Now and Forevermore (4 page)

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Summer’s secret retreat or cove, adjoined the manor’s beach front property. Her personal touches stamped the area in the way of a rattan table, two rattan chairs with colorful cushions, a kitchenette and a hard bunk bed. No love nest by any means, but it was home and the only place she felt like someone instead of something.

The entrance had a deceptive charm and appeared small and awkward, but once inside it branched out to three different sections, connected into one about thirty feet inside. After that the rock formation dipped beneath the sea level into another chamber, and opened up into Summer’s small retreat. It was there that Ben carried the man from the library. He laid him on the bunk bed and stared at the stranger with a worried gaze. “Ms. Summer, now I don’t want no trouble now. You take care of this gentleman, get him well, and you send him on his way. If not, I have to tell your father and you know I don’t want to do that.”

Summer nodded curling her dark hair behind her ears “Just give me two days Ben, three is the tops, and I will give him that island brew that will have him up in no time. Then he will be gone and you need not worry again, all right?”

Ben looked at the man on the makeshift bed and raised his brow in confusion “Ms. Summer, what is that man wearing? Is that a costume or something?  That necktie thing looks really tight on him. If you ask me, he fainted because he couldn’t breathe.”

Summer giggled and glanced at the bed. Ben was right. The man’s clothing looked really uncomfortable, but maybe he needed it for a costume party or something and then he fell out, uh, from behind the mirror. “Don’t worry Ben, he will be gone soon. Now run back so you can bring me a piece of fish. Can’t wait to have a bite.”

Ben nodded and left, content at least for the time being. But Summer knew he would only wait for two or three days as he said. So she had better get the man up as soon as possible. And…the song of an alarm clock on the table made her flinch. It was time to get dinner ready and if she didn’t hurry, she would be late.

~~~~~~0~~~~~~

Malcolm’s head felt as though he had fallen from his steed. The pain in the back of his neck along with a bout of nausea created an indescribable sensation. He craved a drink of water, but did not have the strength to get it. Slowly he turned his head and reached for the bell. It was not there. Surprised he felt around and touched not the soft round table by this bed, but a hard solid surface. What in the King’s name was going on? Opening his eyes, despite the intense pain, he focused on the surroundings, as the blurry objects became clear.

He was in a large room made of stone. There were lamps of some kind in the corners, and decorations of flowers hung from the ceiling. For the most part the room was sparsely furnished with a chair, table and some sort of bed that he laid upon. It must be a dungeon, but like one he had never seen before. Perhaps Sedgwick had tricked him and did something at the ball. Something in his drink perhaps? Or could it be the old woman?

Perhaps he lay inside the library in the passageway. The only thing he remembered was darkness after he touched the mirror. The strange mirror that echoed with a voice from beyond. No, not any voice. The voice of someone that needed him. Then he appeared in a strange library, with a female that looked like an enchantress from the forbidden woods. Long black hair, eyes like the summer sky and a form like a Grecian nymph. Her body enclosed in rare attire, indecent if he recalled, but intriguing nonetheless. It was all he could remember, but, where did the elusive maiden go? Or could it be a dream? A sound caught his attention and he turned. The enchantress had appeared. He wanted to speak but nausea gripped him, and he felt the need to empty his insides. Unable to stop the pain, he clutched at his chest and emptied the contents of his stomach on the hard floor.

~~~~~~0~~~~~~~

Summer ran to the corner to fetch a piece of cloth and a basin of water. She felt responsible to some extent for the man’s weak condition. After letting him fall a couple times, no wonder he couldn’t keep anything down. Slowly she lifted his face, and with tender care wiped his brow and cleaned around the edges of his mouth. His waxen complexion with dark circles around his eyes stared at her in mute horror, as though stunned by his sickness. His clothes had gotten dirty, so she would have to change them, and he would need to bathe sometime soon.

“Who are you enchantress?”

His whisper brought Summer to a standstill somewhat at a loss for words. She forgot they hadn’t been formally introduced. “My name is Summer Mansfield and yours?”

“Malcolm Theodore Fenton, Marquis of Thornbrook.”

She smiled gently. Now his head had been affected. “I’m sorry. Did you say Marquis of Thornbrook?”

“Yes, I did.”

Delusional for sure but she didn’t want to upset him, so she played along. “All right then…let me see. Wait a minute. Just a minute. I have read historical novels from Regency England and if I remember correctly, a Marquis is some sort of English nobility or something like that, right?”

Malcolm ignored her question and focused on her speech. “From where do you come that your speech is so vexing to me? Is it from one of the colonies?”

Summer laughed content that he seemed stronger. “And how is my speech ‘vexing’ to you and what colonies are you talking about? That doesn’t make any sense at all. Now I am sorry you are sick, but I brought you some tea to drink. Its herbal so don’t worry that it’s not good for you. You do know what tea is, don’t you?”

He did not look pleased with her attempt to belittle him. “Yes madam, I do know what tea is.”

Summer stepped back and put her hands on her hips “So, I am madam now am I? First I think you said my lady and then enchantress? What happened to all that ‘gentlemanlike’ charm?”

He groaned and put his hand over his eyes. “Please give me some refreshment. I can no longer bear the feeling of thirst.”

