsetting a laundry maid in the process, Bliss made a mad dash for the boathouse, terror gripping her insides in a vice. As she approached the water’s edge, Russ bobbed up from under the water and spotted her instantly.

  “Drat, Bliss! What are you doing out here? You’re supposed to be taking a lesson with Nanny!” Russ whined. He turned and swam for the boathouse, ignoring her panicked expression as he did.

  “Russ, get out! Please, you must! I’m scared! I want you to come over here with me right now!” Bliss pleaded with her brother. Russ remained obstinate.

  That’s when Bliss noticed the rope. A vision of what would happen burst into her subconscious mind. The rope, a broken board, Russ drowning, her being very wet, the scenes came again and again in her head. It was as though she was running through a dense forest, the events whirring past her like trees.

  Absorbed in her latest vision, Bliss failed to notice when Russ climbed up onto the boathouse rail. She looked up just in time to see him testing the rope for soundness seconds before he gave it his entire weight and swung forward out over the water. At once everything slowed to a snail’s pace.

  Bliss knew this rope was something Russ had done by himself without any permission. He often complained that he wanted to jump farther into the water and begged their father for a way to do so. Bliss also realized that Russ didn’t factor in the age or condition of the wood when he’d tied the rope to the support board.

  The sound of breaking, splintering wood shook Bliss from her thoughts. She watched helplessly from the shore as the wood beam bearing the weight of the rope and its user snapped cleanly in half. The added weight stress after the break seemed to be the last straw for the dilapidated boathouse. There were several more groans and then all at once the entire roof began to list forward.

  As if in slow motion the top half of the boathouse canted forward, taking the rest of the support structure with as it fell toward the water. Russ managed to land in the water and surfaced only a few seconds before the entire boathouse fell into the lake.

  Bliss knew that Russ would never be able to get clear of the impact. She watched in horror as the heavily shingled roof shot forward as if launched independently and hurtled toward her astonished brother. Russ managed to turn only halfway before the edge of the heavy slate struck him.

  Bliss didn’t wait around for her brother to swim out from underneath the partially submerged and fast sinking wreckage of the roof. She knew that wouldn’t be possible in the same instant that she knew she had to go into the lake.

  Despite her terror of the murky green water and the fact that she was not the strongest swimmer, Bliss shed her slippers as she ran to the water’s edge. She didn’t stop to consider the unknown landscape lying in wait for her tender feet. Instead Bliss forced her skirts beneath the surface and dove forward.

  Several of the estate’s gardeners heard the breaking boathouse’s woody report. The first man arrived in time to see Bliss just before she went under. He shouted an alarm and tore forward heedless of boots and tools, frantic to protect Lord Penwood’s children at any and all personal risk.

  Seeing the master’s particularly beloved child heading into the lake fully clothed was enough to make them run full-bore to try and stop her before something horrible happened. The distance grew longer with each step as they watched her tiny body sink with the weight of her petticoats and frock beneath the dark water.

  Bliss felt the dragging pull as the water drenched her petticoat and skirt. She pumped her legs furiously to get beneath the roof. At first she couldn’t see a thing. Her eyes wide, Bliss searched the area for a sign of Russ. The lack of air in her lungs burned, but she didn’t let that stop her.

  Knowing what she was supposed to do, she kicked harder and dove deeper into the cold water until she saw a flash of skin in the murky darkness. Without worrying about the consequences, Bliss latched onto the first appendage she could reach.

  Russ’s ankle being larger than her tiny hand could grasp, she let her fingernails dig into the skin as she pulled with all her might. Being in the water did help a little. Russ’s unconscious form came free and drifted upward on the third tug.

  As soon as she could see him more clearly, Bliss wrapped her arms around Russ’s torso and began to swim with every ounce of her strength toward the surface. The twinkle of sunlight served to guide her and provided enough hope for her to realize, in that rare moment of clarity, that she was going to be successful. That was all that she needed to be calm despite the continued struggle.

