Paradise Park (16 page)

‘I do want to, Mrs Buchan.' Rhiannon hesitated.

‘What is it?'

‘Are you sure about this? It's a big step to leave your husband.'

‘It's what I want.' Jayne scribbled the address of the house Guy had rented for them that morning and gave it to Rhiannon. ‘No one else is to see that.'

‘I understand, Mrs Buchan, and I'll do my best to see that everything runs smoothly here for the rest of the month.'

‘I know you will. Now, bring my bags down into the hall, would you, please?' Jayne hurried downstairs and saw that Dafydd was standing in the hallway waiting for her.

‘So you really mean to leave me, do you?' he said. ‘Why now, after all this time?'

‘I've had enough of you. What on earth made you think I'd share your bed again?' Jayne said. Dafydd grabbed her arm and Jayne twisted away from him. ‘Would you bully me into staying, Dafydd?'

‘Oh, go.' He flung her away from him. ‘But you'll never meet another man who'll treat you as well as I have.'

‘You think not?' Jayne smiled. ‘Well, Dafydd, your opinion is of no interest to me. You've bored me ever since the day we were married. I don't know why I wanted you in the first place.'

Sal came into the hall with Jayne's reticule and stood shifting from one foot to the other. Jayne motioned her to open the door. The fresh breeze washed into the hall carrying with it the scent of apple blossom. ‘Goodbye, Dafydd,' Jayne said. ‘I hope you'll be happy. At least you'll have your mistresses to keep you busy.'

‘Go back to your father like the spoiled child you are.'

His words stung. ‘You are the one who is acting like a child. And I'm not going back to my father,' Jayne said. ‘I'm a woman of independent means – or have you forgotten?'

‘Well, it's of no concern to me where you go.' Dafydd turned on his heel and walked towards the drawing room. ‘You're not taking the servants, though. Rhiannon, put those bags down and you, girl,' he gestured towards Sal, ‘you're not to lift a finger to help the mistress, is that understood?'

Jayne shrugged. It was Dafydd's last attempt to humiliate her. ‘That's all right, Sal, you stay. I'll send for you when I need you.'

Jayne went outside and threw her bags into the carriage. The driver shook the reins, clucked at the horses and they moved forward along the drive. She sat back in her seat and sighed with relief as the distance between herself and her old life widened. Now she could look forward to a new life with the man she loved.

She was about a mile away from the house when she heard the thunder of hoofs behind her. She glanced over her shoulder to see Dafydd gaining on her effortlessly.

He caught the reins of the carriage horses and pulled them to a halt. Then he came round to the door and stuck his head through the window. ‘Is it true you're going to Guy Fairchild?' he demanded.

Jayne lifted her head. ‘You got it out of poor little Sal, did you?'

‘Never mind that. Let me just tell you what a fool you are.' Dafydd was smiling, his hair ruffled by the wind, his cheeks red from riding. Even now, angry though he was, he was a handsome man. How strange that his looks failed to move her.

‘I put Guy up to this, I told him to talk sweetly to you to get you to sell him the railway shares.'

‘Liar!' Jayne said quickly. ‘Guy wouldn't do anything like that. You're just making it up because you can't believe I'm leaving you.'

‘You stayed at the St Anne's Hotel and Guy joined you there at my request. Ask him, if you don't believe me.'

‘I will. Now, let me pass, Dafydd, before I start to scream and bring the tenants running from their houses.'

‘I'm telling you the truth, Jayne.' Dafydd spoke earnestly. ‘Now Guy has played me false and taken you from me. I never wanted that.'

‘What would Guy have to gain by taking me away from you?' Jayne asked desperately.

‘Have you spoken about the shares?' Dafydd asked. ‘No need to answer, I can see that you have. You offered them to him, didn't you?'

‘What if I did?' Jayne lifted her chin. ‘Guy is a rich and successful man. Why would he want a few railway shares?'

‘Because I offered him a handsome reward for them and then it must have occurred to him that he could have you and the shares. He told me he had a fancy for you, not that he would be married to you for a king's ransom but he thought a dalliance might prove amusing.'

