REMEMBRANCE (30 page)

Trying to clear her mind of that dreadful man and the suffering he had caused her, she tried to concentrate on her music again, when she heard Joseph open the front door to someone.

* * * * *

Sir John greeted Lady Bradley, as she entered the great hall.

“I could not wait a second longer, Sir John; I made haste to tell you the news. All the town are talking about it. Have you heard it for yourself yet?” Lady Bradley asked excitedly as she took her friend’s hands in greeting.

“Pray, forgive me, Lady Bradley, but I am at a loss to which news would have you dashing here in this state?”

“Then you have not heard?”

“I have heard no news, madam.”

“It is such wonderful news Sir John! I had it from Thomas just this morning. They are to be married, do you hear that? Is that not good news, Sir?”

“Well I must say, it is a little of a shock to me that it has been arranged so suddenly,” Sir John said, astonished.

“I know. Thomas assured me that it was correct; he is on his way here directly to tell Miss Austin himself.”

Maria’s face was as white as the linen sheets that donned her bed. She was sure that, for a moment, she had stopped breathing. Her heart banged painfully against her ribs, as she listened to Lady Bradley discussing so openly in her house that Tom was finally to marry Miss Cartland. She could not stop the tears that welled up in her eyes. Finally, despite all her efforts to change their destiny, all hope was now lost. How could he do this to her? Did he really love her so little to go ahead with this marriage? How was she to live now? She had been so sure that he would have found a way out.

Maybe the news of what Mr Lewis had done had reached him? She hid her face in her hands. He must be disgusted with her—that must be it! Tom probably believed that she had encouraged Garth; thus, he probably thought that, as she was now sullied by another, he could no longer bear to be near her and has now decided to marry Miss Cartland. Oh no—how can this be? She is truly lost.

Blindly, she stepped through the glass doors and out into the grass. Not even noticing the falling rain, she felt nothing but the pain in her cold heart. What was she to do? Her hand came to her mouth as the choked sobs escaped her lips at the realisation that all was lost. Her life had come to an end. Where would she go? Where would she hide from her torment? She picked up her skirts and ran!

Finally, she reached the bank of the Crystal Pool—a place that gave her solace so many times before. Soaked to the skin, her clothes clung to her body, and still, she felt no rain. Devastated, she collapsed onto the bank, as her body, racked with her pain, could no longer support her. She was muttering to herself of her loss, her face buried in her small hands. She could not hear the call of the birds or the wind that ruffled the long grass at her side; her ears were deafened by the rush of blood, as her heart drained her body of life. Her heart was breaking at the thought of Tom with another. How would she ever be able to look at him again, knowing that he had destroyed her? How could she bear to continue living, when he had wiped out all her hopes and dreams with his betrayal? She had trusted him with her life and he had carelessly swept her aside as if she didn’t matter.

“Oh Tom, why, why?”

She knelt on that bank for what seemed an eternity as the life she had envisaged for herself dissolved away. Her body felt like an empty void; what was she to do now? Where would she go to ease this hollow feeling that engulfed her? How could she remain at Whitmore knowing that Tom no longer wanted her? She was sure now that, once her uncle died, he and his new wife would have her evicted.

As she sat there, overwhelmed by the self-pity, she sensed something stirring behind her. For a moment, her crying ceased as she tried to place the sound.

Then… something or someone spoke to her; it was a soft, haunting sound. She looked up, rubbing her eyes to clear her vision, but no soon had she focused, the rain ran down in rivets off her hair. She swiped the water from her face and looked around. There was no one there. She glanced at her distorted reflection upon the surface of the water and saw something glinting in its watery depths. The rain was heavier now, causing bubbles where it fell, and large ripples distorted the images displayed on the surface. Maria leaned over the bank to get a closer look, and, as the ripples dispersed, a shadowy face appeared below the surface; its complexion was deathly pale and its dead hazy eyes stared at her from the murky water. The hair floating about its face was like seaweed, as if it was some sort of mystical sea creature. She moved closer still and, as she did so, the figure rose up from its watery prison to meet her.

The picture in her mind clamped down on all senses, instantly paralysing her muscles. Still, as the scream violated her throat, her brain jerked back into reality and her body automatically jumped back from the edge. She had seen… She had seen herself!

Voices flooded her head. “She drowned in the pool.”

“Her loss so great.”

“He took his life too? She DROWNED.”

“GARTH LEWIS?”

They all spoke at the same time; she grasped the side of her head to stem the shouting. When she let go, suddenly everything stopped.

The hairs on the back of her neck became erect and she had the feeling that she was been watched; she could sense the burning heat of the stare on her back. Slowly, she moved away from the edge of the pool and, as she turned, her eyes came to rest on Garth Lewis standing a little distance away. He looked wretched; his clothes were soaked and dishevelled. His face held a hardened look, devoid of all emotion, and his dark eyes burned into her.

A deep fear seeped through her body and she started to back away from him as he approached. His mouth was a tight line as he spoke in a voice that was gravely and hard. “Well, what do we have here? Is this where you meet?”

“Mr Lewis I… err…”

“Tell me, Miss Austin, why do you come here if it is not to whore yourself with Mr Bradley?” Sarcasm oozed from his every word.

Petrified, Maria was rooted to the spot; she had never felt so afraid in her entire life. She now knew what ‘paralysed with fear’ truly meant. He looked like the devil himself; his hands clenched then unclenched at his sides.

“Is that not true, Miss Austin? Do you think that Mr Bradley enjoyed the privileges that you bestowed upon him? Did you believe that he loved you?” His brittle laugh cut through the air. “Or do you think that he just used you for his own pleasure, taking whatever you offered so generously?” he took another step forward. “Well, what do you think?” anger and frustration edged his words.