  The moment her face broke the surface of the lake, Bliss let out a surprised gasping giggle. She saw that they were now on the far side of where the roof went into the water—further from shore than she meant to be.

  Russ’s body weight proved too much to hold above the surface all by herself, and Bliss felt her body being pulled down beneath the water as she pushed him upward. Feeling her feet touch the silt-soft bottom of the lake she used her feet to kick off, aiming her body up once more.

  The water in front of the boathouse was shallow, at most only five feet deep. But for two children- one less than three feet tall and the other deliriously unconscious- five feet of water could be deadly.

  Bliss quickly maneuvered her brother so that he was face up in the water. Angling her body beneath his right shoulder, she wrapped her arm across his navel and took hold of the trousers near his left hip bone. She then began to half-drag, half push his body with her own as the only source of propulsion.

  Bliss had to stop their forward progress every other foot or so to take in air, but Russ still hadn’t taken a breath which worried her. Soon enough the gardener reached them and removed the last vestiges of her panic.

  “Grab Lady Bliss! I’ll get Lord Russ! Get them to the shore!” the gardener shouted to another man who had also leapt into the lake to assist the efforts. Bliss was content as the young stable worker scooped her up into his arms and trudged through the churning shallows to get her on dry land.

  “There now, miss. That’s a good lass! Can ye breathe? Are ye alright? That was a fair brave thing ye did, milady! Your brother’s twice yer size! Ye could’ve both drowned in th’ water! I believe ye scared the life right outta me friend, there!” the man said as he placed shivering Bliss on the warm grass.

  In the distance, Bliss could see her father and Dr. Benchley running full speed toward the excitement.

  “Is Russ breathing? Someone should turn him to the side where he’s not hurt! He’s got to spit the water out!” Bliss informed the worker casually. She gathered her curly h
air in her tiny fists and began wringing the water from it as she spoke.

  “Turn him to t’right! E’s got to get t’water out of ‘is lungs!” the worker shouted to the gardener as he emerged with Russ.

  The gardener obeyed, keeping Russ’s injured left arm cradled against the boy’s silent form as he tipped him onto his right side. In a wracking cough Russ began to heave and let loose a gush of water from his nose and mouth. He was moaning and holding his left arm tight to his stomach as he did.

  Bliss watched and waited. The remainder of the scene would play out soon. She’d done her part. The rest would happen exactly as she saw it now.

  Clarity usually improved once the worst was over. Bliss got a clearer view of events once the outcome was favorable most of the time, too. And today there was also the bonus of now knowing she’d been right all along. Added confidence always seemed to strengthen her ability.

  At that moment, Russ opened his eyes wide and looked around until he focused on Bliss. A shock of knowledge seeped into his consciousness.

  “How ... Bliss, I’m so ...” Russ tried to say, but his words were cut off with another fit of coughing.

  “You should remember this very moment in time whenever I tell you something, Russ,” Bliss said softly.

  Russ, for all his former bluster, only nodded as he clenched his jaw in pain. The beloved Dr. Benchley and their father finally arrived on the scene.

  “Lord Penwood, can you see to Bliss yourself? I’ll take care of Lord Russ. I can see bruising and a peculiar angle beneath the swelling. I’ll need a few men to help me get him to the house before I set the bone.” Dr. Benchley’s unruffled demeanor was music to her ears.

  “Bliss, darling, speak to me! Are you alright? Bliss?” Ollie gathered the dripping Bliss into his lap and hugged her too tightly to his chest as he sat on the wet ground in utter relief.

  “I’m fine now, Papa. But I need to see Dr. Benchley’s son. It’s very important!” Bliss informed her bewildered father.

  “In a bit, love, he’s waiting up at the house for us. Are you hurt, darling? Your mother will skin me alive if there’s a scratch on you. Dr. Benchley couldn’t find a thing wrong with Cori, but he did give your mother a bit of news. Do you know what it is?” Ollie looked down at Bliss with a curious stare.