‘You're lying!' Jayne said dully, but somehow his words rang true. She bit back the tears of humiliation. Then she told the driver to turn back and they headed for the home she loathed. Of one thing she was certain: she wouldn't be staying there with Dafydd, but neither would she be running off with Guy. All men were cheats and liars and from now on she wouldn't be dependent on any of them.

DAFYDD WAS SEETHING
with rage as he stared at his wife across the long dining-table. Jayne looked pale and sick. She had spent the night in one of the servants' rooms, determined not to sleep with him at any cost. Well, that was going to change.

‘So, I can assume that Guy Fairchild had his way with you?' Dafydd said, ignoring Sal who was pouring his tea. Jayne gestured to Sal to refill her cup. ‘Go on, admit it, you've made me a cuckold.'

Jayne sparked into anger. ‘All right, I admit it! And for the first time in my life I knew the happiness of being with a real man.'

Dafydd threw down his napkin and got up, his face red with anger. He grasped her arm and propelled her out of the room. How dare she make a whore of herself with Guy Fairchild? He pushed her into the bedroom and kicked the door shut with his foot.

‘Tell me the truth, has he been in bed with you?'

‘I've told you the truth. Are you too stupid to understand it?' She tried to extricate herself, but he tightened his grip. ‘Dafydd, you're hurting me.' Her face was white and her eyes were dark with guilt. Dafydd knew then that she had been unfaithful to him, with a man he called a friend.

‘You dirty whore!' He slapped her hard across the face and she tumbled back onto the bed. ‘You have betrayed me and ruined a damned good friendship into the bargain. I see I'll have to teach you a lesson you'll never forget.'

He felt nothing but cold anger as he tore aside her skirts. She tried to push him away but he easily overpowered her. ‘You gave to another man what you have refused me, your legitimate husband. Well, I'll have no more of it!'

He thrust into her, wanting to hurt her, and he felt the burn of triumph as he heard her cries of distress. He felt no love, no joy, all he knew was that he would have his revenge on the woman who had made a fool of him.

As he pumped away at her, he was aware that she had become still and unprotesting beneath him. When he glanced at her white face he could see that she was crying. He felt no pity as he finished the act and rolled off her. ‘From now on you'll do as I say.'

She put her hands over her face and he saw her shake with sobs. He felt glad that he had hurt her as she had hurt him. He left the room, turned the key in the lock, then went down to the sitting room. Suddenly his anger disappeared, like mist before the sun. He had acted like a beast – he had raped his own wife.

But how much could a man take? She denied him a normal marriage and, most importantly, children, yet she had allowed another man to be intimate with her. Well, he had dealt with Jayne. Now he must find Fairchild and thrash him to within an inch of his life.

He pushed himself out of his chair and went to teach Fairchild a lesson he would never forget. What Dafydd Buchan owned he kept, and that included his wife. He clenched his fists. He would not be satisfied until he had beaten the man senseless. Then, perhaps, he could begin to pick up the pieces of his life.

For some hours Jayne remained where Dafydd had left her, still and silent on the bed, her torn clothes in disarray around her. She felt like the whore he had called her, she felt dirty and used and, in that moment, she hated all men. At last, she roused herself and rang the bell for Rhiannon, wincing at the pain that burnt through her body. When Rhiannon came in, Jayne fell into her arms and cried bitter tears that stung her bruised face.

Rhiannon understood at once what had happened. She held her mistress gently, patting her back as though she was a child, and Jayne leaned against her, grateful for Rhiannon's comforting arms. After a while Rhiannon released her. ‘Good thing I had the master key on my chain. I expect Mr Buchan forgot about that when he locked you in. Now, I'll get hot water fetched up and I'll soon have you feeling better.'

Jayne allowed Rhiannon to take over. She put rose petals into the bath and helped Jayne into the warm water, talking gently to her all the time. ‘There, you'll soon feel better, let me help you wash.' Jayne relaxed as the warm water cleansed her body, washing away the odour of her husband. ‘You've got some bad bruises coming up, ma'am,' Rhiannon said, ‘but they'll soon fade. It's the memories that hurt most.'

‘Did you feel like this when men used you, Rhiannon?' Jayne asked, in a small voice. ‘Did you feel powerless to protect yourself against a man who would violate you?'

‘Yes, I often felt like that, and the only thing I wanted to do was to wash away the smell of the last man I'd been with. It was a terrible life, but you gave me and Sal the chance to escape it.'