She tried to engage her brain, but she could find no words in reply, for her mind was crippled—even so, she knew she had to think of something.

“If only you had married me when I asked, then this,” he waved his hand, “could all have been avoided. But no, you refused me, so then I had to think of another plan.”

“Plan?” she said innocently.

“Please, Miss Austin, do not play dumb with me. He was supposed to marry Miss Cartland, but you ruined that arrangement.”

Now she was really panicking; she had no idea what he was talking about.

“I do not know, Sir, to what you are referring.”

“Do not take me for a fool, Miss Austin!” he shouted.

Again, she heard the voices in her head.

“She drowned, she drowned. SHE DROWNED!”

It was as if a bolt of lightning had pierced her brain! Images of past and present flashed before her eyes. Finally, she knew—she remembered everything. Images of her life as a child, growing up at her gran’s house, the many doctors, her relationship with Richard, but more importantly, her life with Tom here in the past, it all suddenly came back. However, as the memories flooded in, she realized that they were not of the life she lived with him now; it was a different life, the one in which they had been wronged and had both died at this very pool. Her eyes widened in disbelief, as she grasped the true horror that now flooded her mind.

“It was you?” she said a little louder than a whisper, “It was you?” very slowly she moved backwards.

“It was me?” Garth repeated her words.

“I did not drown. It was you—you murdered me. You murdered me and then you killed him?”

Garth stood very still. How did she know of his plan?

“You can’t know that,” he snapped. “How do you know that? It would all have gone smoothly if he had married her. But no, you had to put an end to all that. This is your own fault. You only have yourself to blame for your untimely end—you’ve brought this on yourself!”

She tried to stall him, do anything that would give her a little more time to think of something. “I have no idea what you mean by that, Mr Lewis.” She tried to sound confident, when, in reality, her bones had turned to mush. This couldn’t be the day that she died! In her memories, the tragic event took place on a bright sunny day, and it was raining heavily today. No, it could not be today, she tried to convince herself. Still, maybe something had changed. This wasn’t the eve of Tom’s wedding.

“You are a fool if you think that I believe you when you say that you don’t understand. You may be a whore, but you are not a fool. I am sure that you understand that I had it all planned out.”

She guessed what he was about to do. She swung around and ran. However, being much taller and stronger, he was faster than she was and it took only seconds for him to bring her to the ground. As she suddenly found her face pressed into the wet mud, the wind was knocked out of her; he towered above her, his face twisted and ugly.

“It is your fault! If only you had kept your legs closed, there would be no need for me to take such drastic measures!” He kicked her hard in the stomach. “If you had not whored your lustful body, then Thomas would not have turned his head from his intended,” he said bitterly, and lashed out again.

She cried out as the crippling cramps radiated through her abdomen. Her nightmares had become reality!

“Please, Mr Lewis… please stop!” she begged.

He ignored her pleas. “I will have my day, you slut!” he spat out as he dragged her to her feet. His face was inches away from hers, as she watched the trail of saliva oozing from the corner of his mouth down his chin, mixing with the falling rain. “Do you know what you have done? You have ended everything for me. I was going to be rich, do you hear me? RICH!”

“Please, Mr Lewis, I do not know what you mean,” she cried.

“I would have had the Bradley fortune. I was going to marry your Mr Bradley’s new wife after he died, but that is not to be now because he is not to marry her—you saw to that.”

His hands were twisted painfully in her hair as he ripped her head back so he could bring his unforgiving mouth to hers. With the last remaining strength, Maria brought her hands up to protect herself and pushed hard against his chest. Instinctively, she brought her knee up sharply with more power than she knew she possessed. His body crumpled and he staggered backwards clutching his groin and moaning.

She went to run, but he managed to grab at her clothes. He could not believe that she had caught him off guard again.

“You slut!” he shouted as he hauled her backwards.

“TOM!” she screamed. As his name left her mouth, the sound of her voice was so loud that the birds took flight from the oak tree as it echoed out through the air.

“It’s no good shouting for him; he won’t be able to help you now.”

Garth was so blind with fury now. He lashed out and hit her across the face, sending her flying backwards at the impact. She screamed as she fell and her head made contact with the small rock, half hidden in the grass.

* * * * *

Thomas could not believe his luck! On his return from London, he had been in possession of the note from Miss Cartland. He had wasted no time in seeing her, so that she could confirm the wishes she had written. Upon meeting her, he was soon convinced that the gods were looking favourably down on him. She had informed him that she was aware that they had a great many differences and could thus never be happy with each other. She apologised for the inconvenience and suffering that she may have caused his family, but she believed that she and Mr Grainger would make a very good match and she asked Thomas if she could be released from their understanding, so that she would be free to marry Mr Grainger directly.

He had quite happily released her, and after wishing the new couple well, he had made haste towards Whitmore Manor to tell M the amazing news.

His faithful Cleara tore at the wet dirt in eager spirits, as she galloped through the rain on the open land. He pulled her up just as Nedgely land joined Whitmore and it was then that he was sure that he had heard the sound of his name carried in the wind.

“M?” he smiled. She must be at the pool, he thought. What on earth was she doing out in this weather? She would catch herself a cold. He guided Cleara round in its direction, urging her forward to where Maria would be waiting.

On his approach, he suddenly had the feeling that something was terribly wrong, as, when the pool came into view, he spotted Garth Lewis. He seemed to be dragging something, but the grass was long and barred his view. He dismounted and walked quietly towards him.