Summer felt sorry immediately for teasing him. She got a glass of cold water and gave him as much as she could, careful not to overdo it. Then she managed to get some tea down his throat before he lost consciousness again. For over an hour she watched him with a thoughtful expression on her face.

 In the list of things she had ever done in her life, this had to be the most daring, but she would think about the repercussions later. At the moment, she needed to run. She had to wash up after dinner and the sooner she got back, the better. With deft movements, she cleaned up the area and removed Malcolm’s dirty shirt and the tie thing around his throat. Then she covered him with a small sheet and ran back to the house. Hopefully Aunt Vivian would be in a good mood.

~~~~~~~0~~~~~~

Vivian’s lips thinned as she observed the empty plates littered on the table. They stood out as a sore thumb and reminder that Summer was late. A flash of rage shot through her and she turned to Matthew with venom in her eyes “You should do something about that daughter of yours. Don’t you see how unruly she is? Did you know I asked her to peel the potatoes in a certain way and she didn’t want to do it? Can you believe the audacity of that kind of behavior? I made sure she scrubbed the upstairs and downstairs floors to teach her proper respect, but this is unheard of.  We clear the table immediately after we eat. You know it’s been done that way for years, and your daughter is not here to do her work. This is too much to bear, do you hear me Matthew?”

Matthew struggled to understand through the fog of drunken stupor, but he couldn’t make out the details. Something about Summer and the potatoes. Rousing himself as best he could, he mumbled “She will, I mean she has to learn…you teach…good manners….you teach…good Vivian. Good Vivian.”

Vivian muttered in disgust and ignored the drunken sop at the table. His crumpled shirt, skewed tie and bits of food at sides of his mouth made her skin crawl. And the half drunk bottle of rum testified to his dissolute lifestyle. It had been years of the same unbearable behavior which had gotten old over time. Matthew just seemed to pass from one drunken stupor after another, aimlessly wandering about to give her cause for disgrace. The neighbors couldn’t get wind of the situation, so Vivian confined him to the house and the grounds. But she blamed Summer for the entire affair. When Matthew lost his wife in childbirth, his life fell into a void and he couldn’t bear to look at the child. A child that resembled her mother more and more with each passing year.

“Mother just ignore him. You know how he gets when he’s drinking that thing. Besides I want cherry jubilee and I shall die if I don’t get served soon.”

Edith’s petulant cry did not fall on deaf ears. Vivian pushed back her chair and rose to her feet, when Summer flew into the room with a bright, cheerful face.  Vivian sat back down and glared at her niece “Summer, this is highly irregular and I must say completely uncalled for. How dare you leave us in this manner? You know my rules around the household and you should—”

“I’m sorry Aunt Viv.” Summer blurted out cutting her off midsentence “I had to change my clothes and I got a little later than planned, but I’m here now. Please don’t worry. I’ll have this cleared away in no time.”

Vivian tilted her head and observed Summer in silence. With a critical gaze she noted the sleeveless dress with ruffles along the neckline. Its A-line cut flattered the girls figure with its graceful curves and Vivian caught her breath. Where had the time gone? Shocked to see how much Summer had grown into a stunning beauty that far surpassed Edith, she snarled “Tardiness is a most unattractive quality in a woman Summer, and a change of clothes is not an adequate explanation. Explain to me why I keep you under my roof if your rummaging about means the desert will not be served right after dinner?”

Summer mumbled her apologies and picked up the plates with deft fingers. Her father did not acknowledge her presence, and when she picked up Edith’s plate, her cousin wrinkled her nose in distaste. With a petulant tone, she screeched “You smell like the sea and that scent is nauseous. Why didn’t you wipe away that horrid scent, or at least clean yourself up a bit better? That dress is tacky and cheap. ”

Summer groaned in silence and bit her tongue. She didn’t need this, and she had to get back to Malcolm. “I’m sorry for the scent cousin Edith. I’ll bring your desert in just a moment.”

As she balanced the plates, cutlery and wine glasses on a big serving tray, Summer tried to move as fast as she could without appearing to be in a rush. She hoped to finish in time, and get Malcolm something to eat without her aunt’s knowledge. That desire proved more complicated when Vivian murmured “Where have you been today Summer? I could not find you this morning just after breakfast.”

I helped a man that fell out, not out, from behind a mirror. “I’m sorry aunt, I ran over to the library to help Mr. Neely. You know he needs someone to help him clean the books and the shelves get so dirty.”

“Really? It seems that I don’t give you enough to do around here. Well then, tomorrow that will change. I want you up bright and early and I will give you specific instructions as to what needs to be done around here. Besides, you know Charles is coming in two days and I want this house to be spotless. As a matter of fact, you should start tonight. You get entirely too much sleep as it is.”

Summer blanched in distress. The unfair comment cut deep. “But Aunt Vivian, it’s eight o clock already and I have to—”

“How dare you speak back to me in that tone young lady? How dare you? Do I not give you enough around here? Is your home not the best on this island? Your clothing the most that money can buy?”

Summer glanced away in distress. Her aunt hadn’t bought anything for her in years. All of her clothes belonged to her mother that she adjusted with a sewing machine. But if that is what her aunt wanted to believe so be it. With a weary sigh she tried to appease her by softening her tone “Dear Aunt, I will do whatever you ask of me, but please I need—”