‘And you've repaid me a thousand times. What would I do without you, Rhiannon?' The water had cooled and, reluctantly, Jayne climbed out of the bath. ‘I suppose I deserved it,' she said softly. ‘I was unfaithful to my husband while I was away and he found out about it. No wonder he was angry with me.'

‘No woman deserves to be raped,' Rhiannon said firmly. If she was surprised at Jayne's revelation she didn't show it. ‘What will you do now?'

Jayne sat on the bed and held up her arms as Rhiannon pulled a clean shift over her head. ‘I don't know.' Rhiannon untied her hair and began to brush out the tangles in smooth rhythmic strokes. ‘Dafydd has made it plain that I'm to be an obedient wife in future and sleep in his bed, but I'll never do that,' she said. ‘After what he did to me this morning I'll never forgive him.'

‘Why don't you go home to your father?'

Jayne shook her head. ‘My father is about to get something he's wanted all his life.' She sighed heavily. ‘He's asked Llinos Mainwaring to marry him and I think she's going to accept. I can't spoil things for him by running to him for help now.'

‘Well, you can't stay here, can you?' Rhiannon looked worried.

Jayne touched her hand. ‘I'll survive but just now I'm too tired to think of anything.'

‘What about the other man? Won't you go to him?' Rhiannon's eyes were full of sympathy: ‘If this is a taste of what your husband is going to be like in future you won't be able to stand it – I know that better than anyone.'

‘No, I won't join Guy. According to my husband, Guy lied when he said he loved me.' She put her head in her hands. ‘Men! Are they all cheats and liars?'

‘Then set up your own home. You're a strong woman and you don't need a man. Look, Mrs Buchan, I know it will be hard for you to fend for yourself but in the end you'll have no choice. In any case, your husband would say anything to hurt you – he might be the one who's lying.'

‘What Dafydd said made sense. It seemed they had made some sort of deal and Guy was to persuade me to let him have my railway shares. Then he would sell them to Dafydd at a profit.' She bit her lip and tasted blood. ‘No doubt it was all a great joke – Guy Fairchild, the man who romanced a frigid wife and hoped to be paid handsomely into the bargain.'

‘I thought Mr Fairchild was a real gentleman. And, what's more, I've learned not to take anything at face value. Speak to him, that's my advice. Give him a chance to put his side of the story.'

‘You might be right. I'll think about it.' Jayne sat in her chair by the window, unable even to look at the bed where she'd been violated. She was exhausted and her head was pounding. ‘I'll stay here while I think things out. Have Sal bring me a hot drink, Rhiannon, and something to soothe my headache.'

‘Are you sure you'll be safe here, Mrs Buchan?' Rhiannon asked carefully.

Jayne forced a smile. ‘Dafydd's done his worst. I'll sit quiet and think it all through before I do anything else.'

When Rhiannon had gone, Jayne looked out at the sun shimmering on the lily-pond in the garden. And then, abruptly, it went behind a cloud and the water looked dull and lifeless. Was life like that? A few minutes of brightness, then completely dark?

Sal came into the room and Jayne watched her put the tray on the table. The smell of the hot drink was enticing and Jayne took the cup between her cold hands.

‘Shall I close the curtains, Mrs Buchan? The light won't bother your eyes then.' Sal spoke as though to an invalid, and it was obvious that she knew exactly what had happened to Jayne.

‘No, open them wider – I'm tired of darkness.'

Sal fussed around her, plumping up the cushions. ‘Here's a little rug to put over your knees, ma'am.' She looked at Jayne uncertainly. It was plain she had something more important to say.

‘What is it, Sal?' Jayne sipped the strong-tasting drink and felt it run like fire down her throat.

‘I heard the row, Mrs Buchan.' She spoke tentatively. ‘I suppose the whole house heard it, but I was with you at the hotel and I think Mr Fairchild really loves you. He wouldn't do anything to hurt you.'

‘Sal, you're still a child, what would you know?'

‘Young I am, but I've known many men in my time and I can tell good from bad. See, it might be like this. Mr Fairchild thought it a lark at first to tempt those share things out of you but then he fell in love with you. It was as clear as daylight to me.'